The Challenge
Within a large municipality, several departments had become fragmented. Employees were highly committed to serving citizens, but the organization suffered from:
- Frequent management turnover and lack of stable direction.
- A gap between management and frontline teams — many felt unseen and unheard.
- Silo-thinking and strained collaboration between teams and locations.
- Feelings of insecurity, mistrust, and an undercurrent of fear around speaking up.
- High workload and limited appreciation, despite strong dedication.
These patterns reduced trust, productivity, and the municipality’s ability to deliver effectively for its citizens.
Our Approach
We began with a cultural deep dive:
- Ten days of fieldwork, observations, and interviews with over 100 employees across multiple sites.
- Conversations in both formal and informal settings — from meetings to lunches.
- Analysis of stories, rituals, and everyday practices to surface the deeper cultural logics at play.
We then facilitated dialogue and campfire sessions to bring employees and managers together. These sessions created space for:
- Sharing concerns safely.
- Listening deeply to different perspectives.
- Exploring inspiring future cases they would love to work on.
- Beginning to rebuild a shared identity.
Cultural Insights
Our analysis revealed key cultural patterns:
- Confusing leadership: without clear navigation, uncertainty and mistrust spread.
- Fragmented interaction: teams worked in islands with fragile connections.
- Desire for togetherness: employees longed for recognition, belonging, and a shared narrative.
- Strong dedication: despite challenges, people showed remarkable loyalty and passion for serving citizens.
The Outcome
The municipality is now on a path toward greater stability and trust, supported by:
- A clearer vision and long-term strategy to reduce ad hoc decision-making.
- More visible and approachable leadership, creating transparency and dialogue.
- Practical steps to strengthen communication and social safety.
- Renewed attention to core values — trust, involvement, and entrepreneurship — as guiding principles.
This cultural strategy forms the foundation for a healthier, more connected municipality where employees feel heard, supported, and united in serving the public.
