Why You Should Change Your Organization’s DNA—And How To Get Started

Organizations frequently talk about their DNA. In most cases, the metaphor is used as shorthand to describe their core values. Sometimes, there is also an assumption that what’s in an organization’s DNA is inherent, unchangeable and even worth fighting to preserve. So what happens when your organization’s DNA conflicts with the desire to build a new and more inclusive workplace?

Understanding Your Organization’s DNA

As Mark Bonchek observed in a 2016 Harvard Business Review article, while DNA may be a helpful way to describe what makes an organization unique, the metaphor has at least two troubling implications. First, DNA is formed at conception. Second, it doesn’t change over the life of an organism. Applied to organizations, DNA may refer to what makes an organization unique or to what makes an organization unchangeable. Still, Bonchek argues the metaphor may still be helpful, but only if you drill down further.

In biology, an individual’s genotype refers to their unique sequence of DNA, while their phenotype is a detectable expression of this genotype (e.g., something one can see or measure). Unlike one’s genotype, one’s phenotype can change based on the environment. This is called phenotypic plasticity. This explains why two identical twins who share the same genotype but end up growing up in different environments may exhibit different physical features (e.g., factors in their environment, including access to nutrition, may affect their maximum height).

Bonchek argues that much like living organisms, the DNA of organizations may not be quite as unchangeable as assumed. On the one hand, all organizations have a unique DNA, which can be traced back to the organization’s founding moment. On the other hand, an organization’s DNA can change, but only when exposed to new environments or the right type of stimuli.

Changing Your Organization’s DNA

Diversity, equity and inclusion must be embedded in an organization’s DNA to take hold. Starting at the top and cascading through to the organization’s front lines, there must be an understanding of what DEI means to the organization, why it matters and what individuals can do to diminish bias and assumptions that undermine the role of women, visible minorities and members of other minorities in the workplace. It needs to become a way of operating as opposed to being treated as a special initiative. Changing your organization’s DNA is arguably also a process that is ongoing. Here's how you can get started:

1. Identify your organization’s DNA. To begin, engage people in reflecting on the organization’s founding story. Look at some of the founding documents. The older your organization, the more challenging it may be to get to the truth of your organization’s origins. As employees gather a sense of the organization’s history, reflect on who was there when the company was founded and who was absent. Also, identify the “why” that drove the organization’s founding.

2. Assess your organization’s readiness for change. Gauging all stakeholders' perspectives, assess whether your organization is ready to change, and identify where the greatest stimulus may be needed to drive change.

3. Collectively redefine your organization’s DNA. While not an easy task, defining what you want your DNA to look like is essential. Be curious and bold in envisioning the desired DNA for your organization.

4. Stimulate change. In the natural world, phenotypic plasticity is witnessed when living organisms are subjected to different temperatures, diets and even parasites. The challenge for organizations is to identify how to stimulate change. For example, if your goal is to alter your DNA to build an organization where there are more women employees and more women in leadership roles, reflect on what might help drive this change. Would having one or more women in high-profile C-suite positions stimulate this change? If so, what else might need to change? Given that traces of an organization’s DNA can be found in everything from recruitment policies to the activities an organization engages in for fun at off-site events, it is important to question every policy, practice and assumption.

In nature, phenotypic plasticity usually only shows up over long periods of time. Still, in rare cases, these changes can take place in days and even minutes. The same holds true for organizations. If you want to change your organization’s DNA, expect to be in it for the long haul, but don’t rule out some quick gains. With the right stimulus, you may discover that your organization’s DNA is more changeable than imagined.