Whales can teach us a lot about culture. I was watching a documentary about different whale species on Disney+, which is what you do when trying to assess whether to keep a streaming subscription, and I witnessed something very human: culture.
Behavior, Intent, & Culture
Shane Gero, a scientist who studies whales, notes, “’Behavior’ is what we do, and ‘culture’ is how we do it. For example, most humans eat food with utensils. That would be behavior, but whether you use knives and forks, or chopsticks, that would be culture. This is what we see in whales! They are passing on that knowledge to their offspring. They are passing on their ancestral traditions. We also see they have personality, they exhibit emotion, they share joy, they share grief, they play games.”
I would argue there is a third, very important element to this: intent. With whales, the intent is clearly of love, survival, to reproduce, even grief and joy. With humans, particularly in workplace settings, intent is the difference between misery and fulfillment, of mistreatment and belonging. Culture is a hot word for marketing a company’s appeal: “We value culture — we have a ping pong table!” or “Here at Big Industry, Inc., we treat everyone like family.” Meanwhile, the ping pong table collects dust while management actively makes their employees feel small, undervalued, or inferior.
So, a behavior could be meetings. How you do it could be, “Let’s have a check-in with lunch every week!” But, the intent could be ‘I’m really going to passive aggressively or just… aggressively intimidate this person, letting them know they are being micromanaged and watched.’ Whereas the intent on the other end of the spectrum could be, ‘I want this person to feel seen, valued for their time, talent, for who they are as a person, and welcomed!’ This single behavior could be given an overbearing intent, used for intimidation, but if the intention is real and authentic, then the culture will reflect that honest intent and will continue to flourish.
Culture: Remote vs. In-Person
A culture’s intent is formed by the people who make up that culture, and what those people truly value forms a culture that translates through virtual spaces–I have had an overwhelmingly positive experience with people I work with virtually, because they are good people with the intent of inclusion, understanding and truly valuing a person and their life. I have had unbearably negative experiences with people I worked with in person because they cultivated a toxic, menial, stress-inducing culture, disregarding people’s most basic level of value, their wants and needs.
Simply spending time together does not create a culture. In the worst case scenario, sharing a space in which people are uncomfortable or stressed can exacerbate tough situations and lead to a severe decline in employee engagement, a drop in productivity, and free-falling employee churn. In the best case scenario, of course, common space can be a catalyst for new and exciting opportunities as colleagues bounce ideas off of each other and amplify each others’ energy.
Likewise, spending time apart does not mean that culture withers. Yes, in the worst case scenario, remote operations could mean poor communication, decreased productivity, and spiraling engagement. On the flip side, though, fully or partially remote operations can allow employees to take the physical and mental space they need to work independently while regularly connecting with colleagues to collaborate. Technology enables virtually seamless collaboration, and regular online pulse checks can make it easy to keep up with the sentiment of your employees– wherever they are
Show Me The Culture!
Culture is everything. It should never be treated like a product to be sold but as people really connecting. It’s like if a person touted their ability to rank highly on an emotional intelligence test; a person with real empathy, understanding, and ability to relate to others would not quantify it or make it a test score. Beyond measuring EQ, we need to see it in practice — leading a team, growing a company, and building a culture.
When you’re interviewing for a new job, do all you can to really understand the organization’s true culture — not just the PR on the website. Does this company have vision and values — and do these ideas actually translate to day to day operations? While every company wants to look their best while you’re interviewing, take a critical approach to ensure that the culture still looks good when — and if — you decide to join.
In workplaces, in life, and with whales, what you do and how you do it is equally as important as the meaning behind it. Nothing fishy here: Whether you and your pod are into hunting stingrays or building widgets, it’s behavior and intent that build your culture organically. Nobody — employees or customers — wants to dive deep into murky water. If you’re navigating questionable culture, it might be time to rock the boat, abandon ship, or chart a new course completely.