Engagement = Culture “for Dummies”
20 Qs to test and strengthen your CQ (cultural intelligence)
You’re no dummy. I’m not saying that measuring engagement is dumb either. I think measuring engagement is essential when it comes to culture. I’m saying that calling engagement the same thing as culture sounds dumb when it’s coming from world-class, corporate professionals responsible for improving company performance, engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Saying that engagement is the same thing as culture is like saying that CTOs are the same as CIOs; or it’s like saying that revenue is the same thing as income; that’s not what a high business IQ sounds like.
The expertise of both CTOs and CIOs is essential to executing on the company’s digital strategy — but they are not interchangeable. Similarly, revenue and income are both useful in determining the financial health of a company, but they are not interchangeable — nor are engagement and culture interchangeable.
“___for dummies” is a Wiley brand with the intention of providing “learning made easy”. This article is not about “___for dummies” products. In the case of organizational culture-related topics, most people are unknowingly confusing what’s “easy” and what’s incorrect.
I can hear some of the defensive reactions already: “But, But, But we’re a Great Place to Work/Best Company to Work For/Best Workplace…We Have a Great Culture!”
It’s not your fault that you don’t know the difference between engagement and culture. Research companies have dumbed down the complex topic for years and marketed/sold you what they thought you were ready to hear and ready to buy. Today, many CXOs like you, are ready for a more useful, more strategic more courageous and more intelligent understanding of how organizational culture drives your organizational effectiveness. If you’re reading this, you probably do focus on culture related topics and are benefitting from a wonderful culture— but to be more precise, you actually have a wonderful range of many subcultures.
