By Dr. Jamie Shapiro

Engagement scores diagnose outcomes, not causes. Leaders must model the behaviors that create engagement, not survey it. Culture starts at the top: what leaders reinforce and tolerate becomes truth. Focusing on five core drivers—connection, candid communication, clarity, collaboration, and contribution—is what creates sustained performance and engagement.

Engagement is one of the most commonly used organizational metrics for the health of a company’s culture; however, CEOs increasingly recognize that only measuring engagement falls short of creating real cultural transformation. Why is that?

Because measuring and getting results about the level of people’s engagement is not enough to improve it.

Engagement is defined as the emotional connection and commitment a person has to their job, team, and organization. It’s an outcome that all companies strive to achieve because a highly engaged team is more productive, with positive morale and high retention. Sadly, engagement has fallen flat in 2022, 2023, and 2024, remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

In the first quarter of 2024, US engagement hit an 11-year low, with a slight improvement in the second quarter of 2024, according to Gallup. The reality is that organizations can’t simply measure engagement and expect different results. I often speak with leaders who are concerned about low engagement scores but don’t have a complete understanding on why they go up or down each year. Without this knowledge, they don’t have assurance that the engagement initiatives they focus on will make a difference. The problem is that they haven’t measured the key levers that move the needle to improve engagement.

To explain this concept, my colleague and partner in the creation of the 5Cs Model, Principles CEO Zack Weider, shares the metaphor of the “swing versus the shot.” If you’re a golfer, you know that you won’t improve your game by only looking at your score at the end of each round (that is, how many good or bad shots you hit). You improve your game by focusing on the mechanics of your swing and improving your technique. The quality of each shot will vary depending on a number of factors, but the way to make all of your shots better over time is by focusing on your swing.

Organizations struggle to improve engagement because they keep measuring whether they played a good or bad round (as in their annual engagement), rather than focusing on the actual swing (as in the fundamental elements that are driving it and can lead to better outcomes).

To transform culture, companies must understand and measure the elements that create highly productive and cohesive teams and thriving cultures. Given this picture, it’s no surprise that about 70 percent of culture transformations fail, according to McKinsey.

Culture Starts at the Top

How you and your team show up daily and interact with one another and the organization as a whole set the tone. As CEO, your behavior becomes culture. What you reinforce, what you tolerate, and how you respond all signal what your team takes as truth. What constitutes organizational culture? The mission, vision, purpose, and core values are often included. These elements are the visible aspects.

There are also invisible elements—such as norms, beliefs, and practices—that are equally important but aren’t always given attention. They drive how work gets done. The culture must be experienced day-to-day to be most impactful. This includes rewarding people for demonstrating behaviors that align with it. When individuals aren’t living the culture and being rewarded for the associated behaviors, there is a disconnect.

For example, when leaders speak to their teams about the importance of taking time to recharge from work, yet frequently expect them to respond to emails during evenings and weekends, it sends a conflicting message. This can be based on a disconnect between the invisible and visible cultural elements. The leader’s message is

based on what the culture says it stands for, the visible aspects, yet the leader’s actions reveal how the culture actually operates, the invisible aspects.

Defining the core values and behaviors you want to see in your organization is not enough. You and your team must embody them every single day. The spotlight is on you. I know this is a lot to handle, but it is the reality of leading a company. It’s why you chose to be a leader: to create an impact that aligns with who you are.

Research consistently shows that the behavior of senior leadership directly impacts organizational performance and culture. Studies from McKinsey indicate that companies with cohesive leadership teams are 1.9 times more likely to outperform competitors and 1.7 times more likely to have higher levels of organizational health. Additional research from Russell Reynolds Associates supports that when CEOs and C-suite teams model desired cultural values and operate cohesively, they set a mirrored standard in the organization, leading to enhanced performance, employee engagement, and overall success.

A report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in 2019 found that toxic workplace cultures caused 58 percent of employees to quit their jobs. This turnover cost US employers approximately $223 billion over five years. The SHRM report also highlighted that toxic cultures adversely affect employee well-being, decreasing productivity and increasing absenteeism. Employees in such environments are more likely to experience stress and burnout, further impacting organizational performance.

Eagle Hill Consulting surveyed C-suite leaders and found that 72 percent of executives agreed that corporate culture impacts financial performance. Still, less than half (46 percent) hold themselves and their teams accountable for the culture. This research indicates a disconnect between the importance executives place on team and culture and the investments and actions they make.

I often share with leaders that it is essential to focus on controlling the controllables. The good news is that creating a high-performing, cohesive team and thriving culture is within your control. It is something you can positively impact every single day. It takes intentionality, focus, and care. When executive teams work seamlessly together, modeling effective collaboration for the organization, it creates a positive ripple effect. Ultimately, the executive teams that function at peak levels deliver superior results and have the workplaces and cultures that people want to be a part of.

That’s where The 5Cs of Team Cohesion and Thriving Organizational Culture comes into play (connection, candid communication, clarity, collaboration, and contribution). While each is critical, leaders can start by focusing on Connection.

Based on our research, the best work comes from teams and organizations that foster human connection with a foundation in trust and care. Build trust through developing strong, connected relationships. Add meaningful check-ins to the beginning of conversations. Connection is where momentum begins.

When leaders slow down just enough to truly see and hear their people, trust grows and with it, the conditions for better decisions, stronger performance, and more sustainable success.

Parts of this piece have been adapted from Connected Culture: The New Science for Thriving Teams and Cultures (IdeaPress).

About the Author

Dr. Jamie Shapiro is a CEO coach, organizational psychologist, and bestselling author of Brilliant: Be the Leader Who Shines Brightly Without Burning Out and the forthcoming, Connected Culture: The New Science for Thriving Teams and Cultures. She is the founder and CEO of Connected EC, a leadership coaching firm known for its team-based, whole-person approach to developing executives and transforming corporate culture. A Master Certified Executive Coach, professional speaker, researcher, expert facilitator, and certified nutritionist, Jamie brings a deeply integrated lens to leadership. She holds a PhD in Positive Organizational Psychology, an MBA, and a Master of Science in Information Technology, reinforcing her evidence-based, practical approach to executive performance.

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By Delia Mensitieri, Smaranda Boroș and Claudia Toma

Microaggressions still persist in workplaces due to deeply embedded silencing cultures that discourage reporting and dialogue. This article explores how organisational silence sustains everyday bias and outlines strategies to dismantle it – from diverse leadership and trusted reporting systems to psychological safety, allyship, and intersectional policies – enabling truly inclusive workplaces.

Microaggressions (everyday, stereotyped remarks) remain a deeply entrenched challenge for workplaces across Europe, quietly undermining equity and inclusion despite widespread efforts to implement diversity and gender equity initiatives. Recent surveys reveal troubling persistence in biases: ageism affects about 32% of employees, gender discrimination impacts roughly 25%, and ethnic bias touches 17%, with many marginalised individuals reporting unfair treatment or exclusion on a daily basis. So why, after so many policy reforms and awareness campaigns, do these subtle but damaging behaviours continue to shape the everyday experience for so many workers? The growing consensus is that at the heart of the problem lies a culture of silence; a silent permission that allows microaggressions to persist unchallenged and unexamined within organisational life.

The nature of silencing cultures

Silencing is rarely the result of a single factor; rather, it functions on multiple, interconnected levels. Institutionally, many organisations still lack the transparent, trustworthy channels that empower employees to report concerns without fear of retaliation or dismissal. Sometimes formal policies exist, but if they are cumbersome, unclear, or poorly enforced, they send a clear message: speaking up is risky and unlikely to change anything.

Beyond formal structures, silencing is reinforced interpersonally. When employees share their experiences of bias and are met with denial, minimisation, or defensiveness from colleagues or managers, it invalidates their perspectives and discourages further disclosure. Over time, this fomentation of disbelief or hostility can transform into self-silencing, where individuals internalise these negative messages, suppress their own feelings, and gradually disengage from the organisation. This cycle of silence and exclusion perpetuates a climate where microaggressions become an invisible yet persistent form of harm.

Strategies for dismantling silencing cultures

To shift from maintaining silencing cultures to dismantling them requires intentional, multifaceted strategies that address systemic barriers and empower individuals. Several organisations across Europe have begun to lead the way with concrete actions.

1. Foster diverse and inclusive leadership

Leadership sets the tone for organisational norms. When leadership teams lack diversity, especially in terms of gender and ethnicity, microaggressions are more easily brushed aside or normalised. Diversifying leadership is therefore not a token gesture but a critical lever for cultural change. For example, Unilever has made gender balance in senior management a strategic priority. This commitment does more than improve representation; it helps create policies that are genuinely responsive to diverse perspectives, amplifying underrepresented voices, and fostering an inclusive culture that challenges exclusionary practices. By intentionally cultivating diversity at the top, organisations send a strong signal about their values and create a pathway for lasting systemic change.

2. Build trustworthy reporting mechanisms

Employees need to feel confident and safe when reporting microaggressions. This requires more than just having a policy in place; reporting channels must be accessible, guarantee anonymity if needed, and be backed by a culture of accountability. IKEA stands out for its robust whistleblower system that allows employees to report concerns through multiple confidential avenues, including independent third parties. Transparent follow-up processes and visible organisational responses have helped IKEA build trust among employees, encouraging more people to speak up. When employees perceive that their concerns lead to tangible action and are shielded from retaliation, reporting transforms from a risky gamble into an empowered choice, which in turn disrupts cultures of silence.

3. Cultivate psychological safety through open dialogue

Microaggressions thrive in environments where conversations about discomfort and exclusion are taboo or suppressed. Normalising open and honest dialogue about identity, bias, and workplace dynamics fosters psychological safety – the belief that one can speak freely without fear of punishment or ostracism. Salesforce has pioneered the concept of “Brave Spaces” within its organisation. These are intentional forums where employees gather to discuss sensitive topics related to diversity and inclusion. These spaces are actively supported by senior leaders who listen attentively and respond constructively, creating a culture where difficult conversations become catalysts for understanding and change rather than sources of conflict. When employees feel heard and valued, they are more likely to engage, contribute, and collaborate, ultimately enhancing organisational cohesion and resilience.

4. Empower bystanders and encourage collective responsibility

The responsibility to challenge microaggressions cannot rest solely on those directly affected. Bystanders (colleagues who witness bias or exclusion) are crucial allies in creating an inclusive environment. Training that equips all employees with the skills and confidence to recognize and respond to microaggressions fosters a collective culture of accountability. Accenture, for instance, integrates comprehensive allyship training across its workforce, encouraging employees at every level to act when they observe exclusionary behaviour. This shared responsibility dilutes the emotional burden on marginalised employees and signals company-wide intolerance for microaggressions. Moreover, bystander intervention training cultivates social norms where discrimination is collectively rejected, making the workplace safer and more respectful for everyone.

5. Emphasise intersectionality in education and policy

Microaggressions often arise at the intersection of multiple identities, like gender, race, sexuality, age, and more. Effective inclusion efforts must acknowledge and address this complexity through intersectional education and adaptive policies. PwC has incorporated intersectionality-focused workshops into its diversity and inclusion curriculum, which helps employees appreciate the nuanced ways various identities influence workplace experiences. By regularly engaging with employee resource groups representing diverse backgrounds, PwC ensures its policies remain responding to the real and evolving needs of its workforce. This rigorous attention to intersectionality enables companies to design interventions that are not one-size-fits-all but tailored, sensitive, and inclusive at a deeper level.

The imperative for European organisations

The prevalence of microaggressions and the harm they cause is not merely an ethical issue but a significant business risk. Studies indicate that nearly a third of UK employees have faced microaggressions or discriminatory behaviours by managers recently. This contributes to poor mental health outcomes, decreased job satisfaction, and higher turnover, all of which undermine productivity and innovation.

Addressing these challenges requires more than surface-level initiatives. Without confronting the silencing mechanisms that render such behaviours invisible, efforts remain superficial and fail to foster enduring change. European companies have a unique opportunity to lead by embedding authentic transparency, promoting diverse leadership, ensuring safe reporting, normalising open conversations, and cultivating shared accountability.

When organisations commit to these principles, they not only support the wellbeing and dignity of all employees but also unlock the full potential of a richly diverse workforce. In a global economy that increasingly values inclusion, such commitments are essential for long-term sustainability and competitive advantage.

In conclusion, breaking the silence is the first vital step toward eroding the cultures that sustain microaggressions. Real progress demands courage from leadership and collective action at all levels; only then can workplaces transform into truly equitable spaces where everyone can thrive without fear or exclusion.

About the Authors

Delia Mensitieri is a Doctoral Researcher at Ghent University.

Smaranda Boroș is a Professor of Intercultural Management and Organisational Behaviour at Vlerick Business School.

Claudia Toma is a Professor of Social Psychology and Organizational Behavior at Université Libre de Bruxelles.

The post Breaking the Silence: How Organisations Can Dismantle Cultures that Sustain Microaggressions appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Dr Leandro Herrero

For years, organizations talked about culture while quietly distrusting how culture actually works. The result was not confusion, but a persistent blind spot — one that shaped how behaviour was managed, influenced, and misunderstood. 

For decades, management spoke endlessly about culture while quietly mistrusting the very forces through which culture actually forms. This was not a lack of tools or good intentions. It was a deeper conceptual failure — one that shaped how organizations were designed, led, and “changed.”

Culture, we were told, was about values, leadership, alignment, and purpose. Yet the most powerful drivers of behaviour — imitation, peer influence, and social pressure — were treated as suspicious, juvenile, or ethically questionable. Something fundamental was missed.

Not accidentally, but systematically.

The respectable blind spot

Traditional management thinking was built on a narrow image of the human being: rational, individual, motivated by incentives, guided by leaders. This made hierarchy respectable and lateral influence uncomfortable.

Influence was acceptable when it flowed downwards — from leaders, from strategy, from formal authority. The same influence, when it flowed sideways, was treated with moral unease. “Peer pressure” sounded childish, manipulative, even dangerous. Something associated with playgrounds and adolescent conformity had no place in the adult world of organizations.

This moral framing mattered. By labelling peer pressure as something negative, management effectively disqualified one of the most powerful forces shaping behaviour — while pretending to address culture through speeches, training, and leadership programmes.

Culture was discussed. Social contagion was not.

The mislabelling of peer pressure

Peer pressure is not an anomaly. It is how norms are enforced in every human group that has ever existed.

What people wear, how they speak, how they work, what they tolerate, what they challenge — these are not primarily dictated by formal authority. They are stabilised through observation, imitation, and the subtle rewards and sanctions of belonging.

In organizations, peer pressure is already operating all the time. The only real question is whether it is left unmanaged or deliberately shaped.

Yet management treated peer pressure as something to be minimised rather than understood. Leadership was expected to “override” it. Values were expected to “counteract” it. Training was expected to “correct” it.

None of this worked because it misunderstood the nature of the force involved.

Leadership does not eliminate peer pressure. It only decides whether it operates blindly or deliberately.

Homo Economicus meets Homo Imitans

Much of management theory rests on an outdated anthropology: Homo Economicus — the idea that people primarily act as independent, rational decision-makers responding to incentives and instructions.

But humans are, above all, Homo Imitans. I dedicated a whole book to this.

We learn by copying. We calibrate behaviour by watching others. We adjust not to formal rules, but to what is normalised around us. This is not weakness or lack of originality; it is the primary mechanism through which social systems function.

By ignoring imitation, management tried to change behaviour without changing exposure. It focused on what people were told, rather than what they saw repeated. It invested in individual mindsets while neglecting collective patterns.

Culture change was designed as instruction, when it should have been understood as contagion.

The leadership displacement

The obsession with leadership that emerged in the late twentieth century can be seen, in retrospect, as a displacement activity.

Leadership became the respectable way to talk about influence without addressing the uncomfortable reality that most influence does not come from leaders at all. It comes from peers. From role models without titles. From what is rewarded informally, not declared formally.

This is not an argument against leadership. It is an argument against asking leadership to compensate for a flawed understanding of social dynamics.

No amount of leadership development can substitute for unmanaged peer norms. No vision statement can compete with everyday imitation. No cascade can override what people see their colleagues getting away with.

Culture does not follow leaders. It follows patterns.

The real failure

The failure of traditional management was not practical. It was conceptual.

It failed to take social forces seriously because they felt unruly, informal, and ethically ambiguous. It preferred clean models to messy reality. It trusted design over emergence. It valued control over contagion.

As a result, organizations kept trying to “implement” culture — and were repeatedly surprised when it behaved like a living system instead.

Ironically, many organizations did change. But not because management finally understood culture. They changed despite management — through informal networks, peer reinforcement, and imitation operating below the radar.

The tragedy is not that peer pressure exists. It is that management refused to name it, understand it, and work with it.

The uncomfortable inheritance

If there is a lesson here, it is not methodological. It is philosophical.

To take culture seriously requires taking social influence seriously — without moralising it, romanticising it, or pretending it can be replaced by leadership rhetoric. It requires accepting that behaviour spreads laterally far more than vertically, and that control is weaker than example.

Until management makes peace with this, culture will remain something it talks about fluently — and shapes accidentally.

The force that changes culture was never missing. It was simply distrusted.

About the Author

Dr Leandro Herrero is Chief Organizational Architect at The Chalfont Project, psychiatrist, author, and international speaker. For over 25 years, he and his team have transformed organizational cultures worldwide through his pioneering Viral Change methodology – where a social movement approach creates lasting change. Follow Dr Herrero on LinkedIn for his latest updates.

