The Culture Coach
I’m Wendy Brand, Your Culture Coach, dedicated to supporting people-first leaders. Each week we dive into strategies and insights to help you build a workplace where employees feel valued, motivated, and inspired. From fostering tribal values and improving core processes to developing inclusive communities and responsive listening strategies, we cover it all.
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The Culture Coach
#082 THRIVE Culture Maturity Model
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This week I take you through my THRIVE Culture Maturity Model. Want to test the maturity of your organizational culture?
There are four levels in the maturity model, and I will discuss each of them in detail in this episode.
LEVEL 1 - REACTIVE: Your organization is in the early stages of culture development. There is little structure or focus on creating a cohesive culture, and work often feels fragmented.
LEVEL 2 - EMERGING: Your organization is starting to pay attention to culture, but efforts are inconsistent. You have some key elements in place, but there’s much work ahead to build a stronger culture.
LEVEL 3 - INTENTIONAL: Your organization is actively building a strong, cohesive culture. You’re making strides in aligning values, systems, and employee engagement, but there’s still room for growth.
LEVEL 4 - THRIVING: Your organization has a mature, thriving culture. Your values, systems, and people strategies are aligned, and your employees are fully engaged, productive, and thriving.
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With 25+ years of leadership experience, spanning multiple roles across corporations and non-profits, I have gained a wealth of experience in understanding what makes organizations successful.
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You are listening to the Culture Coach Podcast. This is the place where CEOs and people first leaders come to boost productivity, extinguish burnout, and cultivate a vibrant culture that reflects a fully integrated mission, vision, and core values. Get ready to take your culture to the next level. I am your host, Wendy Brand. Welcome back to the Culture Coach Podcast, where I'm always looking for ways to help you create a better, stronger culture in your organization. Before I dive into this episode, I just want to mention again quickly that my Black Friday sale ends this week. So if you're catching this episode when it airs in November, the week of Thanksgiving in the U.S., this is the time to get 50% off your disc assessments or five behavior assessments. Or if you'd like to join me for an exclusive opportunity to provide feedback on my upcoming Thrive Culture Academy program that launches in early 2025, check out CultureCoachWendy.com forward slash Black Friday. That's culturecoachwendy.com forward slash Black Friday. Okay, here we go. So about two months ago, I hosted a workshop where CEOs and chief people officers, chief HR officers attended, and we talked about, you guessed it, culture. It was my culture check-in workshop, which I'll be hosting again in January. So keep an eye out for that. But prior to the workshop, attendees took a culture quiz, and the results placed them in one of four levels of my Thrive Culture Maturity model. The maturity model is based off of my research on burnout, on culture, and my experience in organizational transformation and culture. And so what I'm going to do today in this episode is take you through those four maturity levels and give you examples of what they look like in the workplace and how the workshop participants rated themselves in the maturity model. So the very lowest level is reactive. And this level is if your organization is in the early stages of culture development, there's little structure or focus on creating a cohesive culture, and the work often feels fragmented. So of my participants in the workshop, 8% said that their organization was at this level one reactive, where things feel maybe a little off track, disconnected with values, low engagement, or communication challenges create friction at this level. And so here are some specific signs. If you're wondering, you know, is my organization at a level one at that reactive level? Here are some signs that your organization may be at that lower level of culture maturity. So employees are disengaged and often seem unmotivated. And again, with all of these, you know, sure, every organization has disengaged employees, but I'm talking about in general, um, you know, more of a sweeping organizational employees are disengaged and unmotivated. There's high turnover with many employees leaving um annually, a lack of clear communication or direction or leadership, honestly, lack of clearly defined core values. There's inconsistent processes or systems in place. Feedback is rarely requested or collected, and it's often not acted on when it is provided. There's no focus on inclusivity or belonging at all. Career paths are unclear and rarely discussed. Recognition is usually only linked to compensation. And leadership rarely discusses or demonstrates the organizational core values. So those are just some signs that you might be in that level one. If you're familiar at all with my Thrive Culture framework, those themes ring a bell for you. Um, and if you're at this level, there's obviously work to be done. Now, the next level is level two, it's emerging. Um and the majority of the participants, 59%, said they were in this emerging or level two maturity, uh, culture maturity. And so at this level, your organization is starting to pay attention to culture, but efforts are inconsistent. You have some key elements in place, but there's a lot of work ahead to build a stronger culture. There may be some intention to start focusing on culture, and you're building the foundation, but again, there's potential. So here are here are some signs. Turnover still higher than you'd like, but maybe starting to stabilize. Compensation and benefits not aligned with employee expectations as a whole. Again, this isn't like one or two people not happy with comp and benefits, but in but more of like an