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If you think Cultural Change is having a poster in the tea room or some Values Day once a year - let me tell you it’s not. This is a messy, strategic, human problem. And if you’re going to lead it, you need more of a toolkit than slogans. Cultural transformation is the meeting point between strategy and people. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth organisations all tell me that the same thing: strategy without a supportive culture is lipstick on a pig. In contrast, while great culture with no strategy to drive it is comfy and complacent. The sweet spot — where culture fuels performance — is when leaders are actually building capability for change, not just talking about it. Why this matters now Change is not optional. Markets evolve, technology changes, customer expectations grow — and they push organizations to change faster than most groups of leaders are ready to go. And yet, in what might be considered ironic, most of these transformation endeavours still stumble over the same fundamental factors; limited clarity of purpose: insufficient stakeholder engagement and inadequate capabilities among those anticipated to ‘be’ the new way of working. Gartner famously estimated that about 70 percent of change — whatever it is — doesn’t achieve what you hoped for, which is a blunt but useful reminder that good intentions only get you so far. I’ll offer a few thoughts that might tick some people off. One: flatter organizations are not in and of themselves more agile. Structure — yes, structure — can hasten decision-making when it is combined with clear accountabilities. Second: remote work hasn’t killed culture; it’s exposed which organisations were investing in culture writ large. And if you didn’t create the way that people engage, work together and bring order to online disorder — then by now, you feel the void. Know the ground before you push Cultural change is not one size fits all. Yes, social norms and values change — but they are rooted in history: the stories that people tell each other of “how things work around here.” We have to call those stories out before we try to rewrite them. That means listening, not lecturing. The immediate pragmatic first step: Get the diagnostic right. Too many leaders make a single pulse survey their response and declare we’ve got “the culture.” That will mislead you. Leverage interviews, focus groups, observational work, performance data and manager input. Triangulate. You’ll notice the same theme: It may sound as if people want change, but they will oppose it when anything threatens their status, certainty or rewards. Visioning that sticks Visioning is more than a pretty slide. It establishes a framework through which individual goals that are set, correspond to, and support the mission. Paraphrase: A vision makes things clear for people to see how their day-by-day objectives support the mission of the organisation so that work proactively follows direction. That clarity is what takes abstract values and gives them real, actionable form. If you can’t describe what the new culture will actually look like in its everyday moments — how someone greets a client, a manager gives feedback, a team escalates a problem — then you don’t have a vision. You have rhetoric. Skills that matter most Leaders require a mix of personal and systemic competencies to lead culture change. These are what I perceive as the crucial ones: · Communication and Listening. Not “corporate comms” spun and forgotten. That is two-way, iterative and often messy. Active listening exposes the feeling behind words, which is a far better predictor of resistance than logic alone.” - Empathy and emotional intelligence. Change triggers loss. Leaders who make room for that are more persuasive than those who double down on directives.” — Conflict resolution and negotiation. Diversity of opinion is a weapon against groupthink. When you can’t negotiate trade-offs, differences stoppers. — Strategic thinking and planning. Culture change requires a mapped route — short wins, mid-term reinforcements and long-term reinforcement. Then momentum dies otherwise.” - Analysis of data and solving problems. It’s so important to have qualitative understanding — but data gives you credibility. Use meaningful metrics: retention in roles that matter, behavioral audits, patterns of promotion, shifts in customer satisfaction. - Adaptability. Reality changes. You’ll overlook opportunities and manage to fail upward if your plan is a sacred text. A word on measurement, too: choose a few meaningful metrics and stick with them. Too many metrics dilute attention. And keep in mind: culture shifts register slowly. Be patient, but not passive. Communication: it's not a broadcast Communications is fundamental to everything. But leaders all too often treat it as a campaign: one big unveil, then radio silence after the policy parade. A better way to approach this is with continuing conversation. Tailor messages to different audiences. That doesn’t mean dumbing down content — it means translating strategic intent into what matters to the people on the front line with your customers, to those in the engine room, to middle managers and up through the exec team. Active listening sessions should be a diagnosis and co-design. When people take part in the solution, they’re less inclined to resist it later. Engagement and the role of line managers If you want change to be permanent, then investing in your managers is crucial. They are the interpreters of cultural intention in habitual action. And they are often the last to receive training. Equip managers: one-page coaching guides, micro-skill sessions on feedback and difficult conversations and role plays in scenarios. Those small investments add up because managers touch the entire work force. Create an internal group of change champions. But do it carefully. Champions need to be credible in their teams. You will lose trust if you appoint champions of the “yes-people.” Authentic