Week 1: Understanding Your Current Culture
There is the culture you have and the culture you THINK you have.
A company may say they value innovation, yet when employees are promoted for keeping their heads low and not rocking the organization, there is a clear message that they value conformity. This way of operating has a high cost, significantly diminishing their employees’ level of engagement, commitment to the organization, and willingness to go the extra mile.
Effective leaders understand that actions speak louder than words. If they value innovation, they will reward those who challenge the status quo and are willing to take risks. They display courage by having the difficult conversations with the employees that do not. These leaders measure and monitor the impact that employee engagement is having on productivity, cost of turnover, and their bottom line.
My experience and learning while leading cultural change initiatives has provided me insight and a deep belief that highly effective leaders understand these truisms:
- Culture eats strategy for LUNCH (Coffman and Sorensen). Unhealthy culture will execute a great strategy POORLY.
- 85% of all cultural change efforts fail (John P. Kotter). You need to change the way you think about what you do, then figure out what you’re going to do differently. Otherwise, you will keep doing what you have been doing all over again, ending with the same results.
- A systemic data-driven approach is a must towards aliening and sustaining the values that drive your business performance. Leaders manage what they measure. Metrics are required so that leaders can see things as they are and as as they are not. They are not looked at once and then forgotten.
Understanding your company culture is a CRITICAL ongoing activity necessary to ensure that your organization is doing what’s needed to attract and retain talent, and to reap sustainable, long-term performance.
The advantages of a strong corporate culture is an engaged workforce. The benefits of an engaged workforce are:
- A high level of individual and team productivity
- Improved customer focus and customer satisfaction
- Exceptional business performance and bottom line results!

Using a Cultural Survey, Individual, and Team LCP 360 assessment allows leadership to see where the performance gaps are: What the company says it values, promotes, and recognizes versus what their actions say they do.
Contact us today to take the necessary steps to CREATE CHANGE, IMPROVE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE, and ATTRACT AND RETAIN TALENT.
Next week’s Attracting and Retaining Talent Series topic: Meaningful Work. To stay connected and receive all of our upcoming topics bookmark asulmonte.com!
The Sulmonte Group, LLC has a PROVEN TRACK RECORD helping clients attract and retain talent. Contact me directly for a FREE CONSULTATION via email, phone, or visit our website and click on “CONTACT US”.
Warm regards,