Recently, on social media (where else?), I came across a fun explanation of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody lyrics. Being a huge fan who grew up listening to the band, my interest in knowing the validity of said interpretation led me to dig a little further. In fact, there are many versions of the meaning of the lyrics, many of them related to Freddie Mercury’s childhood in Zanzibar, its author, his sexual preferences, his HIV infection, etc.
What the heck! Anyone can write their own interpretation of the lyrics. But the reality is that Freddie never made public its true meaning and rather indicated that “It is one of those songs that has a fantasy touch. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then come to their own conclusion about what it means to each other.”
It reminds me a lot of the work of archaeologists who, when unearthing a cultural artifact, look for explanations to understand a culture. Cultural artifacts are tangible and visible products of a society and can include objects, works of art, architecture, tools, and other material items. These artifacts reflect the values, beliefs, traditions, and ways of life of a community or civilization.
When an observer studies and analyzes cultural artifacts, they can gain information about the culture in question. For example, through the architecture of an ancient city, one can understand its lifestyle, its belief systems, and its social structures. Works of art, such as paintings or sculptures, can reveal the aesthetic ideals and themes valued by a particular society.
However, it is important to note that cultural artifacts do not provide a complete or exhaustive picture of a culture. They are just one part of a larger and more complex system. Culture is also made up of intangible aspects, such as social norms, language, music, dance, religion, and rituals, among others. Fully understanding a culture requires a broader and contextualized analysis, incorporating both cultural artifacts and other aspects of social and human life.
In an organization, culture is key to the survival and coexistence of its members. Organizational culture is made up of norms and values by which a group of people is governed. According to Schein, there are three levels: artifacts, values, and assumptions. Let’s think of a manufacturing environment: All those rituals, visual aids, slogans, and other signs that we see on a visit to the organization reflect a part of the culture, but they do not explain it and may be subject to interpretation, accurate or not.
Oh Mama Mia, Mama Mia… Think of a benchmark visit to a model organization. You probably wrote down everything you saw while going through Gemba: dash boards with information and charts, material movement devices, andon lights, ‘kanbans’, use of colors to indicate the state of production, etc. And you probably also wanted to implement some of these tools in your organization without ever achieving the expected result. Well, it’s because artifacts are the shallowest level in organizational culture.
The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manager culture. Edgar Schein.
To better understand the culture, we must look at the shared beliefs and values of the group. People’s behaviors and why they do them—the assumptions. That is where we must work to transform or develop the culture we want. So the next time you get a chance to benchmark, focus on talking to people, asking about their values, and looking at behaviors when they celebrate, solve problems, or are in crisis. Observe how supervisors and managers act and how staff act.
And while we work on it, I ask you a question: Will you do the fandango?