Understand your culture

Before you change anything—understand it.

“Companies that take the time to identify and shift deep-seated mindsets were 4x more likely to rate their change programmes as successful.”
— Forbes

The smartest place to begin is by understanding where you are now—before jumping into solutions. I offer focused 2–4 week diagnostic sprints, tailored to your organisation’s needs, to bring clarity before any major decisions are made.

Many organisations skip this step and rush into delivery—only to spend time and budget solving the wrong problems. This kind of diagnostic helps you pause, look across the system, and uncover what’s really going on—so your next steps are focused, confident, and cost-effective.

Whether you’re just starting out or already deep into a transformation, this approach gives you a fast, practical way to gain alignment and momentum.

What can be included in your diagnostic:

Each diagnostic sprint is tailored to your organisation’s context—bringing together the right mix of expertise, whether that’s just me or a small team of trusted specialists, depending on your needs. This may include:

  • Organisational design review
    How do your teams and functions currently sit together—and are they helping or hindering collaboration? I partner with experienced OD specialists to explore your structure, spot misalignment, and identify opportunities to reduce duplication and clarify accountability.

  • Audit of current change activity
    We’ll review all active and recent change initiatives to identify duplication, conflicting messaging, or wasted effort so you can align your resources and focus on what really matters.

  • Interviews and listening sessions
    Candid conversations with employees, leaders, and delivery teams to surface what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and what people are feeling.

  • Culture and identity analysis
    Understand how team identities, power dynamics, and social norms shape behaviour—and how these factors affect change adoption.

  • Identity Landscaping workshops
    Facilitated sessions that create safe space for honest dialogue across teams—designed to build trust, shared understanding, and readiness for change.

Why it works

This isn’t a traditional culture audit—it’s a practical, people-focused diagnostic that helps you make smarter decisions faster. It gives you real insight into your current state and a more straightforward path to move forward—with your people behind you.

See it in action: How identity shapes culture

The short video below shows a real example of how Susie Ballentyne and I used social identity theory with a team to explore how different group identities shaped their culture. It helped them spot what was working, where the friction was, and how they could work better together—without losing what made each team unique. Watch how this approach can bring team dynamics to life in a really practical way.

Ready to take a first step?

If you’re curious about how this could work for your team, let’s have a conversation. Every organisation is different—and the first step is simply understanding what’s really going on.

Let’s chat about what a diagnostic sprint could look like for you. No pressure, no pitch—just a chance to explore what might help.

Drop me an email at Sandie@MakingChangeHappen.co.uk and I’ll get straight back to you.