From Conformity to Growth: Why Culture Fitness Prevails Over Culture Fit

To boost innovation and agility in your team hire for culture fitness rather than culture fit

May 21, 2023

If you like my article, feel free to click the ❤️ or 🔄 button so more people can discover it 🙏

A strong workplace culture is dynamic and evolves over time. So, when companies hire for culture fit, they often lean into a perfect ideal, missing ideas that deviate from established norms. This prevents the organization from adapting and evolving in response to external challenges and opportunities.

The paradox is that although culture fit aims to recruit the ideal employee, it fails to attract and retain top talent. Placing excessive emphasis on culture fit can cause teams to overlook highly-qualified candidates who bring valuable skills and capabilities. It can also lead to employees feeling they need to conform or suppress their true selves.

Organizations must strive for a comprehensive approach that emphasizes cultural fitness by embracing diversity, encouraging debate, and fostering learning. Doing so can create a vibrant work culture that promotes innovation and growth.

The Problem with Culture Fit

Culture fit is a term that has been widely used in the hiring process for many years. It generally refers to the alignment between an individual's values and those of an organization. While culture fit may seem like a desirable trait in candidates, it often has some drawbacks.

For instance, relying too heavily on cultural fit can reinforce biases, limit diversity, and hinder organizational innovation and growth. As a result, hiring managers end up relying on gut feelings, their level of comfort with an interviewee, or similarities with existing team members.

Culture fit is the extent to which an individual's values, behaviors, and characteristics align with the prevailing norms of the organization. The problem is that, in most organizations, values have lost their real value, as I wrote in a previous article.

Zappos, known for its emphasis on culture fit, faced allegations of discrimination and intolerance. Its extroverted, "good vibes only" culture backfired. Zappos' heavy reliance on culture fit led to a lack of diversity and limited perspectives.

When hiring for culture fit, several biases can come into play, influencing decision-making processes. Confirmation bias can cause hiring managers to selectively recall candidate information that aligns with their beliefs. They also tend to promote employees who are similar to themselves (affinity bias), resulting in a homogenous culture.

Uber faced criticism and backlash for prioritizing aggressive behavior and hiring and promoting "hustlers" who followed orders without question. Its "Don't ask for permission. Just launch. Hussle." mantra led to a lack of accountability and the perpetuation of a deceitful environment.

Some of the most common issues of hiring for culture fit include:

Limited diversity and inclusion: Overemphasizing culture fit can lead to the exclusion of candidates from diverse backgrounds who may bring unique perspectives, experiences, and ideas. This hinders diversity and inclusion efforts within the organization.
Reinforcement of groupthink: Prioritizing culture fit may create a homogeneous work environment where conformity is valued over diverse viewpoints. Promoting healthy debate, critical thinking, and constructive challenge neutralizes conformity.
Stifled creativity and innovation: Hiring for culture fit alone can result in a lack of diversity of thinking, limiting the potential for creative problem solving. Different perspectives and experiences foster a more innovative and dynamic work culture.
Inhibited growth and adaptability: Focusing solely on culture fit can create resistance to change and new ideas that deviate from established norms. This prevents the organization from adapting and evolving in response to external challenges and opportunities.
Missed opportunities for talent acquisition: Relying heavily on culture fit may cause organizations to overlook highly-qualified candidates who bring valuable skills and capabilities but may not align perfectly with the existing culture. This limits the organization's ability to attract and retain top talent.

Finally, some organizations use the culture-fit concept to discriminate, get rid of "difficult" employees, or avoid giving specific feedback to a candidate who didn't get the position. The phrase "You're not a culture fit" has become a convenient way for organizations to say everything – and nothing – at the same time.

Culture Fitness Is Better for Your Team Culture

"Instead of seeking culture fit, focus on culture add and bring in people who expand your organizational DNA." – Adam Grant

To promote a culture of growth, organizations need to move from "culture fit" to "culture fitness,” as I wrote in my book Stretch for Change.

Although this might feel like a play on words, the difference is anything but subtle. The idea of "culture fit" is pervasive in tribal work cultures, making it harder for newcomers to understand the norms and fit in. Most importantly, if there's something I learned facilitating workshops for decades then it’s that words matter. Organizations use specific concepts that carry deep meaning.

Lazlo Bock, former SVP of People Operations at Google, said, "Culture fit should never be a euphemism for hiring people who look and think like us."

Some companies use the "culture add" concept as an evolution of "culture fit." However, simply adding new talents or perspectives is not enough. Culture fitness is a more comprehensive approach that evaluates an individual's adaptability, growth mindset, and alignment with the organization's purpose. It's more effective for building strong and resilient teams.

