Culture survey
Christine Whitney Sanchez
milagro27 at cox.net
Sun Jul 17 09:41:00 PDT 2005
Re: Culture surveyHi Jack! Thanks for these questions. They will be great
additions to the library of questions for the Strategy Cafes at the Girl
Scout Convention, especially the one focused on culture.
Hot, hot, hot (but of course, it's a dry 115 degrees) greetings from Phoenix
Christine
Christine Whitney Sanchez
Triune Milagro, LTD
480.759.0262
VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.triunemilagro.com
Invoking the wisdom and capacity of the human spirit!
-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Jack
Ricchiuto
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 7:43 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Culture survey
Here are some questions I think your client and the select group of folks
included in the conversation should consider some are better than others,
all are valid.
Who else should be in the conversation about culture?
What matters most to us about the culture of this organization?
What do we believe about the role of culture in the success of the
organization and its stakeholders?
Why are we talking about culture?
Whats going well in the culture now and whos talking about that?
If we werent talking about culture, what else would we want to talk
about?
Do people in the organization feel like their strengths are engaged in
their work?
Do people feel like their work aligns with their passions and dreams?
Do they feel like the organization inspires passion and dreams?
What does it feel like to be a part of this organization?
Jack
On 7/17/05 9:50 AM, "Esther Ewing" <EwingChange at aol.com> wrote:
Harrison and others;
I imagine that I was not entirely clear about my needs. In fact, while I
need the elements of a culture survey (i.e. what kinds of continua would you
put in one) I and my client have no intention of actually surveying. Rather,
it is a talking point for facilitated conversations that one of my clients
needs (with my help) to have with some others of the internal folks. So I'm
not really setting out to do a big complicated culture survey. I'm trying to
arm my client with some of the elements they need to consider which is why I
posted to the list. I hoped that I would get some elements suggested by the
list members.
Thanks
Esther
Esther -- Truth to tell, I am not much of a survey person. Probably
emotional immaturity on my part, but in most cases I find it gives me
information I (they) already knew or information that was interesting but
basically irrelevant. And then of course there is the matter of time and
expense. I think it (the survey) may also just set you up for failure when
it comes to making some useful and needed change. What I have in mind here
is the fact that most surveys I have seen give you results in bits and
pieces, where as culture is always a "whole." Specifically, I remember one
massive survey done in a massive organization -- which after many months
and mucho bucks came up with the finding that, "We are a culture of
secrecy." Basically this translated into the fact that nobody talked to
anybody else, and when they did it was usually to supply mis-information.
K -- Now what? Well I suppose you could do training of various sorts --
communications, personal integrity etc. And they did just that. Result? No
change. Except for lots more time and money down the hole (into the
consultants' pockets). It finally became clear to folks that this "problem"
had no single, simple solution. Every part of their life together (culture)
either created or supported their malady. If you were going to do something
useful, you would have to change everything all at once! How is that for a
prescription for failure? A job you would rather not take on? Speaking just
for myself -- this is a road I would not travel.
Alternative? Just do an Open Space. Or you might call it Action
Research. Theme: "What are the issues and opportunities for building a
business we would all like to be a part of?" Invite everybody who cares --
and that could be a lot of people. Results? -- Well I am sure you can fill
in the pieces, but. . .
First off, the organization will essentially "map" itself. All those
"issues and opportunities" will be the critical cultural issues, at least
as the people see it. I sometimes think of Open Space as a community
Rorschach Test. Since there is no content to begin with (just a question)
whatever shows up is what the people see. Also, the critical issues will be
in the language of the people, not in some pseudo-psycho-babble (pardon my
bias). This becomes important when you start to talk with folks. They can
actually understand what you are talking about and do not have to learn a
whole new esoteric technical language.
But most important (as I see it) -- they will actually be the change
they seek. And it will have happened everywhere and all at once. At least
that was the experience of the organization I was talking about above.
Suddenly all those folks who knew that they were condemned to be a,
"culture of secrecy," experienced something radically different. In the
closing I noted this "fact," and followed up with, "Your culture change has
happened. You can continue and get better -- or just go back and be
miserable the way you were. The choice is yours." Sad to say, they chose to
go back and be miserable, or at least most of them did. But they never
could deny that alternatives existed -- and the smart ones (I think) sought
those alternatives, which in most cases meant choosing alternative
employment. But they did have a choice.
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Dr.
Potomac, MD 20854
USA
301-365-2093
207-763-3261 (summer)
website www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/>
----- Original Message -----
From: Esther Ewing <mailto:EwingChange at aol.com>
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 9:17 AM
Subject: Culture survey
Dear all:
I wondered if anyone can help me. I have a client with whom I am
engaged in an exercise in making a culture change. We want to create a
survey that allows their people to rate their organization on a number of
continua.
Picture, for example, a scale which goes from one to five where one
is "shares information openly" and five is "information is shared on a
need-to-know basis".
What I need to do is to measure the major continua that we would
ask people to rate the organization.
I could really use some suggestions for this and/or examples of
culture surveys. I would be glad to compile them and give the results to
anyone who would like to have them (assuming that the donor was comfortable
with that).
Can you help me?
Regards
Esther
Esther Ewing
The Change Alliance - Building Organizational Capability
330 East 38th St., Suite 53K
New York, New York 10016, USA
Phone: 212-661-6024
Fax: 866-296-6712
Distributor of Panoramic Feedback (www.panoramicfeedback.com)
Kolbe Index (www.kolbe.com)
Certified Network Member - Team Management Systems
(www.teammanagementsystems.com)
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Esther Ewing
The Change Alliance - Building Organizational Capability
330 East 38th St., Suite 53K
New York, New York 10016, USA
Phone: 212-661-6024
Fax: 866-296-6712
Distributor of Panoramic Feedback (www.panoramicfeedback.com)
Kolbe Index (www.kolbe.com)
Certified Network Member - Team Management Systems
(www.teammanagementsystems.com)
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Jack
~~~~~~~~~~
jack ricchiuto
two.one.six/three.seven.three/seven.four.seven.five
www.DesigningLife.com / www.AppreciativeLeadership.com
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