The Fertility dimension measures the individual’s beliefs related to the support of growth, change, and development of people, ideas, and concepts. Two extremes anchor the continuum — Open on the left, Closed on the right — and every respondent sits somewhere between them.
Open
The left extreme (open) characterizes individuals who believe it is important to be accessible and open to new people, ideas, and concepts. These individuals are willing to take measured risks and explore new things. They tend to adapt, and their styles tend to change based on the challenge at hand and the strengths and weaknesses of other members of the group.
Individuals in these groups tend to balance between adapting themselves to the environment and forcing a change in the environment in order to create a new set of circumstances. They favor diversity and take great pride in being innovators and pioneers. Their awareness centers on external circumstances and factors they need to consider in order to challenge the status quo.
Closed
The right extreme (closed) characterizes individuals who believe it is important to be protective of their environment, legacy, and heritage. Individuals in these groups tend to have a very clear role and purpose within the organization, with clearly defined and strict codes of principles and behaviors. These groups tend to place a high value on homogeneity, stability, and certainty — avoiding actions that can put them at risk.
They are cautious when it comes to ideas, concepts, and outsiders that can alter the stability and certainty of the group. These groups tend to focus on gradually adapting themselves to the environment and take great pride in their resilience, predictability, and uniqueness. Their awareness centers on internal circumstances and factors that may affect the status quo.
Reading the extremes
Neither pole is right or wrong. Open cultures move the world; closed cultures preserve what is worth preserving. The most durable organizations usually have parts of themselves at each extreme — and know which is which.