Culture - What Does That Mean at TWB?
Culture, what is it? What does it mean? And how does an organization working in multiple countries, like The Women’s Bakery, build a culture that bridges the gap between very different backgrounds, socio-economics statuses, religions, ethnicities, etc.?
In graduate school I often heard the questions: “What is culture? What does it mean? How do you define it? Does America have it?” Interviewing and onboarding with The Women’s Bakery it is a word I have been hearing often again. So what is it? What does it mean? And how does an organization working in multiple countries, like The Women’s Bakery, build a culture that bridges the gap between very different backgrounds, socio-economics statuses, religions, ethnicities, etc.?
Merriam Webster gives it multiple definitions. For the purpose of this article, I am working from the premise that culture is “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization”. When you put it this way, to me it seems The Women’s Bakery has this down pat.
But, what does that mean? What are those shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices? In my first couple of weeks with The Women’s Bakery, I have seen those beliefs as striving for gender equality, women’s empowerment, personal and professional growth opportunities for all employees, accountability to each other and to the greater good, and a determination to meet each day with grit and grace.
How does that translate across countries, time zones, and languages? Good question! So far, I am experiencing that as lots of Facetime, lots of question asking and asking people to repeat things, and plenty of slowing down to ensure that each woman’s voice is heard. It is my humble opinion, that culture is where the rubber meets the road. It is the place where mission and meaning meet. To say TWB builds bakeries that sustainably employ women and enhance community nutrition is one thing. To build bakeries that sustainably employ women and enhance community nutrition with integrity and women’s involvement is an entirely different thing. This last thing is truly what culture is about.
Building the Plane
We are truly the experts in the nitty gritty. We are the pilots who never lack the investment or zeal to see the manufacturing of this beast through. We bust through barriers on a daily basis as we seek to build around the details that unfold. We adapt, innovate, and lead together
At The Women’s Bakery, I work with an incredible team of individuals. Singular people represent entire departments of our business, from Human Resources to Finance to IT to Logistics and Operations, launching and supporting bakeries all over East Africa.
Many of you may have heard the expression “building the plane as you fly it.” I, quite frankly, could suggest that that expresssion sums up a large majority of my daily experiences at The Women’s Bakery in Kigali, Rwanda. As the Program Manager for our Kigali Flagship Bakery and Café, I, along with our renaissance team, have been building our plane as we go. From design and menu to operations systems, accounting systems, inventory systems, customer care manuals and standards, health intervention policies, protocol for working with other businesses, tour packages, the list continues for days as to the elements of our Flagship plane that we continue to grow, expand and invest in.
It’s really quite an exciting time to be a part of The Women’s Bakery. Our goals right now include focusing on proving our model and reaching profitability at all of the bakeries we own. It’s seemingly an ever chagning target with one very real win in mind—to provide truly sustainable, gainful employment for women. Bakeries are our medium, good business is our standard, and women’s empowerment is our end game. But that takes time, resources, management, skills transfer, systems, cashflows—the extent of which I might say has surprised us all.
But here’s the best silver lining there is—by building the plane as we fly it, we get to build the best darn businesses possible as well as develop and advance our own professional skills. We are truly the experts in the nitty gritty. We are the pilots who never lack the investment or zeal to see the manufacturing of this beast through. We bust through barriers on a daily basis as we seek to build around the details that unfold. We adapt, innovate, and lead together. As we climb in altitude, we are confident that an entire team of women (and men) will fly in the sleekest, cutting edge plane on the market, bursting through the clouds with resilience and pride.
Entrepreneurship requires grit, courage and patience. As a business, we must continue to build, even when we can’t find the parts or the entire model shifts (plane, business, or otherwise).
What is your #breadpower? What social impact are you passionate about that requires you to build your own plane?
Let the women of The Women’s Bakery inspire you—it can be done. It is being done. We may not have always been experts in plane (or bakery) building, but our team has worked hard in creating the plane you see today. It’s a journey none of us may have expected, but here we are flying in it.
Where will your plane take you?
TWB Rwanda's 2nd Annual Team Retreat
The main purpose of the retreat was to review how 2017 went what we want 2018 to look like. This was achieved through presentations on organizational culture, alignment, project reports, and updates on marketing plans, curriculum updates, and model adaptations.
written by TWB Operations Intern, Martha Mukakalisa
On the 24th of January, The Women’s Bakery team in Rwanda held our annual retreat in Gisenyi (Rubavu District).
All together, we were a team of 12, all as staff and interns working with The Women’s Bakery. We had the added benefit of also having the founder of TWB (Markey Culver) and co-founder (Julie Greene), too.
The main purpose of the retreat was to review how 2017 went what we want 2018 to look like. This was achieved through presentations on organizational culture, alignment, project reports, and updates on marketing plans, curriculum updates, and model adaptations.
During the retreat conversations and sessions, we were sure to always come back to the overall mission and vision of our organization: TWB exists to create access to education to ensure sustainable gainful, employment for women, and for improved health for the women (as well as the communities in which we work).
We also had time to build relationships on the through playing some engaging games, providing feedback to one another, and of course, sharing food together. Aime, our Training Manager, led many of these team-building sessions, and with 12 people, it was a great way to enhance camaraderie on our team.
At the end of the retreat we revisited the mission and the vision of TWB as well as the goals of 2018.
The goals of 2018 are big: to bring the existing bakeries to breakeven and profitability, to test the proposed model for success at Gicumbi (the new bakery), and to ensure that the bakeries consistently produce and sell high quality and nutritious products.
