Is culture something organizations choose to create, or is it just something that happens, like rain on a cloudy day? Maybe it’s like art or games—hard to define, but instantly recognizable. You might not always agree on what art is, but you know it when you see it. The same goes for corporate culture.
We can sense it, perceive it, and sometimes even smell it (ever walked into an office that felt tense?). But where does it actually come from, and—more importantly—can leaders shape it? Spoiler alert: yes, they can. But it’s not as simple as painting a “We ♥ Innovation” banner in the lobby.
The DNA
Corporate cultures can begin with a visionary founder, whose personality becomes the soul of the company. Think Steve Jobs or Henry Ford. But most organizations aren’t led by larger-than-life personalities. So, what then?
It turns out culture can be consciously shaped—at least to an extent. Want a learning culture? Build great training programs and incentivize employees to learn. Dreaming of a culture of innovation? Give employees time and space to experiment, like Google famously did with its 20% free time rule.
But culture isn’t just about what leaders decide. It’s also about how everyone in the organization acts and reacts every day. As Daniel Coyle points out in his book The Culture Code, there are three crucial ingredients to shaping culture: Build safety, share vulnerability., find purpose.
The individual
Here’s a fun story from The Culture Code. In a study, a “bad apple” was deliberately planted in a team meeting to kill morale with negativity. The result? In most groups, one toxic attitude brought everyone down. But in one group, a single positive individual countered the negativity, encouraged interaction, and saved the group dynamic.
The lesson? Everyone owns the culture—not just leaders. And at its core, culture boils down to trust: trust that you belong, trust that you’ll overcome challenges together, and trust that your company’s mission is worth the hustle.
To borrow some neuro-marketing jargon, strong cultures create high arousal (intense energy) and positive valence (good vibes). When employees are excited about their purpose, their team, and their role, they’ll happily go the extra mile. Add positive emotions into the mix, and magic starts to happen.
Leadership
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and team-building retreats. Culture is fragile. Just ask the CEO from this anecdote (courtesy of Professor Dirk Buyens). After a big bank acquired a smaller one, chaos erupted over… handshakes. In the small bank, handshakes were the norm, but not in the big bank. Confusion turned into frustration until the CEO sent out an email to settle the matter. What did the CEO decide? We’ll never know—but the story proves that even small details can shake a culture.
Some companies embrace the challenge by fostering different cultures within their walls. Picture a massive corporate tanker with speedboats buzzing around it: the “tanker” is the steady, established business, while the “speedboats” are lean innovation hubs within that same company. It’s a balancing act, but it works for some.
The big, small, and everything in-between
At the end of the day, corporate culture is a mix of everything: leadership decisions, small traditions, unspoken rules, daily behaviors, and even the aura of the office. It’s complex, it’s elusive, and it’s everywhere.
The challenge? Steering it in the right direction without smothering it with control. Culture can’t be forced, but it can be guided—through a mix of top-down vision and bottom-up enthusiasm. Set a direction, inspire your people, and let the magic unfold.
After all, a great corporate culture isn’t built overnight, but it’s worth every effort.
Leave a Reply