Organisational Culture Quiz

Take the Organisational Culture Quiz
Why this matters
Organisational culture is the way you do things when nobody is looking. The dimensions you have self-assessed in this quiz are common ways of addressing key pillars of performance found in every business. Each dimension is a polarity, namely, a pair of interdependent, opposing yet complementary values, forces, or perspectives that both need to be managed simultaneously for sustained success.
Unlike problems, which can be solved with a one-time solution, polarities are ongoing and cannot be resolved by choosing one pole over the other. Instead, effective polarity management involves recognizing the value of both poles, leveraging their benefits, and minimizing their potential downsides to create a dynamic balance that addresses the needs of both sides over time.
Making sense of your score
Your score is greater than 25: Balanced Organization
- Summary: Congratulations! Your organization seems to have a good balance across most polarities. You understand the importance of managing both sides of these issues effectively and implement tools and systems to manage them. You intentionally map and manage polarities to the benefit of your organisation’s performance.
- Actionable Insights: Continue to monitor these areas to maintain balance. Ensure that your early warning signals are in place and relevant. Train new personnel on polarity management to ensure they will support your ongoing initiatives. Consider regular check-ins with your team to ensure these dynamics remain healthy.
Your score lies between 15 and 25: Potential Areas of Imbalance
- Summary: Your organization manages some polarities well, but there are a few areas where you might be leaning too heavily on one side. Is this a conscious effort on your part? Have you put in place polarity mapping and management? If not, you may be exposing yourself to certain imbalances which often result in lost efoort and wasted resources.
- Actionable Insights: Focus on the areas identified in your responses where balance is challenging (score of 1). Implement strategies like team discussions or polarity management workshops to explore how you can better manage these polarities. Consider training your teams on polarity management so they can see them and address them in real time. Consider putting in place early warning signals so you can minimise the effects of overfocusing on one pole. You’re off to a good start, let’s dicuss how we can prioritise your efforts and make your organisation more robust.
Your score is less than 15: Significant Imbalances Detected
- Summary: It looks like your organization is struggling with several polarities, which may be leading to operational or cultural challenges. Failing to properly manage polarities can have significant and tangible negative effects on an organization, which ultimately impact the bottom line: Decreased Employee Engagement and Morale, Reduced Innovation and Creativity, Poor Customer Satisfaction, Strategic Misalignment, Inefficient Decision-Making, Increased Operational Costs…
- Actionable Insights: Consider immediate steps to address these imbalances. This might include polarity management training or consulting services to help your team develop the skills needed to detect and manage these critical dynamics effectively. Contact me to discuss your results, and leverage the power of polarities in your favour.
Contact me if you need assistance for seeing or mapping polarities in your organisation. I can also train your teams face to face or online on polarity management and customise the exercises to your context.
Read more about polarities and polarity management:
- My post on polarity management
- How do hidden polarities negatively affect my bottom line?
- How to spot polarities (TEDx Singapore)