overarching um dissatisfaction. Core values are visible in the organization, and most employees could probably recite two or three if asked, um, but they're not really living and breathing. And leadership occasionally refers to values, but it's not a consistent practice. Um processes exist, but they're not standardized across the organization. There may be siloed processes, but not um organizationally. Maybe feedback is collected, but there's not a consistent process to act on it. There may be some inclusion initiatives that exist, but they're not promoted well. And there may be basic recognition programs, but they're not tied to values or broader achievements. So you may be missing the systems, rituals, and clear communication needed to build to keep your culture steady and strong. So, an example, like if you think of your company as a house that's halfway built, there's a roof, there's the walls, but it's the plumbing and wiring that actually make it a working, functioning home. Um, and so similarly, focusing on transparency, your core values, and how your team interacts will help you reach that next level. Um, and by investing in your people strategies and making culture part of your day-to-day, you can transform your workplace into that thriving environment. So, level three in the Thrive Culture Maturity model is labeled intentional. And 25% of my workshop participants said they were here. This is where your organization is actively building and focusing on their culture. You're making strides and aligning values, systems, and employee engagement, but there's still room for growth. And you may notice a few disconnects between leadership and the team, or maybe your core values are posted on the wall but not lived out. Nothing major. Um, but here are some here are some examples specifically of what this level three maturity model could look like in your organization. Most employees are engaged and there are systems in place to foster engagement. Turnover is moderate, and you have a good understanding of the factors contributing to turnover. Employees are seeking new challenges outside of the organization only after reaching their full potential within your organization. Um, there may be limited career development or opportunities for growth. Core values are known and often referred to in decision making. And leadership regularly demonstrates the values through their actions and decisions. Processes are well structured and support employees in their role. Um, career development is encouraged with regular opportunities for growth. There are recognition programs that are evolving to include cultural values and team achievements. In this phase, I would really say, again, I think 25% of my participants felt like they were here. Um the final level is level four, is thriving. 8% of my workshop participants said they were here. I think this is definitely attainable, but it is, it is definitely a place where companies should aspire to be. And at this level, your organization has a mature, thriving culture. And again, at this level, you probably know that culture is not static. It is dynamic and it takes ongoing intention. So you haven't checked a bunch of boxes, said, oh, now you're thriving, and moved on to the next thing. No, this is an intentional strategic value in your organization that you are constantly monitoring and fostering. And so at this level, your values, your systems, your people strategies are all aligned and your employees are fully engaged, productive, and thriving. You likely have your core values woven into the very fabric of your organization, and the work environment is where people actually enjoy showing up. So here are some specific examples of what this level looks like at the tangible operational level. Employees are highly engaged, proactive, and enthusiastic about contributing to the organization's success. Turnover is low, with employees staying long-term and contributing to growth. The core values are integral to decision making. They show up in performance reviews, the promotion process, recognition programs, and they're part of the everyday language used in the organization. Your systems are optimized and aligned with both business goals and employee needs. There is a real-time feedback system in place, and issues are proactively addressed to improve continuously. Diversity is actively celebrated, and there are strong programs that promote inclusion and a sense of belonging. There are structured, transparent career paths, and development is a key part of your culture. Recognition is a core part of the culture, also, celebrating individual and team contributions that align with those core values. And leadership embodies the values in everything that you're doing. It's clearly reflected in the culture. So, from meaningful collaboration to a sense of belonging, this is the space where people feel valued and empowered. At this level, your employees aren't just clocking in, they're invested in the mission, the vision, and the overall success of your company. And let's not forget that strong alignment with your core values is giving you a serious edge in maintaining that awesome vibe and with your competitors. So those are the four levels of my Thrive Culture Maturity Model. I hope you can see how level four, a thriving culture, could be beneficial for both your business and your employees. It's definitely something to strive toward and does not happen overnight, but it is achievable. If you're interested in taking this quiz to see where you think your organization falls into the maturity model, go to culturecoachwendy.com forward slash quiz. That's culturecoachwendy.com forward slash quiz. And if you're interested in working together, again, check out my Black Friday specials that expire this week at culturecoachwendy.com forward slash black friday. That's it. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope this maturity model was helpful for you. Maybe give you some sort of idea of where you might be as an organization and give you something to strive toward. That's it. Happy Thanksgiving. Have a great rest of your week. We'll talk to you next week.
