What are CultureGhosts in the workplace?

Introduction to CultureGhosts

The CultureGhost is an accumulation of the employee's past workplace experiences causing problems for those wishing to create change within the organization. For example, organization XYZ received a new manager in the mail room. The new manager is a stickler about employee's taking 15 minute breaks mid-morning (10am) and mid-afternoon (3pm). However, the employees learned and accepted from their past manager that breaks may be taken or not taken at their leisure. Thus, when told to take scheduled breaks as directed by the new manager, the employees complained and/or refused.

The new manager has a problem. This break issue can go one of two ways (1) employees continue to refuse and undermine the authority of the new manager, or (2) he forces the employees to take their breaks leading to continued resentment of him and his leadership. So, how does the new manager help the CultureGhost's created by the old manager crossover and willingly accept his new leadership? How can the new manager create a relationship between he and his "CultureGhosts" allowing them to move away from the culture created by the old manager, thus become members of his new culture? To obtain answers to these questions, we need further understanding of what CultureGhosts are and are not.

CultureGhost defined.

The term CultureGhost used in this blog  does not imply that they are spiritual beings. For our purposes, as agents of change in the workplace, we use CultureGhost to refer to the cumulative experiences of those at work in the organization. However, there are some similarities between CultureGhost and the traditional term - ghost. CultureGhosts cannot be removed or destroyed, even if a person is fired or leaves the organization, that CultureGhost can travel with that person to their next place of employment. Additionally, a similarity between CultureGhosts and traditional ghosts is why they exist (as detailed in some traditions). For example, one popular reason a traditional ghost exists is because they have "unfinished business" or an "unwillingness to move on".  CultureGhosts are much the same in this regard where employees refuse to let go of past leadership principles or processes, therefore, causing disruption to potential change in the workplace.

Further Research Needed

The ultimate question becomes, how can the manager in our earlier story help his CultureGhosts (employees) crossover from holding onto their past experiences and willingly accept his new management style. That is the reason for this blog! We as members in the work force must learn how culture in the workplace works, and how to create change that is both mutually beneficial to the employee and leadership. This blog is a journey or exploration. What are your experiences with this topic in the workplace? How have you learned to adapt and accept change? Maybe you are a CultureGhost refusing to change - why? What is holding you back? Please share your experiences.

What is CultureGhost Research?

CultureGhost Research is dedicated to the exploration of how to guide cultural change in the workplace. Culture ghosts haunt most organizations. However, culture ghosts are NOT spiritual beings; they are the accumulation of past experiences held by the employee in the workplace. Therefore, culture ghosts are cerebral apparitions (often tied to emotions) of leadership and processes from the organization's past. One telltale sign of the presence of the Culture Ghost is when one hears the phrase, “that is the way we have always done it here”. The goal of CultureGhost Research is to help those cerebral apparitions cross over to the new culture of the organization.