It is a question I frequently ask leaders during workshops, and the responses are remarkably similar. Some point to HR, others to the executive team, while many believe culture is everyone’s responsibility. In reality, all of these answers are true. However, there is one truth that often gets overlooked. Culture begins long before it reaches the organisation. It begins with the leader.
Employees do not experience culture through beautifully designed value statements or posters displayed around the office. They experience it through the behaviours of the people they report to every single day. They notice whether leaders honour their commitments, whether they confront difficult issues or quietly avoid them, whether they genuinely listen to different opinions, whether they admit mistakes, and whether they treat everyone with consistency and fairness. Most importantly, they notice what leaders choose to tolerate.
This is what I often refer to as the ripple effect of leadership. Every behaviour demonstrated by a leader sends a message. Those messages shape the behaviour of the team. Over time, repeated team behaviours become accepted ways of working, and eventually those habits define the culture of the organisation. Simply put, leader behaviours shape team behaviours, team behaviours shape organisational culture, and culture ultimately shapes organisational performance.
This is why culture cannot simply be launched; it has to be lived.
People rarely do what leaders tell them to do. They do what leaders consistently demonstrate. If leaders expect accountability but regularly miss deadlines themselves, employees quickly learn that deadlines are flexible. If leaders expect collaboration but openly criticise other departments, silos become normal. If leaders avoid difficult conversations, poor performance remains unchallenged. Every “action”, and every “inaction”; teaches employees what is truly acceptable.
The strongest organisational cultures are therefore built by leaders who consistently model the behaviours they expect from others. Integrity. Authenticity. Accountability. Humility. Courage. Respect. Consistency. These are not words reserved for leadership frameworks; they are behaviours employees observe every day. Leaders who keep their promises, provide timely feedback, coach rather than control, admit mistakes, recognise good performance and hold themselves to the same standards they expect from everyone else create something that every high-performing organisation needs, which is “Trust”.
Trust, in turn, creates psychological safety. Research has consistently shown that teams perform at their best when people feel safe to contribute ideas, ask questions, challenge respectfully and admit mistakes without fear of blame or embarrassment. Psychological safety is often misunderstood as being “soft,” yet the opposite is true. It creates stronger accountability because people are far more willing to take ownership when they trust the environment around them. Accountability and psychological safety are not competing priorities; they are partners.
Yet there is another challenge facing organisations today. Most leaders have spent years mastering their technical profession. Bankers become exceptional bankers. Engineers become exceptional engineers. Finance professionals become experts in finance. However, very little time is invested in developing the leadership capabilities that ultimately determine whether people thrive or simply comply. Skills such as coaching, influencing, giving meaningful feedback, building trust, managing conflict and developing others rarely receive the same level of attention as technical expertise, despite research consistently showing that managers have one of the greatest influences on employee engagement, performance and retention.
Stephen Covey reminded us of the importance of “sharpening the saw.” I believe this principle is just as relevant for leadership as it is for personal effectiveness. Leadership is not a title earned once; it is a capability that must be continually strengthened through reflection, learning, practice and feedback. The leaders who create exceptional cultures are those who invest as much in developing themselves as they expect their people to invest in developing their technical expertise.
Perhaps that is why I have always believed that leadership development is not simply another learning initiative. It is one of the most powerful culture strategies an organisation can pursue. When leaders become better, teams become stronger. Stronger teams build stronger cultures, and stronger cultures consistently deliver stronger organisational performance.
Perhaps the most important question every leader should ask themselves is not, “What culture do we want to create?” Instead, it is this: “If every leader in this organisation behaved exactly like me, what kind of culture would we have?” The answer may well be the clearest indication of where your organisation is heading.
Join us next month for another edition of Workplace Watch where we will continue exploring the ideas shaping the future of work. Until then keep growing, keep learning and keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
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