Excerpted from Francis Cholle’s The Intuitive Compass, Jossey-Bass

To get the most out of employees in terms of creativity and agility, you need to create a work culture that enables them to explore new ideas freely and fail without fear of reprisal.  A work culture that is open to new ideas is key to success over the long term.  A work culture that honors autonomy generates unexpected–and often lucrative–new products.  A fluid, vibrant work culture resonates with and balances the complexity and unpredictability of today’s business landscape.  The following are some questions that can reveal the state of your work culture as it stands currently.

• Is your work culture about anticipating your employees’ deeper need for meaning?
• Is your work culture hierarchical only?  If not, do you have systems in place for informal gatherings, informal exchanges of information, informal participation?
• Do you really care about people being happy, or do you just give it lip service?
• Do you make it explicitly safe for people to try new things and to fail?
• Do you encourage diversity in age, ethnicity, professional background, gender, and sociocultural styles?  If so, how?
• Do you allow for and promote play?  If so, how?
• How do you inspire employees’ creativity?
• How do you create among employees a natural sense of belonging to your organization?

 Each question represents one key aspect of a work culture relevant to the new economic environment.  Answering these questions should help you understand your current work culture and see ways that you can improve it.