The post Why Management Distrusted the One Force That Actually Changes Culture appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Barbara Salopek

Silicon Valley’s 996 work culture is often framed as commitment, but it undermines innovation. Drawing on experience and research, Barbara Salopek explores how overwork breeds fear, conformity, and silence, as well as how competitive advantage stems from psychological safety, learning, and leadership practices that prioritise insight over hours worked. 

The illusion of dedication.

I have been there. At twenty-five, I managed a customer relations department in a fast-growing start-up. My days began at seven and ended close to eight in the evening. The pace was relentless, the stakes high, and the pressure constant. At first, I thought this was what success looked like: intensity, long hours, and competition. But behind the glossy façade of ambition, the company was crumbling from within: mistrust, political games, and fear had replaced collaboration. Nobody felt safe to speak up or admit mistakes.

After one exhausting year, I left – and realised that overwork may sustain performance for a quarter, but it silently kills innovation in the long run.

Silicon Valley’s “996” culture – working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week – has become a global symbol of commitment. But in truth, it is a symptom of panic, not progress.

The real signal behind 996

996 is more than a schedule; it is a cultural signal. It tells people that time matters more than trust, and presence more than progress.

When organisations celebrate long hours, they unintentionally punish reflection, experimentation, and creative risk-taking; the very foundations of innovation.

Research supports this. Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety, the belief that you can speak up without fear of humiliation or punishment, was the single strongest predictor of high-performing, innovative teams. Psychological safety is not about comfort or leniency. It is about creating conditions where people can take interpersonal risks, challenge assumptions, and share half-formed ideas.

In contrast, 996 normalises fear. How? Very simply, it tells people: stay late, don’t question, just deliver. The result is efficiency without evolution.

Why 996 kills innovation

1. Exhaustion breeds conformity

Creativity requires cognitive space: time to reflect, connect ideas, and experiment. And creativity is not like a pizza that you can order when you are hungry for it. It requires a relatively fresh brain and clear eyes. Under constant fatigue, the brain defaults to routine patterns, a phenomenon psychologists call functional fixedness. We stop seeing new possibilities because we are too tired to question old ones. Teams caught in perpetual motion may produce more output but fewer breakthroughs.

In cultures dominated by overwork, mistakes are more likely to be hidden than discussed. People avoid suggesting controversial ideas that could backfire. This leads to organisational silence, where everyone appears busy but no one is learning. In innovation, silence is the loudest danger signal.

2. The psychological cost of speed

996 glorifies speed as if faster automatically means better. Yet when fear replaces safety, teams shift from problem-solving to self-protection. They focus on avoiding blame rather than exploring solutions. Managers under pressure tend to micromanage, which further erodes trust.

The irony is that fear slows organisations down. Without open dialogue, problems escalate unseen until they require crisis management. The constant “panic productivity” creates short-term busyness and long-term fragility. The more time leaders demand, the less thinking they receive.

Just because the market is in panic does not mean we have to be as well. In such situations, we need to be calm and, as Norwegians like to say, breathe with your stomach i.e. slowly.

3. What drives innovation instead

The opposite of 996 is not laziness; it is psychological safety combined with accountability. In my work with innovation teams, the most successful leaders model three core behaviours:

• Show vulnerability. Admit what you don’t know, and invite others to help solve it. This turns authority into credibility. People open up more to those who are human; leaders who show they are just like them.
• Listen actively. When people share ideas, don’t interrupt, dismiss, or instantly evaluate. Curiosity builds ownership. As much as I love to talk, I’ve learned that others love to talk too — and my role as a leader is often to stay quiet and listen with curiosity.
• Clarify roles and goals. Ambiguity breeds anxiety. When people know their scope, they dare to experiment within it.

These small habits have a disproportionate impact. They create a sense of collective responsibility, where failure becomes feedback, not a threat. Innovation flourishes in environments where people feel both trusted and challenged.

4. Lessons from adaptive cultures

Companies known for innovation, whether in Scandinavia, Japan, or Silicon Valley itself succeed not because of endless hours but because they design for learning. They intentionally protect space for reflection, exploration, and collaboration.

The idea is not to copy “Google’s 20 percent time,” but to understand what it represents: a protected environment where curiosity is safe and learning is valued as much as results. These organizations replace “hours logged” with “experiments run.” They measure innovation by hypotheses tested, not weekends sacrificed.

Leaders who want to compete on innovation must reframe productivity from effort to insight. The goal is not to do more, but to think better.

Replace fear with focus

996 is not a symbol of dedication, it is a red flag. It signals a culture that confuses exhaustion with excellence. Innovation depends on energy, not depletion; on trust, not terror.

Leaders who genuinely want speed must first create safety. Without it, every new idea feels like a risk too big to take.

Remember Formula 1: there is no room for fear or ambiguity when changing tyres in the middle of a race. Asking employees to sprint 996 and to innovate in that state is like asking a pit crew to redesign the car mid-lap. It will never work, and we both know it.

The companies that will win the next decade are not those that run the fastest, but those that learn the fastest.

The companies that will win the next decade are not those that run the fastest but those that learn the fastest.

Three shifts every leader can start this week:

• Replace “Who made this mistake?” with “What did we learn?” or “How can we not repeat it next time”
• Replace “Work harder” with “Let’s experiment more and learn faster.”
• Replace “Be perfect” with “Be curious.”

When organisations stop glorifying exhaustion and start rewarding learning, innovation returns naturally. Because the real shortcut to performance is not more time in the office, it’s the courage to make thinking safe again.

About the Author

Barbara Salopek is the author of Future-Fit Innovation and Founder & CEO of Vinco Innovation, a consultancy helping companies build sustainable innovation cultures. She is also a lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School and an internationally recognised expert in innovation, leadership, and organisational transformation.

The post 996 is Not a Competitive Advantage – Why it Stifles Innovation appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Nic Marks

We need stability and change, but too much of either can be problematic. Without change, things stagnate, and we get bored. This evolutionary tension is managed by emotions, evolved to help us adapt. This article explores two kinds of happiness that foster a dynamic balance between our competing needs for stability and change.

Stability and change. We need both in our lives, but too much of either can be a problem. If everything is always change, change, change, we become unsettled and exhausted. If nothing ever changes, things stagnate and we get bored. There is a tension between the two states.

This tension has deep evolutionary roots. All living beings must maintain internal stability to stay alive. They also must interact with an ever-changing external environment. Our feelings and emotions have, at least partially, evolved to help us navigate this tension, with that self-regulation often referred to by biologists as homeostasis. Keeping our body temperature, blood pressure and heart rates within certain ranges are all examples of this process. For a wonderful exploration of the evolution of emotions, see Antonio Damasio’s book The Strange Order of Things (Damasio, 2018).

In this article, I will explore the fact that it is helpful to think about there being two different kinds of happiness, and that together they help us create a dynamic balance between our competing needs for stability and change.

Two types of positive emotions

Over the years, more and more research attention has been focused on the power of positive emotions. A key breakthrough came in the 1990s when psychologist Barbara Fredrickson proposed her broaden-and-build theory. She demonstrated that when people feel good, they become more creative, collaborative, and open to new ideas. Positive emotions, she argued, don’t just make us feel better — they broaden our range of responses in the moment, and over time they build resources like resilience, confidence, and social bonds. In short, they are not just pleasant extras but part of our evolutionary toolkit for survival and growth.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the complexity of emotions, over the intervening years, some caveats have emerged, especially in regard to the broaden element of the theory. For example, a positive emotion such as interest explicitly narrows our attention so that we can focus on details. Enthusiasm drives us towards pursuing a goal, but in this mood we are less likely to be open to new ideas. Courage demands that we close ourselves off to hazards and ignore risks.

The idea that some positive emotions broaden our attention and others narrow it might at first appear to be a trivial spat over words. However, the Norwegian psychologist Professor Joar Vittersø, who I have collaborated with on several projects over the decades, proposes that this difference is due to positive emotions activating two different motivation systems: one that maintains stability and one that drives change (Vittersø, 2025). This makes it clear why we have an array of positive emotions and it is useful to differentiate between these two underlying types, which I call sustaining and striving.

Sustaining

Sustaining emotions such as contentment, tranquillity, safety, caring, lovingness and pleasure help us relax and connect with other people. They are restorative when we are depleted, raising our spirits when we feel low. When we are feeling good in this way, we are more open, which helps us see the bigger picture, enhancing our creativity and making us more flexible. These emotions help us maintain the stability we need, both internally and relationally.

Sustaining emotions are related to what some people call our rest-and-digest system (Gilbert, 2009). They are associated with oxytocin, the so-called love hormone that helps us build relationships; and with endorphins, which can make us feel calm. The opposite of feeling sustained is to feel stressed, depleted or isolated. 

Striving

Striving emotions help us accomplish tasks and achieve goals. They are sometimes called our drive system. Enthusiasm, excitement and interest all help us mobilise our own energy and that of others. Striving emotions are, to varying degrees, characterised by a narrowing down of attention, which naturally helps us focus on the tasks at hand and to create change.

The hormone most closely associated with these striving emotions is dopamine – sometimes called the molecule of more, as it drives our desires (Lieberman and Long, 2019). The opposite of experiencing striving emotions is to feel directionless, disengaged or bored. 

Sustaining and striving at work

Striving emotions have a clear link to productivity – they help us focus and achieve goals. It’s not surprising that they are much valued in the business world. The quieter, sustaining emotions are just as important, though, as they are related to creativity, resilience and, ultimately, staff retention. They also critically help teams create the psychological safety needed to work well together.

Our need for both stability and change means that building happy, successful teams is a very dynamic process. Things are always in flux, which can be fun and exciting as well as sometimes quite challenging.

To summarise, happiness balances stability and change, as our emotional lives navigate a fundamental tension between needing consistency and embracing growth. Happiness plays a key role in managing this dynamic. There are two types of positive emotions: sustaining emotions, like calmness and connection, which restore us and promote flexibility; and striving emotions, like enthusiasm and drive, which focus our attention and push us towards goals. Great teams need both types. While striving fuels productivity and ambition, sustaining emotions support creativity, resilience and psychological safety, and both are essential for long-term success.

About the Author

Nic Marks is an award-winning statistician and author of the best-selling book, Happiness is a Serious Business. He is also a TED speaker with over two decades of experience connecting happiness and data. As the founder of Friday Pulse and creator of the Happy Planet Index and Five Ways to Wellbeing, he has helped hundreds of organisations worldwide unlock the power of happier teams.

The post Why Great Teams Need Both the Positive Emotions of Sustaining and Striving appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Amy Brann

Motivation isn’t about perks or pressure. In this eye-opening piece, Amy Brann, author of Make Your Brain Work, reveals why outdated incentive models fail and how leaders can truly energise teams by understanding the brain’s reward system, directing attention wisely, and creating space for deeper meaning, reflection, and self-driven motivation.

Did you know that leaders are not just setting goals—they’re shaping brains? Every conversation, priority, or performance framework subtly rewires what your team pays attention to—and therefore what drives them. In short, leaders are custodians of attention. And that makes them architects of motivation.

Yet many organisations are still clinging to outdated motivation models: carrot-and-stick incentives, short-term rewards, and generic ‘engagement’ initiatives. The science is in—and these approaches are not only ineffective, but often counterproductive. If you want a high-performing, energised, resilient team, it’s time to rethink what actually drives people at work.

1. Understand the Brain’s Reward System—Or Risk Working Against It

Most motivation strategies fail because they misunderstand how the brain processes rewards. Dopamine, the chemical often associated with motivation, is not simply released when someone gets a bonus or praise. It’s released in anticipation of something meaningful—especially when a person feels they had some autonomy or identity in achieving it.

This is where traditional rewards go wrong. Monetary incentives, performance rankings or superficial perks often light up the brain’s reward circuitry only briefly—a dopamine spike followed by diminishing returns. The neuroscience is clear: lasting motivation is fuelled not by short-term external rewards, but by internal ones that connect to purpose, contribution, and personal identity.

If you want sustained motivation, design roles and recognition systems that help people feel proud of who they are becoming—not just what they’ve done.

2. Motivation Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All—It’s Shaped by Attention and Conditioning

Here’s a truth that surprises many leaders during my keynotes: there’s no such thing as a ‘Gen Z brain’ or a ‘Boomer brain.’ All generations share the same neurological architecture. What differs is how their reward systems have been conditioned to light up.

Some individuals will be energised by hitting a metric. Others by solving a complex puzzle, or knowing their work has made someone’s life easier. These triggers are shaped by culture, personal values, and formative experiences—not by age or job title.

And this is where your role as a custodian of attention becomes vital. What you choose to spotlight in meetings, what you celebrate in others, what you measure—these direct attention, and attention shapes behaviour. If you focus only on revenue, expect short-termism. If you focus on mastery, collaboration or growth, expect a very different culture.

To motivate your team, know what lights them up—and then keep drawing their attention there.

3. Coaching Conversations Elicit Identity-Level Motivation

The best motivation doesn’t come from external nudges – it comes from within. But most organisations don’t give people the space to discover what truly drives them.

That’s where coaching-style management makes all the difference.

Unlike performance reviews or directives, coaching creates a space for employees to reflect, explore, and find meaning in their work. It encourages people to ask not just what they’re doing, but why it matters—and how it aligns with their own sense of identity.

From a neuroscience perspective, this isn’t soft skills – it’s highly strategic. Identity-level reflection activates the medial prefrontal cortex, involved in self-relevance and future-oriented thinking. It allows someone to connect a task not just to the company mission, but to their own values, growth, or who they aspire to be.

Want your people to feel truly engaged? Ask better questions (e.g. What part of this project feels most meaningful to you personally? Or What kind of reputation or impact do you want to build through this role?), listen longer, and help them find their own why—not just yours.

4. Downtime Isn’t a Luxury – It’s Where Motivation Gets Wired In

We often think motivation is about doing more. But sometimes, the key is in doing nothing – deliberately.

Research into the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) has shown that during rest, reflection or daydreaming, we integrate ideas, solidify memories, and generate new connections. These moments are not wasted – they are where deeper meaning is made. When people have time to pause, they’re more likely to link their daily work with broader goals, values, or insights. That connection builds intrinsic motivation.

This is why relentless busyness kills motivation. It gives people no time to internalise, reframe, or extract meaning from their work.

If you want lasting motivation, don’t just encourage downtime—protect it.

5. Purpose and Identity Trump Pay Cheques—Every Time

Compensation matters. But beyond a certain point, it stops motivating. What keeps people going through uncertainty, complexity, or setbacks is purpose—and its close cousin, identity.

Meaningful work doesn’t have to change the world. But people do need to see how their effort contributes to something worthwhile—and how it reflects the kind of person they want to be. Whether it’s being known as the go-to problem-solver, or the person who always has time to mentor others, these identity hooks activate deep neural reward pathways far more powerfully than short term material gains.

So when you connect a task to an organisational mission, don’t stop there. Ask: How could this role connect to who this person wants to become?

Because when people do work that aligns with their identity, they don’t just show up—they shine.

Rethinking Your Role as a Leader

The carrot-and-stick model belongs to a different era. Today’s business leaders need to become neuroscience-literate, emotionally intelligent custodians of attention and meaning.

Start by asking:

• What do I draw my team’s attention to most?
• Do I know what truly lights each person up?
• Are my conversations helping people feel seen, stretched and aligned with who they want to be?

Because motivation isn’t something you give to people. It’s something you help them find—and fuel.

And that’s not just good leadership. That’s good science.

About the Author

Amy Brann is the founder of Synaptic Potential and author of Make Your Brain Work (Kogan Page), out 3^rd August 2025.

The post Motivation Myths: Why Carrots and Sticks are Failing Your Team appeared first on The European Business Review.

The podcast and the article are brought to you by The Better Boards Podcast Series.

In recent years, transformation skills have gained significant importance at the board level, as highlighted by our board evaluations. Culture and talent have steadily climbed the board agenda—yet notably, HR professionals remain rare in boardrooms. Why?

In this episode of the Better Boards Podcast Series, Dr. Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards, explores the vital role of transformation, culture, and talent with Devyani P. Vaishampayan. Devyani is the Remco Chair and NED at Norman Broadbent Plc and Supply Chain Coordination Limited, and an Independent NED on the Audit Board of ForvisMazars. She is also a Fellow at Chapter Zero—an initiative focused on climate-conscious board leadership—and a Board Mentor with Critical Eye.

Over the past seven years, Devyani has emerged as a successful AI entrepreneur. She recently completed a strategic exit from her AI Innovation Hub, which supported organisations in adopting AI for leadership, culture, and future-of-work initiatives. Her journey is underpinned by over 30 years as a global, multi-sector FTSE 30 Group CHRO, where she led complex, multi-billion-dollar organisations.

“It’s still quite rare to find HR professionals on the board. There’s a perception that HR is a support function, lacking commercial acumen—and therefore not a strong partner at board level.”

Despite this, Devyani believes HR leaders can earn their place at the table by demonstrating commercial insight, a firm grasp of business drivers, financials, customer impact, and strategic thinking. She advocates that HR professionals consider roles beyond HR or entrepreneurial ventures to broaden their perspectives and build credibility.

“It’s a cliché now—every second person is talking about AI—but very few understand how swiftly change is occurring.”

