Despite being perceived as a ‘softer’ element of governance, organisational culture is a frequent area of attention when things go wrong. But there can tend to be limited consensus on what organisational culture is, its impact, and how to go about shaping, influencing and reviewing it. As put forward by Michael D. Watkins, a prominent scholar of leadership and organisational change, leaders need a ‘holistic, nuanced view of organisational culture… to truly understand their organisations – and to have any hope of changing them for the better.’
This Forum event will explore how integral culture is to organisational fitness and driving sustainable high performance, what we can do to measure and define our organisation’s culture and begin to address any weaknesses or capitalise on strengths.
Karen Jones, a highly-experienced practitioner and advisor, will set the scene by sharing her definition of organisational culture and introducing a model used by Denison Consulting to provide a clear picture of what organisations need to do to achieve higher performance. The Forum will then hear from two senior leaders within the public sector who have placed organisational culture at the forefront of their transformation and change programmes. Together, the speakers will address questions such as:
What is organisational culture?
Why does organisational culture matter?
How do we define and measure our organisational culture?
How does culture impact our organisational fitness i.e. our ability to deliver, to perform and to execute.
What role do leaders, in senior teams and boards/governing bodies, play in assessing and addressing organisational culture and fitness?
Speakers
Karen Jones
Karen has spent 20 years in culture transformation and leadership development with experience in both private and public companies, designing high-impact engagements that align culture and strategy for sustainable innovation. She has worked with global organisations on large-scale change interventions and high-touch executive coaching with leadership teams. Karen aims to integrate her varied experience in nursing, public health, social psychology, research, and organisational development to design and co-create meaningful client experiences, driving honest conversations around rigorous diagnostics to build sustainable high-performing cultures.
Emer Darcy
Emer is Head of the Strategy and Reform Directorate at the Courts Service, a role that includes leading aspects of the Courts Service Modernisation Programme along with responsibility for learning and development and the Legislation and Rules Unit.
Emer has been a civil servant since 1999, working in the Courts Service since 2004 across a variety of roles in a mix of operational and support areas including court offices, Human Resources, leading the response to Covid 19 and the family law reform workstream.
Emer has a particular interest in designing services to support better outcomes for the people those services are for.
Mitchell McIntryre
Mitchell is a qualified accountant and member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. He has over 10 years post qualification experience across the areas of statutory accounting, financial audit, and performance audit.
Mitchell joined the Office of the Comptroller and Auditory General in 2022 from the private sector where he had responsibility for statutory reporting and process improvement. He previously worked for several years at the Office of the Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan where he had responsibility for both financial and performance audits.
In his current role as Deputy Director of Central Services in the Office, Mitchell has responsibility for a variety of functions including human resources, finance, governance, facilities, communications and IT. Mitchell fulfils the role of Personnel Officer and also acts as secretary for a number of the Office’s key governance bodies including the Audit Board, the Audit Committee and the Risk Management Committee.
