Is your culture survey enhancing your workplace culture or merely measuring it?

When you picture a thriving workplace culture, what comes to mind?

Positive. Resilient. Creative. Open. Engaged.

Now ask yourself: what are you actually measuring?

Most culture surveys focus on identifying “opportunities for improvement” - often assessing psychological safety, burnout, communication, role clarity, and values alignment. While this feedback is valuable, it can unintentionally train both leaders and teams to scan for what’s broken.

Research in cognitive psychology shows humans already have a natural negativity bias: we tend to notice problems more easily than strengths. If we only look for dysfunction, we will almost always find it.

As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you are right.”

But what if culture surveys also explored what gives organizations life? Strength draws from strength.

This is the foundation of Appreciative Inquiry, developed by David Cooperrider: a strengths-based approach that focuses on identifying and amplifying what works well. @SuzanneQuinney describes it as a whole person experience: “paying attention [using the mind] to what has value [using the heart].”

This is a paradigm shift that changes the conversation:
➡️ From “What do we need to fix?”
➡️ To “How can we build upon what's working for us?”

A well-crafted culture survey can do more than diagnose challenges. It can reinforce strengths, uncover sources of resilience, and generate momentum for new growth.

Research has linked Appreciative Inquiry approaches to increased engagement, morale, collaboration, and productivity - meaning engaging with it improves the employee experience.

The question isn’t whether you should measure culture....It’s whether your measurement process is actively shaping the culture you want to create.

What would change if your survey became a tool for building culture: not just auditing it? Let’s get our rose-tinted binoculars.

Artwork shared with permission from the creator, Jeffrey Logan, PhD

Is It Time to Rethink Your HR?

Specimen Observed: Human Resources, Genus: HRis Organis
Common Name: HR
Subspecies Range: From Compliancus Maximus to Evolvus Humanitas

Field Observation Log: Camp Culture — Is It Time to Rethink Your HR?

In the organizational wild, few creatures are more misunderstood than HR.

To some, HR appears as a rule-bound enforcer—ready with a policy manual and a disapproving glance. Others describe a completely different species: a forward-thinking, people-powered force that shapes thriving cultures and drives innovation.

How can both be true?

They’re simply different stages of the same species. At one end of the spectrum is Compliancus Maximus—HR in its most basic form. Its main goal? Reduce risk, follow rules, and maintain control. While useful in certain environments, this version tends to overregulate and under-inspire. It often creates a culture of caution instead of creativity.

On the other end is Humanitas Evolvus—HR that puts people at the center. This version supports growth, builds trust, and helps the organization adapt and thrive in unpredictable conditions. Think of it less as a watchdog and more as a guide, biologist, and cultural architect all in one.

You don’t need to install a slide in your office or start wearing hoodies to work. But you do need to make space for a more evolved approach: one that treats people not as risks to be managed, but as potential to be unleashed. An organization better adapted to the complex ecosystem of modern work — one that evolves rather than expires.

Trail Marker:

Want to shift your culture? Start by reexamining how you approach HR. Evolution begins at the roots.