Transformation is not new, but the pace of transformation today is unprecedented. Devyani points to recent geopolitical shifts, such as tariff changes, as examples of fast-moving developments requiring boards to act with agility. Within this context, AI emerges as both an accelerant and a disruptor.

Boards must recognise AI’s dual nature: its vast potential for insight and efficiency, and its inherent risks—such as bias, data privacy, and trust issues. Instead of imposing heavy restrictions that could stifle innovation and employee engagement, boards should invest the time to understand and prepare for AI’s full impact.

“When it comes to transforming culture and talent, boards need to lead more, engage more, and get hands-on with what’s happening on the ground.”

According to Devyani, boards that excel in managing culture and talent transformation do three things well:

1. They bring in specialists. Recognising that not all leaders are well-versed in culture and talent transformation, high-performing boards engage experts who can help design the right systems and processes.
2. They stay connected. One exemplary board Devyani works with holds dedicated two-day sessions to meet directly with employees. This face-to-face feedback surpasses what annual surveys offer and provides invaluable insights into workforce sentiment and leadership capability.
3. They lead by example. Board chairs in particular can role-model values and lead cultural initiatives rather than leaving everything to the executive team.

“Boards today need to become mentors to the executive team.”

While some executives prefer a “nose in, hands out” approach, Devyani argues that most executive teams don’t have all the answers in today’s fast-paced world. A board that listens actively, provides context, and shares wisdom can become a trusted mentor and guide.

Skilled board chairs facilitate this by aligning the strengths of board members with executives, creating natural mentoring relationships. Subcommittees and cross-committee meetings can be structured to support ongoing conversations around leadership, strategy, and culture, without overburdening anyone.

Top Three Takeaways for effective boards:

1. HR leaders have a unique board advantage. Like CFOs, they regularly engage with the board in their executive capacity. Use this access to understand board dynamics, shape leadership discussions, and position yourself as a trusted advisor.
2. Go beyond your domain. Today’s board roles require more than deep expertise—you need breadth. Broaden your skills and perspectives to remain board-relevant and bring fresh value.
3. AI will reshape everything. As a board member, you are responsible for going beyond webinars and getting hands-on with AI. Understand its capabilities and risks firsthand to guide your organisation wisely.

Don’t forget to subscribe never to miss an episode of the Better Boards Podcast Series. Available on their website, Apple, Spotify or Google.

To find out how you can participate in the Better Boards Podcast Series or more information on Better Boards’ solutions, please email us at info@better-boards.com.

The post The Better Boards Podcast Series: Living with Uncertainty – The Importance of Transformation, Culture, and Talent appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Dr. Siew Fang Law and Hannes van Rensburg

“Toughen up” or “power through” mentality is no longer sufficient to build resilient leaders and leadership. As leaders, you need to give yourself permission to prioritise care. By doing so, you will be able to alter the energy within yourself and the workplace. 

Do you feel that you are at the edge of compassion fatigue or burnout? Are you currently navigating the increasingly complex, challenging, and dynamic nature of workplaces? In today’s high-pressure and fast-paced environment, the focus on productivity and performance often overshadows the importance of checking in with our sense of well-being.  

We need an effective model to help us navigate our inner landscape and external currents, so we can feel safe to recharge our energy and build a more caring organisational culture. One of the most effective ways to begin building a compassionate work culture is by looking at a surprisingly simple concept: the Japanese bento box.  

The bento box, a compartmentalised lunch box designed to provide a beautifully balanced meal with various delicious flavours, textures, and nutrients, can offer valuable insights into the delicate art of balancing the interconnectedness of its elements. The principles of the bento box can inspire us to make sense of the interconnected nature of building a culture of care in today’s workplaces. The compartments within the bento box provide a structure to remind us of the importance of maintaining our well-being so we can continue to support our teams and our organisation effectively. We, much like the bento box, can maintain equilibrium across multiple dimensions of our lives. These dimensions span from our individual well-being to our relationships with others, shaping the organisational culture, and beyond. 

How to Care for Leaders Who Care 

We can use the bento box as an analogy for a visual and metaphorical well-being barometer.  The aim is to create a healthy balance across different dimensions. You can draw on key principles inspired by the bento box, such as consciousness, action, reciprocity, and equilibrium, to design and implement workplace strategies and programs with hearts to lift and sustain your and the organisation’s energy and still remain effective in your roles through experiencing the power of care. You could ensure your department has the resources (funding, time, people, space, capacity, and capabilities) to foster compassion throughout the organisation.  Here are three practical tips inspired by the bento box principles that can help you achieve equilibrium within yourself and your organisation: 

1. Encourage Self-Care as a Priority (Individual Dimension)

Just like the bento box, you can assess or check-in on your personal and organisational barometers to understand whether self-care has been prioritised and practiced. Are there reasonable space and time allocations to engage in regular healthy activities that recharge your emotional, mental, and physical energy? These activities could range from exercise to hobbies or spending time with loved ones. Additionally, leadership coaching and mentoring may help you and your leaders work on your psychosocial safety and well-being. You may find suitable coaches who can guide you through some of your shadow work and ensure that you are practicing what you preach when it comes to self-care. 

By normalising and mainstreaming self-care starting at the leadership level, you can promote a culture where prioritising personal well-being is normal and is considered a strength, not an abnormality or limitation, in your workplace.  

2. Foster Connection and Peer Support (Relationship Dimension)

Leadership can be a lonely endeavour, but a leader cannot work alone. This is where the bento box principle of reciprocity comes into play. Connect with your peers beyond the organisation. Consciously organise the right kind of peer support groups or mentorship programs, where you and others feel safe to connect, build trust, share challenges, brainstorm solutions, and emotionally support each other. These connections help prevent the sense of isolation and loneliness that often contributes to an empty tank. 

3. Shape a Culture of Care (Organisational Dimension)

In the bento box, the food is arranged thoughtfully to create balance. Similarly, you can cultivate organisational culture with care to ensure that priorities are not just expected to deliver results but also to nurture the well-being of yourself and your teams. You can build programs that embody and celebrate empathy, work-life balance, and emotional intelligence.  

You may articulate clear expectations around the behaviours of compassionate leadership, such as encouraging active listening and presence, showing appreciation for team efforts, and maintaining transparency.  

The need for compassionate leadership has never been more critical. When compassionate leaders are not cared for and leave the organisation, less compassionate leaders stay. Resulting in key leadership talent being lost and workplace culture shifts. Essential for long-term trust and sustainability, you can set the process in motion by revising policies to encourage and celebrate compassionate behaviours, promote training in emotional intelligence, and role model caring values. 

You can create an environment where you and your leaders feel empowered and normal to take time and hold space to care for both yourselves and your teams. Starting with showing care and providing a road map to yourself and your leaders, especially when you are aware that people are struggling from within but want to change for the better, you can shift a work environment from an apathetic and toxic culture to a caring and healthier one. The ripple effects will benefit your clients and customers and positively impact your communities and society.  

“Toughen up” or “power through” mentality is no longer sufficient to build resilient leaders and leadership. Give yourself permission to prioritise care. By doing so, you will be able to alter the energy within yourself and the workplace. Ultimately, when you feel cared for, you are better equipped to care for others—and that is the foundation of a truly compassionate and sustainably productive workplace.

About the Authors 

Dr. Siew Fang Law and Hannes van Rensburg are co-authors of The Power of Care. Dr. Siew Fang is a social psychologist and peace psychology expert, Hannes is a leadership coach and former senior executive. Together, they bring their combined expertise and personal experiences to champion a movement of care, offering practical tools and insights to transform lives and create a more compassionate world. Find out more at www.BentoBoxOfCare.com. 

The post 3 Things a ‘Bento Box’ Approach Can Teach Leaders about Building a Culture of Care  appeared first on The European Business Review.

Today, employers work in a fast-moving and competitive landscape, where making a bad hire can be quite costly. The risks are significant, ranging from damage to reputation and financial losses to disruptions within the team. So, establishing trust before signing the contract isn’t just a good idea—it’s essential. When organizations check a candidate’s qualifications, identity, and professional background, they lay the groundwork for a successful working relationship.

Why Pre-Employment Checks Matter More Than Ever

With remote hiring and digital applications becoming the norm, it’s getting harder to genuinely evaluate the accuracy of the information candidates provide. Although many applicants are truthful, there are still instances where academic qualifications are overstated, work experiences are made up, or legal issues are conveniently left out. Bypassing pre-employment checks can result in unexpected issues that put the integrity and safety of the organization at risk.

In some sectors like finance, healthcare, education, or government, performing these checks is not only recommended but often mandated by law. Employers in these fields need to carry out thorough background checks, which include looking into criminal records, verifying professional licenses, and confirming right-to-work status. If this isn’t done, it could lead to regulatory issues, lawsuits, or major operational risks.

Pre-employment screening is quickly becoming a common best practice, even in industries that aren’t regulated. This shows that an organization is dedicated to due diligence, professional ethics, and employee safety, which are all essential for sustainable growth.

What Do Pre-Employment Checks Involve?

The extent of pre-employment screening can differ based on the job, industry, and location. There are a few key elements that you’ll typically find in most checks. The process usually begins by confirming a candidate’s identity and their legal ability to work. After that, employers usually check educational qualifications, previous job history, and references.

In positions that require interaction with vulnerable individuals or handling sensitive data, it may be necessary to conduct more thorough checks. These may involve checking credit history, reviewing criminal records, conducting global sanctions screening, and even looking at social media to identify any potential red flags. When it comes to managerial or high-stakes roles, it’s really important to check leadership credentials and ensure decision-making integrity.

Every step in this process is designed to make sure that the candidate not only fulfills the necessary qualifications but also doesn’t present any unnecessary risks to the organization’s clients, assets, or culture.

When Should These Checks Be Done?

The timing of pre-employment screenings is really important for their effectiveness. Typically, in hiring processes, these checks happen after a conditional job offer is made but before the final contract is signed. This stage lets both the employer and the candidate progress positively while keeping the option to reevaluate if any significant issues come up.

Placing the screening process between the job offer and the official hiring helps businesses safeguard their interests while allowing candidates to be open and honest. This step usually serves as a last checkpoint in the hiring process, giving companies the chance to pause or retract an offer if important details don’t align with the information given.

Also, having a clear process and sharing it with the candidate helps maintain transparency. This clears up any confusion and emphasizes that the company prioritizes integrity, accountability, and fairness.

The Shift from Manual to Digital: How Technology Is Changing the Game

In the past, pre-employment screening involved a lot of manual work, including heaps of paperwork, faxed forms, numerous emails, and lengthy waiting times. HR teams had to manage various verifications, reach out to institutions and former employers manually, and at times depend on outdated systems that slowed down hiring decisions.

Today’s competitive hiring landscape requires us to be quick, precise, and secure. When verifications are delayed, companies risk losing out on top talent, and using outdated processes can lead to mistakes. There’s been an increasing need for tech-based solutions that streamline the whole process and enhance security.

PESCheck is a contemporary background screening platform that allows employers to easily request and manage checks in a secure, centralized, and automated way.

How PESCheck Streamlines the Screening Process

PESCheck makes a once tedious task easier by transforming it into a smooth and organized workflow. Companies can easily start different checks online through the platform, including identity verification, criminal background checks, reference validation, and more, all without the hassle of managing documents by hand.

We make sure that data is encrypted and stored safely, and only authorized users can access it. This helps us comply with privacy laws such as GDPR. This is particularly important in areas with strict data protection rules, where mishandling candidate information can result in significant legal issues.

PESCheck helps HR departments by automating parts of the verification process and providing easy-to-use dashboards, allowing them to concentrate on strategic hiring instead of getting bogged down in paperwork. With real-time updates, progress tracking, and result summaries, guesswork is minimized, allowing for informed decision-making at each stage.

Benefits for Employers and Candidates Alike

A major benefit of thorough pre-employment checks is that they help build a sense of trust between the employer and the candidate. As companies become more confident in their hiring choices, candidates enjoy a more seamless and clear onboarding process.

When done properly, background checks don’t come across as intrusive—they actually provide a sense of reassurance. The organization shows the candidate that it values professionalism, quality, and ethical standards. It makes a great first impression and establishes the mood for the entire employee experience.

Platforms such as PESCheck aim to improve this experience. We guide candidates through the process step by step, clearly explaining what data is needed and why it’s important. This reduces friction and increases engagement.

The Strategic Value of Background Screening

Pre-employment screening is not just about protection; it also significantly influences the long-term culture of a company. When organizations hire individuals with verified backgrounds and qualifications, they boost the likelihood of employee success, decrease turnover rates, and cut down on training costs.

Every successful hire that comes from this effort makes the team stronger. It helps keep things running smoothly and creates a workplace where everyone feels they’re collaborating with equally qualified professionals. This trust we share creates a ripple effect. It lifts morale, encourages collaboration, and enhances performance metrics.

It helps to safeguard the company’s brand image. A single scandal from a hire that wasn’t properly vetted can lead to bad press, customer backlash, and a lack of trust within the organization. Using tools like PESCheck, businesses can reduce these risks and make sure their teams are established on strong foundations.

Legal Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Not carrying out the required checks can lead to legal issues for a business. If a candidate who isn’t qualified or is fraudulent causes problems, the company could end up dealing with lawsuits, regulatory fines, or issues with insurance. This is particularly important in areas where compliance is essential.

Pre-employment checks act as a way for organizations to ensure they are following the necessary rules regarding data security, workplace safety, and financial transparency. When businesses incorporate a legally compliant platform like PESCheck into their workflow, they show their dedication to due process and ethical hiring practices.

Additionally, employers take steps to safeguard themselves against claims of negligent hiring. If an employee commits misconduct that could have been anticipated during the screening process, the company might be held responsible unless it can demonstrate that it took appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.

Scaling with Confidence

As companies expand, they tend to hire more, which creates a greater demand for solutions that can scale effectively. Using manual methods just doesn’t work when you’re hiring a lot of people. Integrating digital tools into the recruitment process helps businesses maintain consistency and accuracy, regardless of the number of candidates involved.

Platforms such as PESCheck provide scalability while maintaining quality. No matter if you’re bringing on ten people or ten thousand, the process stays quick, dependable, and completely trackable. This scalability enables companies, from startups to global enterprises, to grow with confidence.

Transparency as a Core Hiring Principle

A successful workplace starts with being open. When candidates and employers are open with each other, it creates stronger partnerships. Open and respectful communication during the screening process helps to build trust and demonstrates professionalism.

When pre-employment screening is conducted with understanding and transparency, it not only safeguards companies but also enhances the overall hiring experience. When candidates feel respected, organizations benefit from valuable insights, leading to a more cohesive work environment.

When you combine this philosophy with the right tools, such as PESCheck, it integrates smoothly into your recruitment strategy instead of being an afterthought. Companies can stick to their values, follow the law, and still hire quickly—all while keeping their integrity intact.

Final Thoughts

Bringing someone on board is about more than just filling a spot. It’s about welcoming someone into your environment—someone who will impact your brand, support your clients, and work alongside your team. The importance of this responsibility is why pre-employment checks are now essential in today’s hiring process.

Thanks to digital solutions like PESCheck, employers can now perform these checks more quickly, safely, and intelligently than ever before. It’s not only about verification; it’s about creating a workplace grounded in trust, transparency, and accountability from the very beginning.

If you want to improve your hiring process while ensuring compliance and efficiency, think about how pre-employment checks can serve as a strategic advantage rather than just a necessary step.

The post Pre-Employment Checks: Building a Culture of Trust Before the Hire appeared first on The European Business Review.

The current pace of change driven by digital innovation can feel overwhelming. With rapid advancements in generative AI and the sheer volume of new tools, platforms, and techniques on offer, many business leaders feel they’re constantly playing catch-up to simply keep pace with their competitors, never mind pulling ahead of them. The market is loud and overflowing with choices, and simply abstaining from engaging with it, is not an option for any organisation. According to a recent report from KMPG which surveyed more than 500 top executives from major global firms, as many as 98% of Global Business Services have either already deployed or are in the process of launching Generative AI tools within the next twelve months.

The key to maintaining this competitive edge is to build a culture of continuous learning within yourself, and within your organisation, and to combine this with a dedication to exploring transformation, innovation and experimentation.

Providing some small comfort, the same report also shares that 79% of these firms also shared that they lack the tech-savvy skills in-house to provide effective digital services. Such figures, and the reality that the pace of technological change is only going to increase as AI and data capabilities grow means that whether you’re a business leader seeking to ensure your company’s survival, or a professional looking to take the next step up the ladder developing a greater acumen in digital application and strategy is vital for sustained success. It also means that, for those that can get it right, there is a significant advantage to be gained.

However, the secret isn’t mastering every new technology that comes along, it’s about knowing just a little bit more than your competitors and leveraging that knowledge to drive competitive advantage.

The key to maintaining this competitive edge is to build a culture of continuous learning within yourself, and within your organisation, and to combine this with a dedication to exploring transformation, innovation and experimentation.

Why Building A Learning Culture Matters

No matter the sector or the focus, organisations that can encourage continuous learning amongst their staff see multiple benefits. Agility is one such strength – creating teams that can identify when industry trends change and quickly pivot to meet them, and skilled employees with a mindset to explore and take advantage of new tools and techniques early-on, rather than shying away from them.

This, in turn increases the potential for innovation, as a structured learning culture brings with it new ideas developed from fresh knowledge, insights and the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues.

Another benefit is a higher level of employee retention. Staff value professional development opportunities. As a result, not only are they more skilled and fulfilled, they are more likely to stay with an organisation that invests in their growth.

