CULTURE PULSE & MOTIVATING VALUES OVERVIEW AND KEY FACTS

Culture Pulse and Motivating Values are similar in their visual display on the Cloverleaf Dashboard, yet they measure different things.

Culture Pulse shows how employees behave amongst each other. The entire team is placed on a spectrum measuring values, norms, beliefs and behavior. The distribution of the team members is the result of how culture impacts how they behave internally and externally. Understanding the dynamic of the team across a spectrum within culture pulse can illuminate strengths as well as imbalances.

Motivating Values speaks more to the individual and the personal values that drive people’s behavior. Values are strongly tied to the motivation that shows up in the workplace. Teams that understand what motivates their colleagues can be extremely insightful in how they approach each other with new ideas, assign or delegate specific tasks and even how to strategically assign direct reports. The team is also distributed on a spectrum and can help team members understand how to honor and leverage the values of one another.

Access Culture Pulse Resources Here:

1. Culture Pulse Assessment Resources Access

Motivating Values Resources Here:

1. Motivating Values Assessment Resources

APPLYING CULTURE PULSE & MOTIVATING VALUES TO TEAMS AND POSITIONING THEM IN THE CLOVERLEAF SWOT

For both assessments, you are looking to identify clusters and patterns. Where is there an even distribution of team members? Where is there an imbalance? What are the implications of both types of distribution?

Culture Pulse

Some of what culture pulse measures is challenging to include in the Cloverleaf SWOT. However, these two areas highlighted below translate most effectively. Let’s explore examples of Culture Pulse patterns you can include in a Cloverleaf SWOT with guidance on how to position them.

Sections

- Organizational Effectiveness – Page 18

- Management Philosophy – Page 19

EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

Position it as a strength:

When a team has a good mix of means oriented and goal oriented people, they are balancing out their “why” (means oriented) and their “how”(goal oriented) people. This can be especially helpful when the goal oriented team members stray from the original purpose of a project or idea. The means oriented team members will hold the “why” front and center and measure the process against its alignment with purpose. In the same way, when the means oriented people are stuck in creating intention and get more philosophical or theoretical, the goal oriented team members will provide a more tactical approach.

IMBALANCED DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

People Clustered at the Means Oriented end of the Spectrum Position it as an opportunity for growth:

When team members are clustered and reflect more means oriented behavioral tendencies, they might be trapped in white boarding, brainstorming or spend time on a theoretical tangent which can lead to a lack of goal clarity. Does the team have enough tactical practices within meetings or strategic planning sessions to help them focus on outcomes? For example, a best practice to keep teams goal oriented is quarterly OKRs (Objectives & Key Results). These time bound goals are also inspired by the team and organizational purpose and can range from serving internal and external needs. A team can take on several OKRs per quarter and assign owners and collaborators to each.

People Clustered at the Goal Oriented End of the Spectrum Position it as an opportunity for growth:

Team members that huddle towards the goal oriented end of the spectrum probably have excellent tactical execution. They might get so focused on results that there needs to be a re-alignment with purpose and intention from time to time. In the same way that OKRs can support a more purpose driven team, team charters, or purpose statements can help set the tone for a year or quarter. For example, as a team sets forth yearly objectives that fulfill company business priorities, documenting the purpose and intention of those objectives AND incorporating purpose as a ruler for future initiatives to be measured against can ensure that process and purpose stay closely aligned.

EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

Position it as a strength:

A balance in this area means the team has a good mix of management styles that will likely resonate with a wide variety of people that they may lead. What is great to point out here is the range of management styles on the team and the opportunity to examine people who might manage others with opposing needs. For example, if I manage more with support but have a direct report who is motivated by clear benchmarks, deadlines and goals, which fellow leader can I tap into as a resource to find out how to best serve my team?

