How do we know how we measure up? We need a point of reference. To benchmark is to compare yourself against the highest standards. How do we benchmark our organization’s culture to see how it is performing? I describe how in “Benchmarking Your Culture,” Part 6 of my video blog series, the Leadership Journey of Discovery.

We start by holding ourselves to world-class standards. In my book “We’re All In,” I have a 12-question survey designed to help you determine that baseline.

The next step is to develop an alignment plan to have a strategy to help improve your organization’s culture, using the survey-determined benchmark as a starting point, and world-class standards as an end-goal. Form an integrated process team (or “Tiger Team,” as I used to call them) to work on improving upon the shortcomings you discovered in your survey.

Taking these kinds of actions will send a signal to your organization that you are serious about making changes. Be sure to repeat the survey every 6 to 9 months to keep momentum going in the right direction.

(If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me, and I’ll be happy to provide some additional guidance.)

By aiming for world-class, you’ve taken the first step towards reaching that goal.

Enjoy the journey!