(noun) A distinctive culture shared by a small group that is often based on location or within an organization.
127 Micro-Cultures: How to Build and Lead Them in a Changing Environment

At its core, organizational culture is the “glue” that binds together people, systems, values, norms, behaviors, attitudes, and everything that comprises the uniqueness of an enterprise. In its simplest form, culture is “the way we do things around here”. In large organizations, very few leaders can influence the whole culture. Instead, most leaders can directly or indirectly make a positive difference on smaller groups or departments within the whole. These are called micro-cultures.

This session will explore how leaders can use their spheres of influence and build healthy and high-performance sub-cultures, even within large organizations that struggle with toxic or sub-optimal cultures. The course will engage students in dialogue, small group exercises and activities in learning about leadership in today’s rapidly changing environment.

Instructor: Carol Geffner, Ph.D., was previously the Professor of the Practice of Governance, Management and Policy at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy and Director of the Executive Master of Leadership Program. She currently is the President of CB Vision Consultants, LLC, a national management consulting and executive coaching firm.