Cultural cognitive dissonance
Cultural cognitive dissonance is the gap between what organisations and their leaders say they value and what they actually do. And once you see it, it becomes impossible to unsee!
These are the things that I look for whenever I start a new project with a client. Solve these and trust returns in leadership, which in turn creates the foundations upon which lasting change can be built.
Here are some examples:
Leaders not living the values they preach (the classic say-do gap)
Development cut when money's tight (undermines ‘people are our greatest asset’)
Poor behaviour routinely ignored (contradicts stated values around respect/accountability etc.)
No time for creativity despite ‘innovation’ being a stated priority
Different rules for different roles or levels of seniority
Flexibility offered to some but not others
‘Open door policy’ but leaders are never available
A speak up culture is encouraged but whistleblowers are sidelined
Work-life balance is talked about but emails expected at evenings and weekends
Promote people for technical skills, then blame them for poor leadership
Mental health initiatives but unsustainable workloads
DEI statements are made but homogenous leadership still exists
Individualism is encouraged (‘be your best self’) yet conformity is expected
The organisation sells itself as ‘customer first’ but frontline teams under-resourced
How many of these do you see in your organisation?
