Culture Portrait

A Culture Portrait is a characterization of how your organization actually works—not how it's supposed to work on the org chart or in the values poster.

I spend a week observing, listening, and sensing. Then I deliver a 3-page portrait and a 90-minute debrief.

The question it answers: What's really going on here?

Use it before you design any transformation or change. It becomes your baseline.

When to use it

A Culture Portrait is useful when:

• You're new to an organization and need to understand the real culture before acting
• You're preparing for transformation and need clarity on your starting point
• You sense something is off but can't articulate what
• You want to understand what's actually driving behavior

How it works

I spend one week with access to the organization. I talk to people, observe how work gets done, and look at the artifacts of culture.

Access (5 days)

• 10–12 conversations at different levels and functions
• Informal interactions, not formal interviews
• Focus on patterns: how decisions actually get made, how conflict is handled, what's rewarded and what's hidden

Culture Portrait (3 pages)

• Core values in action: what the organization actually cares about
• Decision-making patterns: formal and informal
• Power dynamics: where real influence sits
• Strengths and tensions
• Implications: what this culture makes possible and what it makes hard

Debrief Session (90 minutes)

• I walk through the portrait with you
• We discuss implications for change
• No recommendations unless you ask—just clarity about what is

Timeline: 2 weeks from start to debrief

Remote or on-site?

Both work. I prefer on-site for a richer sense of the environment, but I can deliver a strong portrait remotely.

Languages

English and German.

How it differs from Change Audit

A Culture Portrait characterizes your overall culture now—the baseline. A Change Audit looks at how a specific change is landing. Culture Portrait comes first; Change Audit during implementation.