The Dominance Diagnostic
Monthly 15-minute health check monitoring despotism, prosocial, and chaos indicators.
Monthly 15-minute health check monitoring despotism, prosocial, and chaos indicators. Acts as 'check engine light' for leadership culture - catches drift before crisis. Universally applicable across company stages.
When to Use The Dominance Diagnostic
Any organization with 15+ people. Monthly quick checks, quarterly full diagnostics, immediately after leadership changes or reorgs. Skip only if in active crisis (you already know what's wrong) or seed stage (<15 where you'll notice directly).
How to Apply
Check Despotism Indicators
Score 7 red flags: vertical information flow, fear language, high-performer turnover, centralized decisions, shrinking coalitions, private-only dissent, individual reward dominance
Questions to Ask
- Are >3 present? If so, immediate intervention needed
Outputs
- Despotism score 0-7
Check Prosocial Indicators
Score 7 green flags: multi-directional info, normalized debate, distributed turnover, distributed authority, stable/growing coalitions, common constructive dissent, team rewards
Questions to Ask
- Are >5 present? If so, healthy culture
Outputs
- Prosocial score 0-7
Check Chaos Indicators
Score 6 yellow flags: unclear authority, endless debate, coalition fragmentation, competing power centers, shifting strategy, unclear accountability
Questions to Ask
- Are >3 present? If so, structure needed
Outputs
- Chaos score 0-6
Determine Intervention
Based on scores: Despotism >3 triggers fear elimination within 30 days. Chaos >3 triggers authority clarification. Prosocial <5 triggers coalition health review.
Outputs
- Specific 30/90/180-day actions