Creating a culture of learning starts with leadership. If senior leaders and executives champion the importance of continuous education, the rest of the team will follow. Leaders should engage in the practices they want to see from their staff, such as keeping up their qualifications and sector knowledge, attending webinars or taking courses. They should also provide staff with access to similar resources, and allow them the time to explore these, encouraging experimentation without worry of reprimand or failure.

However, building such a culture in already established skills and disciplines is altogether a more straightforward prospect that embarking on embedding something new, unexplored and untested, as much digital technology is. The key here is found in the attitudes and actions of leadership – being willing to step into the unknown and break new ground.

To do this, organisations and individuals can find value in reaching beyond their industry and their existing networks to benefit from the knowledge of other organisations and institutions. Short Executive Education courses offer the opportunity to both upskill in a new discipline and gain a network that can help further embed a culture of learning for the future.

At Imperial, the Digital Transformation Strategy programme offers exactly this – a short-term, expert-led deep dive into the most prominent, impactful digital transitions impacting industry.

Gaining A Competitive Advantage Through Executive Education

With solid foundations in both business and technological innovation, Imperial offers learners the advantages of a scientifically solid curriculum that is designed to be instantly applicable to the real needs of industry. This gives them the opportunity to build their knowledge as well a means of actioning it in their professional lives.

Taught over five days, the Digital Transformation Strategy programme provides mid-to-senior level leaders with the skills to navigate through the noise of digital innovation. Participants begin by exploring the current technological landscape, understanding its scope and the implications this has on business practice.

With solid foundations in both business and technological innovation, Imperial offers learners the advantages of a scientifically solid curriculum that is designed to be instantly applicable to the real needs of industry.

From here they refine their focus over the following days, identifying the tools, knowledge and techniques to best address their own and their organisation’s needs. To help ensure that learners can be successful in their digital transformation efforts, studies take on a personal approach, auditing strengths and weaknesses and building a robust plan to work from. Learners can build a robust digital transformation strategy for their own organisations with guidance from industry experts.

With academic exploration and a strong foundation in analytics, supported by best practice shared by organisations currently succeeding in this field, the programme is practical at its heart, but instils enough broader knowledge to allow participants to continue learning after the programme’s conclusion.

Crucially, learners also gain an insight into what causes organisations to fail at digital, enabling them to identify potential pitfalls early on in their own work. Here a grounding in data comprehension and analysis can allow organisations to effectively measure the success of their strategies and the ROI they offer, helping to tie digital transformation to financial success and identify further opportunities for development and growth. Because of this, data science also forms a core part of the curriculum.

Who Benefits?

The programme offers mid- to senior-level leaders more than just a world-class education—it provides a powerful network of peers facing similar challenges, and the critical skills many organisations are missing. Learning doesn’t stop at the classroom; faculty and advisors remain accessible for ongoing guidance, while participants also benefit from the broader expertise and resources of Imperial.

In the workplace, the knowledge gained can empower leaders to curate more effective learning resources for their teams—whether through formal training programmes or accessible options like podcasts, YouTube channels, and industry white papers. Leaders can also create tailored initiatives such as internal workshops with industry experts, peer-to-peer learning sessions where team members share insights, or mentorship schemes that connect junior staff with experienced professionals to promote cross-level learning. Learning shouldn’t be a solitary pursuit; by fostering a collaborative learning culture, organisations can ensure that knowledge is not only acquired but actively shared and retained across teams.

It’s not enough to encourage learning – like your digital strategy, you also need to measure its impact. Digital literacy can assist here in demonstrating the return on investment for learning initiatives, tracking how often team members are experimenting with new strategies, tools, or channels, or employee retention rates and satisfaction surveys to see how learning impacts your workplace culture.

Leveraging Learning for Long-Term Competitive Advantage 

Digital transformation is about more that digitisation. Research carried out as part of Imperial Digital Transformation Strategy Programme, looking at over 300 real-world transformations, found that there are 14 areas that organisations need to address digital transformation successfully, and technology is just open of them.

But, true digital transformation can drive cultural change. By combining our approach to education with a structured approach to innovation and experimentation, we can go beyond just trying to stay up to date and create real competitive advantage.

To find out more about the 5 day ‘Digital Transformation Strategy’ programme visit: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/executive-education/marketing-innovation-strategy/digital-transformation-strategy-programme/

About the Author

Daniel Rowles is an expert in digital transformation strategy, and Programme Director of the Imperial Executive Education ‘Digital Transformation Strategy’ programme.

Outside of Academia, Daniel is the CEO of Target Internet, an online hub for digital marketing career advice and education.

The post How Creating a Learning Culture Can Help Your Company Master Digital Transformation and Gain a Competitive Edge appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Mostafa Sayyadi and Michael Provitera

Now, a critical and unanswered question is: How can CEOs develop an effective innovation culture so that their companies can achieve greater business success? If you are looking for an answer to this critical question, then this article analyzes the Tesla innovation culture to solve this problem. We identified the important characteristics of a highly impactful innovation culture at Tesla. This secret weapon of Tesla in our new world is no longer secret.

Introduction

In an empirical study in Australia in 2024, we asked 689 Australian senior executives to list the characteristics of an innovation culture. We found that about 91 per cent of them listed characteristics such as intellectual courage, risk-taking, and a flexible and non-hierarchical structure. We felt that this was a great start to an innovative culture, but we also added the following tenets to move the company toward more innovation and creativity: more commitment by all employees to think outside the box; providing more support from lower levels; empowering people on the front lines; flatter structures; and using steering committees to lead change. These are tenets that we have learned from Tesla. A lack of proper understanding of the leader’s responsibilities is one of the reasons why the development and maintenance of a set culture of innovation fails. The development and maintenance of a culture of innovation is one of the main responsibilities of leaders. A simplistic view of culture and innovation as only a list of pleasant and attractive practices demonstrates negligence on the part of leaders. Thus, too much bureaucracy and mechanistic cultures are not warranted today and will ultimately mean the death of innovation. In this article, we will look at Tesla as one example of a powerful innovative culture. We focus on Tesla as an example not only because it is the best at an innovative culture but because it is truly dynamic in this area of business and cultural cohesiveness. Finally, an applicable model will be presented for executives to better spur an innovation culture in their companies.

Tesla’s golden key is to stay current and innovative in a world in which dinosaurs are dying every day.

In the new era of digital and AI disruption, innovation is the only way to succeed and survive in business today, and the right mix of strategy and market share is the way to be profitable.^1,2,3,4,5 Tesla’s golden key is to stay current and innovative in a world in which dinosaurs are dying every day. If Tesla does not constantly improve and innovate, lower prices, or increase battery distance, it will not be able to stay on top of the electric vehicle market. Tesla shows us that innovation is a slow, gradual, and permanent movement into the future.^6,7,8 Fortunately, getting caught in the trap of spending big money to implement innovation models is not the best way to develop innovation.^9,10 Another way that is much more reliable and involves less cost is to create and maintain a culture of innovation the way Tesla does. This way focuses strongly on empowering employees on the front lines to provide more support from lower levels of the organization, favors flatter corporate structures, and uses steering committees to lead change.

A culture of innovation involves the human and intellectual capital of the organization. Leaders at Tesla are aware of this and consider human and intellectual capital as key capital to remain competitive, and accordingly invest in people to spur an innovation culture. One key point for the innovation culture at Tesla is more commitment by all people as organizational intellectual capital to think outside the box. At Tesla, employees are encouraged to challenge the status quo and they are allowed to test, trial, and even fail at times. Thus, members of the organization are challenged to think beyond their roles, create innovative ideas, and ask exploratory questions without fear of retribution. Gregersen, a leading scholar in asking questions to gain control of any situation, contends that “as disruptive innovators, from Albert Einstein to Jack Dorsey, put it, ‘Question everything!’” We now add to this expert knowledge, “Strategize Everything, Leave Nothing to Chance!”¹¹ Psychological safety is developed throughout the organization through the continuous collective participation of members of the organization in exploring innovative ideas and asking questions. We found that the best human resource capacity involves a set of people with exceptional interpersonal skills, coupled with expertise as engineers. Shipley, a Harvard Business Review author, put it plainly and simply in an article titled “How Tesla Sets Itself Apart.”¹²

Tesla’s speed in innovation in the market for high-end vehicles is more like a Google or an Amazon than an automaker. And its soaring market valuation is a clear sign to all automakers that they’ll need to develop more innovative, Tesla-like business models in order to survive.

The other key principle that Tesla uses is that they have mastered all aspects of culture. Their culture of innovation shows itself in qualitative ambitions in products and services, where the synergy of the sum of the ideas of individuals is captured as a team of salespeople. Everyone at Tesla is in sales, and everyone at Tesla is in innovation.

The Tesla formula for success is not innovation by itself, it is innovation plus a dynamic culture based on teamwork. Tesla continues to find new opportunities and novel solutions to real-time customer concerns. They remain creative and experimentative. They continuously offer innovativeness aimed at developing new automobile updates, extensive customer service, and a failsafe process for buying a car.

The Key Principles of Tesla’s Innovation Culture

The initial idea of Tesla originated from the adventurousness and natural exploration of man and was a symbol of individualism and perfectionism. Tesla products depicted a new form of human life, which showed itself in change and transformation. People only knew of cartoons featuring the future. Tesla felt that there was a need to separate man from fossil fuels and move toward clean and renewable energy. This is not only the symbol of the American culture but also encouraged in other parts of the world. The dynamic and consistent image of the electric vehicle strengthened the idea of cleaner air coupled with better efficiency. What turned these unknown ideals into Tesla’s driving force for the electric car industry were five key principles of Tesla’s innovation culture.

1. Developing flatter corporate structures coupled with intellectual courage

Empowered employees are allowed to think outside the box, provide innovative ideas, and enthusiastically challenge the status quo.

In Tesla’s approach to innovation culture, flatter corporate structures are effectively developed, intellectual courage is increasingly espoused, and empowered employees are allowed to think outside the box, provide innovative ideas, and enthusiastically challenge the status quo with the goal of achieving higher ideals. These key techniques have helped Tesla to be ranked by Boston Consulting Group as one of the most innovative companies in the 50 World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2023.¹³ For example, on a recent visit to a Tesla dealership in North America, a Tesla owner came in with a dangling part dragging on the street, a scary feeling for a battery-operated car with a battery exposed. The service manager told the customer, “Where is the car?” He then proceeded to walk over to the car, bent over, ripped the part off the bottom, and stated, “You can fix this if you feel the need to, but it is a part that will not harm the vehicle or the battery. The battery is wrapped and sealed,” he said. We have reviewed many innovative organizations around the world and we have never experienced a dedicated customer service representative like this one person at Tesla. Thus, failure to develop a culture of innovation coupled with decentralized decision-making will lead to an impediment to success. The marginalization of intellectual courage coupled with a lack of challenging the status quo will lead to the development of bureaucracies that will bury the culture of innovation.

2. Taking risk under strict supervision

The culture of innovation at Tesla is very similar to the personal characteristics of Elon Musk, such as Musk’s intolerance of paying additional costs for inefficiency and incompetence. Building on Frederic Winslow Taylor’s effort to find the One-Best-Way to run a shop floor, Musk encouraged intellectual courage, high risk-taking, and idea generation. This company has one of the most accurate forms of hiring and managing human resources. Lack of work is not tolerated in any way, and all members of the organization are under strict supervision, while enjoying work in a work environment imbued with a culture of innovation and a flexible structure. Tardiness and lack of respect for the customer are not acceptable. Tesla managed to create an innovative culture through an effective performance management system.

3. Distinguishing between successful failures and unsuccessful failures

At Tesla, innovative ideas are collectively and collaboratively reviewed by a steering committee to identify what is best for the customer. According to IMD’s Center for Future Readiness Report in 2024, this technique has secured Tesla’s innovation rank in the top spot in the automotive industry.¹⁴ The ideas enter the review and improvement stage after being selected and then enter the implementation phase. At this stage, failure or success are two options. Tesla distinguishes between the successful failures and the unsuccessful failures that they can learn from to improve. Unsuccessful failures are tolerated but not praised, while successful failures are endured and are part of the knowledge management database of the Tesla learning environment.

4. Learning continuously

Another key principle is that Tesla’s innovation culture overcomes innovation barriers by paying close attention to testing ideas. Many things in use today by customers driving a Tesla are in beta mode. Through regular testing of ideas with rigid discipline, Tesla is the ultimate learning organization. According to specified standards (the cost of successful failures and unsuccessful failures), steering committees at Tesla review ideas in consultation with operational-level experts to determine which ideas are worth testing and which are not. In light of this discipline and consensus, Tesla optimally utilizes the insights and innovations of experts who are closer to the market and anticipates future success better than competitors. At Tesla, choosing an idea for testing does not mean it will be tried, and the costs incurred to test ideas under the umbrella of standards are spent in the most effective way possible.

5. Thinking and innovating beyond formal roles

To get a movie accepted for production at Disney, you have to work there. Unlike Disney, Tesla provides a culture of innovation which is the flagship of the intellectual development of the members of the organization and encourages them to think and create ideas beyond their roles. Tesla also recruits people who have the potential to generate ideas and can provide feedback (both positive and negative). This psychological contract draws people to Tesla to work there. There is ample opportunity for strategic views and technical approaches to issues at Tesla.

We suggest that executives use these five key principles of Tesla’s innovation culture and implement the following applicable model to develop an effective innovation culture in their companies.

In Conclusion

Tesla is a good example that has proven qualities of an innovative culture. According to Baumgartner, “candidates are seeking workplaces where they can intertwine their beliefs with those of the company and work together on a common vision of purpose and success. Great culture should provide continuous alignment to the vision, purpose, and goals of the organization.”¹⁵ At Tesla, employees are empowered and engaged, they feel valued, and would like to be heard more. Tesla maintains a strong innovation culture, which provides the context for idea generation and the intellectual courage of employees, which ultimately improves the level of innovation. By doing what Tesla is doing, more companies can improve their innovation level, better predict their future success, and thrive in a world of digital and AI disruption.

About the Authors

Mostafa Sayyadi works with senior business leaders to effectively develop innovation in companies, and helps companies—from start-ups to the Fortune 100—succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders. He is a business book author and a long-time contributor to top management journals and his work has been featured in top-flight publications.

Michael J. Provitera is an associate professor of organizational behavior at Barry University, Miami, Florida. He received a B.S. with a major in Marketing and a minor in Economics at the City University of New York in 1985. In 1989, while concurrently working on Wall Street as a junior executive, Dr. Provitera earned his MBA in Finance from St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He obtained his DBA from Nova Southeastern University. Michael J. Provitera is quoted frequently in the national media.

References

1. Knight, G. & Cavusgil, S. (2004). “Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born-global firm”. Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (2), 124–41. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400071

2. Kabir, M.N. (2019). “Innovation”. In: Knowledge-Based Social Entrepreneurship. Palgrave Studies in Democracy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship for Growth (pp. 163–204). Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-34809-8_6

3. Asemokha, A., Musona, J., Torkkeli, L. & Saarenketo, S. (2019). “Business model innovation and entrepreneurial orientation relationships in SMEs: Implications for international performance”. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 17(3), 425–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-019-00254-3

4. Anand, J., McDermott, G., Mudambi, R. & Narula, R. (2021). “Innovation in and from emerging economies: New insights and lessons for international business research”. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(4), 545–59. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00426-1

5. Andreini, D., Bettinelli, C., Foss, N.J. & Mismetti, M. (2022). “Business model innovation: a review of the process-based literature”. Journal of Management and Governance, 26(4), 1089–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-021-09590-w

6. Schuijt, L. (2016). “A New World Is Already Here: Lessons from Radically Different Organizations”. In: Neal, J. (eds) Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation (pp. 1–36). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_16-1

7. Fink, T.M.A., Reeves, M., Palma, R. & Farr, S. (2017). “Serendipity and strategy in rapid innovation”. Nature Communications, 8(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02042-w

8. Recanati, A.M. (2023). “Tech”. In: AI Battle Royale (pp. 67–141). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19278-4_4

9. Sánchez, F. & Hartlieb, P. (2020). “Innovation in the Mining Industry: Technological Trends and a Case Study of the Challenges of Disruptive Innovation”. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, 37(4), 1385–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-020-00262-1

10. Lammers, T., Guertler, M., Sick, N. & Deuse, J. (2023). “It’s Coming Home Down Under – The Potential of Digital Work to Overcome Australia’s Challenges in Reshoring Manufacturing”. In: Shajek, A., Hartmann, E.A. (eds) New Digital Work (pp. 161–70). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26490-0_10

11. Gregersen, H. (2013). “Use Catalytic Questioning to Solve Significant Problems”. INSEAD KNOWLEDGE. https://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-organisations/use-catalytic-questioning-solve-significant-problems

12. Shipley, L. (2020). “How Tesla Sets Itself Apart”. . https://store.hbr.org/product/how-tesla-sets-itself-apart/H05EXJ

13. Manly, J., Ringel, M., MacDougall, A., Cornock, W., Harnoss, J., Apostolatos, K., Baeza, R., Kimura, R., Ward, M., Viner, B., Izaret, J., Backler, W., Lukic, V., Duranton, S. & de Laubier, R. (2023). “Most Innovative Companies 2023”, Boston Consulting Group. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/advantages-through-innovation-in-uncertain-times

14. IMD’s Center for Future Readiness (2024). “Tesla fends off hot competition from China to lead auto sector in Future Readiness Indicator”. https://www.imd.org/news/competitiveness/tesla-fends-off-hot-competition-from-china-to-lead-auto-sector-in-future-readiness-indicator/

15. Baumgartner, N. (2020). “Build a Culture That Aligns with People’s Values”. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/04/build-a-culture-that-aligns-with-peoples-values

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In today’s environment of rapid and constant change, organisational culture has become a crucial focus. With persistent instability—that some are calling a “permacrisis”—leaders are now responsible not only for business outcomes but also for cultivating a resilient and adaptive culture that can thrive amid ongoing disruptions. Today, the strength of an organisation is often found in its ability to foster an environment where people feel valued, connected, and empowered, regardless of external challenges. But, it’s not straight-forward.  