champions, supported with time and resources to be effective, expedite adoption. The essential role of empathy Empathy is not soft. It’s tactical. “When a leader demonstrates that he or she understands the fear behind resistance — fear of losing status, becoming redundant, failing publicly — they can design mitigations,” Peterman says. Those don’t need to be grand: retraining commitments, role clarity, experimentation periods for new practices. People change when they feel safe enough to try things out. Argument, negotiation and trade-offs A culture change exposes conflicts: over who gets what, when, Articulation of the way rights are differentially enjoyed. The strongest leaders will make the deal: who gives and who takes what, and how that tradeoff fits with their vision. Nix the dream that you can change culture without redistributing power. You can’t. DATA AND PROBLEM-SOLVING Use data to check your assumptions about your culture. If you believe the problem is a “lack of trust,” don’t parachute in a classroom program — experiment with small ones first. Quantify whether meetings are more frank, if escalation rates shift, if fewer issues are swept under the rug. The scientific mindset — hypothesize, test, learn, iterate — is valuable in culture work. W1S, SO, TL Skills training matters. We hold active listening workshops in Melbourne, cross cultural collaborative workshops in Brisbane — they make a difference. But unenforced training is theater. Embed skills into performance frameworks. Create coaching rhythms. Make peer learning normal. The ones that win create ‘loops’ of continual learning in which new habits are exercised and rewarded. On incentives — a modest heresy C’mon, incentives work. Reward systems shape behaviour. If your rewards are all financial and have nothing to do with cooperation, you will just continue breeding the old culture. Realine KPIs to the cultural results you seek. That’s not cynical; it’s practical. And yes, enforce accountability. Because culture isn’t all about being nice; it’s also about doing the right thing — even when the right thing is hard. Sometimes that means challenging poor behaviour in the senior ranks. The quickest way to bring death to any cultural shift is if you have hypocrisy. Partnership, networks and mentorship Cultural transformation is social. Create formal networks for people to exchange ideas and stories, share best practices and practical advice. Mentorship is important as well — not only for passing on skills, but for socialising new norms. What we find is more structured knowledge-sharing programmes, where the mentors are recognised and receiving support, they really help accelerate that adoption. This whole suite of programs only really thrives when mentorship is based on influence, not title. Team building and motivation Team-driven activities — hackathons, collaborative projects, community service — generate shared experiences to expedite cultural change. These must be purposeful. If they’re just social events, they won’t change how work happens. Recognition drives motivation. Reward experimental behavior that supports the new culture as much as, if not more than, results. Reward effort and learning. That fosters a “growth mindset” where continuing change seems less of a pain. Stakeholder engagement Involve your stakeholders early and often. That includes customers, board members, unions in those cases where they apply and suppliers. It makes it easier to carry, creates less resistance and deepens the ownership base. Indicate your trade-offs and time frames. One caveat: look but don’t over-consult until you’re in a state of paralysis. Engagement must be deliberate, time-bound and action-driven. Mentorship and knowledge retention Mentorship programs are an essential part of onboarding new team members, but they also serve as key systems for retaining institutional knowledge. They pass along tacit knowledge — the kind you don’t find in a book but rather, learn from the school of hard knocks. Seize on that through structured mentorship, storytelling sessions and job shadowing. When you make tacit explicit the organisation becomes more durable. Some uncomfortable truths - Culture change requires time. Quick fixes are illusions. They could not be more different, and it seems clear that if you expect overnight results from running to take effect, you are going to be disappointed. - Not everything about culture is worth saving. Be willing to jettison your legacy activities. - You will need to invest money. Training, role redesign, new metrics — it costs money. Smartly spend it like the strategic spend that it is. Where to start tomorrow If you are about to launch — or relaunch — a culture change, start with three things: 1) Make clear the why, in behavioural terms. 2) Give line managers the skills and time they need. 3) Measure and learn on a small set of outcomes. One number to keep in mind: well thought-out engagement and cultural fit is not just feel-good. Business Outcomes: Businesses with high levels of employee engagement tend to show measurable business benefits – such as Aon’s analysis where, among organisations that maintained high levels of engagement over time, profitability metrics were better. Think of culture as an investment that yields returns. We are in the capability-building business. We’ve enabled Australian organisations to connect behaviour to strategy using hands on workshops, one-on-one support and on-the job learning. The key one behind the successful ones? They treated culture as a capability that could be developed, measured and honed — not a poster campaign. Change is difficult. But it’s not mystical. It’s practical work that requires curiosity, grit and humility. Start small. Build skills. Reinforce. Repeat. And for goodness’ sake, listen. Consider something you could do a little differently this week that would help to shine a slightly brighter light of the new culture through daily work. One decision, one new meeting ritual, a new way to see people — that’s where it all starts.