We went through our data collection in large corporations, small business, and post secondary institutions. After analyzing 21,495 cultural data points our current theory is that the following five things are killing growth and development across all areas.
Questions
- Why Are We Using Survey Data?
a. They are bulky, they are time consuming, they are full of bias, and often they are filled out without engagement. That’s why Boost Innovation is building culture measurement that is more objective and impactful, because the energy being wasted on survey data is massive. - Why Are We Forming This Committee?
a. Many decision can be made more efficiently AND accurately by simply asking for feedback from trusted colleagues. The key part here is that we find people who culturally connect with those they work with so the feedback can be BOTH efficient and accurate. - Why Are We Scheduling This Meeting?
a. If everybody in the room is making at least $25/hour and we have a 30 minute meeting with 10 people…could we utilize the strategy outlined above (trusting our colleagues) to solve the problem efficiently? If we can’t trust them to solve it…Why? Why not? - Do We Have Learners In The Room?
a. If you are having committees, meetings, advisory groups, etc…how many of them are learners? How many of them have a growth mindset about the problem? How many have a fixed mindset? It turns out that a lot of the people in our data felt that problems were being solved by fixed mindsets that really just paralyze growth and progress. - Are We Chasing Optimal Or Agreeable?
- A large amount of our data shows that change-based meetings, committees, etc were left feeling like everyone agreed…but not that the optimal result was achieved. This is due to some innate human reactions to resistance where we start to agree over time and with increased challenge. We found that the harder the problem, and the more time spent attempting to solve it, the more likely agreement was reached. However, more than half the time this agreement was seen as sub-optimal.
Solutions
Make data-based decisions.
- Design basic, practical, and individualized data methods that allow for meetings, committees, etc to only occur when a data threshold has been met.
- Educate and evaluate mindset on topics for decision making. Don’t assume everybody approaches every situation with the same mindset every time. A simple mindset evaluation at the start of problem solving takes less than 10 minutes and can DRASTICALLY increase efficiency and impact.
- Stay away from agreeable. Put the work in to find the current state, the optimal state, and run a gab analysis to figure out the best pathway from current to optimal. Don’t rest/agree until that path is followed.
For more detail and ways that data solutions can change the culture of your workplace, go to www.boostinnovation.io Boost Innovation Work Culture Certification
Apply now, anonymously if you’d like, for a HEALTHY WORKPLACE CULTURE CERTIFICATION.
If the culture analytics shows the threshold calculated is achieved a certificate, stickers for the brick and mortar, and social media package are provided in order to show staff, clients/customers, and more that culture is important and healthy in your place of work.
Whether the threshold for certification is achieved or not, or culture analytics methods (used in the GRW Project) will provide an after action report of items that will make an impact on both culture AND bottom line by enhancing engagement, retention, training impact, inclusion, wellness, and more.
