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A common approach to answering this question is to seek employees’ views on the ‘ideal’ culture. Whilst employees’ views are useful, 'ideal’ should be driven primarily by an understanding of the key behaviours (at every level) that will enable your strategic goals and priorities. For instance, for strategies hinging strongly on
innovation require a culture that encourages constructive challenge, a growth mindset, learning from setbacks and psychological safety. Identifying the key mindsets, skillsets and ways of operating that will enable your strategy requires a strong understanding of organisational psychology, and the types of behaviours that evidence shows tend to predict the outcomes you desire, whether that be growth, innovation, differentiation or cost reduction.
Different strategies also bring with them different inherent tensions which must be managed, without the right tension balance, strategic progress will falter. Culture determines the tension balance, and sometimes it takes a shift in emphasis within culture to become unstuck.
Once you have identified the key behaviours needed to be prevalent within the culture for it to be enabling of the strategy, the next step is to identify the extent to which they are currently reflected in “how we do things around here”. Vertical alignment refers to alignment from top to bottom, using the cultural iceberg analogy. This means that surface elements such as those espoused in the vision, values, strategy, policies and formal processes are mirrored in the behaviours seen day-to-day, and the genuine values and beliefs that drive these behaviours.
Many organisations are accused of having "toxic cultures" despite having admirable values and best-practice policies. How can leaders avoid a blinkered view of their culture? Relying on a superficial audit often leads to a false impression, as beliefs and attitudes don’t always reflect real behaviour—just as knowing junk food is bad doesn’t stop us from eating it. For example, do colleagues claim inclusivity but ignore minority voices? Do they promote innovation while demanding fail-safe results? Leaders must dig deeper—compare attitudes with actual behaviours to truly understand how things are done.
Using our Organisational Culture Truth Teller© tool, we can help organisations to go beneath the surface, generating truthful, candid feedback about “how we do things around here” to build transparency, spark ongoing conversations, promote organisational awareness and initiate cultural evolution. Truth Teller© not only asks people what they think about the culture, but also hones in on what they see.
It is also essential to get an accurate picture of the types of behaviours that leaders and teams are demonstrating, in practice. Using a range of interesting approaches, this can provide robust insights regarding to what extent your leaders and other key individuals are likely to demonstrate the behaviours that are critical anchors for the type of culture you’d like, in their day-to-day realities. This includes our ‘Making it Real’ simulation and bespoke development centres, which provide a gauge on current strengths and development areas in relation to the key behaviours, whilst simultaneously developing leaders in a very practical and inspiring way.
We can also look at alignment in terms of personality, using validated tools such as Facet5, and other important qualities, which shape culture. Psychometric assessments provide a scientific lens to evaluate personality and emotional intelligence, which are valuable in helping leaders to see, more objectively, how their style and approach influences those around them, and contributes towards shaping the culture. When these insights are provided across a large number of leaders and teams, it provides invaluable insights in planning development activities, culture change initiatives and/or building a comprehensive picture of the leadership group.
To find out more, download our brand-new eBook 'Culture at Breaking Point'.
