In my early years as a coach, I became fascinated by one recurring question: what truly differentiates effective leaders? I sought out individuals whose presence influenced outcomes, whose thinking shaped organisations, and whose leadership left a lasting imprint. That curiosity drove me to study not just leadership capability but also the invisible force behind it, culture.
- +Leading with culture: Building positive energy and high-performing teams
One of my earliest executive coaching engagements brought this into sharp focus.
One of my earliest executive coaching engagements brought this into sharp focus. A client, in the midst of scaling a conglomerate, had recently appointed new managing directors across several subsidiaries. Before commencing our intervention, we conducted a culture survey in two of the organisations. What we found was not just misalignment; it was a deep divergence between stated business objectives and lived employee experience.
Despite similar strategic ambitions over a three- to five-year horizon, both organisations operated in entirely different climates. This gap was not accidental; it was the direct consequence of what leaders allowed, reinforced, and institutionalised.
Workplace climate is the atmosphere people breathe daily. Culture, however, is the country they live in. And leaders? They are neither passive observers nor neutral participants. They are the architects, more thermostat than thermometer, setting the tone, not merely measuring it.
In one organisation, the leader exhibited controlling tendencies, frequently overriding processes and disregarding her team’s input. Employees described a culture of fear, in which mistakes were penalised rather than examined, and authority replaced competence. The result was predictable: stagnation, low morale, and an absence of innovation.
In contrast, the second organisation told a different story. Its leader approached the role with discipline and humility, immersing himself in company policies, understanding business drivers, and fostering a sense of shared purpose. He gave credit, encouraged participation, and saw leadership as a platform for service and succession. Within a year, the organisation experienced a measurable turnaround, not just in performance metrics but also in energy, ownership, and collective commitment.
What accounted for this stark difference? Culture.
Beyond financial statements and quarterly results, the true health of an organisation is revealed over time through its culture. A balance sheet may capture value created, but culture determines how that value is sustained. Organisations that consistently outperform do so because their people operate with positive energy, going beyond compliance and resilience to deliver discretionary effort.
For any organisation seeking sustainable success, culture cannot be an afterthought. It must be the starting point.
Leaders who understand this recognise culture as a multi-dimensional construct. It is not merely values written on walls but values translated into action. It is shaped by three critical facets.
First is directional culture, the clarity and integrity with which purpose, vision, mission, and values are defined and interpreted. When these elements are authentic and well-communicated, they act as a guiding star, aligning individual effort with organisational ambition. When they are vague or misaligned, they create confusion and fragmentation.
Second is operational culture, how work actually gets done. This includes systems, processes, governance, and behavioural norms. It answers practical questions: How are decisions made? How are failures treated? Are they learning opportunities or grounds for blame? Operational culture either enables performance or suffocates it.
Third is experiential culture, the lived reality of employees. It is the cumulative effect of leadership behaviour, communication patterns, and workplace interactions. This is where culture becomes tangible. It shapes engagement, trust, and ultimately, performance.
When these three elements align, organisations create an environment where people thrive. When they diverge, even the best strategies fail.
The lesson is clear: culture is not what leaders say – it is what they tolerate, reinforce, and model daily. Every decision, every interaction, every silence sends a signal. Over time, those signals become norms, and those norms become culture.
High-performing teams are not built on strategy alone. They are built on trust, clarity, accountability, and shared purpose, all of which are cultural outcomes. Leaders who prioritise culture create organisations where people are not just present but fully engaged; not just compliant but committed.
Ultimately, culture is the invisible engine of performance. It amplifies leadership intent or undermines it. It can energise a workforce or drain it. And while strategies can be copied and structures replicated, culture remains the most enduring competitive advantage.
Leaders must therefore ask themselves a fundamental question: What kind of environment am I creating, and what behaviours am I permitting to thrive?
Because in the end, organisations do not rise to the level of their ambitions; they rise to the level of their culture. To lead is to shape culture. And to shape culture is to define the future.
