(Stanford University)
Notes from the Field: Research toward a Theory of Culture change
Calls for culture change are reverberating across society. It is now commonplace to attribute current societal problems to outmoded, broken, and toxic cultures. But what is culture change? How does it work? It is effective and how could we know? I will describe a culture cycle change model and three field projects co-developed with organizations experiencing culture clashes and seeking culture change: an economic development organization, a police department, and a public school district. These projects have been done in collaboration with Stanford SPARQ where our vision is to get more science into the world and more of the world into science. Across problems, domains and populations, many organizations are not attuned to the cultural contexts in which they are advising, policing, teaching, and healing. We find that elaborating ideas and practices of recognition and respect is an initial “fix” for broken cultures.