The One Question You Should Ask About Every New Job

The New York Times:

TWO years ago, a student of mine named Nicole was torn on where to start her career. While applying for jobs in finance, technology, consulting and marketing, she suddenly realized that her biggest concern wasn’t what she did, but where she worked.

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The other three stories are “Will the Organization Help Me When I Have to Move?” “What Happens When a Boss Is Caught Breaking a Rule?” and “How Will the Organization Deal With Obstacles?” They’re all concerned with the same three issues. If people are supported when they relocate, leaders follow the same rules as everyone else, and everyone takes initiative to solve problems quickly, we don’t worry as much that the organization is unfair, that we’ll lose our jobs for blowing the whistle, or that no one will join us if we try to change the culture.

Of course, it’s true that some elements of cultures are unique, but those are the least important parts. The M.I.T. professor Edgar H. Schein observes that the most visible parts of an organization’s culture are the artifacts and practices — how people talk, look and act. There are lots of organizations where people laugh at unique jokes, speak in unusual jargon, decorate their office spaces in unconventional ways, or have funky rules and norms. But the more defining parts of a culture are its values. Values are the principles people say are important and, more crucially, the principles people show are important through their actions.

Read the whole story: The New York Times