Is Chief Culture Officer just another arbitrary name like “Director of Special Projects”? A title that sounds powerful but actually comes with little or no empowerment to deliver change?
Dr. Yoram Solomon from the Innovation Culture Institute, conducted a research project for his PhD on why people are more creative in start-ups than in large, mature companies. After 2 years of research, and a 348 page document, he came to one simple conclusion.
as companies grow they lose their innovation culture
I can certainly relate to his findings. I saw the creative and innovative spirit in employees stifled by office politics, and bureaucratic red tape. As a result, this led to me starting my own innovation software company.
Will Chief Culture Officer get a seat at the table?
Blake Morgan also wrote a similar article Chief Culture Officer and Chief Customer Officer: A Winning Combination for Forbes. She writes that rather than spreading the responsibility of corporate culture amongst all the executives, that the responsibility should be assigned to an individual. A Chief Culture Officer.
She also talks about the need for the Chief Culture Officer and the Chief Customer Officer to work closely together. Thereby, creating a harmonious environment.
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However, to reignite the creative and innovative spirit in employees, I would also include Chief Innovation Officer into the mix. This would make the ultimate dream team combination. But, you may need to buy more seats and a bigger executive table to accommodate.
Tune in to my video blog below where for the next 4 mins I delve deeper into why I think a Chief Culture Officer is an invaluable role.
