Brand Culture FAQs

How do you handle outliers on the team?

For example, a team member who is a significantly different MDNA than the rest of the work group.

Having an intrinsically motivated employee is for more important than any individual MDNA result. This is the reason we assess multiple factors and metrics when evaluating an organization's culture. Many times, there will be what appears to be an "outlier" in the culture graph. It may appear these individual don't necessarily "fit." However, there are key steps to the appropriate insights.

How is the employee's performance?

If the employee's performance is optimal, then discovering an outlier in MDNA is like finding hidden treasure. These employees represent an fantastic opportunity to learn how to recreate their performance. If the opposite is apparent, in that the employee's performance is poor, steps can be taken to understand the reasons. In most cases, the employee is not engaged because there isn't an intrinsic fit. This is also a learning opportunity to ensure these issues are avoided in the future.

What is the SDI, CCI and SEI of the work group?

Culture is always made up of a mix of competence, chemistry and character. This is the reason MDNA Cloud measures deeper than individual results. SDI (Self-Determination Index) measures how intrinsically motivated employees are in relation to their roles and responsibilities. While CCI (Confidence in Change Index) reveals how confident the employee is in terms of change management. Finally SEI (Social Engagement Index) shows how engaged an employee is with their peers which factors in levels of communication. All three indices can be used to explain potential outliers in workgroups, especially if performance and engagement are sub optimal.

Related: "What if the six dimensions of culture aren’t showing strengths aligned to our goals and what we want to be known for?"