Organisational culture has evolved from static mission statements to a dynamic, living ecosystem that shapes the employee experience and drives success. It is now essential to business, a driving force behind how a company grows and responds to change. 

The complex layers of organisational culture 

Organisational culture is a shared set of values, beliefs, and behaviours that determine how employees interact and work together. It reflects the company’s identity and provides a framework for operations. If we look at Edgar Schein’s influential model, we see culture as a multi-layered construct, made up of both broad organisational values and more specific subcultures, which can either reinforce or challenge the larger organisational vision. 

Unlike strategy or structure, culture is complex and cannot be directly measured or easily changed. It is formed by the attitudes and actions of every employee, from executives to new hires, and influenced by elements such as leadership style, communication, physical workspace, and technology. Its multifaceted nature makes culture difficult to define, and even harder to change, but this complexity also presents opportunities for HR and talent leaders to shape it in ways that support transformation and long-term success. 

The connection between culture and transformation 

In today’s business landscape, change—whether digital, structural, or strategic—is constant. But, without cultural alignment, change initiatives can fail. Organisations that pursue transformation without considering the cultural impact often face resistance, disengagement, and disappointing results. 

Culture forms the foundation of successful transformation by influencing how employees react to change, whether they embrace innovation or prefer the familiar, and how they work together to reach new objectives. Leaders who understand this crucial link between culture and transformation are better equipped to drive effective change. Companies that succeed in a “permacrisis” are those that see culture as a foundation—a common mindset that enables employees to adapt and embrace change. In an adaptable, inclusive culture, employees are encouraged to take risks, innovation is celebrated, and diverse perspectives are not only accepted but actively sought. In such an environment, transformation becomes a natural progression rather than a disruptive force. 

Leadership as a catalyst for cultural evolution 

Leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping culture. Leaders establish the organisation’s tone, demonstrate desired behaviours, and act as architects of cultural change. That said, effective leadership is not just about top-down commands; it involves fostering a culture in which every employee feels a sense of ownership and responsibility. 

Coaching is a valuable tool for developing leaders who can drive cultural transformation. Through coaching, leaders build emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, and the flexibility needed to lead meaningful change. HR and talent leaders can integrate coaching into leadership development, empowering leaders to not only support culture but to actively evolve it in alignment with organisational goals. 

The role of technology in culture 

In our digital era, technology is an integral part of organisational culture. The tools and platforms companies use for communication, collaboration, and workflow management significantly shape how culture is experienced. Technology can strengthen a positive culture or amplify existing issues, depending on how it is used. 

One innovative approach to using technology in cultural transformation is through collective coaching sessions, like co-development hubs. These hubs bring teams together to address complex problems, breaking up silos and improving collaborative skills. By creating spaces for joint problem-solving, organisations can promote a culture of teamwork and continuous learning. HR and talent leaders can leverage these hubs not only to tackle specific challenges but also to build a more connected and agile organisation, empowering teams to share knowledge, support one another, and drive cultural change. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion: The foundation of a healthy culture 

No discussion of organisational culture is complete without recognising the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). A culture that truly embraces DEI is one where every employee feels valued and respected. It is a culture that not only accepts differences but actively seeks them out as sources of strength and innovation. 

HR and talent leaders must prioritise DEI as an essential part of organisational culture. This means going beyond policies or training sessions to embed DEI in the organisation’s core practices, from recruitment to leadership development and performance measurement.  

Organisational culture is the foundation upon which successful, adaptable companies are built. It is a dynamic, evolving force that impacts every aspect of the business. When leaders, HR professionals, and employees work together to foster a positive, inclusive, and resilient culture, they lay the groundwork for sustained success and transformation.

About the Author 

Carole Valette is the Area Vice President for Northern, Central Europe, and APAC at CoachHub, leading transformative coaching initiatives across diverse regions. With prior leadership roles, including at Flexera, VMware, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Carole brings over two decades of expertise in sales, SaaS, and workforce transformation. She has a proven track record of driving digital innovation, enabling hybrid IT solutions, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

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Workplace culture can be the greatest asset, or the greatest liability, an organisation has. Yet it is widely misunderstood, rarely talked about and routinely ignored. 

Managed well, culture is a potential source of riches. A healthy, happy and harmonious working environment results in more engaged, loyal and productive employees, and improved levels of innovation and creativity. 

However, as countless newspaper headlines have illustrated, when the issue of organisational culture is brushed aside, disaster often ensues. Reputations of high profile organisations, across the public and private sector, have been seriously damaged by allegations of bullying and harassment (McDonalds) and racism (Met Police), to name just a few recent examples. 

A shifting paradigm 

There are signs that the tide may be beginning to turn. In the recent Newton/Opinium report ‘Workplace Culture in the UK: A snapshot”, 40 per cent of respondents claimed there were active efforts to change workplace culture in their organisation. The research suggested that many initiatives were rooted in equity diversity and inclusion (EDI), focusing on ethnicity, gender diversity and employee wellbeing.   

The OC Tanner 2024 Culture Trends Report suggests that although employees will undoubtedly welcome these efforts to make their workplace a better place, what they really want is empathy coupled with supportive, sustained action. The research shows a significant disconnect between how caring organisations think they are, and how their efforts are perceived by employees. Nearly half of employees surveyed said they didn’t feel cared for by their organisation, even though 87 per cent of organisations felt they were demonstrating enough care. 

What’s clear is that at a time when organisations are negotiating unprecedented levels of political, economic and environmental instability, they can no longer rely on the old cultural paradigms.   

Success is no longer just about power and profit. Leaders need to develop fair, just, inclusive and high performing transformational cultures, where all employees are supported and encouraged to be the best they can possibly be.  

Making the business case 

Developing a transformational culture calls for the support and involvement of people from all levels of the business. Senior leaders, HR, line managers, unions and front-line employees all need to work together in pursuit of a common vision, shaping the policies and processes that will support the values and behaviours the business wants to espouse. 

Getting everyone on board relies on building a strong business case, which demonstrates the imperative for change and outlines the key steps the organisation will need to take. In my book ‘Transformational Culture: Develop a People-Centred Organization for Improved Performance’, I set out the Transformational Culture Model, a blue-print for a purpose-driven, values-based and person-centred workplace. 

Aligning a business case to this model, shaped around the following critical components, will help leaders build a compelling case for change:  

• Vision and objectives: Define the organisation’s purpose and values. What are the key drivers for adopting a transformational culture? How does a transformational culture align with your wider corporate strategy and objectives? 
• Situational Analysis: What are the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) relating to your organisational culture? Who is currently responsible for shaping and managing the culture of your business?  How would you describe the current climate (the micro-cultures that make up your business) within your organisation? 
• Evidence of the case for change: Do you currently measure the culture of your organisation?  What primary date do you have relating to areas such as the prevalence and cost of conflict, the incidence and costs of absence and attrition, data relating to engagement, well-being and inclusion, customer experience, brand and reputation, productivity and performance.  
• Benchmarking: Examine best practices from leading organisations and professional bodies. 
• Stakeholder analysis and impact assessment: Who are the key stakeholders in your organisation? What role will they play in the development of a transformational culture?  What impact will the transformational culture have on the stakeholder group?  
• Implementation Plan: What does success look like? When will the transformational culture programme start? Where do you want to be in 12, 24 and 36 months? Develop a detailed roadmap with milestones, assigning responsibilities to ensure accountability. 
• Resource allocation: What are the costs and resources required to support the implementation of a transformational culture? 
• Anticipated benefits and Return on Investment (ROI): What are the potential benefits of adopting a fair, just, inclusive, sustainable and high-performance workplace?  How will the business benefit from reframing its policies and processes (i.e. disciplinary and grievance, bullying and harassment and performance management) and adopting restorative, dialogue-driven approaches to conflicts, complaints and concerns.   
• Communication Strategy: How will you let your stakeholders know what you are doing? A robust plan for internal communication will help you maintain momentum and transparency. 
• Resilience Planning: What are the potential blocks and barriers to integrating a transformational culture. Are you likely to encounter resistance from employees or resource constraints, for example? What strategies do you need to put in place to address these? 

Real-World Application  

Canterbury Christ Church University is one organisation that exemplifies this approach. As Margaret Ayers, Director of Human Resources and Organisation Development explains, a structured cultural transformation programme is helping the university achieve its inclusion and sustainability goals: “Transformational Culture is the tangible model to translate the things we say as an organisation into people’s lived reality on the ground,” she says.  “Through this programme, we won’t just speak of, but rather live and breathe the culture that we value.” 

This is a pivotal movement for organisations. The choice is stark. Allow workplace culture to evolve passively or take deliberate steps to shape it into a competitive advantage.  Evidence strongly supports the latter approach, with organisations that prioritise culture reaping long-term benefits, including enhanced sustainability and profitability. 

Leaders who embrace transformational culture will not only future-proof their organisations but also create workplaces where employees thrive – a win-win for people and businesses alike.

About the Author  

David Liddle is a globally renowned authority in the fields of conflict management, HR transformation, culture change, people & culture, leadership and organisation development. 

In 2024, David was recognised as one of HR’s most influential thought leaders. He has won numerous awards including the HR impact award for his work transforming the HR policy framework at Burberry and mediation consultancy of the year for his work embedding a mediation programme into Aviva.   

He is the author of two highly acclaimed books. His first book, Managing Conflict, transformed the landscape of dispute resolution.  The 2nd edition was published in October 2023. Transformational Culture was published in October 2021 to rave reviews, including from Dave Ulrich, who described it as ‘remarkable’. David has also contributed to several texts published by Thinkers50. His next two books are due to be published in 2025. ‘How to Disagree Well’ and ‘People and Culture – a practical guide for HR and leaders. 

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The ability to foster and channel employee-driven innovation allows top-tier companies to optimize their existing operations, and penetrate new markets, while their competitors stagnate or risk becoming obsolete. Empowered employees, who are motivated to share ideas, bring diverse perspectives and almost unlimited creativity to the table.

When employees get involved through structured innovation platforms, VPs, planners and managers gain multi-level input which can transform their perspectives and preconceptions. This stream of new perspectives and original ideas can be a game-changer. In this article, I’ll focus on three leading companies, across different sectors, to explore how their unique cultures of innovation through active employee engagement, enable growth, leadership, and profitability.

ICL Group’s Employee-Driven Innovation Culture

ICL Group is a leading global specialty minerals company and one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers in the world. The company employs over 12,500 people in dozens of operations worldwide and is redefining employee-driven innovation and empowerment. ICL’s pioneering internal innovation accelerator BIG (Business Innovation for Growth) attracted the attention of the prestigious Harvard Business School which featured BIG as a case study for its students.

BIG was developed when ICL realized it needed a coordinated and directed platform to tap into its employees’ full creative potential. They established BIG to encourage and facilitate cross-team collaboration and to reward employee contributions to the company’s strategic direction and vision. Crucially, BIG was designed to operate independently of existing chains of command within ICL. Every employee submission to BIG receives an independent appraisal by a team of expert innovators – who evaluate ideas according to published criteria.

To help gauge the measure of success of BIG, in the first 3 years following its launch, ICL employees submitted 4,738 ideas, leading to 1,154 completed projects, and ICL realized an Annual Operating Income Contribution of $262 million during the relevant period.

BIG is built around three key pillars: enhancing ideation, accelerating execution, and improving collaboration. One reason for its popularity is that all projects are implemented with standardized metrics, milestones, and review points. Contributors know there is a transparent and systematic allocation of resources and ideas submitted to BIG succeed or fail on merit itself.

BIG’s transparency and accountability with its independence from normal management structures, along with the speed and fairness with which it evaluates ideas is supercharging ICL’s culture of innovation. The program fosters a sense of ownership and recognition among its workforce. Employees appreciate and understand that they can contribute to the strategic momentum of a major company to influence their day-to-day roles.

Google’s 20% Time Policy and Innovation Culture

Google needs little introduction, the multinational technology company has been a definitive innovator since it began as a student research project in 1996. Two of Google’s most iconic and widely used tools – Gmail and Google Maps – are the fruits of the company’s 20% time policy. Google’s bold innovation allows employees (in theory) to devote 20% of their working hours to personal projects that potentially benefit the company.

Giving employees the freedom to work on passion projects is a growth strategy that many companies simply can’t afford, but Google has the resources to embrace the concept. Free experimentation and the freedom to fail without negative consequences – are prerequisites for a genuine culture of innovation. The Google 20% time policy allowed Susan Wojcicki to build the team that created Adsense (a huge cash cow for Google) and led to the development of Google News.

Another influential innovation is the Google for Startups accelerator which provides mentorship and resources to external innovators whose concepts are aligned with Google’s strategic vision. As part of this project, Google opened campuses in six major cities around the world. Envisaged as hubs for collaboration, mentorship, and the development of disruptive technologies, Google for Startups also provides the most promising growth-stage startups with practical assistance, advice across technical and product spheres, and leadership training.

Google’s unique culture of innovation strikes an effective balance between freedom for employees to devote time to experimentation and exploration of disruptive technologies, in this manner investing in external partnerships with a new generation of tech entrepreneurs and founders.

Salesforce’s Customer-Centric and Collaborative Innovation Culture

Salesforce is a cloud-based software company and a DJIA component that bases its corporate culture on an interpretation of Ohana culture. Ohana is a Hawaiian word meaning family. Ohana embraces the idea of interconnectivity, that people from differing backgrounds can come together as though they were blood relatives, accepting responsibility for each other’s development and welfare.

When Ohana culture is applied in a corporate context, there is a strong focus on inclusion, teamwork, and collaboration. Over time, this builds strong bonds and high levels of trust across the corporate environment, creating a foundation for innovation.

Another guiding principle behind Salesforce is its concept of customer-centric innovation. Salesforce harnesses its technological expertise, and culture of collaboration, teamwork, and inclusion to bring together marketing, sales, customer service, and other disparate teams to enable a 360-degree profile of each customer to create a tailored experience. Rather than individual teams or departments claiming ownership of the customer experience, the company focused on building collaboration between teams thereby placing customers at the center of each interaction for more personalized service.

Salesforce is expert at integrating customer feedback into product development, it has become a holistic company-wide endeavor.  Customer-centric innovation draws on Salesforce’s internal culture of collaboration with its ability to connect to its customers and accept external input. Most companies aim for customer-centric innovation, but few employ the process as systematically or as successfully as Salesforce.

Conclusion: Employee Empowerment Fuels Innovation and Success

If we can take away one key point from these three different cultures of innovation, is that sustained innovation relies upon employee engagement. Companies like ICL, Google, and Salesforce empower their employees on multiple levels to help stimulate innovation. Employee-driven innovation develops its own powerful momentum, helping ensure corporate success in a rapidly evolving technological ecosystem.

Open communication and collaboration are prerequisites for an innovative workplace culture, they require using functional platforms like ICL’s BIG program or established practices like Google’s 20% time policy to reach their potential. Companies also need to build trust through inclusion to create a work environment that values bold experimentation and evaluates failures for valued insights, rather than as a mistake to be stigmatized. Whether individual or institutional, fear of failure is perhaps the biggest obstacle to innovation, ICL Group, Google, and Salesforce have successfully overcome that fear.

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According to the World Health Organisation, mental health is about reaching potential, being able to cope with the normal stresses of life and making a contribution to our communities. With this definition in mind it’s useful remembering that mental health is about everyone not just those who may be struggling and a mentally healthy culture is everybody’s business.  

But how do we get started and whose responsibility is it to create this culture? As leaders, it’s imperative that we open up the conversation and collaborate with our people so that culture is everybody’s responsibility, but permission is given from the top.  

This includes:  

1. Building Trust and Psychological Safety  

This is about feeling safe to take interpersonal risks, to discuss concerns without fear of repercussions and admit mistakes with the aim of collaborating on innovative solutions.  Trust is built in small steps, not just in the grand gestures. It’s about our behaviours, communication style and our ability to be vulnerable about our own mistakes as Leaders, modelling this approach is the most powerful way to build trust.   

2. Autonomy and Flexibility  

Our people thrive when they are trusted as adults – to use their skills, communicate effectively and aren’t micromanaged. Discussing how we work, not just what we do, enables us to understand how people work in a variety of ways that enable them to reach potential. Rarely is sitting at a desk for 8-10 hours a day going to deliver consistent high-performance, instead we need breaks for resourcing our thinking and creative connection to boost wellbeing.  

