All good things start with culture
Our aim is to create an environment where teachers thrive!
We give principals and leadership teams the insight and support to make that happen.
Grades, graduation rates, attendance, student outcomes … all of these are improved when the culture of a school supports teachers (instead of hindering them!).
Michael Fullan argues that principals should prioritise culture before anything else in schools. That’s exactly what we do.
At Culture Shock, we take our deep education experience, decades of research on effective schools and combine it with the very best tools and ideas from corporates to help schools diagnose their culture and provide a practical road-map showing the path to improvement.
Want a better plant? Use better soil.
Amazing things happen when we get culture right
We improve student outcomes
We build a culture of high performance and productivity
We improve staff communication, collaboration and problem-solving
We increase happiness, well-being, motivation and commitment
We empower staff as positive drivers of change
We improve the impact of professional development
We help staff become comfortable with new initiatives and innovation
We improve parent, staff and student satisfaction
We boost staff retention and the efficacy of teacher training
It’s shockingly simple
Culture Shock’s team of experienced educators use innovative tools, practical inspiration and a supportive process in three simple stages:
1. Analyse
It all starts with understanding what exactly your school’s culture currently is. We use a range of diagnostic options including the Human Synergistics Culture Framework or Culture Shock’s Culture Appraisal Tool (or as we like to call it the CAT Scan) which is designed specifically for schools and based on the 5 pillars of high performance.
We carefully survey your leadership and staff, interpreting the results to reveal your organisational culture. Our detailed reports includes a roadmap and an intuitive graphics, making it easy to see how to reach your goals faster. We also offer Waggl for Schools (a lighter touch agile tool perfect for times of disruption).
2. Reculture
Once you understand where you are, we support you in deciding where you want to go and provide you with a practical roadmap to get there. We make it simple with bite sized interventions designed for overwhelmed schools. To do this, we bring you the best of corporate culture management tailored specifically to the practical needs of busy schools. Always focused on making the complex simple. We love supporting schools in the realization of what really matters, and what’s worth doing. We use a strengths-based approach to help prioritise actions and then use the 4S model as a framework for changing behaviours and mind sets. Always focused on making the complex simple.
3. Reinforce
Once you’ve implemented changes, you will start measuring progress and results. We support continued focus on change by assessing progress and results while encouraging school teams to share insights and learn from others as you go.
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November 2019
Culture Shock ran a Culture Appraisal Tool (CAT Scan) which was a very quick and simple process and the follow up workshop and debriefing sessions were very insightful and action oriented. The final report offered the leadership team a road map to a higher performance culture and we can already see how that will lead to better student outcomes.
What really matters?
The 5 Pillars of high performance
Extensive research and decades of collective experience in education, performance improvement, leadership development and culture has led to the development of the 5 pillars of high performance in schools.
Collaborative Community
A ‘Collaborative Community’ is an environment where people respect each other’s opinions and work well together. It can be characterized by effective communication throughout the whole school community and parents, caregivers, staff and students are all engaged in contributing to school improvement.
Exceptional Leadership
A culture of ‘Exceptional Leadership’ would have leaders who are positive role models and have the respect of staff. The leadership team would passionately articulate a vision for the school and inspire transformation. Leaders would help remove obstacles and enable every member of staff to perform at their best.
Achieving Lofty Goals
‘Achieving Lofty Goals’ describes a culture that has high expectations of all staff and students. Strategic priorities are arrived at thoughtfully with consensus from the whole school community and operational rigor around achieving them. Core values underpin all decisions and behaviors.
Learning Mindset
A ‘Learning Mindset’ indicates a culture that takes a professional approach toward teaching and learning and is focused on continuous improvement. A school with a strong ‘Learning Mindset’ would be flexible and well positioned for growth and transformation.
Valuing Capabilities
A culture that ‘Values Capability’ means everyone understands their role and feels valued and appreciated for what they do. Individuals are trusted with the autonomy to achieve their objectives free from the burden of unnecessary oversight.
The CAT Scan provides a visual snapshot of a school’s current organizational culture.
Here is a CAT scan from a real school. Their culture is represented on a scale of one to ten — the closer each element is to the outer edge, the higher their cultural effectiveness. The gap between the actual culture and the desired culture is how we identify an opportunity for improvement.
Our Team
From our founders to our team of valued advisors we are all united by a common desire to improve educational outcomes.
Our experts all agree culture is the ‘secret sauce’ of school improvement. With decades of global experience in both schools and fortune 500 companies, we bring together the best ideas to fast-track success.
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November 2019
In our experience Culture Shock offers a significant return on investment for any school looking to improve.
David Mezinec - Principal Tenison Woods College
Is it time for a Culture Shock?
Want to help teachers thrive?
Want to improve student outcomes?
Embarking on digital transformation?
Not getting uptake on new initiatives?
Conducting a strategic review?
Want to improve teacher wellbeing?
Looking to become more innovative?
Professional Development not getting results?
Need a better return on investments?
New Principal?
New Leadership Team?
Looking to attract or retain staff?
Staff feeling overwhelmed?
Or just want to see your school be the best it can be?
Our partners
We love collaborating!
Our highly trained global partners have access to a range of world class tools and products specifically to support their education consulting practice. We carefully screen for the best partners, provide ongoing training to support access to the cutting edge culture tools, processes, and inspiration to enhance client results.
