Hi Michele

I think this would depend on the type of organisation and the cultural issues that they were looking to address. But I'd start by removing some of the posters that you often see, which ask people to do things that are obvious - for example, placing things in a dishwasher in kitchen areas. If organisations feel they need to tell their staff to do this, then a sign is only going to make the sense of a 'parent-child' culture worse.

In terms of policies, some are written almost as lists of things people can't or mustn't do - for example using social media. There are however great benefits in using social media well. Clearly a policy like this needs to be clear about what is and isn't acceptable, but too often it is the latter that is focused on at the expense of the former. I would front-load a policy like this with ideas and suggestions as to how social media could be used really effectively to benefit the organisation - then come on to addressing some of the pitfalls and things which were not appropriate.

Also, there is mileage in encouraging people to appropriately challenge confirmation bias, when they see this happening. So, telling people that the organisation supports them in putting their head above the parapet in a meeting if something isn't stacking up or making sense. It shouldn't need to be said, but many organisations get into the habit of trying to speed through meeting agendas sometimes at the expense of a discussion where the 'elephants in the room' can be openly acknowledged. If people need to be encouraged to say the un-sayable, or ask awkward questions, then problems are likely to be avoided later on and engagement and a sense of participation is likely to be stronger.