Executive Culture Diagnostic for CEOs

Most CEOs Believe Their Culture Is Strong.
The Data Shows a Critical Gap.

Global employee engagement remains at 20%, while executive teams estimate it at 83%—a gap that directly impacts performance, retention, and execution at scale.

The Great Engagement Book
Executive Diagnostic Framework
Developed through work with global leadership teams and CEO-level culture transformation programs.
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The CEO Engagement Perception Gap

The Gap Between Perception and Reality Is Quietly Costing Organizations More Than Leaders Realize.

Many organizations assume engagement is healthy because performance appears stable on the surface. But beneath that stability, ownership, innovation, accountability, and retention are steadily weakening—impacting long-term execution, leadership effectiveness, and growth capacity.
EXECUTIVE PERCEPTION
83
Most executive teams significantly overestimate engagement levels compared to workforce reality, creating blind spots in performance and retention strategy.
ACTUAL ENGAGEMENT
20
Global studies consistently show low engagement levels that directly impact productivity, innovation, and retention across industries.
Retention
Disengagement directly increases turnover, raising leadership instability and replacement costs.
Innovation
Innovation slows when ownership declines and psychological safety erodes.
Customer Experience
Culture quality directly determines execution consistency and customer experience.
Accountability
Teams shift from ownership-driven performance to compliance-based execution.
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Executive Insight From The Founder

Why Most Leadership Initiatives Fail to Reflect What Is Actually Happening Inside Organizations

Over the past two decades working with leadership teams across industries, a consistent pattern has emerged: most organizations do not fail because of weak strategy—they fail because of a disconnect between leadership intent and employee reality.

Engagement is often treated as a survey metric, when in reality it is the direct output of leadership behavior, organizational systems, and culture design—meaning it is fully within executive control.

The Great Engagement was created to help CEOs see what is actually happening inside their organizations—beyond reporting, assumptions, or isolated metrics—so they can correct misalignment before it impacts performance at scale.

Jonathan Fanning
Executive Culture & Leadership Systems Research
  • 20+ years working directly with executive leadership teams globally
  • Advised thousands of leaders and executive teams across industries
  • Specialist in culture performance, ownership systems, and engagement transformation
  • Focused on operationalizing measurable leadership behavior change inside organizations
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