Interview your subject (interviewee) to discover information regarding his/her organization’s culture by asking the following questions:
Tell me about the relationship of your organization’s people to the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
Are the people in your organization used to taking risks (innovation) or is organizational stability more important (the status quo)?
Are the people in your organization more focused on the details of their work (the means) or toward the outcomes (the end results)?
Would you say that your organization’s leadership is more process-oriented or people-oriented?
Does your organization focus more on recognizing the accomplishments of individual members or the accomplishments of teams?
Do people tend to be easygoing and cooperative, or are they aggressive and highly competitive?
Describe the general demeanor of the organization’s people. In other words, are people mostly disengaged and apathetic, or are they engaged and energetic?
Is your organization more formal or less formal in its day-to-day operations and approaches?
Are there any organizational standards or ideals that are particularly important to the people in the organization? If so, what are they?
What words best describe the overall “mood” of the organization?
What rituals are important in the organization?
What symbols are most important to the people in the organization?
Are there any stories that people tell newcomers that help to indoctrinate them into the organization? If so, what are they?
What artifacts are most important to the people in the organization (e.g., mottos, slogans, meetings, awards, new hire trainings, etc.?)
What are people most proud of?
What do people complain most about?
What shared assumptions come to mind (that are important to the people of the organization)?
