Why do different teams within the same organization have wildly different cultures?

<p>This is a question that HR professionals talk about over cocktails at conferences. If culture is a top down thing, how can teams that have the same top leadership have such different team cultures?</p> <p> </p> <p>Diane Helbig suggested that cultural change might be top down but mostly culture starts at the bottom. The people who are in the room together everyday decide what the culture will be. From there it is about whether leadership is effective or not.</p> <p> </p> <p>Coach M J Tolan agreed that it is about leadership but having worked with teams all over the world, he believes that sometimes you have to bring someone in who might not be a great fit just to shake things up.</p> <p> </p> <p>For me, culture is about who has the power on the time. I often tell leaders (business leaders and athletic coaches), If you don’t create a culture on purpose you will likely end up with one you don’t like.</p> <p> </p> <p>Glady Baradaran helped us understand how to get teams with very different cultures to work together by having them start by understand what the other does and how their work impacts the other. Only then can you consider integrating the cultures.</p> <p> </p> <p>Do you think team culture is top down or bottom up and what causes it to be so different across organizations?</p> <p> </p> <p>Connect with the panelists: Glady Baradaran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glady-baradaran-msc-od-6238071a/</p> <p>15 years of HR experience and a love for organizational development. Based in Canada.</p> <p> </p> <p>Coach M J Tolan: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/motivationalspeakertolan/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/motivationalspeakertolan/</a></p> <p>Speaker, author and entrepreneur with 35 years experience. He has lived in 12 countries and is the host of the podcast Mission I’m Possible.</p> <p> </p> <p>Diane Helbig: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhelbig/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhelbig/</a></p> <p>Is the founder of Helbig Enterprises where they serve business owners and professionals who want to re