Creating a Culture That Gets Things Done with Amazing WorkPlace

When Edgar Schein, a giant in the field of organizational culture, passed away in January 2023, he left behind a legacy that continues to resonate with senior leaders focused on growth, quality improvement, safety records, and profitability. Schein’s work, particularly in his publication “Humble Inquiry” (2021), emphasized the importance of asking the right questions to build relationships, solve problems, and move things forward. The core question he posed, “What should we do?” addresses the central challenge of management.

The Misunderstood Concept of Workplace Culture

Often, discussions about workplace culture fail to answer “What should we do?” because the term “culture” has become too broad and lacks rigor. This lack of clarity renders culture ineffective as a tool for achieving organizational goals. Schein argued that the best way to measure workplace culture is through direct inquiry – asking the right questions and listening to the people closest to the work.

Humble Inquiry and Organizational Disasters

Schein’s concept of humble inquiry involves leaders taking the pulse of their organization before acting. Many organizational failures, such as airplane crashes, chemical spills, and corporate scandals, can be traced back to cultures that disconnect employees from leadership. Despite leaders believing they are open to employee views, their teams often feel unheard, leading to disastrous consequences.

Tools for Creating an Effective Culture

To address these challenges, Amazing Workplace offers four proprietary tools designed to foster humble inquiry and create a competitive advantage through culture:

1. Culture Survey: Provides a detailed portrait of how employees perceive their colleagues’ behavior and the overall workplace culture.
2. Culture Feedback Survey: Assesses whether the desired or stated culture matches employees’ actual experiences.
3. Culture Shaping Survey: Educates employees on the organization’s culture and gathers feedback to apply cultural principles to daily work.
4. Amazing Workplace Culture Creation Survey: Crowdsources ideas from employees on what their ideal workplace culture should look like.

These surveys, which take only minutes to complete and have a high completion rate, provide verified results that leadership can trust. The results can be segmented and presented in a way that highlights areas for improvement, saving management time and effort.

The Impact of Humble Inquiry on Employee Engagement

Implementing these tools leads to immediate improvements in employee retention, happiness, and engagement. Organizations that cultivate an open culture gain a reputation that attracts top talent, giving them a competitive edge in recruitment.

Conclusion

Edgar Schein’s philosophy of humble inquiry begins with acknowledging each other as real people and developing trust and openness. For organizations, this means taking a true measure of their culture. Amazing Workplace’s tools facilitate this process, providing leaders with actionable insights to create a culture that gets things done.

By integrating Schein’s principles and leveraging innovative tools, organizations can build a culture that not only aligns with their strategic goals but also enhances employee satisfaction and performance.