Our consulting approach is designed to conscientiously guide your organisation to cultural transformation, whilst at the same time building the competency within your business to support, manage, lead and measure culture.

Working with Walking the Talk embeds culture management skills within your business management processes so you can deliver consistent results, despite changes in strategy or executive teams. After all, your culture is a living, breathing entity that requires constant care if it is to flourish.

Our consulting solutions are customised to meet the specific needs in your organisation. Your cultural needs are unique, and we think your solutions should be, too.

Our approach:

Saves you time and effort by providing pragmatic solutions for the things you really need.
Reduces your reliance on external consultants.
Future-proofs your ability to manage and measure culture.

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We often refer to our consulting approach as our Culture Transformation System.

Our Culture Transformation System brings together a profound understanding of culture, our culture concepts and models, a clear methodology with effective and proprietary tools, all delivered by an expert team through a customised solution for your organisation.

It is a logical, objective approach to an intuitive, subjective issue. As one of our clients said: we’ve developed a left-brain solution for a right-brain problem.

Our methodology sits at the heart of our Culture Transformation System and covers the four key areas we believe are vital to bring about culture transformation.

We call it the Equation for Change:

Equation for change - culture matters

Design

Whether you’re defining a business strategy or a culture strategy, you need three things; an understanding of where you are, an understanding of where you want to be, and an understanding of the journey you’ll need to take to get there.

Our Culture Design process provides the insights you need to define your culture strategy. It also lays the foundation for a targeted action plan to deliver your business goals.

Walking the Talk has a range of tried-and-tested tools that provide you with the most thorough culture assessment possible. From working through an intensive one-day workshop with your executive team to define the required target culture, to conducting qualitative and quantitative assessments that help you understand the what and why of your current culture across the business, to providing you with a uniquely-tailored culture blueprint that will guide all future work.

Learn more: Sign up for our Culture Design Series

Manage

You can measure and monitor your culture as you can any aspect of your business - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Brand management was once thought to be an intangible corporate asset, and yet look at how businesses now invest in and manage their brands. At Walking the Talk, we have a fierce belief that you can do the same thing with your culture.

Working side by side with your internal team we will:

Design, define and deploy the unique projects your organisation needs to lead you to culture transformation.
Work with you to set up your own culture measurement - Key Behaviour Indicators (KBIs) to track alongside your other business KPIs. You will be able to track individual project progress as well as your cultural progress.
Share our knowledge and capabilities. Our aim is to get your internal team self-sufficient in all aspects of culture management.

Learn more: Sign up for our Managing Culture Series

Lead

The leadership of your organisation plays a vital part in the shaping, role modelling and leading of your culture's transformation.

Too often leadership see their role as simply defining the new culture, rather than truly living and leading it. Operating at a corporate, team and individual level, we take your leadership team through a practical program to build their cultural leadership skills. To learn to walk their talk.

Individuals gain a deeper appreciation of how their personal beliefs and behaviours shape the culture around them. Teams find new ways to collaborate and communicate about culture. The business becomes more aware of whether decisions taken are reflective of the desired culture, or entrenched in the old culture.

It’s a challenging and rewarding journey of transformation for executives, on both a personal and a collective level.

Learn more: Sign up for our Leading Culture Series

Disseminate

This is the phase most organisations put the most effort and investment towards in order to create a ‘buzz’ about the new cultural paradigm. It’s also where most cultural transformations stumble and fail. All the effort goes into creating a shiny, new, ‘talk,’ without ensuring that it’s aligned with the ‘walk’.

Our approach to informing, exciting and engaging people about the new required behaviours is controlled, exact and effective.

We focus our work on those key individuals in your business that are already attuned to the new culture norms or can readily influence those around them. Training, workshops and support give these individuals the ability to reach out and engage others in the business.

Combined with the Lead stream, this approach forms an unstoppable momentum towards a new, transformed culture.

Consulting services

Cultures are unique and we think a consulting solution should fit your organisation like a glove. At Walking the Talk, we provide an end-to-end, made-to-measure culture solution that’s tailored to your business needs.

We’ve been pioneering this work for over 25 years, which means we know what works, and what doesn’t.

Alongside consulting, we also offer stand-alone, customisable products to accelerate culture transformation best practice.

Why choose us:

We make a difference you can see, feel, measure and sustain.
Our methodology is based on grounded research, which means it has been developed in the field and has been proven to work.
Our methodology can flex, so only take what you need.
We focus on building internal capability that lasts beyond the project. We don't just give you a fish, we teach you to fish.
We only consult on culture. Which means we’re here to help you create a successful one, not look for other consultancy opportunities.

Strategy and planning

TAP (Target Archetype Process)

What it is:

TAP is an intensive half-day workshop run with your Executive Team focussed on identifying the culture the organisation needs in order to deliver the business strategy.

What it does:

TAP cleverly links your business objectives to the behaviours required to deliver them, whilst building consensus across the executive team for the target culture you need. You’ll leave the workshop with a stake in the ground; a target for transformation that will inform and guide your journey.

Our specially developed online tool helps you rank and prioritise your cultural requirements according to multiple factors.

