Explore it yourself
Practical starting points for exploring enacted culture - individually, in a one-to-one, or with a team.
These are starting points, not a structured programme. Use whichever feels right for where you are - individually, in a one-to-one, or with a team.
A question to sit with
What gets someone promoted here - and is that the same thing the values statement would predict?
Be honest. Not about whether the criteria exist, but about what actually happens. The alignment - or misalignment - between what your organisation rewards and what it claims to value is one of the clearest windows into your enacted culture.
A conversation to have
Ask five people who've been in the organisation at least a year: What did you have to learn about how things really work here that nobody told you in the induction? The unwritten rules. The things that everyone knows but nobody says. You're not looking for complaints. You're looking for the informal operating system - the enacted culture that runs beneath the official version. The consistency in their answers will be striking. And those answers are your culture, regardless of what's written anywhere.
Something to observe this week
Pay attention to what happens when something goes wrong. Not a catastrophe - just a normal mistake, a missed deadline, a decision that didn't work out. Watch how the organisation responds. Who gets told? How? What's the tone? Is the focus on understanding or on blame? Is the response consistent with what the values would suggest? You're not judging. You're watching culture in action - in the moments where it's hardest to perform and easiest to be real.
A useful tension to name
Think of someone in the organisation who is successful by every visible measure but whose behaviour doesn't match the stated values. Everyone has this person in mind. The question isn't whether they exist - it's what the organisation does about it. What you tolerate in your most visible, most successful people is arguably the strongest cultural signal you send. If that signal contradicts the values, everyone has already noticed.
One thing to try
At your next leadership meeting or team session, try this exercise: list the last five promotions or significant recognitions. For each one, ask - honestly - what behaviour or quality was being rewarded? Write them down. Then put the values statement next to the list. The overlap - or the gap - will tell you exactly where your enacted culture and your stated culture are aligned and where they've drifted apart. No survey needed. The answer is in the decisions you've already made.