3. Listen and Empower personal solutions  

Often we think we’re listening but when we really pause to reflect, we’re hurried and just waiting for our chance to speak so we can move things along. This is the opposite of what is useful for building mentally healthy cultures. Putting down our devices and distractions and giving our full attention to someone is powerful even just for a short time. When we realise that when it comes to people our job is not to fix them or advise them, it’s about listening and asking questions that empower their own solutions, we can let go of our nervousness to talk about real things and instead connect.  Dr Brene Brown talks about how people need to be ‘seen, heard and valued’ in order to boost wellbeing, so start there and be prepared to admit what you don’t know.  

4. Invest in yourself  

The most powerful way to boost a mentally healthy culture is by leading by example. What do you do to invest in yourself, how do you show up and are you open about connecting the dots between wellbeing and performance? For example, if I’ve got a particularly intense project or deadline I will talk openly about what I’m doing to ensure success including getting an early night, speaking to a therapist or eating great food. Sometimes I’ll talk openly about when I’ve gotten it wrong and how I’m not my best self.  When we live these concepts we can then more easily talk to others asking them what they do to invest in themselves.  

A mentally healthy culture needs individual and collective responsibility. That means individuals need to take responsibility for how they invest in themselves, use the benefits on offer or communicate with their manager when something is going on that may affect their ability to focus. However, it’s also crucial that there is organisational responsibility that goes beyond a tick-box and is intrinsic to the core objectives of the business.   

This includes discussing this topic at the executive level, putting resource into creating an effective wellbeing and mental health strategy that links to the core objectives of the business and understands that poor mental health affects the bottom line through absence, poor productivity and losing great talent.  

The world of work is changing, with Gen Z soon to make up 27% of the workforce in 2025 (Deloitte), what our people are looking for in the workplace is only going to keep changing. A focus on purpose, values and efficiency must take precedent in a world of rapid technological change – that means questioning our meeting culture and the ways we’ve always done things is imperative to making sure our business remains relevant for the future.

About the Author 

Petra Velzeboer is a psychotherapist, executive coach, author and CEO of PVL. 

The post Practical Strategies to Create a Mentally Healthy Work Culture  appeared first on The European Business Review.

Picture this: your organisation is a three-legged stool, and for it to stand tall, each leg—purpose, culture, and strategy—must remain strong and stable. If these do not balance, your stool risks an ungraceful tumble. 

You can follow this three-legged stool approach to establish strength and unity within your teams to help retain talent, empower connections and encourage creativity…  

1. Create purpose at a collective and at an individual level 

One leg of your stool is purpose, or what we fondly call “ikigai” at Insights—an anchor for your teams, akin to a sturdy tree trunk providing stability while allowing agile growth in the branches as the team stretches its limits.  

Our Hybrid Working Report confirms that a shared purpose is the key to collective growth, agility, and a culture woven with threads of trust. Crafting a compelling purpose for your organization or team isn’t just a checkbox; it’s the magnetic force that authentically binds your people, fostering talent retention and cultivating a thriving working culture. 

In the realm of Gen-Y and Gen-Z in particular, work is not just about punching in and out—it’s about waking up with a sense of purpose, a cause that propels them out of bed, eager to make a meaningful impact. Your organization should be more than a workplace; it should be a canvas for purposeful creation. 

Purpose is the raison d’être – a clear articulation of why your organization does what it does. Take Insights, for instance, where our purpose is to “create a world where people truly understand themselves and others and are inspired to make a positive difference in everything they do.” Many of our colleagues join, stay, and go above and beyond daily to bring this purpose to life. 

For seamless integration of purpose, consider these recommendations: 

• Embark on a collective journey to explore or revisit your purpose as a group, building connections across all levels through team-building exercises conducted off-site. 
• Once defined, embed it into the very DNA of your organization through comprehensive onboarding materials, internal communications, and purposeful behaviours that leaders both exemplify and acknowledge in their teams. This way, your purpose becomes more than words—it becomes a living, breathing aspect of your organizational culture. 

2. Create leaders as sherpas and not teachers to cultivate culture 

It is a well-known saying that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This isn’t just a nice sentiment. If your focus leans heavily on strategy while neglecting the alignment of your culture, your stool will waver and may even fall. A concerted effort on the leg of culture becomes imperative to realign everyone.  

To cultivate the desired culture, take a close look at how your leaders lead. Consider flipping the traditional hierarchy on its head—invite your leaders to transform into mentors or sherpas, guiding your teams rather than metaphorically standing on a pedestal dictating directives. 

Stepping away from the elevated platform and adopting more of a NPC (Non-Playing Character) role, drastically reducing the teacher/tell methodology, is a bold and courageous move. This shift encourages leaders and team members alike to think independently and make decisions on their own, fostering a culture where creativity thrives, alignment is achieved through actions, and the essence of your strategy is nurtured from within.  

This not only propels you toward your collective purpose each day but also serves as the ultimate destination—a place where your organization flourishes in its reason for existence. It’s a journey worth taking for sustained success. 

3. Have a clear strategy (but don’t forget about behaviours) 

Of course, strategy is paramount for the success and sustainability of any enterprise and an essential third leg on the stool. It serves as the guiding framework that aligns an organization’s resources, activities, and goals to achieve a coherent and purposeful direction. A well-defined strategy provides clarity to the workforce, ensuring that everyone is working towards common objectives.  

Let’s chat about the quieter but equally important world of cultivating behaviours. Strategies may shift like sands, adapting to what suits your organization now, next, and later. However, behaviours need a bit more attention to evolve and align with your strategic goals. 

Purposeful leadership behaviours guide the way, setting an example for everyone in your organization. However, if your behaviours are lacking, beware of the potential clash between culture and strategy—it might become a recurring theme until you make the necessary adjustments.  

Cultivating leadership behaviours creates a certain spirit or morale to help your teams pivot or overcome challenges and change within your organisation and helps you to win more naturally in the marketplace and achieve strategy.  

What’s the key to success? Be purposeful, collaborative and open when choosing these behaviours. Prioritising culture over strategy for the right amount of time, is not a bad choice to make! 

Work it out as a collective organisation 

The key to successfully aligning these three legs of the stool is ensuring that everyone is on board for the journey: leaving anyone in the organisation behind risks toppling the entire stool. 

Here at Insights, we embarked on a thrilling journey of discovery. Starting with our purpose—the heartbeat of our existence—we then collectively forged our dynamic strategy and pinpointed the cultural shifts needed to bring that strategy to life. 

Innovation is the secret sauce for building collective momentum in a positive direction. Picture this: we threw away the rulebook and turned our recent three-day Global Leadership Meeting in Belfast into a gamified adventure. No mundane PowerPoint slides or keynote speeches; instead, teams engaged in treasure hunts across the city, donned different coloured hoodies for team games, and immersed themselves in creative challenges. The result? A concoction of empowerment, ownership, growth, and a fresh legacy. 

Let this new dawn be the spark that revitalizes you and your organization. Forge ahead with purpose, culture, and strategy hand in hand—uniting them like the unshakeable legs of a three-legged stool. Because when these elements align, you and your teams stand strong and in perfect harmony, ready to conquer whatever lies ahead!

About the Author

Working with Insights since 2001, Marcus Wylie is currently Head of Culture. Over the years he has led the creation of just about every product that Insights has to offer, partnering with some of the world’s leading organisations around the globe to build, pilot and implement new products. He holds vast experience in delivering virtually and face to face with multi-hundreds of people, as well as facilitating intimate, purposeful and high-impact workshop experiences with leadership teams and Executives. 

The post A Three-legged Stool Approach to Balance Purpose, Culture and Strategy  appeared first on The European Business Review.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that mood disorders such as anxiety and depression cost the global economy $1 trillion per year due to lost productivity. Also, according to recent research from McKinsey, employee disengagement and burnout could cost a median-size company between $228 million and $355 million a year in lost productivity. Research by MHI and Business showed that, in the UK, the economic value of improved employee well-being could be between £130 billion to £370 billion per year, or from 6% to 17%of the United Kingdom’s GDP. That’s the equivalent of £4,000 to £12,000 per employee.

Toxic workplaces include stressful, unethical, cutthroat, disrespectful, non-inclusive, and bad competitive atmospheres. A toxic workplace can contribute to employee stress and burnout. Some employees may fight burnout by “quiet quitting” and doing the bare minimum in their jobs. Additionally, according to MIT Sloan’s recent study, “Culture is driving the Great Resignation,” a toxic work culture is the number one reason employees cite for leaving their jobs.

Given the research, it’s clear that employees who leave their roles desire a few fundamental elements: respect, safety, and growth. They want to be valued and empowered and are willing to leave if they don’t feel like they are. As Marcus Buckingham of Gallup points out, “People leave managers, not companies.” This raises the question: How can HR managers apply meaningful change if employees are more likely to leave due to inadequate leadership?

Over the past half-century, the efficacy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the workplace has emerged as the preferred evidence-based treatment. For instance, a 2020 review of numerous academic studies by Deloitte found CBT sessions with a therapist to be a cost-effective way to help employees and employers manage issues in the workplace.

Toxic environment versus CBT

According to an MIT Sloan study, toxic culture was one of the main causes of the “Great Resignation,” where millions of employees quit their jobs to find a better work-life balance. This same study also said that toxic culture is 10.4 times more likely to predict a company’s turnover rate rather than compensation.

Toxic work environments can make employees feel undermined, rejected, guilty, defensive, and humiliated. Employees in a toxic work environment may be nervous to speak their minds, raise concerns, or share their thoughts because they are worried about being rejected or undermined. A toxic workplace can also lead to unethical behavior such as racism, lying, or making false promises. Bad management and co-workers often may promote or support a toxic environment.

Some of the symptoms that employees in toxic environments suffer from that have a great toll on their mental health are:

• Lack of trust: management may not trust employees and constantly question everything they do. They may start to monitor them even in front of clients. Micromanagement typically makes employees doubt their abilities.
• No room for mistakes: when fear of mistakes paralyzes employees, this is a sign of a threatening, often blame-heavy, environment, which causes employees to fear punishment for failures or mistakes.
• Toxic competition: bad leaders may feel threatened if an employee shows better knowledge or expertise about a particular domain. The leader will try to dismiss or undermine the employee, which goes against company growth.
• Gaslighting: Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2022, typical gaslighting tactics include undermining a person in meetings and excluding this person both directly and passive-aggressively. These make the person question their perceptions.
• Lack of career prospects: management continuously gives false promises but keeps blocking any opportunity for professional growth, and the employee ends up feeling disconnected from the team.

To create a better employee experience and improve engagement and retention, management must first recognize the signs of a toxic workplace to combat the negativity. Smart employers are gradually addressing the mental health of their employees as a business imperative, and are thus leaning on partnerships with companies that provide workforce mental health programs to support their vision and strategy.

“People leave managers, not companies”

Leadership is not simply a hierarchical role, but a skill that can be explored and developed, and the leader’s personal experiences and maturity will influence their management. When employees experience mistrust, lack of psychological safety, anger, frustration, or stress, their amygdala takes over, impacting interpersonal functioning. The managing director’s struggle to regulate their intrapersonal functioning directly affects the team’s interpersonal dynamics.

Leadership involves respecting your employees, making them feel secure, and considering their work. Just as refining any skill requires effort, intention, and self-reflection, effective leadership also demands a commitment to self-reflect and support your employees’ growth and development.

A study published by the Pew Research Center in March 2022 reports that 63% of employees left their jobs due to a lack of opportunities for advancement, while 57% left due to feeling disrespected at work. Between January 2023 and April 2023, around 3.85 million employees resigned each month, contributing to a steady turnover rate of about 2.5% due to resignations.

Replacing employees is expensive and time-consuming. It costs 33% of a worker’s salary to replace someone. In comparison, 36% of HR leaders don’t have the resources to recruit top talent. Additionally, 44% of companies fail to provide compelling career paths, even though 70% of workers gain a sense of purpose from their work.

CBT therapy utilizes cognitive-behavioral techniques and solution-focused models. Cognitive-behavioral techniques identify thought patterns that influence emotions and behaviors. These can provide employees and leaders with the tools to address these variables and build skills to reduce their impact on individuals, teams, and organizations.

A CBT-based approach can help individuals identify and challenge their negative thoughts and develop alternative, balanced, and often more realistic perspectives. It also equips managers to acknowledge, respond, and help change detrimental patterns towards their employees, which ultimately will result in a safe and positive work environment and company growth.

When current and future leaders have access to leadership development through therapeutic services such as CBT, they engage in self-reflection and can embrace their leadership skills. As Simon Sinkey states, “Leadership is a choice,” a skill we choose to develop and lean into. Leadership begins within the individual, and its benefits permeate the organization through team dynamics.

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Understanding the High-Performance Culture

A high-performance culture is characterized by a workforce that is engaged, productive, and aligned with the company’s goals. It’s built on a foundation of a strong mission, clear and achievable goals, and core values that foster a shared sense of purpose. This culture empowers employees to excel because they understand the organization’s vision and how their individual efforts contribute to larger objectives, driving them to perform at their best.

Creating such a culture requires more than just the right skill sets; it necessitates a holistic approach where every aspect of the employee experience is designed to foster high performance. This includes the physical and virtual work environment, the tools and resources provided to employees, and the overall atmosphere cultivated by the organization’s leaders.

Key Components of a High-Performance Culture

At the heart of a high-performance culture lies a well-articulated mission and vision. They serve as the guiding stars for the organization, providing employees with a clear understanding of the company’s direction and their role within it. When employees are aligned with these elements, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated, contributing positively to the organization’s objectives.

Core Values and Behavior

Core values are the essence of a company’s identity, influencing the way it operates and how its employees interact. They should be more than just words on a wall; they need to be lived by, starting from the top. When leadership consistently demonstrates these values, it sets a powerful example for the entire organization, encouraging employees to embody these ideals in their day-to-day work.

Challenges to Sustaining a High-Performance Culture

Navigating the intricacies of sustaining a high-performance culture presents unique challenges that demand proactive strategies and consistent oversight. This section delves into the crucial hurdles that organizations face, emphasizing the need for a dynamic approach to maintain and enhance the vitality of a high-performance environment. The effectiveness of such a culture hinges not just on establishing it, but on the relentless pursuit of excellence, adaptation to evolving industry standards, and the continuous nurturing of an environment conducive to peak performance. In this context, we explore the pivotal obstacles and the strategic measures necessary to cultivate a resilient, high-performance culture that stands the test of time and continuously propels the organization forward.

Avoiding Toxicity

A significant barrier to a high-performance culture is the presence of toxicity within the workplace. It can manifest in various forms, such as poor leadership, lack of recognition, or misalignment of values. Organizations must be vigilant in identifying and eliminating toxic behaviors to preserve a positive and productive work environment.

Promoting Engagement and Well-being

Employee well-being and engagement are crucial for sustaining high performance. Leaders need to ensure that their teams feel valued, heard, and supported. This involves providing regular feedback, recognizing achievements, and fostering a culture of trust and respect.

Nurturing a High-Performance Culture

Building and maintaining a high-performance culture is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and commitment from all levels of the organization.

Empowering Autonomy and Flexibility

Empowering employees with autonomy and flexibility is a key driver of high performance. When individuals feel trusted to manage their workload and make decisions, they are more likely to be innovative, motivated, and committed to the organization’s success.

Enhancing Communication and Feedback

Effective communication and regular feedback are pillars of a high-performance culture. They ensure that employees are aligned with the organization’s goals, feel valued, and have the opportunity to grow and improve continuously.

Promoting Continuous Learning and Accountability

A learning-oriented environment encourages continuous improvement and innovation. At the same time, fostering a sense of accountability ensures that employees are committed to achieving their best and contributing to the organization’s objectives.

Conclusion: Is Your HR Leading the Way?

Your HR department plays a crucial role in shaping and sustaining a high-performance culture. It’s about creating an environment that not only attracts talented individuals but also supports their growth, aligns their efforts with the organization’s goals, and fosters a shared commitment to excellence. By focusing on these key areas, your small business can leverage HR to build a robust, high-performance culture that drives sustained success and growth.

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Culture is a vital factor of an organization’s success and yet not so easy to develop, sustain, and grow. Culture acts as a compass and a lighthouse that brings organizations to the shore of prosperity and success. Management scholars have identified three dimensions for organizational culture that stand out as we recover from the pandemic. One is the dimension of trust, which is expressed by mutual trust and respect for the common good. The second is the dimension of learning that focuses on exploration and innovation. The third, is collaboration, which is an example of actively supporting employees. These three dimensions simplify the complexity of an organization’s culture and shape it. In this article, we intend to introduce a new approach using these three dimensions to better understand and shape culture more effectively. This new approach involves all members of the organization and builds greater results for organizations in the post-COVID-19 era. Using these three cultural dimensions has a surprising impact on the success of companies.  

Introduction 

Culture formulates boundaries that shape behavior and is the platform for acceptance and rejection of any behavior by the workforce. ^{1, 2, 3, 4} When culture is aligned it acts as a dynamic glue to keep the company focused and future oriented. ^{5, 6, 7} The COVID-19 crisis and the long-term disconnection of managers and employees was a shock for many managers. ^{8, 9, 10} Organizations need a new approach that involves all members of the organization. A new development of a cohesive organizational culture that defines culture as a collective responsibility. 

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” is quote from legendary management consultant and writer Peter Drucker.

The New Approach  

All members of the organization are responsible for the continuous development of culture. ^{11, 12, 13} Thus, official and unofficial leadership roles are necessary in the development of a new culture. Employees, as informal cultivators of the culture, share their attitudes and views in their continuous support of a dynamic culture. ^{14, 15} The human resource management department is responsible for monitoring this process so that there is maximum coordination between the views of employees and the definition of culture by senior managers. This human resource process offers training and development and cultural activities throughout the year.  Music, entertainment, camaraderie, and fellowship.

