
CULTURAL STRENGTHS FOR ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT
CLIENT
Scottish Fire & Rescue
ACTIVITY
Organisational Improvement
INTRODUCTION
In 2018, while working as a contractor for iESE Transformation on assignment with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), I was given the task of designing a cultural assessment tool.
The original assignment was to facilitate several HR process redesign workshops for this newly formed national emergency service. At first, the task appeared straightforward—typical of assignments in similar organisations. However, as the team and I progressed, it became clear that engagement in the process was alarmingly low. The language and approach we used felt overly headquarters-centric, failing to resonate with staff across the organisation.
As we delved deeper, it became apparent that the disconnect was not just an issue of communication but one of culture. I raised these concerns with Sarah O’Donnell, the project sponsor and chair of the executive transformation committee, pointing out the risks that could emerge during the implementation phase if we didn’t adjust our approach.

Sarah O'Donnell - Director of Finance and Contractual Services
Sarah and I began to explore the broader challenges facing the SFRS. At the time, the organisation was only five years old, born from the merger of eight diverse regional services.
Each of these legacy services brought unique traditions, practices, and cultures to the newly unified body. Transformation would be a continuous necessity for the SFRS as it evolved to meet new challenges.
As we talked, it became clear that without a nuanced understanding of the cultural landscape, any transformative initiative would face significant obstacles, including the one we were currently working on. This insight prompted us to rethink our strategy. We concluded that understanding and leveraging the service’s cultural strengths was not just beneficial but critical to its long-term success.
Peter Drucker, the renowned management thinker, famously stated, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This quote underscores the reality that even the most meticulously crafted plans can fail if they do not engage and involve the people they affect. Successful transformation depends on individuals feeling like active contributors rather than passive recipients.
Recognising this, Sarah agreed to adopt a new approach—one grounded in a deeper understanding of the organisation’s cultural fabric. As we considered how best to address the challenge, we turned to the work of Professor Marshall Sashkin, a leading scholar in organisational development at George Washington University. His research provided valuable insights into how leadership culture influences organisational performance, particularly through values and vision.
Sashkin defined organisational culture as a set of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that guide behaviour and decision-making. He argued that culture is not merely a backdrop for organisational performance but a central driver of it. His work offered a framework for understanding the key elements of culture, which include:
- Values: The fundamental principles that guide behaviour within the organisation
- Beliefs: Shared understandings about “how things work here” shaping collective perspectives
- Norms: The unwritten rules that influence day-to-day behaviour and decision-making
We hypothesised that these cultural elements would not be uniformly distributed across the organisation but might exhibit recurring patterns or commonalities.
One of Sashkin’s notable contributions was the development of a diagnostic tool for assessing culture. Unlike many standard staff surveys that provide only surface-level insights, Sashkin’s tool delves deeper, offering a more profound understanding of an organisation’s cultural dynamics. This tool inspired the development of our own approach.
Building a model for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
The SFRS is an exceptionally diverse organisation, both in terms of geography and workforce. Covering a vast area approximately 66% the size of England and Wales, the service in 2015 employed 8,281 staff across 357 fire stations. These stations serve a range of communities, from densely populated urban centres to the remote Highlands and Islands.
The workforce reflects this diversity, encompassing full-time staff, part-time staff, and volunteers. Roles range from boat crews and firefighters to mechanics, administrators, and supervisors. Each group brings its own perspectives, priorities, and challenges, further complicating efforts to unify the organisation under a single strategy.
Adding to this complexity is the fact that the SFRS operates in a constantly evolving environment. Technological advancements, shifts in community needs, and improved safety measures all contribute to an ongoing process of transformation. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus captured this reality when he said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river, and he’s not the same man.” This sentiment aptly describes the SFRS.

The iESE Cultural Diagnostic Wheel
While we acknowledged that the organisation comprised many distinct subgroups, we also believed there were shared cultural bonds. These bonds might have been inherited from the eight predecessor services or could reflect universal traits found in emergency services worldwide. Understanding these dynamics was central to our approach. To capture this complexity, we designed a cultural assessment tool structured around four key quadrants of enquiry. For each quadrant, we developed a set of tailored interview questions. The interviews, lasting up to 90 minutes, employed open-ended questioning techniques inspired by executive coaching practices. This method encouraged participants to reflect deeply on their experiences and articulate their thoughts.
The interviews were conducted across a representative sample of the organisation, including staff from different regions, roles, and levels of seniority. Detailed notes from these sessions were analysed thematically to identify recurring patterns, uncovering the shared and divergent aspects of the SFRS’s cultural landscape.
Results and conclusions
The response to the assessment process was overwhelmingly positive. Many participants described the interviews as cathartic, highlighting the power of active listening in fostering engagement. This aligns with a well-established phenomenon: people feel more invested when they sense that their voices are genuinely heard.
The thematic analysis revealed a nuanced cultural landscape. On one hand, the SFRS exhibited strong social bonds, both within local communities and across the national organisation. These bonds often transcended organisational hierarchies, fostering a sense of collective identity and purpose.
On the other hand, the analysis highlighted a duality in the service’s culture. During emergencies, structure and hierarchy naturally took precedence, ensuring that operations were carried out efficiently and effectively. However, in non-emergency contexts—by far the majority of the organisation’s activities—these hierarchical structures often gave way to a more community-oriented ethos.
The decreasing frequency of emergencies, driven by advancements in education, safety measures, and other factors, underscored the importance of this community-oriented dynamic. As the nature of the organisation’s work shifted, so too did the cultural patterns that defined its identity.
One of the most significant findings was the risk posed by a headquarters-driven approach to transformation. Initiatives originating exclusively from the centre often felt disconnected from the realities of the wider organisation. This top-down strategy could lead to unintended consequences, including demotivation and disengagement among staff.
Conversely, involving staff early in the transformation process proved to be a powerful antidote to these risks. By leveraging the natural social bonds within the service, leaders could foster a sense of ownership and collective purpose, greatly enhancing the likelihood of successful implementation.
Key Takeaways
The SFRS’s experience offers valuable lessons for any organisation navigating large-scale transformation. Chief among these is the importance of understanding and harnessing cultural strengths. By engaging staff from the outset, organisations can mitigate the risks of a purely top-down approach and build a more cohesive, motivated workforce.
In the case of the SFRS, the cultural assessment process not only provided critical insights but also reinforced the importance of active listening as a tool for engagement. By acknowledging and respecting the unique perspectives of its diverse workforce, the service was able to chart a path forward that balanced central leadership with grassroots input. Ultimately, this approach exemplifies the idea that culture, far from being a passive backdrop, is a dynamic force capable of driving meaningful and lasting change.

Andrew Woodward is a highly experienced management consultant and coach, supporting organisations and individuals make step change performance improvements. He has been working with businesses around the world for the last twenty-five years.
Website: www.woodward-consulting.net
Email: andrew@woodward-consulting.net
Mobile: 07743871229