Mapping organisational culture: turning ambitions into practice
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”
Strategy sets the direction. Culture influences how people translate that direction into choices, collaboration and behaviour. Many organisations have a clear ambition, positioning or growth plan. On paper, the story makes sense, but in day-to-day operations, different habits, priorities or decisions can sometimes emerge. That is why, at Comma, we look not only at what an organisation wants to achieve, but also at how people collaborate, make decisions and communicate today. With CultuurLens, we map that organisational culture in concrete terms.
Why organisational culture deserves attention during change
Every organisation has a culture: a combination of visible and invisible habits that helps determine how work gets done. That culture does not necessarily have to align one-to-one with the organisation’s strategy or ambition. Sometimes, existing patterns need to be challenged. What does help is understanding which habits support progress, where they slow it down and where tension arises between what you want to achieve and what is happening today.
That does not mean culture should determine the direction. It does mean that, during growth or change, you consciously look at what people currently consider normal, which behaviour is rewarded and which informal rules carry significant weight. This allows you to make more targeted choices about what you want to retain, strengthen, phase out or stop.
What is CultuurLens?
CultuurLens is a methodology and card game that makes your organisational culture tangible and action-oriented. It literally maps out how your organisation works today and reveals where friction exists between everyday habits, the desired direction of travel and the external promise.
It helps you to:
- map patterns and blind spots
- gain insight into rituals, language, pride, beliefs and unwritten rules
- determine which habits you want to retain, strengthen, phase out or stop
From cultural insight to targeted change
When you map your organisational culture in concrete terms, you see how your organisation really works today. Which patterns keep recurring? Which beliefs guide choices? What creates energy? And where does the day-to-day way of working make growth or change more difficult?
These insights make it possible to discuss what often remains unspoken. Participants organise cultural themes, set priorities and translate them into clear axes for change. The result is not an idealised picture detached from reality, but a targeted movement: with clear choices about desired behaviour, collaboration, communication and leadership.
Would you like to map your organisational culture in concrete terms?
With CultuurLens, Comma helps organisations make culture concrete and open to discussion. Through a facilitated workshop process, we map the current culture, connect the insights to the organisation’s ambitions and challenges, and translate the selected priorities into a practical culture charter.
This gives you a concrete frame of reference that provides direction for behaviour, collaboration, communication and leadership. Discover Comma’s CultuurLens workshop programme.
In this article
By Wouter Mille, strategisch marketeer Comma, brandstrategists
Comma is gecertificeerd om met de CultuurLens-methodiek te werken. Deze bewezen aanpak helpt organisaties om hun cultuur zichtbaar, bespreekbaar en werkbaar te maken. Inzichten worden vertaald naar concrete keuzes rond gedrag, samenwerking, communicatie en leiderschap.
