Cultural diagnostics and transformation programs to address and align mindsets, behaviours, and organizational systems and structures with a new vision or direction.
Competitive advantage used to be based on having better strategies and superior assets to competitors. Today, globalization has leveled the playing field, allowing competitors to quickly replicate a successful strategy. In contrast, a unique culture is difficult to replicate. Increasingly, sustainable business performance is underpinned by cultural competitive advantage – the unique way in which an organization’s employees relate to their work, each other and the organization.
The key to unlocking superior business performance is to create comprehensive shifts in organization-wide culture, including addressing any cultural barriers to value creation in pursuit of business objectives.
At BlueDrop, we apply a whole system approach to cultural transformation. Research tells us that most large-scale transformation efforts fail to achieve the desired performance outcomes because one or more element of the organizational system is not re-aligned to the desired way of being, doing and operating. We work with clients to pull multiple levers at the same time to transform not just the culture, but the whole system within which the culture operates – including the hearts, minds and actions of the people.
Our whole system approach includes a robust set of diagnostic tools that provide both quantitative and qualitative data, stories and insights into the culture of the organization and the day-to-day experiences of its people. We then engage senior leaders to translate diagnostic insights into a defined set of culture and behavioural shifts to enable sustainable performance improvement. And finally, design and deliver a set of experiential workshops that facilitate a broad cadre of leaders and influencers to transform themselves, others and the organizational system
Our standard approach to culture transformation has two key phases:
- Cultural Diagnostic – to understanding the current and desired culture of the organization; and
- The Culture Journey – a robust, whole system approach to align individual and collective mindsets and behaviours, leadership role modelling, capabilities, and formal systems and mechanisms with the desired culture.
BlueDrop developed a performance improvement and cultural transformation program for a large Brazilian bank, including: design, pilot and rollout of 3-day workshops for senior leaders and middle managers; skills training for staff; embedding sessions; and team effectiveness sessions to address team dynamics in the executive team.