Microsoft has adopted a culture fitness approach, focusing on adaptability and a growth mindset. This shift has allowed them to attract diverse talent and promote a culture of continuous learning and innovation – "to innovate like crazy."

Patagonia is also known for its culture fitness approach, seeking individuals with a strong sense of purpose and passion for environmental sustainability and activism. The outdoor company isn't bound by convention. Its success lies in encouraging people to find new ways to do things.

To overcome the limitations of cultural fit, organizations can adopt an approach that focuses on assessing people's adaptability, growth mindset, and ability to thrive in uncertainty. Improving culture fitness helps build stronger, more resilient teams.

Why Culture Fitness is a better option for your team

Alignment and autonomy: Culture fitness doesn't expect everyone to think or behave the same. It's about finding the right balance between alignment and autonomy. Culture fitness seeks alignment on the long-term purpose but provides freedom for people to decide how to get there.
Adaptability and Resilience: Culture fitness emphasizes the ability to adapt and thrive in a changing environment. It seeks individuals who can navigate ambiguity, embrace diversity, and contribute to the evolution of the organizational culture.
Integration and Cohesion: While "culture add" brings in diverse talents, culture fitness ensures that these individuals can effectively integrate into the existing culture. It fosters cohesion, collaboration, and shared values among team members.
Long-Term Cultural Impact: Culture fitness focuses on individuals who not only align with the existing culture but also have the potential to positively shape and grow it. Workplace culture shapes employees, and employees also shape the workplace culture.
Engagement and Retention: By prioritizing culture fitness, organizations create an environment of belonging and growth. Employees are more likely to be engaged and committed as they're expected to contribute to improving the organization and not just recite toxic mantras.

Culture Fitness: How to Move from Conformity to Growth

"Culture fitness means building a team of individuals who can thrive in ambiguity, adapt to change, and bring fresh insights to solve complex problems." - Francesca Gino

Here are ten recommendations for organizations and leaders to focus on seeking culture fitness rather than culture fit.

1. Embrace learning and growth

Foster a culture that encourages employees to embrace a growth mindset by celebrating mistakes as opportunities for learning and improvement. Encourage experimentation, innovation, and risk-taking. Create an environment where employees can take on challenges, adapt to change, and continually enhance their skills and knowledge.

2. Cultivate courageous conversations

Promote open and honest debate, encouraging employees to express diverse viewpoints and challenge assumptions. Leaders should actively listen, accept different perspectives, and encourage employees to voice their ideas, concerns, and feedback without fear of reprisal.

3. Expand your hiring pool

Actively seek employee referrals from diverse networks to increase the number of candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. Expand job descriptions beyond specific skills and experiences. Instead of solely relying on formal education as a requirement, consider alternative pathways that showcase a candidate's ability to learn and adapt.

4. Provide remote and flexible work options

Embrace remote work and flexible work arrangements to attract a broader range of candidates, including those from different geographical locations and with varying personal circumstances like parents or caregivers. Flexible work arrangements dramatically increase diversity in every sense, as I explained in my book Remote, Not Distant.

5. Make it easier to fit in

Design an onboarding experience that encourages people to be themselves rather than accommodate rigid standards. Onboarding buddies should be selected to create a friendly first experience and the right connection between both people who are similar and complimentary. Provide mentorship and resources to support cultural integration.

6. Overcome Leadership Bias

Unconscious biases play a key role in hiring and promotion, often getting in the way of making fair decisions. Provide self-awareness training and unconscious bias coaching. Encourage leaders to surround themselves with people that can challenge their default views. For instance, a diverse panel that includes individuals from various backgrounds and perspectives can help neutralize biases when hiring or promoting employees.

7. Encourage cross-functional collaboration

Creating opportunities for employees to participate in diverse teams and engage with colleagues from different departments or backgrounds can broaden their perspectives. By breaking down silos and encouraging collaboration, employees can gain new insights. Additionally, this can lead to increased innovation and creativity as employees bring different skills and experiences to the table.

Culture Fitness – Conclusion

While culture fit may seem like a desirable trait in candidates, you need to consider the potential drawbacks of relying too heavily on it. The concept of culture fitness offers a more holistic approach. By assessing candidates based on their adaptability, growth mindset, and ability to thrive in diverse environments, your organization can foster diversity, drive innovation, and achieve better business outcomes.

By challenging common business and hiring practices, you can break free from traditional constraints. Open up opportunities for diverse perspectives, encourage healthy debates, and foster an inclusive workplace to increase culture fitness.

If you’re wondering how I can help your team, book a free call with me to discuss your specific challenge.

Book a Free Call

Thank you for reading! The Fearless Culture newsletter comes out every Sunday – you can help keep it coming by becoming a paid subscriber, buying one of my books, forwarding the newsletter to a friend, or even just clicking the “like” button below. 😊