Brand Culture FAQs

Can we change the culture?

What if the six dimensions of culture aren’t showing strengths aligned to our goals and what we want to be known for? The short answer is yes, you can always change a culture to align with the desired dimensions of culture. The longer answer is you don't necessarily have to.

When a group is assessed, there are multiple potential reasons for the six dimensions of culture scores being sub optimal for the organization's objectives. This means there are also multiple valid approaches that can be taken to improve and even completely change the Brand Culture.

Approach 1: Improve SDI, CCI and SEI Index

SDI (Self-Determination Index) measures how intrinsically motivated employees are in relation to their roles and responsibilities. While CCI (Confidence in Change Index) reveals how confident the employee is in terms of change management. Finally SEI (Social Engagement Index) shows how engaged an employee is with their peers which factors in levels of communication. All three indices factor into the algorithm that calculates the six dimension scores. There is a way to improve each index that will improve the Brand Culture and score. For this reason, we always recommend re-assessing every six months to measure ROI of Brand Culture.

Approach 2: Adjust the Team

Many times, MDNA helps a company recognize the intrinsic motivators that are most beneficial for a specific function or strategy. With this new framework, the organization can then get "round pegs into round holes and square pegs into square holes." This potentially involves lateral employee moves or using MDNA to assist in the recruitment process. This is not as simple as picking the right MDNA for the job. Team culture is much more complex. The secret to navigating complexity is having the best analytics picture for the current culture and situation. With the proper analytics, you can then decide the most optimal strategy for Brand Culture improvement and changes. You will not have to guess and can avoid costly decisions. Based on our work with hundreds of teams, we can guide you through this in the most effective and resource-efficient manner.

Approach 3: Focus on Intrinsic Motivation

Quite often, organizations are surprised by how effective a team can be, regardless of department or function, when every individual is truly intrinsically motivated. In these cases, the culture dimension that was expected to be optimal really isn't the determining factor. We have seen employees, when completely intrinsically motivated, bring intangible strengths to the team that, while not necessarily matching the ideal culture dimension, make a profound difference. We have learned very quickly that an intrinsically motivated employee is much more valuable than a particular MDNA. In these cases, the best approach may be to strategically adjust the Brand Culture to the employee, versus trying to get employees to fit into the Brand Culture.

Leadership is Key

In working with thousands of employees and years of research, we can state, with absolute confidence, that the single greatest determining influence on an organization's brand and culture is leadership. We emphasize that you can proactively lead culture or it will force you to constantly react and lead you. When leaders truly understand intrinsic motivation and intentionally engage their teams, Brand Culture always leads to return on investment and inspiration.