Summary
Overall Health is 2.6, at risk
The crews trust leadership and each other. The constraint is how plans, decisions, and goals move through the operation.
Overall Health
2.6
At risk. Set by the weakest competency, Accountability.
Clarity
3.1
At risk
Accountability
2.6
At risk
Culture
3.7
Healthy
Leadership Ceiling
2.9
Developing. Above 2.6, so it isn't capping Overall Health yet.
Leader Dependency Index
2.1
Critical. Most work routes through the top leader.
Core Practices in Place
1 of 10
Only the weekly team meeting is confirmed.
Findings
Top 3 critical insights
01
Plan changes reach the crews the day they happen.
Communication and Coordination is the lowest health marker at 2.0. Most said changes to the schedule or scope reach the crews the morning of the job, and "I find out about changes in time to act" scored 1.8.
02
Decisions wait on leadership.
The Leader Dependency Index is 2.1, Critical. Most said decisions in their area default to leadership, and when leadership is unavailable, work stops or slows. None said it keeps moving.
03
This year's goals aren't reaching the team.
Few could name this year's goals in a way that matched leadership's. Knowing the key results scored 2.4 and the 90 day goals 2.3. The goals exist, but only on a whiteboard.
Next in line
- People feel valued, but not developed. Belonging is strong (4.2), while feedback (2.9) and seeing a path to grow (3.0) trail behind it.
- Culture is the strength. Collectively scored 3.9 and Teamwork 4.0. People are honest with each other (4.1) and help each other across roles (4.3).
- Meetings hold when they happen, but little carries forward. Discipline scored 2.9. Meetings are run well (3.4), but last meeting's action items are rarely confirmed (2.6).
- The team is stretched, and commitment is mixed. Capacity to deliver scored 2.5 and delivering without heroics 2.2. Commitment, whether people are here by choice right now, is split.
Layer 1
Health Markers
Ten markers the leading organizational health research has in common, and where Magnolia stands on each. Shown in the same order every time, so a reassessment reads in the same positions.
- 1Shared Direction2.7
- 2Purpose and Meaning4.2
- 3Role Clarity and Decision Rights2.3
- 4Communication and Coordination2.0
- 5Execution and Accountability2.8
- 6Trust and Psychological Safety3.8
- 7Teamwork and Shared Results4.0
- 8Recognition and Growth3.4
- 9Leadership2.9
- 10Adaptability and External Orientation3.2
Outcomes
What the team experiences day to day
Asked first, before any specific question could color the answer.
Split means answers spread a full point or more. On commitment, the team is split. A healthy team can include people who will move on well. What matters is whether people are here by choice right now, and what is driving those who are not.
Layer 2
Health Drivers
The 3 competencies and 7 disciplines of a healthy operation and team. Open each discipline to see every question, how closely the team agreed, and what people told us.
Aligned answers close together Mixed some spread Split answers a full point or more apart
Clarity
3.1Does everyone know why we exist, where we're going, and what's expected of them?
Purpose4.2
What we heard. Purpose is Magnolia's strength. Most described why Magnolia exists in a way that matched leadership's.
Direction2.8
What we heard. Few could name this year's goals in a way that matched leadership's. Many said they are unsure what the organization is aiming at this year.
Expectations2.4
What we heard. Most said decisions in their area default to leadership. Few described clear ownership of decisions in their role.
Accountability
2.6Do we meet on a consistent rhythm, and do those conversations keep us on track?
Rhythm2.3
What we heard. Most said plan changes reach the crews the morning of the job. A weekly team meeting exists, but many said it gets canceled about half the time.
Discipline2.9
What we heard. When meetings happen, they're run well. What's missing is anything that carries from one meeting to the next.
Culture
3.7Is there real trust on the team, and does each person feel heard, valued, and supported?
Collectively3.9
What we heard. Most named the people as the best part of working here. The crews trust leadership and each other.
Individually3.5
What we heard. Several said nobody regularly checks in on how they're doing. People feel valued, but not developed.
Leadership
Leadership Ceiling and Leader Dependency
Leadership Ceiling
2.9
How the team experiences leadership in each discipline. Overall Health can't rise above it. Leadership is strongest on purpose and weakest on setting expectations.
Leader Dependency Index
2.1
How much of the operation has to route through the top leader, regardless of how well that leader is liked.
- 13 people report directly to the top leader.
- When the top leader is out, key decisions wait.
- Only the top leader can approve spending.
