Couverture de Assessments Aren’t Culture: Stop Looking for a Quick Fix

Assessments Aren’t Culture: Stop Looking for a Quick Fix

Assessments Aren’t Culture: Stop Looking for a Quick Fix

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 Episode overviewIn this episode of Collaborative Culture, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica Smith tackle a common misconception in workplace culture efforts: the belief that a single assessment, survey, or workshop can “fix” culture. Together, they break down why popular tools like Myers-Briggs, CliftonStrengths, DISC, Hogan, Enneagram, and Working Genius can be useful, but only as inputs, not solutions.Kristine and Monica unpack what culture really is (how work gets done), why leaders often misdiagnose culture issues as isolated “people problems,” and why real change requires understanding the lived experience of employees across roles, levels, and locations. They share practical examples, from multicultural team dynamics to frontline workflows, and make a clear case for culture work that’s collaborative, ongoing, and designed for sustained behavior change.Show notesWhat we’re unpacking todayWhy “culture work” means wildly different things to different leadersThe difference between tools that build self-awareness and work that changes cultureWhy leaders keep reaching for quick fixes, and why those fixes often failThe assessments everyone loves (and what they’re actually good for)Monica names a few common ones you’ll recognize:Myers-Briggs (MBTI)CliftonStrengthsDISCHoganEnneagramWorking GeniusKey point: These can build shared language, self-awareness, and teamwork, but they’re not culture by themselves.The core distinction: tools vs. cultureKristine defines culture clearly:Culture is how work gets doneIt’s the shared beliefs, values, and behavior patterns that drive results (or block them)So when leaders say “we have a culture problem,” they may actually mean:teamwork breakdownsengagement issuesDEI tensioncross-cultural misunderstandingsperformance or retention problemsThose may relate to culture, but they aren’t solved by a single off-the-shelf assessment.The “culture assessments” problemKristine calls out a major issue: many products labeled “culture assessments” are actually measuring something else, like:employee engagement (important, but not the whole culture)psychological fit for a role (not culture — and can encourage monoculture thinking)Bottom line: If it doesn’t meaningfully engage values, behavior, and how decisions get made, it’s not capturing culture.Monica’s “culture on demand” idea (super practical)Monica introduces “house rules” for projects — especially in global teams — like:defining what “yes” means across communication stylessetting norms for honest timeline updates (“tell me as soon as you know it’ll slip”)designing brainstorming so quieter cultures still contribute (e.g., written ideas submitted first)This is culture work that’s built for the work, not just discussion.Kristine’s reminder: observation mattersKristine shares a powerful example from nurse-shadowing research:leadership assumed nurses used in-room computers for chartingobservation showed nurses rarely used them, creating their own systems insteadleadership was shocked — and it changed what “the problem” even wasTakeaway: you can’t fix what you haven’t actually seen.The “band-aid” trapBoth land the plane here:If a company runs engagement surveys and ignores results, it can hurt trustIf values are created for leaders and stuck on a wall, nothing changesIf workshops don’t lead to new habits, you’re just paying for a moment — not outcomesThe episode takeawayAssessment tools are fine — even great — as step one.But sustainable culture change requires:diagnosis beyond surveys (data + interviews + observation)shared clarity on values and prioritiesbehavior change over timeleaders who stay accountable instead of outsourcing culture to HRThanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, PhDkgentry@culturegrove.com🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. Smithtradewindscareerconsulting@gmail.com🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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