How to Build a High-Performance Culture with Help from FourSight

Ingrid De Clercq is the author of Shaping Company Culture: How to build and scale a growth culture. She is also Chief People Officer at Deliverect, an award-winning start up that appeared twice in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 list. She shares how FourSight helped her build a thriving growth culture.

Q: Ingrid, you've been instrumental in shaping corporate culture at Deliverect as it grew from 5 to 500 employees. Can you tell us about your role?

A: I'm the Chief People Officer at Deliverect. Back in 2018, when the founders shared their plans to build a company, I emphasized the importance of creating a strong culture for global scalability. We began crafting their vision for the company and identifying core values, even when they were just five people.

Q: In your new book “Shaping Company Culture” you talk about how to grow and scale a growth culture. How did FourSight help?

A: I talk about FourSight almost every time I do a keynote about shaping company culture because it naturally arises when discussing team dynamics. Building a healthy culture intentionally is entirely possible, especially when you provide people with the language and framework to understand different thinking styles. Giving people self-awareness, team-awareness, and leader-awareness through tools like FourSight changes behavior. Understanding thinking preferences can help teams avoid conflict and achieve better outcomes.

Q: You used FourSight from the start. How did you introduce it to the founders and the growing team?

A: When I started focusing on team dynamics at Deliverect, FourSight was the first instrument I used. I love that it makes team building instructive, fun, and serious. Our first leadership offsite involved everyone from the executive team to team leads completing the FourSight assessment. When I presented the group profiles, it was eye-opening. The leadership team graph showed a spike in Implementers. The company profile, however, showed a high preference to clarify and implement. This sparked fascinating discussions about the challenges we were encountering. Employees felt that leadership didn't think enough before acting. This feedback directly influenced our recent values refresh. One of the values that emerged was “Plan smart. Act fast.” FourSight helped us manage that problem-solving style gap between executives and employees.

Q: You highlighted the ease of integrating the FourSight language into daily work. Can you give us an example?

A: The language of FourSight is incredibly easy to integrate. The four stages of the problem-solving process are universal: clarify, ideate, develop, and implement. Most people prefer some over others. For instance, our CEO likes to ideate and implement. He might approach someone with a statement that sounds like an instruction but is actually just an idea. We’ve taught people to respond by asking, “That’s interesting, Zhong. Is this an idea, or do you actually want me to do it?” This simple clarification makes a big difference. I myself like to clarify and implement. I often preface my questions by saying, “Guys, you know I'm a Clarifier. I’m going to shoot a lot of questions at you, and you’re going to be thoroughly annoyed,” which helps people understand I’m not trying to be annoying. I’m trying to be sure we’ve clarified the problem.

Q: How does FourSight differ from other assessments like MBTI or Insights, and why did you choose it?

A: While I appreciate the depth of MBTI, people often struggle to remember their four-letter type if they don't use it regularly. What I love about FourSight is its simplicity and direct connection to the problem-solving process. Working is essentially problem-solving. FourSight's four distinct preferences align with that. The profile names match the stage names, making it easy to connect personality and process. For example, you can say, “I know you’re a fantastic Ideator, but now we're talking about implementing,” seamlessly blending preference and stage. This makes it easier for people to remember and apply the concepts. While a tool like Insights provides a rich report, I find the “red” and “blue” labels can feel stigmatizing. FourSight, with its focus on a process and team functioning, is more conducive to collaboration and problem solving.

Q: Deliverect experienced significant hypergrowth. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently regarding culture and people development?

A: During the hypergrowth phase, our people department wasn't strong enough to handle the sheer volume of recruitment, onboarding, and training. This led to being less mindful about cultural fit and competence in our hiring, which resulted in significant turnover. If I could go back, I would ensure we could maintain quality even amidst rapid expansion. One of the founders also believes we waited too long to refresh our company values. The original playful values were no longer fully aligned with our evolving circumstances. Values are temporal and should adapt to changing conditions.

Q: Finally, with the rise of AI and changing skill demands, what role do you see creative problem-solving and tools like FourSight playing in the future of work?

A: With AI becoming more prevalent, the need for uniquely human skills like creativity and collaboration will become even more critical. Our CEO believes that we will need more creative thinkers in the future. One of my intentions for this year is to leverage the creative problem solving methodologies even more, using your new platform. Because tools like FourSight provide an excellent framework for creative and collaborative thinking, which is essential for navigating complex challenges and fostering innovation and future-proofing our workforce.

*FourSight is a scientific measure of thinking preference that reveals how individuals naturally approach challenges requiring critical and creative thinking. It helps people reflect on their problem-solving style (rather than ability) and understand why others might approach things differently.