Iceberg model & corporate culture: How to make hidden levels visible Uncategorized

Uncategorized

The iceberg as a symbol of corporate culture

In this article you will find out:

What is the iceberg model? How does the iceberg model help you shape your corporate culture? What does an iceberg have to do with your corporate culture? And what does the iceberg model do for you?

– Let’s first take a look at the word ” corporate culture” and then see what the iceberg is trying to tell us.

Hi, I’m Susanne,

As a change manager, I see every day how important it is to make visible the levels of a corporate culture that otherwise tend to remain hidden. This is the only way we can talk about them and shape the necessary changes together.

What are your experiences on the topic of corporate culture? And what topics would you like to see in our blog? Please feel free to leave us a comment.

And if you have any questions about change and change management consulting, just get in touch with me!

Message to Susanne

Definition of corporate culture

Corporate culture describes how companies are managed, decided, worked together and communicated with; which values, rules and structures prevail and how the company appears to the outside world.

And a little more detailed:

Description of corporate culture

Corporate culture is the interplay of the values lived in the company, which are reflected in rituals, processes and behaviors. This also includes the way in which hierarchy is practiced, how decisions are made, how communication takes place and what stories are told.

Corporate culture influences how things are done: fast or slow, flexible or bureaucratic, complicated or simple, formal or informal? Having every penny approved or company credit card; working in a team or alone, suit or ripped jeans, company car or public transport ticket, everything was better in the past or we shape the future, not telling anyone about yourself or inviting everyone to the wedding? Command grumbling or a friendly request, gossiping in silence or discussing problems openly?

And of course the culture also influences the mood in the team and thus employee motivation.

Every corporate culture is different due to the people, the circumstances and the history.

In our article Corporate culture & cultural change: definition, examples & 11-step tutorial , you can find out everything you need to know about corporate culture and how you can measure and change it.

Why is corporate culture crucial to the success of your company?

Corporate culture and employee motivation

If your employees can work in line with their values and ideas, they are more likely to be motivated. But if they have to go against their values and bend, they are more likely to be frustrated and ultimately demotivated. And that is extremely unfavorable, because the motivation and commitment of your employees are two of the most important success factors for your company.

Corporate culture and market requirements

Your culture helps or hinders your company to develop what you will need in the future to be successful in the market.

It is about questions such as:

What changes are needed?
How should the company position itself?
What are the upcoming alignments and major tasks?

Assuming your company should be able to react quickly in the future. If your culture allows employees to act quickly and flexibly, you have a good chance; but bureaucracy, hierarchy and long official channels would slow down quick reactions.

If it is necessary to develop innovative new products in the future, then a corporate culture that encourages creative experimentation(innovation culture) is more likely to produce innovations than one that has a negative error culture and sanctions deviations from the norm.

Corporate culture as a whole is difficult to grasp, but it influences everyone and everything in the company. An inappropriate organizational culture can jeopardize your company and cause it to fail, much like the iceberg caused the Titanic to sink.

We’ll show you how a good corporate culture works!

How the iceberg model makes corporate culture understandable

Corporate culture models

There are many models that describe corporate culture. For example, the models of Edgar Schein, Kotter & Haskett, Mary Jo Hatch, Geert Hofstede or Peters & Waterman.

The iceberg model helps by simply visualizing the dimensions of corporate culture:

Only part of an iceberg can be seen; however, a much larger part of the iceberg lies hidden below the waterline. Using this metaphor, the iceberg model helps to understand visible and invisible aspects of corporate culture.

In the following, we look at the iceberg model and its significance for corporate culture.

What does the iceberg model say?

Definition of the iceberg model

The iceberg model shows that there is a visible level (factual level) and an invisible level (relationship level) in the interaction between people.

The model is used in psychology, communication, cultural studies and education.

Origin of the iceberg model

Where does the iceberg model come from? Who invented the iceberg model?

As described above, the iceberg model is and has been used in various contexts.

It is claimed that Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) created the iceberg model, but Freud only defined the division into visible/conscious and invisible/unconscious. The iceberg as a symbol was only added later. Exactly how is not known.

The communication scientist Paul Watzlawik (1921-2007) used the image of the iceberg to show that there is always a visible factual level and an invisible, unconscious relationship level in communication. He put the invisible part of the iceberg at 90% and the visible factual level at only 10%.

In 1976, cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall (1914-2009) used the iceberg metaphor to describe cultures.

The social scientist Edgar H. Schein was the first to make the connection to corporate culture.

The exact division between visible and invisible varies in the different models, but the tendency is to use the Pareto principle according to the economist Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) with 80% (invisible) to 20% (visible).

Iceberg model and corporate culture

The iceberg model illustrates that only a small part of the corporate culture is visible and most of it remains hidden beneath the surface.

The two levels of corporate culture

So what can we see of the corporate culture and what remains hidden?

Visible level / factual level:

What are the visible aspects of corporate culture?

Behaviors
Work processes
Goals, strategy, mission, vision, mission statement
Rules
Clothing
Location & furnishings
External impact
Remuneration

How do the visible aspects manifest themselves in everyday life?

How do meetings work?
How are decisions made?
How is a new employee integrated?
How are employees addressed by the manager?

Invisible level / relationship level:

What are the invisible values and convictions that are deeply rooted in the corporate culture?

Values & priorities
Motives & sense
Needs (recognition, security)
Assumptions & expectations
Status & power relations
Leadership behavior,
Interpretation of the rules & informal rules
Relationships
Mindsets, thought patterns & attitudes
Feelings & fears
Narratives, stories and history
Bias & prejudices
Perceptions & perspectives

Curious?

