From Surviving to Thriving: Building a high-performing culture in a turbulent world

More organisations than ever find themselves in ‘survival mode’; needing to respond to the rapidly changing landscape beneath our feet. From climate change, to AI, to political instability, social division and demographic changes in the workplace; the context in which businesses operate today is more complex than ever before. 

Whilst terms such as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘VUCA’ have become so used that organisations have almost become numb to them – we also see organisations becoming numb to the human experience of people living, and working, through today’s challenges. But the impact is real. Only 23% of global employees feel engaged at work and UK businesses are losing a staggering £51 billion annually due to poor mental health, particularly burnout, underscoring the real cost of neglecting the pressures and complexities people face.

As one of our senior clients recently shared: “It’s more urgent and prudent to invest in [culture] today. Organisations have to do more with less and you want your remaining people to be as aligned and energised and engaged as they can be.” 

A vision for a better future
But this doesn’t need to be the norm. Imagine a world where instead of being in survival mode, we see people and organisations that are able to thrive through change.

Where, instead of stories of burnout and quiet quitting, we see genuine collective resilience that enables individuals within organisations to adapt to changing needs at pace. Where people are motivated, acting with confidence, coming up with fresh and exciting ideas to solve problems and create new value, managing risk astutely with courage and judgment, and forging new partnerships and collaborations to create fresh solutions – within complexity, not in spite of it.

To make this a reality, organisations need to be deliberate about creating a Thriving Culture: a culture in which high-performance and human-centricity are held in balance, through continual insight, design and action.

Cultivating a Thriving Culture: our approach
We are often asked: “What does a strong organisational culture truly look like?”, and our Thriving Cultures model was developed to answer just that. Whilst not a prescriptive map as to what culture should look like, it provides a guide for organisations to consider, to design cultures around and to test their existing cultural strengths.

From building equitable leadership behaviours within the Higher Education sector, to connecting individuals with organisational purpose in professional services, through to dialling up customer love in hospitality; our Thriving Cultures model is built on years of experience in shaping organisations across various sectors and industries, of all shapes and sizes, across the world. Grounded in applied behavioural science, and inspired by cutting-edge change practices such as biomimicry and systems thinking; we have identified the six key components of a Thriving Culture.

The six characteristics of a Thriving Culture

A truly Thriving Culture comprises of six key components:

Connection to Purpose and Values – employees genuinely understanding the ‘why’ behind their work, being motivated, inspired and united behind the unique positive contribution they are making together, providing a sense of meaning, and achieving this in a way that is aligned to the shared values and beliefs.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) – actively valuing and celebrating differences and ensuring everyone feels they can contribute their ideas, thinking and diverse perspectives fully and safely so that the richest and most exciting conversations, and collaborations, can happen.

Experimentation & Agility – where organisations are energised by change, are quick to respond to new external circumstances, innovate boldly by testing, learning and adapting, and make decisions and act on them even within ambiguity and complexity.

Trust & Psychological Safety – creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up, share ideas, learn, try new things, take good risks and admit and learn from mistakes without fear.

Resilience & Wellbeing – supporting employees’ holistic health and their capacity to perform and thrive through challenge and complexity, building and supporting collective resilience.

Customer Love – keeping customers at the centre of how your organisation operates, and being deeply attuned to their changing needs and expectations, on a daily basis.

These six elements – each with their own set of core behaviours – are designed to be mutually reinforcing, simple, actionable and measurable; at the individual, team and organisational level. They can be explored in the round, or as individual elements, with targeted interventions in one area, positively impacting another to drive business performance. Conversely, neglecting any one of them can open an organisation up to risks ranging from preventing collaboration and value creation, to reputational and regulatory harm.

Building a Thriving Culture: where to begin
Navigating today’s complex world demands more than a superficial understanding of culture; it requires an in-depth, continuous analysis of the core elements that enable leaders and teams to thrive. Many leaders, despite years of investment in people and culture, struggle to truly understand what’s going on or where to focus next.

That’s precisely why we have developed a short, complementary diagnostic tool, based on our Thriving Cultures model. Designed to spark crucial conversations and action within your organisation, this diagnostic takes under 10 minutes to complete. Upon completion, you’ll receive a simple, visual, and thought-provoking perspective on your current culture, alongside a video overview from our team with guidance on potential areas for improvement. It’s a taster of the more comprehensive and bespoke culture intelligence we offer our clients, and we hope it inspires meaningful discussion.

Ready to gain insights into your organisation’s culture and ignite the conversation? Click here to access our Thriving Cultures Diagnostic Tool

If you’d like to dive deeper into your specific needs and explore how Kin&Co can help you cultivate a truly thriving culture, we invite you to connect with our team.