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When we think of leadership at the highest levels, we often picture long boardroom tables, strategy decks brimming with growth plans, million-dollar deals, and leaders plotting their next move to take the organisation ‘to the next level’. It is glamorous work; transformative projects, international acquisitions, market expansions. Yet, time and again, organisations discover that the real dealbreaker is not the market, not the finances, and not even the competition. It is culture.
Leaders sometimes forget that the simplest formula for sustainable success is not written in the language of strategy or profit but in the daily engagement of staff. If your people are not aligned, if their values are not reflected in their lived experience at work, no amount of grand strategy will hold the organisation together.
It is striking how many mergers and acquisitions fail; not because the financial modelling was wrong, but because two cultures never blended. Studies consistently show that upwards of 70 per cent of mergers do not deliver their promised value, and the dominant reason cited is culture clash. You can secure the market share, you can inject capital, but if employees feel alienated or misaligned, the deal begins to unravel from within.
The same is true for large organisations that push ambitious strategies without tending to the cultural soil. The roots of the company; its people, values, and everyday behaviours, cannot absorb the change. Leaders are left asking: why didn’t our strategy land? The answer lies in the overlooked human fabric of the workplace.
Culture is not a slide in the corporate presentation. Nor is it a ‘tick-the-box’ initiative to satisfy compliance or branding. Culture is a living, breathing force that touches people at their deepest level, which is their values. If an employee’s lived reality does not resonate with the organisation’s declared values, disillusionment grows.
This is why culture cannot simply be ‘announced’ from the top. It must be role-modelled by leaders, yes, but it must also be nurtured from the bottom up. The real pulse of the organisation lies in its staff: how they experience recruitment, how they feel during performance appraisals, whether they see values reflected in training opportunities, promotions, or career progression. When every decision is anchored in shared values, culture stops being a poster on the wall and becomes the air employees breathe.
A powerful example comes from Southwest Airlines in the United States. For decades, their competitive edge was not built on having the newest fleet or the most sophisticated technology, but on culture. “Employees first, customers second, shareholders third” was more than a slogan; it was lived daily. Hiring decisions were based on cultural fit as much as technical skills. Recognition programmes celebrated behaviours aligned with values. Even in crises, leadership made decisions that reinforced trust with staff. The result? Loyal employees who created loyal customers.
Contrast this with the countless mergers that collapsed under cultural strain; such as the AOL-Time Warner merger, which stands as a learning case study to all. The finances looked strong, the market synergies made sense, but the cultural mismatch was fatal.
This brings us back to the boardroom. Senior leaders and CEOs often believe their most valuable time is spent on growth strategies, negotiations, and global deals. But unless they are investing equal energy into culture, they are gambling with the foundation of their organisation. Culture is not a soft topic. It is as hard, measurable, and consequential as finance. It determines retention, productivity, engagement, and ultimately, innovation.
For leaders who want to “take their organisation to the next level,” the starting point is not another strategic blueprint but a cultural audit. Ask: Do our values show up in how we hire? In how we promote? In how we appraise? In how we train? Do our employees believe we live what we claim?
Culture is not a project that starts and finishes. It is an ongoing alignment of values, lived from the ground up and modelled from the top down. Organisations that understand this build resilience, loyalty, and growth that lasts. Those that ignore it may win a few big deals but will slowly lose the engagement of the very people who make those deals possible.
So the next time a CEO walks into a boardroom to discuss the next ‘big move’, I would challenge them with a simpler question: what have you done this week to ensure your people feel aligned, valued and part of something they believe in? Because without that, no strategy; no matter how brilliant, will stand.
* The author is a growth advocate
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