An aspirational culture represents the environment and values that an organization seeks to achieve, bridging the gap between its current culture and the one it envisions. It’s the collective hope of what a company wants to be—defining its core values, leadership styles, and employee behaviors.
Table of Contents
- The Difference Between Actual Culture and Aspirational Culture
- 5 Steps to Create an Aspirational Culture
- Bridging the Gap: Moving from Actual to Aspirational
- Why Aspirational Culture is a Continuous Journey
The Difference Between Actual Culture and Aspirational Culture
Actual Culture
Your company’s actual culture is the set of behaviors, communication patterns, and interactions that occur daily. It’s often the unofficial culture, formed from employees’ real-world experiences. Whether it’s how decisions are made or how problems are addressed, the actual culture is shaped over time by people and processes. Leaders may not have formally defined it, but it’s the reality employees encounter when they come to work.
Aspirational Culture
In contrast, aspirational culture is a company’s desired culture—what leaders envision for the future. This includes the environment, values, and behaviors that they want the organization to embody. Aspirational culture involves defining a path forward for growth, where everyone aligns with the company’s mission and values. It helps guide strategy, leadership, and employee engagement toward long-term success.
| Aspect | Actual Culture | Aspirational Culture |
| Formation | Organically formed by employee interactions | Deliberately shaped by leadership vision |
| Basis | Daily experiences and behaviors | Ideal values and behaviors for the future |
| Leadership’s Role | Passive observation | Active involvement and role modeling |
5 Steps to Create an Aspirational Culture
Step 1: Conduct a Cultural Audit
The first step in building an aspirational culture is assessing the current culture. Leaders should conduct a cultural audit by observing team behaviors, gathering feedback, and analyzing the values reflected in daily work. Employee surveys, interviews, and focus groups can provide invaluable insights into the culture as experienced by employees, revealing gaps between the actual and desired cultures.
Step 2: Define Core Values
Determining core values is essential to bridge the gap between the current and aspirational culture. These values should reflect the organization’s mission, vision, and long-term goals. Aligning the team’s personal values with these core values creates unity and direction. Leadership must ensure these values are not just words on paper but ingrained in the company’s daily operations.
Step 3: Involve Employees in Cultural Design
An aspirational culture can only succeed if employees are actively involved in its creation. Leaders should involve employees from all levels of the organization, encouraging them to contribute ideas and offer feedback. This collaborative approach ensures that the desired culture is not imposed from above but is a shared vision that everyone feels connected to. Employees become change agents, empowered to embrace the aspirational goals.
Step 4: Model Desired Behaviors
Leadership sets the tone for cultural transformation. Leaders must exemplify the attitudes, actions, and behaviors that reflect the aspirational culture. Whether it’s demonstrating transparency in communication or showing empathy in decision-making, leadership’s role is to model the desired behaviors for others to follow.
Step 5: Use Language to Shape Culture
Words have a powerful influence on shaping culture. The language used within the organization plays a critical role in moving from an actual to an aspirational culture. Leaders can use phrases that encourage openness and creativity, such as “How might we…?” instead of shutting down ideas with “That won’t work.” Language shapes the mindset, fostering a cultural transformation over time.
Bridging the Gap: Moving from Actual to Aspirational
Communication and Feedback
Open, continuous communication is critical when transitioning from an actual to an aspirational culture. Feedback loops should be established to ensure that everyone in the organization feels involved and heard.
Regular employee feedback can reveal how well the aspirational culture is being adopted. Platforms like Review.jobs are valuable tools for collecting and managing employee reviews, offering insights that help guide the cultural shift.
Building Your Aspirational Culture with Review.jobs
Review.jobs is a certified platform dedicated to authentic employee reviews, allowing companies to enhance their employer brand by fostering a transparent and aspirational workplace culture. By providing a secure platform for employees to share honest feedback, Review.jobs helps companies align their organizational goals with employee expectations, ultimately creating a positive work culture that both attracts and retains talent.
Review.jobs Top Features:
- Collect: Easily gather verified and anonymous employee reviews to gain genuine insights into your company’s culture and performance.
- Manage: Utilize an intuitive dashboard to efficiently track, respond to, and moderate employee reviews, ensuring streamlined communication and review management.
- Analyze: Leverage advanced analytics and reporting features to understand employee sentiment, identify areas for improvement, and drive positive changes.
- Showcase: Highlight verified employee testimonials on your company profile, career pages, and social media channels to build trust and attract top talent.
Training and Development
Developing an aspirational culture also requires investing in training and development programs. Providing leadership training, team-building exercises, and communication workshops fosters skills that align with the aspirational culture. Employees should be equipped to grow alongside the evolving values and goals of the organization.
Measuring Success
Finally, tracking the success of your aspirational culture is crucial. Organizations can measure cultural progress through a variety of metrics, including employee engagement surveys, retention rates, and overall performance. Monitoring these indicators helps leaders assess whether their efforts are working and where further adjustments may be needed.
| Measurement Method | Indicator |
| Employee Engagement Surveys | Measure satisfaction and alignment with core values |
| Retention Rates | Track employee loyalty and cultural fit |
| Performance Outcomes | Assess productivity and team collaboration |
Why Aspirational Culture is a Continuous Journey
Building an aspirational culture isn’t a one-time project. It’s a continuous journey that evolves alongside your company’s growth. As the organization expands, so too must its cultural aspirations. This requires flexibility, patience, and a willingness to adapt. Leadership plays an essential role in guiding this transformation, ensuring that the aspirational culture is more than just a set of ideals but is actively pursued and achieved.
At Review.jobs, we believe that an aspirational culture can be the driving force behind a thriving, high-performing workforce. By aligning your company’s values with future growth, you create a workplace where employees are engaged, motivated, and dedicated to achieving collective success.