Regardless of the size, industry, and type of activities in an organization, culture can be defined and developed using three dimensions. The dimension of trust is defined as mutual trust and respect for the common good. Employees are united by trust and have mutual faith in employee behaviors, intentions, and abilities. The collaboration dimension is based on actively supporting the employees and providing them with the necessary resources to thrive. This dimension also leads to the growth of the willingness of employees and managers to accept responsibility for failure. The learning dimension, which is associated with the growth in the motivation to learn and explore creates better opportunities. Learning becomes a platform for the development of new innovations. Thus, using trust, collaboration, and learning can enhance organizational culture.  Jim Clawson, a prominent professor of organizational behavior, argues that the scores must be very high for leaders in trust, collaboration, and learning. Somewhat above 90 percent.

A successful example of using these dimensions can be seen in the organization named Tesla, which reached an extraordinary level of a learning culture in a short time and established relationships based on trust, developing collaboration, and providing required training. Offering employees empty stock ownership with very little value five years ago and later helping them reap stock surges. Elon Musk noted: “I’m interested in things that change the world or that affect the future and wondrous new technology where you see it and you’re like ‘Wow, how did that even happen?’” 

Building Culture Post Pandemic 

Strategy and objectives along with goals of the organization need to be disseminated throughout the organization. ^{16, 17} Transparency is key here so that the frontline employees can add value instantaneously for customers. Senior leadership continuously hold meetings with middle managers and the human resources department to create maximum alignment and coordination of cultural norms. Once a pilot is aligned, the plan is rolled out to all employees. A successful example of the comprehensive participation of all members of the board of directors in defining culture can be seen in Honda, Toyota, Samsung, and Apple, where the board of directors of these companies are actively coordinated and aligned with others, including middle managers and the human resource department.  

It is important that executives do not underestimate the vital role of middle managers. These managers act as communication channels between employees and operational levels with the higher echelons of the organization, and this liaison role gives them a deeper view of the experience of employees and lower-level managers regarding the organizational culture. ^{18, 19} Thus, disseminating information up and down the organizational chart is the sole responsibility of middle management.  

One of the important indicators of the growth of collaboration, unfortunately, is to accept of responsibility for failure among employees and managers. CEOs must have a tolerance for mistakes if they want people to innovate and create. This provides a more intimate atmosphere, expanding the opportunity for the development and progress. 

When we were doing management consulting for the Sydney branch of Honda, we realized that the CEO played an important role by creating a direct communication channel with the employees through a suggestion box on which it was written “Here, no one blames me for bad news,” This suggestion box influenced the development of its organizational culture. Also, in an American organization, Assurant Solutions in Miami, Florida, the CEO, Kirk Landon, had a suggestion box in every department. Any suggestion mattered and he wanted to see any suggestion that was turned down by the managers. 

A few years ago, we were doing management consulting for Travelex in Melbourne, Australia. Our preliminary findings showed that this company, despite its great financial success, still suffers from a serious weakness in the design and development of its organizational culture. For example, the lack of a flourishing organizational culture had caused top managers to refuse to accept responsibility for their failure. The improvement of this organization required that they design and development of a strong organizational culture. This new strong culture would serve the employees to help them meet the organization’s goals. We employed several lecturers from the local university to provide practical executive training to the board of directors and the managers of the human resource department. Training lasted about five weeks, and in this short time, we rejuvenated the organizational culture with a new mindset for productivity, innovation, and creativity. 

We used the three dimensions, mentioned above, trust, collaboration, and learning, to  develop and cultivate culture. Teamwork and innovation began to flourish, and one Human Resource manager noted that  “now this company is a much better place to continue our work and not only serve the customer, but each other.” 

In Conclusion 

The pandemic is over, and people are flocking back to work in droves. Changing the approach towards in-house versus remote work is an organizational culture essential. The result of this change in the business environment and the new requirements of the external business environment adhere to a new knowledge driven culture. One that could be both remote, when necessary, and hosted at the office when mandated. Thus, culture has changed to a factor that requires the collective participation and responsibility of all members of the organization. The biggest problem faced by managers is buy-in and the lack of it. The only way to create buy-in is to develop the three-dimensional culture of trust, collaboration, and learning. This continuous improvement will help workers adapt to change and create passion. Today, this is the only way to achieve a thriving culture that ensures the long-term survival of organizations  in today’s hypercompetitive work environment. 

About the Authors

Mostafa Sayyadi works with senior business leaders to effectively develop innovation in companies and helps companies—from start-ups to the Fortune 100—succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders.

Michael J. Provitera is a senior faculty professor of Management and Leadership, in the Andreas School of Business at Barry University, Miami, Florida, USA . He is an author of Level Up Leadership: Engaging Leaders for Success, published by Business Expert Press.

References 

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2. Johnston, M. (2020). Locating Human Rights in the Cultural Competence Context. In: Frawley, J., Russell, G., Sherwood, J. (eds) Cultural Competence and the Higher Education Sector. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5362-2_4
3. Davis, M. (2020). The “Culture” in Cultural Competence. In: Frawley, J., Russell, G., Sherwood, J. (eds) Cultural Competence and the Higher Education Sector. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5362-2_2
4. Bausch, M. (2022). Literature Review. In: Intercultural Transfer of Management Practices of German MNC to Brazil. Gabler Theses. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-38056-4_2
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Maintaining a positive company culture should be among your company’s priorities. When you make genuine efforts to establish the best possible environment for workers, the payoffs for everyone involved can be significant. One key area of focus should be to foster a culture of care.

This involves putting protocols in place to demonstrate you’re prioritizing your workers’ health. A culture that shows genuine care for employees has a range of advantages. Obviously, a healthier workforce tends to be more productive with less absenteeism. But also, one study found that organizations with health programs have lower rates of turnover than those without.  

So, how can you effectively prioritize employee well-being? Let’s explore some solid approaches.

Provide Impactful Benefits

Benefits have become a focus for employees as of late. Certainly, amidst the challenges of the Great Resignation, it’s vital to show your workers that you value them. One of the ways you can do this is by providing them with benefits that demonstrate your care for their well-being. Not to mention that they are a great investment in reducing absenteeism and productivity disruptions.

Many of the best benefits you can offer workers today have direct and indirect positive impacts on wellness. 

Some to consider include: 

• • Access to comprehensive health insurance: This means workers have the resources to address illnesses and injuries. This should include coverage for both physical ailments and mental health challenges. 
  • Flexible paid time off (PTO): This gives your staff the freedom to rest and achieve a healthy work-life balance. PTO is a vital resource for workers’ mental and physical wellness while also bolstering workplace productivity
  • Flexible schedules: Many workers find juggling personal and work duties to be stressful. This tends to be worse when workplace schedules are so rigid that workers are forced to make decisions between getting paid and taking care of personal needs. Flexible schedules can relieve a little of the pressure here, which in turn may reduce the negative mental and physical impact.
• Gym memberships: Exercise is a key part of maintaining physical and mental health. By offering access to gym memberships, you’re removing financial barriers to your workforce keeping fit.

Remember, though, that each workforce has varying needs. Take the time to regularly reach out to your staff to get an understanding of how effective they feel these benefits are. The closer you can get to meeting your workers’ wellness needs, the more likely your package is to bolster a culture of care.

Adjust the Working Environment

Your workers have to spend several hours every day within the workspace. Therefore, as part of your culture of care, your company has a duty to ensure this space is optimized for wellness. This should certainly begin with regular assessments to establish that there are no physical hazards. However, you can go further with steps that include:

• Calming surroundings: The design of the office space can have an impact on workers’ mental wellness. It’s worth investing in surroundings that induce a sense of calm. Utilize earth tones in furniture colors and wall decorations. If you’re in a city, adopt sound-reduction tools that prevent outside noise from entering the office. Indeed, providing a dedicated quiet space for decompressing can be valuable, too. 

• Air filtration and purification: Poor air quality can trigger allergies, cause irritation, and even contribute to long-term health issues. You can combat this by investing in good ventilation systems and even high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. 
• Remote and hybrid working options: In some instances, the office may not be the most healthy environment for all workers to operate in. Therefore, you could consider introducing remote or hybrid working options. This enables your employees to work from a space that they feel is conducive to their wellness. Not to mention it supports a good work-life balance.

Remember, too, that workers may need individual environmental adjustments to boost their wellness. Make it clear that you’re open to taking requests for reasonable changes. This may be orthopedic furniture or blue light filters for screens. Importantly, make certain these options are available for remote workers as well as those in the office.

Offer Practical Resources

Maintaining wellness tends to be a little easier when the steps are convenient and easy to manage. Therefore, one route to fostering a culture of care is to offer practical wellness resources to your employees. This isn’t about taking responsibility for their wellness on their behalf. Rather, it’s about implementing a few practical tools that make managing health simpler.

Food

Traditionally, the food in workplaces isn’t exactly healthy. Celebrations tend to involve cake. Managers may reward workers with the occasional pizza. Even the lunch room tends to be populated by vending machines that have junk foods and drinks. Instead, aim to provide only good quality items. This could include foods that are known to boost immunity. Blueberries are a good source of vitamin C and yogurt can help balance gut health. For sweet treats, dark chocolate contains magnesium and iron, which supports a strong immune system.

Telehealth

The health benefits you provide can help the affordability of quality care. However, heading off to a doctor isn’t always practical. Staff may have to try and squeeze appointments between work and family duties. Therefore, offering workers access to telehealth doctor’s appointments — including therapists — can be a great tool. These remote sessions mean staff can get timely medical attention that disrupts neither their personal schedule nor workplace productivity. Wherever possible, offer staff a private room in which they can attend these appointments if they would like to.

On-Site Risk Assessments

Early intervention is vital to minimize negative health outcomes. However, if your staff have busy schedules, they may not always be able to make time for yearly checkups and assessments. Therefore, you could work with local health providers to offer your staff regular on-site risk assessments. These involve medical professionals asking lifestyle and wellness-related questions of staff and performing a few examinations. These professionals then provide your workers with advice related to the health risks they face and any current symptoms they should seek further testing or treatment for.

Focus on Education

Often, the best health resources you can give your staff are those that empower them to help themselves. This isn’t just about benefits or access to healthy food. Reliable and actionable information is important too. As a result, part of your efforts to foster a culture of care should be to provide health education tools.

These could include:

• Guest speakers: Collaborate with local public health organizations to arrange talks on key areas of physical and mental health. Don’t make attendance mandatory, but providing these optional sessions can be useful.

• Health literature: Gather reliable literature — such as leaflets and posters — that provide simple guidance on wellness. This could include advice on seasonal issues, such as avoiding colds and the flu in winter. Place these in accessible areas, such as the lunch room or other communal spaces.
• Links to videos: Videos can be a great medium to share health education. Curate a selection of these and place links to them on the company intranet or shared cloud platform. This enables workers to view them at their leisure.

Above all else, remember that the credibility of your health education resources is essential. Ensure all your efforts are driven by reliable experts in their fields. Commit to researching their backgrounds so that your workers’ health isn’t negatively affected by misinformation and biases.

Conclusion

Fostering a culture of care requires some focus and investment, but it has positive outcomes for everyone involved. Providing a solid range of benefits, creating a healthier workplace, and offering both practical resources and education are good starting places. However, it’s also vital to meaningfully involve your workforce in supporting their wellness. They are likely to know where the prevalent challenges are and offer insights into what your health programs are missing. Importantly, collaborating with workers demonstrates that you not only care about their wellness but also their perspectives on the matter. This can bolster the relationships between your workers and your business in the years to come.

About the Author

Indiana Lee is a writer, reader, and jigsaw puzzle enthusiast from the Pacific Northwest. An expert on business operations, leadership, marketing, and lifestyle.

The post Fostering a Culture of Care: Strategies for Business Leaders to Prioritize Employee Well-Being appeared first on The European Business Review.

Hiring for culture fit is among the most widespread and exclusionary hiring practices today. Leaders must concentrate on culture add to be inclusive.

Tiffany Tate was eagerly awaiting the phone call informing her that she had gotten the job as career center director at a recognized college.

Not only was she qualified–overqualified, in fact–as a college career development expert with two degrees, her interviews with the universityʼs hiring team had gone exceptionally well. The team was selling the role to her; she had spent ample hours in the interview process including having dinner with the team that she was sure she would be working with.

Tate was excited to move to a beautiful part of North Carolina with her then two-year-old daughter. The role would give her a growth opportunity, she would manage a significant budget, and the person she would be reporting to had bonded with her over the fact that they graduated from the same college.

It was all laughs and smiles. The fact that the 12 people who had interviewed her were all white was par for the course in Tateʼs experience in North Carolina. As a Black woman, she had learned to navigate being the only at work.

When the hiring manager called back, she had all but packed her bags. She was ready. “Tiffany, I really hate to call you with this. It was such a tough decision. The search committee struggled with it, and it came down to you and one other person. And they just felt like the other candidate was a better fit. Iʼm sorry,” he said.

The blood drummed in her ears. Did she hear correctly? But she quickly collected herself, dusting off the disappointment.

“OK, well, can you offer any feedback?” she inquired. “Can you share what would make me a better fit for this role?”

He responded, “No, I just want you to know you asked all the right questions. I donʼt have any feedback, I want you to keep being who you are. I love your transparency. You are obviously very skilled at what you do.”

Itʼs been five years since that day, but Tate remembers those words perfectly.

She wonders, “Weird! Iʼm not a good fit, but theyʼre telling me to continue being the way that I am. That doesnʼt make any sense.”

When a hiring manager canʼt offer constructive feedback, despite a candidate having all the experience and certifications, despite them being able to demonstrate skill in navigating institutional leadership and customers—students in Tateʼs case–itʼs a red flag. Considering that she had all the pedigree and all the best references, but was then told she wouldnʼt fit the culture of the institution, she couldnʼt ignore the only noticeable difference she had with everyone on the selection committee and eventually the person they hired: her identity as a Black woman.

“I felt defeated,” she says.

Culture Fit Is Exclusionary

Hiring for culture fit is among the most widespread and exclusionary hiring practices today. When youʼre hiring for a fit–given that most companies in Western countries are led by white men–by default, youʼre hiring for sameness. “Culture fit” is an unspoken code that people have around whatʼs acceptable and whatʼs not within an organization, or even in society.

It reminds me of when I first moved to the United States as an adult in my twenties. When people encountered my unfamiliar name, they frequently asked if there was an easier or shorter way to say it. Depending on the situation, I would come up with an Anglo-Saxon nickname (like Rachel). If I had to interact with them often, say at work, Iʼd let them call me Ria, removing most of my name to make it easier for them to write or read it.

As I grew older, I got more comfortable with telling people I didnʼt have a shorter name and that Ruchika was the only version I would respond to. But even then, for years later, I wouldnʼt correct them if they mispronounced it. A common mispronunciation still is for Westerners to call me “Roo-sheek-ah” instead of “Roo-cheek-ah” (like itʼs spelled). Now Iʼll correct people and remind them until they get it right. In the past, I was so eager to fit into the culture–both what I considered U.S. culture as well as assimilating into the workplace culture. Now I see that my biggest asset is the difference that I add to the culture.

Focus on Culture Add

Rather than focusing on culture fit, organization leaders must concentrate on culture add to be inclusive. A plethora of research shows that harnessing the power of diverse teams leads to better outcomes, such as less groupthink, more innovative solutions, and overall more profitability. My favorite data point, though, is how culture add can lead to justice and fairness.

Tufts University psychologist Samuel Sommers created a mock jury experiment with 200 adults. Some juries were racially mixed with white and Black jurors, and some were all white. After watching a video trial of a Black defendant facing charges of sexual assault, the juries were first to submit their own verdict of guilty or not guilty, and then deliberate as a group. Even prior to deliberation, the mixed juries were nearly 10 percent less likely to presume that the defendant was guilty, compared with the all-white juries. During deliberation, the racially diverse juries had a more thorough consideration of the evidence and deliberated on average for longer, making less factual errors and being more open to discussing the role of racism in the process. In general, even though there may be more debate, or what psychologists call “interpersonal conflict,” when teams are diverse, the benefits of better outcomes far outweigh the drawbacks.

When teams prioritize hiring a candidate who would be a culture add rather than a culture fit, theyʼre more likely to benefit from out-of-the-box thinking and better outcomes.

Culture Fit Persists

Yet the language of who is a culture fit persists–and one survey of global organization found 84 percent of recruiters look for it in their selection process.

Think back to the last time that you talked about someone being a fit or not. The more trouble you have articulating why a candidate is not a culture fit, the more likely your judgment is biased. Instead, seek to hire people you donʼt already have represented, whether by race and gender, educational background and experience, country of origin and languages spoken, or other identities.

Tate, whom we met earlier, is a hiring expert with over a decade of career development experience. She advises her clients to move away from an outdated model of assessing how much you “like” a candidate to how well could they do their jobs.

“The old culture fit model relied on deciding whether to hire someone if you thought you could be stuck in an airport or blizzard with them. Itʼs a bizarre metric–and riddled with biases, because you would likely choose to be stuck in an airport in a blizzard with someone who looks like you,” she says. But that isnʼt the best assessment of who would best perform a job on your team.

