The C-word: 7 often-missed reality checks for those seeking to shape culture

Every leader talks about culture, yet few pause to wrestle with what it really is. Over two decades of working alongside the NHS and public-purpose organisations, I’ve learned that culture isn’t a fixed destination or a poster on the wall. It’s an emergent property of people interacting - an invisible architecture that shapes how we respond to every challenge. If you’re serious about influencing culture in complex environments, here are seven reality checks to ground your ambitions and help you succeed.

1. Culture is a pattern, not an artifact

As Ron Westrum puts it:

“Culture is the patterned way that an organisation responds to its challenges, whether these are explicit (for example, a crisis) or implicit (a latent problem or opportunity).” (1)

You won’t see culture in glossy slides or mission statements - it emerges in the cracks: the hallway conversations, the silent assumptions at board meetings, the rituals that go unspoken. To influence cultures, start by mapping these patterns and listening for the unvoiced norms that hold them in place.

2. Culture emerges from complex systems

Groups of people form complex systems. Interactions multiply, feedback loops unfold, and linear cause-effect logic breaks down. A tweak at the edge can cascade into unexpected shifts - or vanish without trace. We can’t decree a new culture as a fixed target; we can only describe a direction and nudge in that general trajectory. By treating cultures as emergent (and multiple), you learn to pilot small experiments, watch how the system responds, and amplify what works.

3. Culture is neutral and a source of strength

Culture isn’t inherently good or bad - our judgments just show preferences. Every pattern that has taken hold has served a survival purpose at some point. Rather than dismiss legacy behaviours out of hand, surface how they’ve contributed and build on their strengths. This neutral stance uncovers latent resources, prevents loss of what still serves a purpose, and avoids the power struggles that often derail change efforts.

4. Beware common pitfalls

We routinely stumble by treating culture as a series of individual traits or by launching awareness campaigns hoping to “fix” mindsets. Common traps include:

• Ignoring human psychology.

• Reductionist fixes that address individual, not group interactions.

• Misconceiving culture as a homogenous entity rather than a dynamic, context-specific process (there are many cultures in one organisation).

• Positioning culture as both the cause and the cure of every problem.

• Imposing a one-size-fits-all model devised by outsiders.

• Over stepping into telling people what to think and feel.

These missteps breed false certainty, confusion, even resentment and distrust and, more often than not, failed programmes.

5. Recognise human dynamics and defences

Change stirs fear, anxiety and conflict. At an individual level, psychic defences like denial, intellectualisation or projection protect us from overwhelm. Groups create defences through denial, rationalisation or groupthink, hampering learning. Great leaders recognise that groups display dynamics of their own, separate to the dynamics of a collection of individuals – so they stay curious about these, naming them rather than blaming people. They create space for voiced anxieties, surface unhelpful defences and invite the emotional reality alongside the factual.

6. Accept unpredictability and limited measurability

Culture isn’t a lever you pull to get a guaranteed outcome. It’s a living social construct that only reveals parts of itself at any moment. While you can describe dimensions or snapshot metrics, don’t expect a complete, quantifiable picture - or a predictable trajectory. Instead, get comfortable with hypotheses, sit with the uncertainty and build rapid feedback loops: run micro-experiments, review the ripples they create, and adapt as you learn. Remember there is always shadow data you won’t see.

7. Shape culture through structure and interactions

Since culture emerges from interactions, your most powerful tools are structural nudges, not awareness campaigns. Influence the contexts where people connect e.g.:

• Embed values into governance forums and decision protocols.

• Design peer-learning networks that spotlight real dilemmas.

• Craft meeting rituals that spotlight relationships and reflection rather than status updates.

• Align incentives to collaborative efforts, not siloed targets.

By tweaking the scaffolding around daily interactions, you can guide the emergent culture without ever dictating it.

From reality checks to lasting impact and why this matters now

Shaping culture in a complex, high-stakes environment demands a blend of strategic foresight and relational depth. Whether you’re a board considering its next big decision or partnering system-wide to work differently, or whether you're leading the civil service and know that significant change is needed to enable devolution, these seven reality checks can help keep you anchored in what’s real. They shift the emphasis from quick, wishful thinking fixes to slow, curious inquiry - cultivating cultures that adapt, learn and thrive under pressure.

This matters all the more right now, in the midst of reform. For instance, the NHS 10 year health plan paints an ambitious picture of changes to processes, structures and skill mix, which will impact roles, relationships and even identities. With this comes changes to how we feel about our competence, what risks we’re being asked to weigh and react to, and a greater exercising of agency as power shifts in response to the call “ to deliver a more diverse and devolved health service”.

Already in conversations around the ‘how’, emphasis is shifting towards attitudes and behaviours (“just get on with it”) – which, whilst valid, suggests to me an over emphasis on the assumption that we’ll get where we want to get to if each individual acts differently.

I’m putting these seven reality checks out there in the hope that they trigger different discussions, moving the culture conversation on from repeating the mistakes of the past (and I speak as someone responsible in some measure for these previous attempts, having worked on two national campaigns focused on safety culture).

If you’re ready to explore how these checks apply in your unique context, I’m happy to have a conversation.

(1) Westrum, R. 2004, A Typology of Organisational Cultures. Quality and Safety in Healthcare