It's one more item on my list of things I wish I knew when I
began my career: the importance of organizational culture and its influence on
one's work life.  Even if you're good at
separating  work life from home life and
your separate identities in each, the human aspect in all of us seeks community
and belonging.  It is equally true for
work as it is outside of work.  Often more
important than job responsibilities and skill set, we tend to underestimate the
role of organizational 'fit' as a factor in professional  growth and success.

Organizational culture is as simple or as complex as the
importance we assign to it.    Some believe it's a purely academic manifestation,
a term bandied about by consultants and business school professors.  In graduate school we defined organizational
culture as a composite of an organization's values, visions, norms, symbols,
beliefs and habits.  It affects how
individuals and groups interact and it can make or break a career.  In general, when there is a good fit between
the organizational culture and employees, employees are motivated and have high
morale.   In organizations with
particularly strong organizational cultures, you may find employees who have
worked there for a very long time.  Their
loyalty and longevity can be attributed more to the organizational culture than
the specific responsibilities or role within the organization.   On the
other hand, the lack of a fit between an employee and the organizational
culture, or the lack of recognition of the importance of a defined culture with
an organization, can lead to significant dissonance between the employee and
the organization.  One more thing that we
tend to underestimate is the impact of such dissonance on one's professional
development and in the long term, ability to be an effective team player within
the organization. Organizations with strong cultures may value employees'
adherence to the organizational culture over skill set and productivity. 

College career counselors don't discuss  organizational culture as a factor in the job
search very much, if at all.  In today's
economy with a focus on career-oriented education, college graduates are
considered fortunate to  find jobs that
combine both their training and their interests.  With the escalating cost of higher education,
return on investment has become a serious consideration.  Organizational fit and career satisfaction
have taken a back seat to salary and potential for professional growth.  I know this because, over the past few months
of my own job search, well-intentioned friends and colleagues have provided
unsolicited career advice that has everything to do with 'landing a job' and very
little to do with who I am or what my passions are.  The goal, it seems, is simply to "get a
job."  I imagine that the pressure
is all the more for freshly minted college graduates. 

In the past (in fact, throughout my career to date) Type A
task oriented professional that I am, it rarely occurred to me to find out
about the organizational culture before accepting a position.  I was certainly more concerned about the
scope of the job and my ability to succeed. 
Oh, the naiveté of a hard core Type A!

So the question is, even if you've never considered it
before, how to determine if an organization's culture is right for you.  Again, we tend to underestimate the
importance of organizational culture and its influence on our work, not to
mention our psyche.  I like to think of
it as resonance.    There is a certain yin-yang
ease and contentment that one experiences when there's a fit, or sense of
belonging, in the organization in which one works. 

It's really very simple: It means looking beyond job title
and job description to develop and understanding of the organization's culture,
aka, work environment. 

All this I've learned only since earning a doctorate in OL
and 20+ years ' work experience  with
gradually increasing responsibility in a diverse set of educational institutions
(large public university, small private Jewish university, nonprofit art
college, private Christian university). 
By now you would think that I that I would know a thing or two about organizational
culture.  Moreover, most of this has
crystallized as a only in the few months since I left a position that I held
for 10 years and a couple of months of unemployment in which to contemplate where
and what I wanted for the next step in my career.  Surprisingly, (to me, if no one else),  the biggest question I faced was, who am I
professionally?  I am also - for better
or for worse - at a certain age and stage in my career when I ask myself, what
do I want to do with the rest of my life? 
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As an
ongoing work in progress I have compiled a list of things to consider to assess
the organizational culture of a company and more importantly, one's resonance,
or "fit." (Seasoned leaders will also gauge the fit of potential
employees as well, especially in organizations where the organizational culture
is strong and enduring.)  First
and foremost, remember that a job interview is a mutual opportunity for
both interviewer and interview to assess if the organization - not just the job
responsibilities - are the right fit for both.

Ways to tell if organizational culture is a fit for you:

- Don't stop at the mission statement. The mission statement
represents the best of the organization, its ideals and aspirations, but it
does not tell the whole story. 

- Observe the dress code as best as you can and think about
what it confers about the company culture - creative, conservative,
hierarchical, formal, laid back?

- Ask.  In an
interview, it's quite acceptable to ask members of the hiring committee to
describe the organizational culture (Hint: are they enthusiastic to talk about
it? Do they understand the question?) 

-  If you're in doubt,
listen to that little voice that questions, "Do I fit in here?" (and
if that question keeps popping up, listen well, and ramp up your networking
efforts).

- Do not dismiss the mission statement.  If there is something at odds with your
personal and professional convictions, ask questions, seek insight, listen to
your inner voice.

In a perfect world, we would all work in a thriving,
empowering work environment that resonates with our personal interests and
passions and affords us the opportunity to contribute our best talents and
values to our sector of the world in which we live, work, play.  Idealistic? 
Maybe.  Something to strive
for?  Certainly.  But it will get us nowhere to focus on
salary, job description, and job title alone. 
Organizational culture has a huge impact on our success and happiness,
make no mistake about it.  Where the
organizational culture resonates with who we are and what we want to
accomplish, and there is a sense of community and belonging, we are able to do
our best work.  And isn't that what it's
all about in the end , to know that we have made a contribution, that the work
that has comprised the vast majority of our working hours has made an
impact?  That impact is less if it is not
gleaned from the resonance between the worker and her work.  So the next time you think of culture as something
'out there,' look inward - to your organization and yourself. Culture is the
glue that binds people and organizations.