Corporate culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors within a company that shape how employees make decisions and interact with others. Understanding corporate culture is critical to communicating more effectively, reducing conflicts and choosing actions that align with your company’s priorities.

During an AFP Member Meet-Up, Gayle Abbott, CEO of Strategic Alignment Partners Inc., shared a practical five-part framework for thriving in your work environment.

1. Analyze

Start by familiarizing yourself with your company’s stated values and observing them in action. Ask yourself which values matter the most in practice (i.e., get rewarded), and which ones are non-negotiable.

“One organization I work with has seven stated values,” Abbott said. “Of the seven, there are two that are absolutely critical. If you are aligned with those two, you will do very well in that culture. As for the rest, if you're aligned, great, but if not, it's not the end of the world.”

To understand what a company’s culture is like in practice, Abbott recommends observing the behavior of key leaders, the ones with the real power in the company. Sometimes, there is a gap between an organization’s stated values and the priorities and actions of the leadership team.

Another thing to identify is which cultural lens the company leans toward:

• Intrinsic: Focused on people, the uniqueness of each individual, the customer, and building relationships and making connections.
• Extrinsic: Focused on practical tasks, goals, results and solving problems.
• Systemic: Focused on rules, structure, systems and knowledge.

“If an organization is functioning at its highest possible level, it will be able to look through all three lenses while knowing the lens to apply to different situations,” Abbott said. That being said, many organizations have a leaning toward one or two.

2. Connect and Learn

The second step is to connect and learn with intention and curiosity. To illustrate, Abbott shared the story of a CFO-turned-COO who credits part of his success with reaching out to people and asking questions to get to know them, what they do and how they contribute. By getting to know the organization and the people within it, he gained insights that made him more effective at his job and, ultimately, the knowledge and skills to become COO.

For many, especially those who are introverts, analytically minded or neurodivergent, reaching out to people doesn’t come easily. Abbott explained that this resistance is based in fear — in other words, based on our perception of situations and not grounded in reality.

“Fear is just False Evidence Appearing Real,” she said. “We tell ourselves stories like ‘they won’t want to talk to me’ or ‘this will be uncomfortable.’ But you’d be surprised how many people are just waiting to be seen and heard. Just be sensitive to the timing.

“If we really want to thrive in our culture, we need to become known in our culture, build connections and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

Some practical advice from Abbott:

• Take baby steps — start by smiling and saying hello. Then, next time you see the person, follow up with, “I’d love to learn more about what you do. When would be a good time for us to talk?”
• Talk to people outside your comfort zone or team.
• Observe without judgment; learn to read people.

“When you have courage,” she added, “you get to do so much more.”

3. Reflect

Now it’s time to turn the lens inward. Self-reflection helps you understand how you align with your company culture.

“Ask yourself: Who am I? What lens do I look through? How do I align with this culture? What drives me?” said Abbott. “Once you know that, look at your organization objectively to identify the gaps and figure out where the differences and opportunities are.”

Journaling, feedback and assessment tools can be helpful methods for reflection. “It’s hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle,” added Bryan Lapidus, Director of FP&A Practice at AFP, “so enlist other people to help you reflect on what you are seeing and feeling.”

4. Adapt

How do you reconcile the idea of bringing your whole self to work with adapting to a company? If you choose to work within an organization, you don’t work in a vacuum, and it becomes essential to engage with colleagues who possess their own perspectives, experiences and motivations based on their background. Abbott explained that adapting isn’t about changing who you are — it’s about leveraging your innate strengths while adapting situationally to build better connections and have a greater impact.

“You want to be heard and have an impact, then you have to figure out how to adapt to meet their needs,” said Abbott. “You’re still you; you’re just adapting for that interaction.”

For example:

• If you’re speaking to a top executive who looks through the lens of strategy and people, talk to them about how what you’re proposing will help the people engage with achieving the strategy.
• If you’re meeting with someone who’s a people connector, you may need to make a bit of small talk first.
• If you’re speaking with someone who is all about facts and data, then just give them the bottom line.

“Communication is not just one level,” she said. “It’s how the person is listening. It’s figuring out the lens they’re looking through, and deciding how you can adapt so they can hear your message.”

5. Grow

To grow is to seek opportunities — even the ones you’re not comfortable with. For example, if someone asks you to run an analysis you’ve never done before, you can either say, “No, I don’t know how to do it,” or you can say, “Yes,” and figure out how to do it. Those who take advantage of opportunities, solve problems and overcome challenges are the ones who tend to rise to the top.

Abbott also advised to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” and be careful not to exit a tough culture too quickly. “If you don't understand yourself or the organization objectively, you may be running away instead of running toward,” she said. “And sometimes we find ourselves in environments and cultures because we're meant to learn something.”

Not every culture will be the right one for the long haul. But before you move on, ask yourself two questions: 1) What am I meant to learn here? 2) What can I practice or try before I leave?

Because sometimes, the discomfort isn’t a sign to leave — it’s an opportunity to grow.