• Agile Transformation

What actually keeps us together here?

What makes people stay when things chafe? Why do some pull together during tough times, while others drop out? In this fifth blog of the series on corporate culture, we dive into the invisible force that determines whether an organization feels like a whole. Or as separate islands.

Picture this. The MT has just made a tough decision. A strategic change of direction. Of course, not everyone agrees right away. So in the following week, you see it happen. Some people seek each other out, engage in conversation. Others pull back. And, there is some careful grumbling at the coffee machine. Oh yes, secretly a few colleagues are already thinking: this is no longer my place. It is at moments like these that we see what really keeps us together.

In the earlier blogs in this culture series, we examined “How do we lead here?” and “How do we work together here? These are important questions. They make more visible what we do (or can do) in what ways. But underneath that behavior is something deeper. An invisible force that determines why we do what we do and why, above all, we continue to do it together. I call that force organizational glue.

Invisible power

Some organizations feel like a whole. Others as separate islands that happen to bear the same company name. The difference is often not in structure or strategy, but in something more subtle: that organizational glue.

Organizational glue is that which makes people feel connected to the organization. And with each other. So what keeps us together, especially when things get tense. Not because we have to, but because it feels that way. You don’t see it directly in organizational charts or job profiles. You notice it in what people do when something chafes:

• Will they stay?
• Do they engage in conversation?
• Or are they retreating?

Organizational glue arises from shared beliefs, habits and unwritten rules. It is the reason why people put in extra effort. Or, conversely, drop out. In a previous blog, we asked: how does it actually feel here? That feeling is no accident. It is an expression of that underlying glue.

Common goals are not enough

I have long thought that shared goals keep people together. And don’t get me wrong: shared goals help. They give direction and focus. But they are not enough. What really binds people together is what they find normal together. What they fall back on when things get tense. That’s where the real glue is. And that glue can take different forms.

Four forms of organizational glue

No one form is right or wrong. But each form affects how you work together as well as how you change.

1. Innovate & discover
Here the glue is in the belief in innovation. In creating something new together. In experimenting, pioneering, learning. That works as long as the energy remains high and there is room for discovery.

Reflection questions: What happens if the experiment fails? Do we then continue to learn together? Or do we look for culprits?

2. Performing & winning
This is where the glue is in results. In success. In achieving goals together. That connects, as long as it succeeds.

Reflection Questions: What keeps us together when the going gets tough? Does the connection hold when the numbers turn red?

3. Managing & securing
Here the glue is in clear agreements and reliability. People know what they need from each other. Structure provides a foothold.

Reflection Questions: Does this connect us? Or does it mainly hold us? Does it help us move forward? Or does it mostly protect what we have built?

4. Collaborate & connect
This is where the glue is in relationships. In caring for each other. In safety and trust. That often feels warm and people-oriented.

Reflection questions: What happens to that connection when choices hurt? Do we remain honest with each other? Even when it hurts?

What will be your next step?

If you’re reading this, chances are that by now you already have some sense of which form of organizational glue is dominant with you. Maybe also what that produces. And maybe also where it starts to rub off.

Yet, it is quite difficult to change anything there. Because, what holds us together is often exactly what we instinctively protect. And that’s understandable. Because that organizational glue provides grip, identity and connection. But therein lies the very reason why change sometimes feels so tough: not because people don’t want to, but because they guard what is valuable to them.

So the real question is not what binds us, but whether what binds us also helps us move forward. As soon as you make that visible, it creates space for a different conversation, which I also like to have with you. Not about pushing harder, but about making more conscious choices. Because you don’t change culture by forcing it. You can by understanding what keeps you together. And what you want to strengthen, let go of or add.