<ol><li>We can fix culture: Culture is agile and continually changing. It is not a static problem that needs to be solved.</li><li>Virtual or remote work erodes culture: Before lockdowns and WFH, there were many cultural problems but no one paid attention.</li><li>There is a perfect design of an organization: The reality is that everything changes and leaders have to let go of static thinking.</li></ol>

Culture Myths That Leaders Need To Wake Up To

<ol><li>Leaders need to overlook and control employees: This old practice of control is evil and results in bad performance.</li><li>Delaying surveys and feedback forms is a good idea: Leaders always want to manage stuff without fixing anything substantial. This won’t work now.</li></ol>

More Cultural Myths In Organizations

Instead of binary solutions that won’t work anymore, leaders need to:<ol><li>Experiment and brainstorm, testing different configurations of work, like a hybrid model, while taking regular feedback.</li><li>Instead of talking about the obstacles, one can focus on possible solutions that are fair and balanced.</li><li>Have fewer meetings.</li><li>Bond with the employees in the real world, not just online.</li></ol>

What Leaders Need To Do

<h2>A new path for leadership is growing out of the decision to work hybrid or in the office. The CEO of Eber Leadership Group says this oversimplification misses the opportunity to evolve company culture.
</h2><figure><picture><source media="(max-width: 40em)"><img width="705" height="396" alt="5 myths culture leaders need to break to move forward" srcset="https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/w_562, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/ar_16:9, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/c_fill, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/g_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/f_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/q_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/fl_lossy/wp-cms/uploads/2021/08/p-1-5-myths-about-culture-leaders-need-to-break-to-move-forward.jpg 562w, https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/w_937, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/ar_16:9, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/c_fill, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/g_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/f_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/q_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/fl_lossy/wp-cms/uploads/2021/08/p-1-5-myths-about-culture-leaders-need-to-break-to-move-forward.jpg 937w, https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/w_1153, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/ar_16:9, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/c_fill, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/g_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/f_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/q_auto, https://www.fastcompany.com/90665827/fl_lossy/wp-cms/uploads/2021/08/p-1-5-myths-about-culture-leaders-need-to-break-to-move-forward.jpg 1153w"></picture></figure><div class="caption">[Source illustration: BOTOBOX/iStock]
</div><div dir="ltr"><cite dir="ltr">By Karen Eber </cite>5 minute Read</div>This past week while recording a podcast, the host asked how I would advise someone trying to challenge their company’s return-to-office plans. It’s a simple question with a complicated answer, which we keep trying to solve in a binary way: either work hybrid or in the office. This oversimplification misses the opportunity to evolve company culture.<div>advertisement</div>Many toddlers have a toy that is a box with openings cut out for different shapes. Circle, square, star, and diamond blocks are to be pushed through each respective opening. Children can spend hours trying to unsuccessfully smash the square through the circle opening before finding the right shape.&nbsp;That feels a bit like the time we are in now. Employees are the blocks and employers keep trying to push them through the openings with their return-to-office plans. Companies assume employees are the same shape they were in February 2020, not recognizing the changes of the past 16 months. Through a transformation of personal and professional values, the shape of their nonnegotiable demands is remarkably different. Trying to force the shape into the wrong opening just doesn’t work.&nbsp;Let’s say you cross paths with a colleague you hadn’t seen in 10 years. You wouldn’t automatically assume they had the same knowledge, skills, experience, and motivation as they did 10 years prior. You would recognize they had evolved and would want to learn about who they are today.&nbsp;<div>advertisement</div>Some employees had many years’ worth of transformation and growth in the past year and a half. Values were sharpened, behaviors refined, and clarity was gained. Yet leaders are making assumptions that employees and teams are the same shape as they were in February 2020 and missing this opportunity to evolve.&nbsp;Both employees and companies are midair between two trapeze bars. Employers are trying to define return-to-office strategies so employees can plan for the months ahead. Employees are looking at their nonnegotiables and defining their point of no return. We’ve released the first trapeze and are in motion towards the second, unable to go backward. There are two options. Try to grab the second trapeze and evolve approaches to work, or experiment with different options, and trust the safety net. Still, many leaders are kicking to turn back and grab the first trapeze bar because of five culture myths.<h2>Myth 1: We can ‘fix’ culture</h2> This makes culture sound like an initiative with an endpoint. Culture continually shifts and is reinforced or discouraged through the actions of each employee. You are never done shaping culture. Healthy cultures are agile enough to make real-time adjustments to support the employee and business outcomes.<div>advertisement</div><h2>Myth 2: Virtual or hybrid work erodes culture or causes the loss of culture</h2>Remote work doesn’t kill company culture. If your culture isn’t working, it is a symptom of larger issues. There were already things not working in your culture before February 2020. You just either didn’t notice or didn’t experience enough discomfort to make changes. They will surface again until you address them.&nbsp;<h2>Myth 3: There is a perfect organizational design</h2>Companies spend millions every year making changes, only to change them back a few years later. Focus less on the design and more on equipping leaders and teams to be agile across a variety of circumstances. There isn’t one perfect working location that will solve all problems. Instilling healthy behaviors of frequent check-in conversations and tools to embrace constructive conflict helps leaders navigate a variety of challenges.<figure><picture><img alt="Fast Company announces details of seventh annual innovation festival" src="https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/wp-cms/uploads/2021/07/poster-fast-company-innovation-festival-annoucement-2021.jpg"></picture></figure>

