I’m revising my risk culture course to keep up with the times and, more importantly, to increase its impact on participants and them on their organisations. In doing so I reached out to a friend and colleague, Meredith Wilson. She is a culture guru having worked with executive teams on culture transformations for ASX top 20 organisations.

My timing was perfect as she was in the finishing stages of writing a book called Shift : Everyday actions leaders can take to shift culture. Why Shift? Because you can’t control something as complex as culture. You can only move it in the right direction through the actions of leaders and their teams.

A great takeaway from the book for risk professionals is this passage:

“The good news is that your future culture is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed yet. Currently, there will be individuals and teams working the way you want your whole organisation to work. They are focused on doing the right things the right way. The first step is to identify, nurture and reward them. The second step is to connect them; it can sometimes be lonely for these individuals and teams. Knowing there are others on a similar path can re-energise these stars. Third, share their stories to promote these ways of working and encourage other teams to adopt them.”

I often train an organisation’s risk community of practice or risk champions. Sometimes it is a starting point, sometimes it is part of their development. The best organisations I have worked with do exactly what Meredith Wilson suggests. They truly nurture their community, reward them and create opportunities to connect in person and in forums and they share their stories through whichever means the organisation has in place to celebrate staff.

An additional tip from me. Make sure you are best friends with your People and Culture team. Working through them and with them is key to your success!

If you would like to pre-order Shift, you can do so here.