Building and sustaining a culture with a mindset for disruptive performance : a case-study from Bispevika Norway

​In this case study from the building industry we present a framework for, and experiences with building and sustaining an organizational culture to create teams with a collaborative mindset for disruptive performance driven by extraordinary ambitions. It demonstrates that it is possible to develop a culture and mindset for success by actively combining concepts from social anthropology and team- and performance leadership.

This is achieved by developing a cultural mythology; creating rituals for learning, developing, sharing and coordinating mindset; connecting collective and personal goals using personal goal plans; managing mindset using mindset map and digital organization charts. The study also shows that developing organizational culture cannot only be approached as a method with structured set of rules to follow. It also needs to be acknowledged as form of craft provided by a combination of experienced leadership highly skilled in enterprise- and team development where the motivation to change is fueled by extraordinary ambitions of disruption. Last, the leaders must commit and reinvest in sustaining the culture both in economic and emotional terms.

Here transparency is required, and this must be done regularly to maintain a high level of trust among all the members of the organization, so all the people can be active in developing and impacting their own culture – there is no room for bystanders.