A new path for leadership is growing out of the decision to work hybrid or in the office. The CEO of Eber Leadership Group says this oversimplification misses the opportunity to evolve company culture.

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This past week while recording a podcast, the host asked how I would advise someone trying to challenge their company’s return-to-office plans. It’s a simple question with a complicated answer, which we keep trying to solve in a binary way: either work hybrid or in the office. This oversimplification misses the opportunity to evolve company culture.

Many toddlers have a toy that is a box with openings cut out for different shapes. Circle, square, star, and diamond blocks are to be pushed through each respective opening. Children can spend hours trying to unsuccessfully smash the square through the circle opening before finding the right shape.

That feels a bit like the time we are in now. Employees are the blocks and employers keep trying to push them through the openings with their return-to-office plans. Companies assume employees are the same shape they were in February 2020, not recognizing the changes of the past 16 months. Through a transformation of personal and professional values, the shape of their nonnegotiable demands is remarkably different. Trying to force the shape into the wrong opening just doesn’t work.

Let’s say you cross paths with a colleague you hadn’t seen in 10 years. You wouldn’t automatically assume they had the same knowledge, skills, experience, and motivation as they did 10 years prior. You would recognize they had evolved and would want to learn about who they are today.

Some employees had many years’ worth of transformation and growth in the past year and a half. Values were sharpened, behaviors refined, and clarity was gained. Yet leaders are making assumptions that employees and teams are the same shape as they were in February 2020 and missing this opportunity to evolve.

Both employees and companies are midair between two trapeze bars. Employers are trying to define return-to-office strategies so employees can plan for the months ahead. Employees are looking at their nonnegotiables and defining their point of no return. We’ve released the first trapeze and are in motion towards the second, unable to go backward. There are two options. Try to grab the second trapeze and evolve approaches to work, or experiment with different options, and trust the safety net. Still, many leaders are kicking to turn back and grab the first trapeze bar because of five culture myths.

This makes culture sound like an initiative with an endpoint. Culture continually shifts and is reinforced or discouraged through the actions of each employee. You are never done shaping culture. Healthy cultures are agile enough to make real-time adjustments to support the employee and business outcomes.

Myth 2: Virtual or hybrid work erodes culture or causes the loss of culture

Remote work doesn’t kill company culture. If your culture isn’t working, it is a symptom of larger issues. There were already things not working in your culture before February 2020. You just either didn’t notice or didn’t experience enough discomfort to make changes. They will surface again until you address them.

Myth 3: There is a perfect organizational design

Companies spend millions every year making changes, only to change them back a few years later. Focus less on the design and more on equipping leaders and teams to be agile across a variety of circumstances. There isn’t one perfect working location that will solve all problems. Instilling healthy behaviors of frequent check-in conversations and tools to embrace constructive conflict helps leaders navigate a variety of challenges.

Myths culture leaders need to break to move forward

Culture Myths That Leaders Need To Wake Up To

More Cultural Myths In Organizations

What Leaders Need To Do

Cayden X.'s ideas are part of this journey:

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