Culture Is Not a Side Topic

Why leadership fails when culture is misunderstood

Culture is one of the few things in a company that cannot be copied. Products can be replicated. Processes can be benchmarked. Strategies can be imitated. Culture cannot.

Every organization has one. Startups and century old companies alike. Some cultures are deeply rooted, others still forming, but all of them shape how decisions are made, how people behave, and how strategies are executed.

Culture does not sit next to strategy. It sits underneath it.

Mission, vision, and strategy are not abstract statements. They are expressions of culture. And culture starts at the top. It is defined by leadership and then lived, every day, across the organization. When leaders do not understand the culture of the company they are leading, risk emerges quickly. Not only for the individual leader, but for teams and for the organization as a whole.

If you are far from the culture of a company, the company will eventually reject you. Sometimes subtly, sometimes openly. In both cases, execution suffers.

This does not mean culture should remain static. It never does.

Culture evolves constantly. It evolves with generations entering the workforce, each bringing different expectations, values, and life philosophies. It evolves through acquisitions, where new cultures are integrated and others diluted. It evolves through diversification, growth, and crisis. Economic conditions also leave their mark.

Over the past decades, many organizations operated in an environment shaped by stability and prosperity. A culture of wellbeing became dominant. Today, economic pressure, geopolitical uncertainty, and competitiveness concerns are driving a shift toward more assertive cultures. This shift is not inherently good or bad. But it is real. And it can be difficult for people who grew up professionally in a very different environment.

At the same time, technology is introducing a new layer of cultural disruption.

Virtual work has changed how organizations function. Flexibility has improved. Work life balance has become easier to manage for many. These are real benefits. But virtuality also carries risks, especially when it becomes the default rather than a choice.

In technology and manufacturing industries, relationships still matter. Handshakes matter. Presence matters. Customers who are told they are at the center of the organization often expect more than a video call. Too much virtual interaction may streamline processes, but it can weaken trust, collaboration, and customer intimacy if it is not balanced deliberately.

The impact is even stronger for newcomers.

Young professionals entering an organization today often lack what previous generations took for granted. Daily exposure to colleagues. Informal conversations. Visibility at the coffee machine. Encounters with leaders and with the leaders of leaders. These moments are not trivial. They are how people learn the organization, build networks, and develop confidence.

None of this can be fully replicated through a screen.

Culture is transmitted through proximity, observation, and informal interaction. When work becomes entirely virtual, that transmission weakens. The cost is not immediate, but it accumulates over time in lower engagement, slower development, and weaker leadership pipelines.

For boards and senior leaders, culture cannot be treated as a soft topic delegated to HR. It is a leadership responsibility. Understanding the existing culture, recognizing how it is evolving, and deciding deliberately how it should change are all part of governing a company.

Culture will evolve whether leaders engage with it or not. The question is whether that evolution happens intentionally or by default.

Leadership fails when culture is ignored. It succeeds when culture is understood, respected, and shaped with discipline.

Rada Rodriguez