How to Change Company Culture: Systems, Not Communication

<p>In fact, employees feel the culture not based on what is said, but on what is done.</p>

Organizational culture is often viewed by leaders as a strategic priority. However, in our time, it is mainly perceived as a communication tool—slogans, value statements, campaigns. In reality, employees feel the culture not based on what is said, but on what is done.

This article presents the main observations that can help leaders shape and develop the company's culture more effectively.

Culture is not a campaign

Many organizations try to change culture through externally visible steps—new values, posters, internal campaigns. However, if all of this is not accompanied by real behavioral change, the result remains superficial. Research shows that employee trust increases not through campaigns, but through the actual actions of leadership.

Helpful tip: review how your team actually operates—transparency in decision-making, meeting formats, feedback. Change the systems, not just the messages.

Values matter only if they are worth something

Leaders often declare compassion, honesty, or inclusivity. But employees value not the words, but what losses the leader is willing to incur to uphold those values.

Helpful tip: choose one value and determine what you are willing to lose—power, revenue, speed, control. Only then will the value become a reality.

Silence is not always agreement

Employees often remain silent, fearing negative consequences or thinking that their voice will change nothing. Leaders may mistakenly interpret this silence as agreement.

Helpful tip: create real safety for raising difficult questions. Senior leaders should not only listen to these questions but also demonstrate through actions that they are valuable.

Perks do not replace systems

Free lunches, perks, or days off do not solve cultural issues. If operational systems do not change, perks only deepen dissatisfaction.

Helpful tip: eliminate one superficial perk and redirect those resources to solve a real painful issue—clear work boundaries, simplifying decision-making, or leadership support.

Culture must start from the top

Middle managers cannot bear the responsibility for cultural change alone. If senior leaders do not live by the declared values, then middle managers cannot force others to do so.

Helpful tip: senior leaders must be the first to embody the culture—through transparent decisions, open discussions, and leading by example.

Culture fails not due to indifference, but because power and management systems do not change. If you want real change, focus on three levers:

• Power: who makes decisions and whose voice is heard,
• Risk: at what cost leaders uphold values,
• Example: what behavior leaders demonstrate every day.

Culture is not a message; it is behavior. It changes when leaders start to live as they want the whole organization to live.

*The article was also prepared using data from AI․