Glancing Through the Overton Window at Your Organizational Culture and Leadership

When looking at your organizational culture and leadership approach, there likely are topics that aren’t touched with a 10-foot pole. Now, we’re not talking about religion or politics, but rather other areas that impact operational success and outcomes. 

Let’s apply the Overton Window concept to your organizational culture and then to your leadership approach.

The Overton Window is a political science notion, as developed by Joseph Overton, which discusses the range of acceptability by the public for proposed policies of politicians. This range is marked at one end with “More Freedom” and by “Less Freedom” at the other or “Unthinkable” at each end to reflect extremes. A policy is placed in the middle. The closer you are, the more sensible and thus popular it’ll be, while the further out you go, the more radical, which is likely less popular.

Using this concept and your staff as “the public,” here are questions you can ask yourself about your workplace culture. 

• What topics are off limits, or too uncomfortable to discuss?

• What aspects of team performance can you openly talk about as a group? 

• What topics could be acceptable, but only if you dance around them? 

Do know that the window is not stagnant. It can and does shift over time, with different influences. Shifting comes from changing the range of ideas that are considered “acceptable.” The shift can take place with increased advocacy, education, or a shared vision for ideas and any related outcomes.

Let’s consider you as a leader and your colleagues as influencers with a few sample questions you could ask.

• When looking at yourself, what things feel too scary or unacceptable to broach?

• What personal gremlins keep you in the popular zone without challenging yourself or team?

• Is it best to be the driving factor in changing the Overton Window yourself or to identify where your team is on it, and moving to align with that?

Both leaders and followers can and do shape organizational culture, including what’s acceptable to discuss or not.

The Overton Window can be used as a tool to gauge where your culture exists in relation to operational objectives, rather than as a weapon to drive extreme (and potentially inappropriate) conversations and ideas. An analogy, which relates to this concept, would be “having the pulse” or “reading the room.”

Looking through the Overton Window to examine your own leadership style can also help determine where you’re playing it safe and where you’re pushing yourself into newfound growth with your leadership.

• What leadership approaches fall into the “popular” or “accepted” category?

• What about pushing outwards toward the “radical” by trying a new tactic that challenges you?

• How does the current shape and size of the window fit with how you express your leadership?

Utilize the Overton Window for structure with how you evaluate your workplace culture, team, and leadership. It can help organize your thoughts, feelings, and other feedback on any topic or approach, as well as help you determine what steps you can take to move the window where you want or need it to go.

Matt Wallat serves as a District Ranger with the National Park Service (NPS) in Colorado. His 20-year career spans eight different NPS units in six different states with assignments in patrol, investigations, program management, court liaison, training officer, and supervisor for 11+ years.

With a strong background in employee development as an agency instructor, Matt continues to evolve with his coaching practice, creating leadership training programs, engaging in curriculum design work, and leading a recent international training program in Tanzania.

He enjoys family time and many other interests including fly fishing, creative DIY projects, music, craft beer and Boston sports.

Photo Credit: Elijah Macleod