This eBook outlines 5 best practices executives, managers and employees can use to drive culture change today that can lead to improved business performance tomorrow.

1. High performing organizations have a mission that tells employees
why they are doing the work they do and how the work they do each
day contributes to the why. Clearly state where the organization is
heading and make sure the vision, strategic direction, and goals are
understood and shared by everyone in the organization.
 Articulate your purpose, or the ultimate reason you are in
business
 Develop 2-3 key strategies and priorities to focus people and
resources regarding what to do, and importantly, what not to do
 Engage employees in a bottom-up goal setting process—at both
the individual and team levels—to help them connect their day-to-
day activities to the longer-term strategy and vision
High performing organizations encourage and support
employee involvement; involving as many people as you can
in the change process is key to moving the organization
forward. To drive effective change, engage employees at all
levels in your culture change initiatives.
 Use a parallel approach by implementing change efforts at
the individual, team, leadership and organization level
 Hold town meetings—if possible—to share information,
hear everyone’s voice, and address questions and
concerns
 When collecting employee feedback on organizational
performance, consider sharing the data with the entire
organization
Plan and Implement
STRATEGIC ACTIONS
Based on the Data
Successfully achieving culture change will require the effort
of many people working together toward common goals. Use
data to create a common understanding of the culture,
identify key areas of focus, and plan further action steps
and/or specific interventions.
 Identify areas of focus by examining your data, link it to
your business goals, and finding the gaps that need to be
addressed
 While it’s tempting to try to work on many things at once,
choose 2-3 key areas of impact that will support the
accomplishment of your organization’s key business
objectives; often, concentrated efforts in key areas will
help create change in other areas
 Set SMART goals that are: Specific, Measureable,
Achievable, Realistic, and Timely
Monitor the PROGRESS
What’s working in your organization and what is less
effective? Once specific strategic actions for culture change
are undertaken, measure the progress to ensure you are on
track.
 Identify best practices in the areas that are working and
share them across the organization
 Make course corrections in the areas where your actions
are less effective
 Track your progress at regular intervals to measure the
impact of your change efforts. We recommend using the
Denison Organizational Culture Change Monitor
WAYS TO DRIVE
SUCCESSFUL
CULTURE CHANGE
IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
Nurture
CHANGE CHAMPIONS
Involve the
ENTIRE ORGANIZATION
Create a SHARED MISSION
A change champion is a person at any level who can initiate, facilitate,
implement, and increase the success rate of organizational change.
Change champions need to be good team players who persevere
through challenges and make things happen. They key is identifying
high-impact people and keeping track of who they are and when to
leverage them.
 Develop change champions on specific roles, tools, methods, etc.
based on their strengths
 Develop their networking, conflict resolution, and relationship-
building skills and be sure to value and reward them for their hard
work
 Build a learning community – let them learn from each other
About Denison Consulting
Denison Consulting, LLC has established itself as the world’s foremost leader in organizational culture and leadership. By
leveraging our diagnostic tools and solutions, we help thousands of clients across the globe improve the performance of their
leaders, teams and organizations.
The Denison Model was conceived from the research conducted by Dr. Daniel Denison to assess the link between
organizational performance and effectiveness through the lens of culture. The model utilizes a set of assessments that
measure the characteristics proven to impact high performance outcomes and influence a company’s position in the
marketplace.
Denison Consulting. (2012). Organizational Change Over Time:
What is the General Pattern of Change? Denison Research Notes.
Ann Arbor, MI.
Kotter, J. (1995). Leading change: why transformation efforts fail.
Harvard Business Review, 72(3), 59-67.
Warrick, D. D. (2009). Developing organization change
champions: A high payoff investment! OD Practitioner, 41(1), 14-
19.
Resources