IMBALANCED DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

People Clustered at the Support OR Performance End of the Spectrum Position both of these as opportunities for growth:

If the team is managing mostly via support or mostly via performance, the key here is for anyone on the team who manages others to get direct feedback from those they lead. You may have a bunch of managers who lead via performance and a group of direct reports who respond more to managers who get in there and work alongside them. Conversely, if most leaders manage via support, a direct report who performs better by just giving them a goal and letting them work it out on their own will likely feel they are being micromanaged. Micromanaging as a style is just something to watch to prevent turnover or breaking down of trust in work relationships.

MOTIVATING VALUES

Motivating values reveals more personal aspects of each individual on a team. Because of this, there are several categories that you might want to shy away from including in a Cloverleaf SWOT so people don’t feel their values are being challenged (hint: you won’t see them used as examples here!) There are two categories of Motivating Values that can fit nicely into the Cloverleaf SWOT and be positioned creatively. Below are examples of each of those categories.

Sections

- Theoretical: Intellectual vs Instinctive – Page 20

- Economic: Selfless vs Resourceful – Page 21

EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

Position it as a strength:

A team that is balanced here is likely also balanced in thinkers and feelers in 16 Types. To give this a little more nuance, consider looking at this through the lens of conflict. When the team is experiencing conflict, the intellectuals will try to explain logically why things should be a certain way, likely not tapping into more of the human dynamics that may be underlying what is really going on. Consider that the people who are more instinctive can shed some light on interpersonal dynamics that can’t be solved within a system, even if not every one of their instincts is correct.

Conversely, when emotions run high for those who are more instinctive, the Intellectuals can calm the waters by bringing the conflict back to facts and strategies that can help resolve it.

IMBALANCED DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

People Clustered at the Instinctive OR Intellectual End of the Spectrum Position both of these as opportunities for growth:

If a team is so towards the intellectual side, and a new person joins the team who is more instinctive, the team may be perceived as a bit robotic. Teams may be over engineering things that are pretty simple and don’t require a long drawn out system. At times people so systems-driven can make things more complicated. For example, having an overabundance of SOPs that no one really pays attention to becomes more like busy work and less of an effective practice. Where is there an opportunity to simplify?

Conversely teams huddled at the Instinctive end of the spectrum may have some interpersonal challenges because of the lack of logic-led thinkers who can support everyone getting out of their heads. Teams bunched up on this end of the spectrum may identify AS their opinions rather than as a person who has one. A strategy here is to designate a person on the team who is willing to take on the role of creating accountability around this in the team. Time limits around how long a group dwells in the world of feelings and opinions before they transition into a more structured factual approach can help teams get unstuck.

EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

Position it as a strength:

This can be a slightly personal area, but you can position this creatively as a strength by helping a team see how resourceful people can ensure that those who are more inclined to be selfless aren’t taken advantage of or. They can also influence people who focus so much on the relational aspect of work that they miss opportunities to grow, thrive and meet objectives. Similarly, people driven by selflessness can bring a spirit of servant leadership to a team and create a sense of safety, community and a healthy focus on team cohesion.

IMBALANCED DISTRIBUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS

People Clustered at the Resourceful OR Selfless end of the spectrum Position both of these as opportunities for growth:

Patterns clustered towards the extremes can sometimes be industry related. For example, it wouldn’t be a surprise for a nonprofit team to be clustered towards selflessness. At the same time, an opportunity for growth is to tap into the person who lends most towards being resourceful to ensure the team doesn’t burn out by bringing more practicality to execution.

NOTE: In some cases you can also position clustered towards selflessness as a strength

Conversely, teams that are more clustered towards being resourceful may let competition cause in-fighting or hyper individualism that breaks down team cohesion. The opportunity for growth here is to tap into team building opportunities that may even include community outreach. Volunteerism can ignite dormant selflessness that can bring a spirit of cooperation to a team.

We hope this guide is valuable in helping you maximize your ability to lead teams through making the most of Cloverleaf!

Cloverleaf has a lot to offer, so check out our blog or other articles about the TEAM Dashboard.