Fixing Culture Starts with Leadership, Not Culture

People aren't happy. Satisfaction is abysmally low. Performance is lagging. Some employees are threatening to leave. The organization is gaining a reputation as an unhealthy place to work.

So, how do you change the culture of an organization? It sounds like a simple question - but the answer is anything but.

Culture Isn’t Something You "Fix"

Most organizations fail when they try to change their culture through speeches, training sessions, or direct interventions. These methods rarely work because culture is not an isolated problem to be solved - it is a reflection of how the organization operates.

To change culture effectively, organizations must change how they are led and managed. A new culture emerges as a by-product of these structural and behavioral changes.

Culture shifts when it's aligned with:

- a new strategy

- a revised governance model

- improved processes

- updated performance management systems

Purely focusing on culture - without addressing what underpins it - rarely produces clarity about what needs to change and how to make those changes. Instead, focus on changing how your organization solves problems. This will naturally reshape how people collaborate - and thus, the culture itself.

Culture Is a System

An organization’s culture is a complex system of interrelated processes and mechanisms. Performance reviews and training programs define expectations. Reward systems reinforce them. Memos and emails signal priorities. And perhaps most importantly, senior leadership actions - such as who gets promoted and who gets sidelined - demonstrate what the organization truly values.

These elements usually develop organically, and while the resulting culture may be functional, it is not always ideal. Changing culture is difficult, messy, and complex - but sometimes, it’s necessary.

Why Change the Culture?

Why bother changing the culture at all? Maybe the business is doing well. Maybe things "seem" to be working. But if the culture is toxic or unsustainable, eventually, your best people will leave. The reputation of your organization will suffer. Morale will continue to decline. And even you may no longer want to be part of it.

This truth holds across all types of organizations - businesses, NGOs, and even hobbyist or volunteer-based groups.

Teamwork Is Simple, But Not Easy

Building a healthy, effective team is both challenging and deceptively simple. It doesn’t require complex theory or advanced strategies. What it does require is courage and persistence.

If you're truly committed to building a strong, cohesive team - and if others share that commitment - you’re already halfway there.

While teamwork can be hard to measure, it’s not complicated. The ultimate measure of a team is whether it accomplishes the goals it sets out to achieve.

Ask yourself two important questions:

1. Are You Really a Team?

Some groups fail from the start because they're not truly teams - they’re only labeled as such.

A real team is a small group of people who share:

- common goals

- responsibility for achieving those goals

- the rewards of success and consequences of failure

Real team members are willing to set aside personal agendas for the good of the group.

It’s okay to admit that your group isn’t a true team. Plenty of loosely organized groups achieve success. But pretending to be a team when you're not sets unrealistic expectations that lead to frustration and resentment.

2. Are You Ready for the Heavy Lifting?

The benefits of true teamwork are immense - but they come at a cost: time, emotional energy, and honest communication.

Too many teams fail because they take shortcuts or avoid the real work of building trust and accountability. Not only does this hinder progress, it can actually hurt performance.

Entering the process with open eyes and realistic expectations is essential. Becoming a great team doesn’t take years, and it doesn’t have to be painful. Most teams see real progress within weeks or months - and find the journey rewarding, if approached with commitment.

Communicate - or Else

When things go wrong, communication is often blamed. Poor service, low morale, disengaged colleagues - it’s all attributed to a "failure to communicate." Yes, organizational structures play a role. But individuals within the system also contribute to these breakdowns.

What can you do?

- acknowledge the problem. Take ownership of what you can change. Listen better. Cut down on unnecessary emails.

- shift your mindset. Communication is everyone’s job. Be available. Be transparent. Make it clear that open, effective communication is a shared responsibility.

- break down silos. Start conversations across departments. Share information. Ask for input. Build bridges between isolated groups.

Communication issues won’t disappear overnight. But when individuals take ownership, meaningful progress becomes possible - one person, one team at a time.

The Mark of a True Team Player

An organization’s success depends on a range of skills and expertise - more than any one person can possess. There will always be complex challenges: technological, legal, financial, interpersonal, and beyond.

Great team members understand this. They’re self-aware enough to know they can’t do it all.

Personal mastery starts with:

- understanding your own behaviors, motivations, and competencies

- developing the emotional intelligence to manage your reactions and relationships

- being willing to recognize and admit areas of strength - and weakness

We’ve all encountered people who try to control everything. While often well-meaning, this behavior limits others’ contributions and stalls progress. These individuals must come to terms with a fundamental truth: they must either lead, follow, or get out of the way.

No one can do everything - and those with even a modest level of self-awareness know this.

To grow as team players, individuals should:

- track and share their personal performance - both strengths and areas for improvement

- be mindful of how their behavior affects others

- stay open to feedback, even when it’s difficult to hear. There’s usually truth in it.