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We often talk about building culture as if it’s something you can design in a workshop and roll out like new software. But culture doesn’t emerge from what’s written on the wall (or your website), although it can be useful to share your values with the world. Building culture needs constant care, attention, and nurturing.
A Culture will emerge - always. Put a group of people together (a family, a company, a community etc), and they will share habits, language, and unwritten rules; and a culture WILL emerge. It's how people learn to live and work together, while doing what needs to be done (survive, the job).
[1] Culture is what you tolerate. There is a quote that "the culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behaviour the leader is willing to tolerate" (Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker). Yes, we like to just let people get on with things, we like to give the benefit of the doubt, and while we do that, our staff are quietly defining their own unwritten 'rules and ways' of working. And while this can quite often include positive behaviours, it can also include some less desirable behaviours such as regular lateness, or disrespectful behaviour. While some of these behaviours are allowed by neglect, others can be actively tolerated such as a toxic high performer because they “get results”. When leaders fail to act, even on small things, they implicitly signal that those behaviours are acceptable.
[2] Culture is what you promote. It sets the aspiration. The behaviours you recognise, reward, and talk about most often define what people strive for. When leaders highlight collaboration, curiosity, ownership, or accountability, those behaviours spread. People notice what earns praise and attention, and they align themselves with it.
[3] Culture is what you cancel. It defines integrity. When you stop unproductive rituals, retire outdated processes, or address poor behaviour early, you show what no longer belongs. Ending something sends a clearer signal than adding something new. What you choose not to accept says as much about your culture as what you choose to celebrate
The leaders of a company - from the very top, to anyone who influences others - play crucial roles in crafting the culture within an organisation.
While many companies do indeed have values statement that are proudly displayed on walls and websites, these by themselves do little to nothing to mature or sustain a culture. That requires people and how they interact with each other - every day and in everything they do. Leadership. And while leadership is expected to occur through the management team, it also occurs sideways as peers set examples to their colleagues. It’s not about saying what should happen; it’s about showing it, demonstrating it, living it. Staff learn more from what leaders do than from what the leaders tell them to do.
Lead by example. Even well-written expectations - like (the excellent and classic) The HP Way - only live through example. People need to see the behaviours that are expected, good behaviour needs to be recognised, and bad behaviour needs to be called out, especially early on. Senior leaders also have a duty to ensure that more junior leaders are modelling the same consistency.
The Sum of little things. Culture evolves through a stream of little events; using those as opportunities can make the biggest difference:
Skipping a meeting that everyone else has to attend.Ignoring a minor breach because it feels awkward to confront.Failing to acknowledge someone who quietly lives the company’s values.
Each sends a signal about what really matters. That’s how culture is built - or eroded - in the background.
Culture isn’t what you say you value, it’s what you tolerate, what you reward, what you remove, and how you behave while doing it.
Ad Futurum
Graham