Why choose TAP:

It is a quick, effective and challenging process that reveals surprising insights. We often find that a TAP brings value even in organisations that believe they have a clear understanding of their target culture.
TAP gets your executive team on the same page, at the same time, with the same priorities.
TAP is grounded in our Culture Archetypes, a simple, yet sophisticated cultural shorthand that our clients find invaluable.

Pathfinder

What it is:

Pathfinder is an intensive planning period. Through workshops, planning sessions and advice, we help your culture transformation team build a comprehensive roadmap for success.

What it does:

Pathfinder applies the rigours found in business planning to culture planning, whilst building the culture smarts of your culture transformation team.

Pathfinder is all about action. We show your team how to set culture strategies, develop tactical plans, allocate resources and how to set all-important metrics for tracking and reviewing progress. We also introduce them to 9 Levers they can pull to accelerate culture results.

Why choose Pathfinder:

With Pathfinder, you don’t just get directions for your culture journey; we show you how to draw your own roadmap.
Pathfinder prioritises activities and resources, so you only invest in the projects that bring the best results.
The process leaves you with an in-house team of culture planning and management experts.

Culture assessment

CCI (Culture Capability Index)

What it is:

CCI is an online quantitative culture mapping survey that yields comparative data about your culture from across the organisation. Our survey is grounded in our Culture Archetypes, but we can, and have, tailored our report to reflect behaviours defined by our clients.

What it does:

The culture survey brings together a rich data set from across your divisions, regions and employee levels, to give you the most detailed picture possible.

Conducting a CCI gives you a clear insight into the nature of your current culture, and into the culture your people believe needs to be in place to deliver on your business strategy. It reveals points of cultural difference across your organisation, and will let you know your readiness for driving forward transformation. At the end of the process, you’ll receive a comprehensive report and full data set which can form the foundation of an annual cultural health check.

We recommend running a CCI and a TAP together. If TAP defines where you want to go a CCI shows you how far you have to go.

Why choose CCI:

CCI provides a robust view of your culture now and the distance you have to travel to reach your cultural aspirations.
CCI is focused on assessing culture, it is not an employee engagement survey.
CCI gives you a clear set of data showing your culture strengths and risks. It also gives you baseline metrics for measuring culture results.
CCI is grounded in our Culture Archetypes, a simple, yet sophisticated cultural shorthand that our clients find invaluable.

Discover

What it is:

Discover is our qualitative, deep-dive, culture diagnostic tool.

We run expertly-facilitated, 2-hour focus groups with a cross-section of your employees to reveal the beliefs and values that drive your culture.

What it does:

Understanding the deeper drivers of culture is the foundation of genuine transformation. Discover provides a safe environment for your employees to share the values and beliefs they see in action.

The process provides profound insight into why your culture is the way it is. Discover goes below the surface of what you see in action and gets right inside the head and heart of the organisation.

Why choose Discover:

There is a richness of data revealed through open questioning and facilitation that is impossible to replicate solely in a quantitative survey.
The trust that we can create in a Discover session builds openness and honesty, allowing us to reveal your cultural truths.
The insights revealed will make your culture transformation journey easier to plan and execute, and allows you to maximise the ROI of investments you make in culture initiatives.

Culture metrics

Habi

What it is:

Habi is the little app that can bring about a big change in habits.

It allows individuals and teams to track behaviour on a daily basis. Habi can provide company-wide metrics on your progress towards culture transformation and can drive habit formation.

What it does:

Habi provides real-time support for employees in their formation of positive new habits and behavioural patterns. Habi has over 40 behavioural categories, from collaboration to achievement, ownership to innovation.

Individuals, teams, or the whole organisation, sets the app to track the behaviours they want to adopt. Then, by running quick real-time pulses they can check whether that behaviour was displayed.

Habi also gives you access to daily personalised coaching tips and reading ideas, so that you can really master your chosen habit.

Why choose Habi:

It's like having your own personal coach at the touch of a button.
It's a tool whose use facilitates improvements in the very thing it is measuring.
It has the flexibility to operate at an individual, team and company level.
Metrics are clear and quick to capture, giving real-time feedback that keeps your new behaviours on track.
There’s nothing like Habi in the marketplace.

Capability building

Foundation Program

What it is:

Foundation is an intensive 1-day workshop that introduces participants to culture concepts and culture management methodology.

What it does:

Foundation creates a common language, framework and understanding for your organisation to discuss, plan and manage culture. Participants leave with an understanding of how culture is created, how it can be changed, how to manage it, and how it can help to deliver the organisation’s business goals.

Foundation marries our framework with your reality. Your challenges form the basis for many of our practical exercises.

Why choose Foundation:

Foundation raises awareness and educates participants on core culture concepts and management practicalities. It creates a common language and framework on which the organisation can build.
It brings together theoretical insights with practical examples and exercises. Participants leave the program with a plan of action.
We inspire connection to - and enthusiasm for - the culture journey ahead.
It is a perfect introduction for anyone supporting a culture change process.

Lead Program

What it is:

Lead is a 1 or 2-day workshop that immerses participants in a deeper understanding of culture transformation, and specifically, their role in leading it.

