5 Questions Every Executive Should Ask About Their Company’s Culture

Introduction

Company culture isn’t just an HR term—it’s the backbone of sustainable growth, especially in industries like healthcare where trust, empathy, and excellence are critical. For medical consultants, healthcare consultants, and those involved in healthcare consulting services, understanding and nurturing a positive company culture is essential. Whether you’re a founder, executive, or team lead at a healthcare consulting firm like MD Consultants, your culture influences recruitment, performance, retention, and even client outcomes.

Here are five questions every executive should ask about their company’s culture—and why the answers matter more than ever.

What Do Our Daily Interactions Reveal About Our Culture?

Your company culture isn’t defined by your website or mission statement—it lives in everyday behaviors. It’s how your team members speak to each other, how leaders respond to challenges, and how staff engage with clients and patients.

Ask yourself:

• Do employees feel comfortable speaking up or challenging ideas?
• Are conversations collaborative or hierarchical?
• Do team members treat each other—and clients—with respect?

These micro-interactions, especially in medical and healthcare consulting environments, directly impact the client experience. When consultants, students, or clinicians engage with your company, they feel the culture immediately.

At MD Consultants, for example, physician mentors work directly with aspiring healthcare professionals. That mentorship model only works when the culture fosters respect, communication, and support. If those values aren’t baked into daily behavior, it shows—and weakens the brand promise.

Tip: Conduct short anonymous surveys to ask how team members experience day-to-day communication. Their insights might surprise you.

Are We Actually Living Our Stated Values?

Many organizations display values like “integrity,” “collaboration,” or “innovation”—but are those values alive in practice?

Executives must ask: Do we live our values when no one is watching? Are they evident in how we recruit, reward, and promote talent?

In the medical consulting space, trust is everything. When healthcare consultants guide clients—whether they’re students navigating medical school applications or startups launching in the healthcare sector—they need to feel that the people guiding them are authentic.

For a company like MD Consultants, where physician-led mentorship and guidance are core services, aligning internal behavior with values is key. For example, if your organization values mentorship, is mentorship encouraged internally too? Do senior staff mentor junior team members? Are mistakes used as learning moments or blamed on individuals?

Culture collapses when there’s a gap between what’s said and what’s done.

Is Our Culture Inclusive, Diverse, and Equitable?

In Canada’s evolving healthcare landscape, diversity is not a trend—it’s a responsibility. Inclusive companies attract better talent, serve clients more effectively, and make better decisions.

Executives should reflect on:

• Do all voices get heard, regardless of background or title?
• Are advancement opportunities equitable?
• Is your company culture safe for people of all races, genders, and backgrounds?

Medical consultants and healthcare consultants often come from varied paths and experiences. When your organization fosters an inclusive environment, it unlocks a broader range of perspectives and strengthens client outcomes.

For MD Consultants, which works with students and clients from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, inclusion is vital. A culture that welcomes and uplifts everyone—mentors, clients, support staff—sets the tone for long-term trust and success.

Consider holding regular DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) reviews or focus groups to keep these conversations active.

Are We Enabling Growth, Curiosity, and Development?

Culture isn’t static. A healthy company culture encourages personal growth, knowledge sharing, and curiosity—especially in healthcare, where new research, technology, and patient needs are always emerging.

Executives must ask:

• Do we create opportunities for team members to learn and grow?
• Is risk-taking supported or penalized?
• Do we invest in professional development?

In healthcare consulting, learning isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Whether it’s staying up to date with new regulations or improving soft skills like empathy and leadership, a learning-oriented culture fosters adaptability and resilience.

At MD Consultants, physician mentors are continuously exposed to new student perspectives, emerging challenges in medical education, and startup clients seeking guidance. A culture that rewards learning ensures mentors stay sharp and relevant—and that the entire team evolves with the industry.

Encouraging lunch-and-learns, mentorship circles, or cross-functional projects are simple ways to embed growth into your culture.

How Do We Respond to Feedback—and to Failure?

This is the ultimate culture test. When things go wrong (and they will), does your team blame or learn? Is feedback welcomed from all levels, or is it viewed as criticism?

Executives should reflect on:

• Do employees feel safe giving honest feedback?
• Are mistakes discussed openly and used as learning tools?
• Does leadership model vulnerability and growth?

In the world of medical consulting, where accuracy and expertise are non-negotiable, admitting mistakes might feel risky. But in reality, being transparent builds trust. A consulting firm that encourages feedback and handles failures constructively will naturally outperform those that operate in fear or silence.

At MD Consultants, where trusted relationships are at the core of every engagement, internal trust and accountability must mirror that client experience. A culture that treats missteps as opportunities not only drives improvement—it empowers people to take initiative.

Encourage regular feedback loops—top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer—and make space for post-project reflections.

Conclusion: Culture Is More Than a Perk—It’s a Strategic Asset

A strong company culture doesn’t happen by chance. It’s shaped by leadership, reinforced by systems, and tested in small moments. In industries like healthcare consulting, where people, precision, and trust intersect, culture is the foundation of long-term success.

By asking the right questions, executives can uncover cultural blind spots and turn their company into a place where people thrive, innovation flourishes, and clients receive world-class support.

So let’s recap. The five questions every executive should ask are:

1. What do our daily interactions say about us?
2. Are we living our stated values?
3. Are we inclusive and equitable?
4. Are we enabling growth?
5. How do we respond to feedback and failure?

Whether you’re leading a healthcare consulting firm, scaling a medical consulting team, or simply aiming to improve internal alignment, these questions will guide your path forward.

At MD Consultants, a team of physician mentors and healthcare experts work not just to deliver consulting services—but to elevate the experience for clients and colleagues alike. That’s what great company culture looks like in action.

Ready to assess or enhance your organization’s culture? Connect with MD Consultants for insight, mentorship, and strategy tailored to the healthcare and medical consulting space.

Let culture lead the way—because when culture thrives, everything else follows.

Related Reading: How to Create a Successful Medical Practice: From Startup to Sustainability