Hiring practices that revolve around assessing for culture fit result in bias. One such example? Black women are earning college degrees at record numbers, but remain underrepresented and underpaid in corporate workplaces, with low access to leadership opportunities, as most workplaces still hire for a fit with Eurocentric culture norms.

Structural racism cannot be dismantled overnight, but declaring that your workplace is no longer seeking a culture fit for new roles and disrupting peers when they reject a candidate for not being a culture fit is a quick win. So is creating a workplace environment where diversity and inclusion are valued, and culture add is celebrated.

Ensure that your organization prioritizes the hiring of a diverse range of employees, especially women of color. This is not just HRʼs job; it is every managerʼs responsibility.

As for Tate? Sheʼs since founded a company where she coaches clients to navigate the recruiting process and advises countless leadership teams and boards on hiring and retention best practices.

During these interactions, she advises her clients to inquire of interviewees, “How will you add to the culture on our team?” 

Excerpted from Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruchika Tulshyan. Reprinted with permission from the MIT Press. Copyright 2022.

The article was also published in SHRM website on 15 March 2022. It can be accessed here: https://www.shrm.org/executive/resources/articles/Pages/dont-hire-for-culture-fit-tulshyan.aspx

This article was originally published on July 25, 2022.

About the Author

Ruchika Tulshyan is the author of Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work (MIT Press). She’s also the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy practice. A former international business journalist, Ruchika is a regular contributor to The New York Times and Harvard Business Review.

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The time has come to see culture in business settings in a new light – not as a ‘‘collective programming of the mind’’ but as an avenue to engage with human beings wholly, as naturally embodied and embedded in their organisational environment.

The way culture is often talked about in business settings is essentially strategic, as some-thing to be rolled out in order to meet an ulterior objective. If you’ve ever wondered why so many culture change programmes fail to point of grievance, it’s because ‘‘culture as strategy’’ curtains a fundamental core of human life. It may seem far-fetched at first, but the blind spot is that we primarily think of ourselves as having biological bodies – an idea ingrained into us by upbringing and educational system, but pass over the existential fact that we simultaneously are expressive bodies by which we consensually make sense of organisational life. It is managerial hubris to think the way people affectively attune behaviour amongst one another locally can be managed opportunely in a top-down fashion. I propose the rift between what a growing niche of organisational scholars have to say about this and what (some of the biggest) consultancies try to sell their clientele needs to be addressed explicitly and bridged constructively¹.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” the saying goes. This memorable aphorism is attributed to a respected cultural elder of management, Peter Drucker. At executive business schools and in corporate management, it is frequently deployed to highlight the phenomenon that however well-thought-out a strategy may be, as soon as it hits the real world, thus starts affecting actual people, strategy becomes trivial. Boxing legend Mike Tyson indicated something similar when he said: “Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face.”

In business contexts, when it comes to strategy execution, one of the barriers identified is the tenacious “way we [the people] do things around here”. The latter expression still is, in fact, an accepted, overarching working definition of organisational culture². But as indicated above, in managerial discourse culture also became a propositional thing that has strategy for breakfast. Thingified notions can evoke reactions within particular discourses, but their effects cannot be extrapolated from the discourses in which these notions are employed to how other people make sense of their worlds. It is evident that culture does not really eat up strategy. However, moving away from obvious aphorisms to stating that culture somehow affects, influences or resists strategy is based on the same reification fallacy.

In case we lose sight of it and to prevent managerial blind spots, we must not let the notion of culture obscure the fact agentic human beings are the ones that resist strategy; and yes, they sometimes resist to the point of strategically doing the exact opposite of top-down, formulated strategy. Corporate managers, however, are massaged into the more abstract idea that ‘‘hidden forces’’ or ‘‘strong undercurrents’’ have the potential to obstruct strategy execution. Images are shown of an iceberg floating mostly under the ocean surface, representing culture, and only the visible ‘‘top of the iceberg’’ raising above the ocean surface, representing strategy³. ‘‘Behold the invisible force that eats up strategy!” is the message. Preemptively acting upon that invisible force, signified by the notion of culture, is fundamental to the successful execution of strategy, so is argued. Hence it must be controlled (culture audits) and forced into alignment (culture change programmes). Not always framed as explicitly and like so, but this seems to be the widespread managerial tenet of ‘‘culture as strategy,” an obscure sub-field of technocratic expertise.

An eminent scholar who left a lasting mark on the development of the idea of organisational culture — and who unfortunately passed away in early 2023—is Edgar H. Schein. He both popularised the idea as well as warned, in an open and frank manner, against its easy misuse. Although we are greatly indebted to him and he never proclaimed to have invented a holy grail approach to culture, he also unwillingly contributed to some of the confusion surrounding the idea. In his three-level model of culture, culture is not pitted against strategy, but encompasses it. However, strategy here also encompasses culture in a way inherent to the model itself, circularly. What follows is first a succinct explanation of Schein’s proposition, and then my unpacking of it.

At the core of culture, so Schein argues, lies the fundamental level of basic assumptions, “that determine perceptions, thought processes, feelings, and behavior”⁴. These are taken-for-granted, and thus often unconscious as self-evident ‘‘truths’’ are rarely questioned. The next, more superficial level is that of espoused values. These espoused values are generally thought of as encompassing vision and mission statements, company values, guidelines, charters, contracts as well as strategy. At the periphery of this model lies the level of tangible artifacts, which implies all that you can observe; from ways of working, to processes, to dress codes, to the design of workspaces.

Now comes the hang-up:

Basic assumptions, at the presumed core of culture, are explained as implicit ways of seeing and being in the world⁵. When these assumptions are made explicit in linguistic statements and then projected onto the future, we are, paradoxically and strangely enough, back to square one. And that’s because an articulated statement that expresses a (shared) way of being and seeing the world, and that is then projected unto the future is, in fact, a strategic vision statement pur sang. So, despite all the talk about culture, we are still operating within the realm of strategy. It seems as if we, Schein included, are trapped in a thought loop in which this time around—staying within the realm of aphorisms—strategy has eaten culture. This thought loop can be broken though, without needing to discard the heuristic model of Schein.

Similar to a thought experiment of imagining talking fish having some difficulty elaborating on the meaning of water, in our human theorising about culture, the most obvious, taken-for-granted element of life is left entirely unseen or papered over for convenience’s sake. As an almost inevitable consequence, culture as talked about becomes strategy spoken differently. The missing element of human life hinted at is the obvious reality that every single human being experiences his or her world through a physical body with a socially attuned sensorium, i.e., the total of all one’s senses including the mind^6,7. As long as this body is not theorised at the core, as most fundamental to meaning production and the stylisation of social behaviour, as knowing and feeling fully embodied, strategy will always eat culture. Granted, this aspect is not entirely absent in Scheinian or other traditional conceptualisations of organisational culture, but the problem lies in the fact that materiality, rhythms and embodied interactions (visible/tangible) are too often treated as by-products and positioned at the periphery of culture. The implications of this propositional turn-around are far-reaching, evident from the fact that many practitioners in the field of change, consultants and managers alike, seem to operate under the assumption that culture change is primarily a matter of sound arguments and clear communication. This is, however, only half the story.

Although management scholars have made strides in advocating the integration of embodied perspectives into organisational (culture) theory^1,8,9,10,11 their ideas so far have not hit the mainstream of management practitioners. One of the reasons might be that these ideas pierce through the tempting illusion of the existence of a “managerially-led unitary and unique culture”¹², and thereby pose a threat to the earning models of some powerful consultancies1. Another conceivable reason could be that taking such an approach compels those naturally inclined to top-down management styles to suddenly engage with the sensuousness of organisational life and to participate more actively, to use another metaphor, in the embodied dance of meaning creation. Whatever the reasons may be, in order to understand how certain happenings boil our blood, give us goosebumps or get under our skin, and to act upon it sensibly, corporate managers need to broaden their horizons. This may feel risky, but is nonetheless of vital importance if we are earnest about tackling contemporary issues such as racism, ageism and genderism. These issues clearly have to do, not with only having biological bodies, but also with being expressive bodies of joint action and sensemaking^1,7,13. After all, only if we are able to contextualise abstract demographics – that usefully provide us with the numbers – can we start working towards change that is sustainable.

In my own research, whether within particular business contexts^14,15 or beyond – on changing culturally embedded practices within indigenous communities¹⁶—again and again I come to the same conclusion that we need to leave behind the outdated idea that culture is something like —to phrase it in Hofstede’s terminology¹⁷—“the collective programming of the mind.” A truly holistic approach to culture change entails being able to engage with human beings wholly, as naturally embodied and embedded in their (organisational) environment.

Bridging the gap for management practitioners

• Neither tribute culture nor blame culture. Culture is never the culprit.
• Instead, examine how the notion of culture is strategically deployed. Oftentimes, the notion is used metaphorically to evoke a specific emotion, or as a label or excuse to paper over an underlying issue. In such cases, it is better to address the underlying issue concerning its strategic (mis)use, than to roll out a culture change programme. Programmes based on false premises are doomed to fail.
• Learn to observe with an attitude of suspended judgement. When an organisational happening boils people’s blood, gives them goosebumps or gets under their skin it is an indication that something ‘‘real’’ is at stake that involves them deeply, but at the same time is hard to put into words. Call it culture, if you will, but don’t just stop there. Observe with empathetic curiosity what happens in between the people who have a stake in the happening1,^18.
• From the latter observations, conducted with empathetic curiosity, arise new opportunities for change, previously unthinkable, and that resonate at a more experience-near, embodied level.

When these opportunities for change do not reveal themselves, it might be humbling for managers and consultants alike to discover that the limits of changeability have been reached. To know how expressive bodies interact naturally, healthy and happily, is also to know when to stop managing employees to become more productive than they already are. In case management proceeds, imposing its will beyond these boundaries, real people will inevitably ‘‘eat strategy for breakfast’’. As hinted at in the opening paragraph of this paper, there should be no room for managerial hubris.

About the Author

Dr. Ernst Patrick Graamans is an assistant professor of Culture & Leadership at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Ernst wrote his PhD dissertation entitled Beyond the Idea of Culture at the VU School of Business and Economics and led field research on ways to encourage people to abandon the culturally embedded practice of girl circumcision among the Maasai and Samburu communities in Kenya. From 2012 to 2020, Ernst worked for a consultancy firm that advises medium to large, profit and not-for-profit organisations at the board level on strategy, culture and change management.

References

1. Graamans, E., ten Have, W., & ten Have, S. (2021). Against the Current: Cultural Psychology and Culture Change Management. Culture & Psychology, 27(2), 325-343. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X21993789
2. Deal, T. E., & Kennedy, A. A. (1982). Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Addison-Wesley. (p. 125)
3. Inspired by Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond Culture. Anchor. Beyond Culture. Anchor.
4. Schein, E. H. (1990). Organizational Culture. American Psychologist, 45(2), 109–119. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.45.2.109 (p. 112)
5. Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass.
6. Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1998). The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological Roots of Human Understanding (Rev. ed.). Shambala Publications.
7. Voestermans, P., & Verheggen, T. (2013). Culture as Embodiment: The Social Tuning of Behavior. John Wiley & Sons.
8. Küpers, W. (2015). Phenomenology of the Embodied Organization: The Contribution of Merleau-Ponty for Organizational Studies and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan
9. Sandberg, J., & Tsoukas, H. (2020). Sensemaking Reconsidered: Towards a Broader Understanding through Phenomenology. Organization Theory, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2631787719879937
10. White D. G. (2017). Rethinking Culture: Embodied Cognition and the Origin of Culture in Organizations. Taylor & Francis Limited.
11. Wright, A. (2019). Embodied Organizational Routines: Explicating a Practice Understanding. Journal of Management Inquiry, 28(2), 153–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492617713717
12. Alvesson M. (2013). Understanding Organizational Culture. Sage Publications. (p. 179)
13. Fromm, E. (2021). To Have or to Be? Bloomsbury Publishing. (Original work published 1976)
14. Graamans, E., Aij, K., Vonk, A., & ten Have, W. (2020). Case Study: Examining Failure in Change Management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(2), 319-330. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-06-2019-0204
15. Strengers, J., Mutsaers, L., van Rossum, L., & Graamans, E. (2022). The Organizational Culture of Scale-ups and Performance. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 35(8), 115-130. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-09-2021-0268
16. Graamans, E., Ofware, P., Nguura, P., Smet, E., & ten Have, W. (2019). Understanding Different Positions on Female Genital Cutting among Maasai and Samburu Communities in Kenya: A Cultural Psychological Perspective. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 21(1), 79-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2018.1449890
17. Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Sage. (p. 25)
18. Schein, E. H. (2013). Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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The link between toxic gap, gender gap and mental health is key to understand the need for real change. 

According to an MIT Sloan study during the “great resignation“, millions of employees quit their jobs to find a better work-life balance because of toxic culture being 10.4 times more likely to predict a company’s turnover rate rather than compensation.

In a toxic working culture, employees do not feel psychological safety and, in turn, may not feel they can speak up about incidents of toxic behaviour or unfairness, or perceive that management does not take such concerns seriously. The toxic gap is primarily promoted by ineffective management departments that remain inactive in recognizing and handling the signs of a threatening environment.

Knowledge professionals are especially prone to the toxic culture gap, with attorneys, public relations consultants, product managers, and electrical engineers all reporting higher-than-average toxic culture gaps. Moreover, toxicity is not borne equally by all employees and genders. An analysis of 600,000 Glassdoor reviews from 2020 and 2021 shows that women and men experience corporate culture differently, with women being more likely to experience a toxic culture than their male coworkers..

A “toxic workplace” takes a heavy toll on people’s mental and emotional well-being, as it can create anxiety, burn out, and depression, imposing high costs on organizations and individuals. The MIT Sloan Management Review found that more than 90% of CEOs and chief financial officers in US companies felt that improving corporate culture would also boost financial performance, ranking a healthy working culture as one of the top three factors impacting financial results.

A threatening environment

In APA’s 2023 Work in America workforce survey, 19% of respondents labelled their workplace as toxic. More than one in five respondents (22%) said their work environment has harmed their mental health.

Also, in the Dare to Lead podcast episode on the subject, Brené Brown noted that toxicity affects employees on a deeper emotional level than most other elements of the employee experience. Sustained exposure to a toxic culture increases the odds that employees will suffer from anxiety, depression, burnout, and serious physical health issues.

Even if they don’t quit, employees in toxic environments are more likely to disengage from their work, exert less effort, and bad-mouth their employer to others. They may feel punished, rejected, guilty, defensive, humiliated, and nervous to speak their minds, raise concerns, or share their thoughts because they fear being rejected or reprimanded by a non-receptive management and a non-fully empathetic work environment.

Pinpointing the Toxic Elements

Identifying the elements of toxic culture in an organization can help leaders focus on addressing the issues that lead employees to disengage and quit. Some signs of a toxic workplace are:

Office bias and gossip

Instead of clear communication, people whisper, act subtly, or make snide remarks. This is not harmless, as workplace bullying can lead to depression, burnout, and anxiety. When employees gossip about one another, the negative communication causes drama, distractions, distrust, and hurt feelings. Gossip fuels a toxic environment as employees may turn on one another and spread hurtful rumours.

Endemic lack of trust

Management that does not trust employees and constantly monitors them typically makes employees doubt their abilities.

When fear of mistakes paralyzes employees, this is a sign of a threatening environment. Often blame-heavy, this type of work atmosphere causes employees to fear punishment for failures or mistakes.

Role confusion and chaos

This can cause workplace dysfunction. Conflict can also arise among co-workers about responsibility and who needs to do what. Clear communication on role expectations can prevent this conflict.

Toxic gender gap

While occupations have become more balanced in the last 30 years, women remain underrepresented in much higher-paying management and technical occupations. According to the most recent “Women in the Workplace” report from LeanIn.Org and McKinsey, women are leaving their jobs at the highest rate ever seen .

Many workplace behaviours and structures are rooted in conscious and unconscious bias, with systems that were designed with the majority (men) in mind, leading to different treatment for women.The exodus of female leaders, which has been dubbed the Great Breakup, is attributable in part to the persistent gap in pay between men and women. The Women in the Workplace report finds that women are significantly more likely than men to experience a toxic workplace environment and leave their employers, with workplace culture commonly cited as a reason for quitting.

Conclusion

The severity and magnitude of the toxic culture gap is very significant and often not properly addressed. Culture and gender gaps slow down companies’ growth by preventing individuals from achieving their full professional and personal potential.

Organizations can address toxic culture, but systematic and sustained improvements require managers and corporate boards to commit to change. Fostering transparent, honest communication and addressing issues promptly is key. Additionally, watching and questioning our own cultural and personal biases is crucial in order to lay the groundwork for changing attitudes and behaviours that, until now, we may have not questioned.

According to the MIT Sloan Management Review, there are three verticals that companies should focus on in turning around a toxic working culture: leadership, social norms, and how work is designed. Companies that succeed in fixing toxic culture identify these conflicts by collecting data frequently, mining responses for hidden insights, and aggregating feedback tied to an individual manager or department. Any changes that have been made are communicated after assessing the findings.

From the individual’s perspective, the enormous toll that a toxic environment takes from us in our mental health cannot longer be ignored. Leaving a toxic workplace seems scary – as if you are throwing yourself in the unknown – but it also sets the stage for personal growth and self-improvement. It additionally offers an opportunity for personal reinvention, redefining your values, passions and goals, and for professional exploration to create space for new possibilities.

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