The Culture Wake‑Up Call: Why Organisations Break and How to Build One People Actually Want to Work In

For years, culture sat in the shadows, a black box that leaders acknowledged but rarely examined. Strategy received the spotlight. Structure absorbed the energy. Spreadsheets dominated boardroom conversations. Meanwhile, culture quietly determined whether people thrived, collaborated, innovated or slowly disengaged.

Culture has always been the single greatest determinant of organisational success. It shapes how functional teams are, how they treat each other, how they solve problems, and ultimately how well the organisation performs.

Today, culture is no longer invisible. Employees scrutinise it. Customers feel it. Regulators investigate it. The media amplifies it. And when culture turns toxic, the consequences are swift and severe: Morale drops, productivity stalls, and reputation erodes.

Here’s the uncomfortable reality: You get the culture you choose to build. Not the one you talk about. Not the one you write on a poster. The one you actually build through behaviour.

Below is a strategic framework for leaders who want to avoid toxicity and create cultures people are genuinely proud to belong to.

1. Build Culture Deliberately

Culture is not a vibe. It is a system, ie., a set of shared values, behaviours and practices that shape the lived experience of employees.

High‑performing organisations treat culture as a strategic asset. They invest in it with the same seriousness they apply to financial performance or operational excellence.

What deliberate culture-building looks like:

  • Leaders modelling the behaviours they expect from others
  • Values embedded into decision-making
  • Clear behavioural standards
  • Investment in people, not just processes
  • Culture metrics reported to the board

2. Hold Leaders Accountable

Leadership teams have historically been slow to embrace the idea that they must demonstrate the values they expect from the organisation. But culture is shaped by what leaders do, not what they say.

Boards must ensure CEOs and executives receive coaching, feedback and jeopardy. Without jeopardy, accountability evaporates. If a CEO never feels their job is on the line, harmful behaviours will continue unchecked.

A real example we see often:

A restructure introduces a new manager. Yet staff continue going to their previous manager for guidance. Messages circulate: “What’s the process now?” “Has a decision been made about xyz?”

The previous manager keeps intervening, hoarding responsibilities. Meanwhile, others offload all administrative duties onto the new manager, forcing them to learn on the fly.

This is not a personnel issue. It is a leadership failure. The CEO must ensure clarity, alignment and behavioural discipline.

3. Eliminate Power Imbalances

Toxic cultures begin with subtle signals:

  • A dismissive comment
  • A side conversation after the meeting
  • A director exerting quiet pressure
  • A dominant personality shaping decisions informally

These behaviours create power imbalances that distort governance and undermine trust. They trickle down into the executive team and eventually into the entire organisation.

A throwaway remark like “diversity, equity and inclusion is nonsense” is not harmless; it signals a cultural blind spot that will cascade through the organisation.

Healthy cultures require psychological safety, fairness and transparency. Leaders must intervene early, not after damage is done.

4. Make Purpose and Values Real

Purpose is the organisation’s statement of the good it seeks to create. Values are the emotional connection – the declaration of the kind of people you want and the culture you intend to build.

But too often, purpose and values become box‑ticking exercises. Values must evolve as the organisation grows. They cannot be “set and forget”. Employees’ expectations change. Society changes. The organisation changes. Values must change too.

We encourage organisations to run purpose workshops and refresh their values every 2 – 3 years.

5. Develop the Feedback Muscle

Being the conscience of an organisation requires courage. Executives must develop the skill and habit of giving consistent feedback.

Strong cultures emerge when:

  • Praise is specific and frequent
  • Concerns are raised early
  • Behavioural expectations are clear
  • Leaders understand accountability is part of the role

Feedback is a muscle. It strengthens with practice. Without it, organisations drift into complacency and toxic behaviours go unchallenged. If you want to build this capability, explore feedback training for all staff.

Every organisation is building a culture right now, whether intentionally or passively. Culture will happen whether you design it or not. It is constructed through behaviour, accountability, purpose, values and feedback. Organisations rarely break from strategy failure. They break from culture failure. And people don’t leave companies – they leave cultures. The organisations that endure are the ones that build culture deliberately, govern it rigorously, and protect it fiercely.