📰 K-12 Question of the Month: Culture and Strategy Sit Down to Lunch

I hope you’ve all had an enjoyable and enlightening Black History Month! After last year’s escalating social unrest and protests, our national focus on racial justice has only intensified. Even those previously on the periphery are keeping a sharp eye on the brands they frequent and their own organizations for signs of genuine commitment to deep systemic and cultural change. 
As February winds down, we know the widespread focus on culture will continue. When it comes to supporting workplace culture and achieving institutional goals, it can feel like the two are in competition or even conflict. We’ve all heard the saying, “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” 
At Qualtrics, we know culture and strategy have sit down at the table together. They must work in tandem, as equally important factors in a school, district, and institutional success. Aligning culture and strategy not only improves outcomes in the good times, but can carry organizations through the tough times. 
But how to achieve such alignment? It starts with engaging employees. “People tend to support what they help to build,” says Donna Karlin, founder of A Better Perspective in FastCompany. “It’s about engagement, enthusiasm, the idea that ‘I’m a part of this and I’m going to do my best to make it succeed.’”
We’ve all felt that connection (or its lack) in our own work. When we are engaged, we bring a higher level of commitment and contribution to the work. But as XM Institute’s recent report Three Shifts for Employee Experience Success points out, many companies still struggle to deliver the employee experiences required to raise employee engagement levels. The research found three common but outdated beliefs about employee experience and recommends three fundamental mind shifts: 

• From functional job execution to purpose-led empowerment


• From disinterested surveying to collaborative understanding and action


• From HR-driven programs to employee-engaging leaders