- Asked what happens when the top leader is unavailable, most said work stops or slows. None said it keeps moving.
Reality Gaps
Where what people believe drifts from what's true
Awareness Gap
What exists vs. what the team knows exists
Leadership says a written annual plan exists. A few on the team knew about it. It's the whiteboard from January.
Execution Gap
What people know vs. what actually happens
The team rates "We have a consistent meeting rhythm" at 3.4 and "Our meetings happen when scheduled" at 2.0. The largest gap in the report.
Clarity Gap
What people rate vs. what they can show
The team rates knowing this year's success at 3.2, but few could actually name the goals.
Perception Gap
How leadership sees it vs. how the team experiences it
Leadership rated Accountability 3.6. The team rated it 2.6. A full point apart, the widest of the three competencies.
See all ten core practices
| Practice | Leadership says it exists | Team aware | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| A strategic foundation document | No | Not yet | |
| A written annual plan with measurable goals | Yes | A few | Not reaching the team |
| A map of core functions and owners | No | Not yet | |
| A written description of my role | No | Not yet | |
| Documented standards for our most important work | No | Not yet | |
| An annual planning retreat | No | Not yet | |
| A 90 day plan with owners and deadlines | No | Not yet | |
| A monthly review of our key numbers | No | Not yet | |
| A weekly team meeting with a set agenda | Yes | Most | Confirmed |
| Regular one on ones with my supervisor | No | Not yet |
Next steps
Priorities by competency
What each area of the operation needs, drawn from the results above.
Clarity Improvement priorities
- Write the year's goals with numbers and share them with everyone.
- Put each foreman's decision rights in writing.
- Document the install standard so quality doesn't depend on who is on site.
Accountability Improvement priorities
- Hold a weekly brief that doesn't get canceled.
- Start every meeting with last week's action items.
- Agree on one place where schedule changes are posted, and use only that place.
Culture Maintenance priorities
- Keep recognition visible while the new routines go in.
- Start regular one on ones once the weekly brief holds.
- Involve the crews in shaping the new routines so they're owned, not imposed.
90 Day Plan
Each step has an owner, a deadline, and a number that shows it worked.
Establish a weekly foreman brief
Owner: Leadership
- Every Friday, 2:00 to 2:20, with both foremen and the office lead.
- Cover next week's installs, materials confirmed, and any change to scope or dates.
By day 30
4 of 4 Friday briefs held.
By day 90
12 of 13 held. Foremen log zero crews learning about a change on the day of the job.
How we'll know
"I find out about changes in time to act" moves from 1.8 to 3.5 at the 90 day pulse.
Delegate on site decision making to the foremen
Owner: Leadership, with the lead foreman
- A one page decision list for each foreman.
- On site sequencing, material substitutions up to $1,500, and client walkthrough sign off, all without calling leadership.
By day 30
Both lists written and reviewed with each foreman.
By day 90
Zero installs paused waiting on leadership. Zero leadership site visits to solve a build problem.
How we'll know
"Decisions in my area rarely wait on our top leader" moves from 1.8 to 3.5.
Revise the annual goals to include success metrics and review them monthly
Owner: Leadership
- By day 14, three goals with numbers, posted in the shop and the office.
- 30 new leads a month. 90% of installs finished on the committed date (now 60%). 60 maintenance clients by December (now 38).
- A 60 minute numbers review the first Monday of each month, with both foremen and the office lead.
By day 30
Goals posted. First numbers review held.
By day 90
Three numbers reviews held. The numbers on the wall are current.
How we'll know
The share of the team who can name all three goals moves from a few to most.
Hire a part time bookkeeper within 90 days
Owner: Leadership
- "Bring finance in house" is on the whiteboard, and leadership is doing the books at night.
- This isn't a meeting or a system. It's a hire. A bookkeeper or a fractional accounting firm is the right help here.
By day 30
Role posted.
By day 90
Hired by day 60, about 20 hours a week. By day 90, books closed by the 5th with zero hours from leadership.
How we'll know
Leadership's bookkeeping hours go to zero, and "The pace of work is sustainable" improves at the pulse.
Parked
The goal to "onboard AI" stays parked until the plan above is running. It has no clear problem to solve yet.
Reassessment
Reassessment
At 90 days
A short pulse on the four measures above, the outcomes, and one question: "Have you seen real action since the last assessment?"
At 6 months
A full Baseline, compared against this one, to confirm the work is improving Magnolia's health.