What it does:

Lead builds knowledge of how to use symbols and systems to establish culture as a team leader. It challenges individuals to explore and understand their own leadership styles and the impact they can have on culture management.

Why choose Lead:

Culture is an effective business management tool, but only if those who lead the business can also lead culture. The Lead program builds this capability.
Creates a clear connection for your leaders between their individual behaviour and leadership style, and the corporate strategy
Provides leaders with a tool-kit of culture management techniques.

Influence Program

What it is:

Not all points of influence in an organisation come from the leadership down. The Influence program focuses on the importance of building skills in peer-to-peer influence. It’s a process that involves workshops to build engagement and culture management skills.

What it does:

Creates alignment and buy-in to the target culture across this pivotal organisational group. The program captures their inherent power for the purpose of culture transformation.

Participants leave with an understanding of how culture is created, how it can be changed, how to manage it, and how it can help to deliver the organisation’s business goals. We also explore the deeper beliefs of the BE-level as they recognise how they can successfully contribute to change.

Why choose Influence:

One of the few programs that recognises the importance of proactively engaging peer-to-peer influence in major transformations.
Maximises the involvement of key culture players and turns them into advocates for change.

Merge Program

What it is:

Merge is a 1-day workshop focused on quickly building the understanding and capability that your leaders and your merger team will need to successfully bring together two different cultures.

What it does:

Mergers and acquisitions are unique events that cause cultural reverberations throughout both organisations. Our Merge program gives you the tools you need to have an effective dialogue, build common values and establish a new common cultural does. Think of it as marriage counselling.

We often recommend that an organisation undertaking a Merge program also run a culture assessment. If the Merge program creates the skills to make good culture management decisions, a culture assessment provides the data you need to ensure those decisions are based on fact.

Why choose Merge:

Specifically targeted to the specialist skill set required for bringing organisational cultures together.
Limits negative impact through rigorous culture management.
Gives you the tools to be in control of culture, rather than at the mercy of a merger.

Executive development

Executive Development Program

What it is:

A facilitated process of interventions with the Executive Team which is structured to cover four dimensions of team performance: I, US, WE, and IT.

Our best results are achieved when a team commits to an on-going program of work, but we do provide facilitation of one-off workshops,

What it does:

The ‘I’ dimension considers the individual and their leadership shadow, this can involve 360 degree feedback, individual coaching and individual behaviour development.

The ‘US’ dimension builds trust within the Executive Team. The tools and training we provide improve open dialogue, encourage greater levels of personal disclosure and build effective team habits. The team work on their collective leadership shadow (read about the Shadow of the Leader here) and reach consensus decisions as to how best to influence culture transformation as one voice.

The ‘WE” dimension covers the impact the executive has on the organisation, and helps them to lead a culture transformation by considering the impact they have on how others behave.

Strategy, goals and business planning are reviewed as part of the ‘IT’ dimension. It is a constant drumbeat of alignment between strategy and culture.

Together I-US-WE-IT provides a powerful force for the Executive that really does bring together the walk and the talk.

Why choose the Exec Program:

It is a challenging, powerful and personally transformative workout for your Executive.
It is flexible enough to adapt to tight executive schedules, whilst simultaneously ensuring that the Executive move away from their tendency to focus just on ‘the task’
We link the individual, with the team, with decisions taken, with business strategy and culture. There is a purity of understanding which comes from such clear alignment which is compelling and convincing.

Behavioural change

Key Behaviour Program

What it is:

You’ve identified and defined the behaviours your business needs to embed in the organisation to deliver your business targets. The Key Behaviour Program is a tailored 1-day workshop that educates and engages everyone in your business as to these new behavioural requirements.

What it does:

The Key Behaviour Program builds a critical mass of people displaying the new behaviours. It creates a common language; common skills set and common understanding from leadership through to front line staff.

It’s an informative, exciting and engaging process that builds enthusiasm for transformation in participants.

To deliver culture transformation, the Key Behaviour Program should always be part of a wider range of activities. We work carefully with clients to ensure the program is aligned with other initiatives.

Why choose Key Behaviour Program:

Each Key Behaviour Program is unique, tailored to the behaviours your organisation needs to deliver your goals.
It marries theoretical insights with practical examples and exercises. Participants leave the program with a plan of action.
We build connection to, and enthusiasm for, the culture journey taking place within your business.

Habi

What it is:

Habi is the little app that can bring about a big change in habits. It allows individuals and teams to track behaviour on a daily basis. Habi can provide company-wide metrics on your progress towards culture transformation and can drive habit formation

What it does:

Individuals, teams, or the whole organisation, sets the app to track the behaviours they want to adopt. Then, by running quick real-time surveys you can check whether that behaviour was displayed.

Habi also gives you access to daily personalised coaching tips and reading ideas, so that you can really master your chosen habit.

Why choose Habi:

It’s like having your own personal coach at the touch of a button.
It has the flexibility to operate at an individual, team and company level.
Metrics are clear and quick to capture, giving real-time feedback that keeps your new behaviours on track.
There’s nothing like Habi in the marketplace.

Consulting solutions