How does the iceberg model help to better understand corporate culture?

Corporate culture surrounds you like breathing air: you don’t even notice it, especially if you’ve been with the company for a long time. Tensions in the culture are usually ignored for a long time and remain invisible. Only when an occasion arises do you suddenly realize that there is a conflict. For example, when a comparatively small event (factual level) suddenly triggers huge emotions (relationship level). Only then does it become clear that something has been lying dormant, like an iceberg.

Here it makes sense to let go of the visible triggers for a crisis or a strange gut feeling and take a closer look: “What’s actually going on under the surface?”

Looking under the iceberg when a change is imminent

So far, everything has worked well in your company, you have lived a certain culture and suddenly your company has to move and change. It now needs a different approach. And then you suddenly realize that it’s not that easy: your structures don’t fit, your employees don’t want to go along with you.

It is worth taking a look beneath the surface of the iceberg:

Which values clash with each other?
Which goals, ideas, needs and behaviors clash with the requirements of our company?
What are the internal and external requirements?

Video Digital transformation

Speaking of change…. AI is an issue everywhere; no company can afford to miss the boat. But: this means a sometimes huge change for the people in the company. Trouble is inevitable, isn’t it? – Oliver explains in 10 minutes how you can get your team on board with AI and perhaps even sow enthusiasm instead of resistance.

Recognizing the currents under the iceberg

Corporate culture is complex because there are so many factors that influence it. However your culture is practiced in detail – your corporate culture should support you in mastering challenges.

For which requirements is corporate culture a success factor?

On the whole, there are two tractive forces:

Extern: die Anforderungen des Marktes & der Umwelt
- What do customers want?
- What are the challenges?
- How must the company position itself in order to operate successfully now and in the future?
- What resources does the company need?
- Which competitors are there? etc.
Internal: the requirements of employees
- What do employees need to be motivated to work?
- How can leadership and structures help to ensure that work is done as well or as quickly as possible?
- What does it take to recruit new employees? etc.

These two forces need to be reconciled so that everyone can pull in the same direction: the success of the company. The following questions need to be answered to achieve this:

What exactly is clashing here?
What are the cultural aspects?
What can we do to develop and move forward?

How can the iceberg model be used?

How can managers use the iceberg model to solve cultural problems?

Unfortunately, the iceberg model as such does not offer any possible solutions. But the iceberg model does give rise to an important question:

What is this actually about?

This is the crucial message when you notice that something is strange, grating, clashing, when dissatisfaction is evident, communication is stuck or emotions are boiling up. When problems arise, take a look under the iceberg or below the waterline, i.e. at the level of values, needs and culture!

This is the only way to tackle challenges that appear on the surface in a sustainable way.

How to make the invisible visible and discussable?

Of course, you can’t expect everyone to suddenly put their cards on the table, have an open conversation with a pat on the back and then everything will get better.

But there are tools that help to describe what is currently going on and to define what should be, what is needed, i.e. to create a value profile.

With the information from a value profile, you can then initiate a dialog to talk about the invisible in a holistic way so that you can really turn the right levers.

Want to learn more about corporate culture? Visit our store!

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Practical application of the iceberg model:

The message of the iceberg model:

Take a look at what’s actually going on.

But how exactly can you tackle this in practice?

Make visible = enter into dialog

In our view, the most important thing in shaping culture is dialog. – In other words, talking to each other in all possible constellations:

In your own team, to talk about the behavior in your own team.
Conversations between teams with people from across the company.
In the management team.
Communication between management and team.
and so on.

How can we talk about the unconscious?

Of course, you can’t just lock everyone in a room and say: “Talk about everything somehow”. – Of course, your employees need guidance on what they should discuss and how. Our experience: the most effective way to initiate discussions is by means of a values profile.

The value profile

To create a value profile, all people in the company should be interviewed if possible! Is that not so easy? Yes, a values profile can now be created very easily and playfully!

Of course, you can meet in person, but you can also create a values profile together online or even via an app. You can use this as a basis for discussions about your corporate culture and gather information about what changes might be needed.

You can find out more about how you can create a value profile for your company here in the video:

What are the uncomplicated options for obtaining a value profile?

There are the options mentioned above: app, online meeting or live format. Depending on how many employees and locations you have, one or the other will suit your company better.

Via app

The easiest way is to ask people in the company using a mobile app: What is important to employees? How do they see the current corporate culture? What kind of corporate culture is needed in the future? The process is kept simple. And then you have data on values and attitudes that you can talk to each other about.

Here you can take a look at the app called ValueParty .

Online

Of course, a values profile can also be created in online meetings. The advantage: employees can talk about values at the same time. We have had very good experiences with this in companies with many locations. We created the value profile online and also conducted the discussion process about previously invisible elements of the corporate culture.

Live

If you are able to come together live, then it is inviting to go straight into a conversation about values and perceptions.

To this end, we have developed a card game that even large groups can use to create and depict a value profile and then discuss it immediately.

Find out more here: ValueParty card game.

Do you still have questions?

Summary iceberg model & corporate culture

The iceberg model clearly shows us that it is worth taking a closer look!

Just scratching the surface without considering the corporate culture and the values of the people in the company will not bring about lasting change!

With a value profile, you can measure where your corporate culture currently stands and where it should be in the future. You can use it to get the people in your company on board and initiate discussion processes so that you can all work on the same thing with motivation: the success of your company.