Why Culture is often overlooked

In every organisation I’ve worked with, one thing is clear: transformation and change in organisations is not just about structure, strategy, or process. It’s about people. And more importantly, it’s about culture.

Successful organizations are capable of more than the sum of their parts, and when trust between employees and leaders is strong and culture has moves beyond slogans this truly empowers people.

But let’s get honest: navigating culture is messy, confusing, and hard.

In a recent post about a transformation involving global shared service centers, where the role of culture repeatedly surfaced, not always explicitly, but always powerfully. 

Whether it was resistance, confusion, or friction around communication, the underlying current was clear: culture matters, and culture is unique, shaped by its history, its people and shared experiences.

Culture Isn’t SOFT. It’s Structural.

Culture may be abstract, but its effects are tangible. It shapes behaviors, guides what is accepted or rejected, and creates an unwritten code that people live by. Leaders who ignore this—who push change through without reading the cultural landscape—risk building sandcastles.

What strikes me is how national and organizational cultures overlap and are underestimated. For example, my research indicates that Anglo-Saxon locations (e.g. UK, Ireland, US) often express confidence in managing change independently, while other non-Anglo Saxon locations welcome alignment efforts. Ironically, engagement data from my research shows that locations who claimed they didn’t need support struggled more with change outcomes. Not made here arrogance?

Power Distance, Uncertainty, and the “We” Shift

Hofstede’s work gives us an opportunity to go deeper—power distance and uncertainty avoidance can heavily influence how people respond to top-down change. In high power distance cultures, people may expect the boss to decide. In low power distance ones, not involving the team may be seen as disrespectful or demotivating.

A cultural shift from “me” (I will do it my way) to “we” (only together works) must be more than a communication/marketing campaign.

It needs to be felt by employees in how decisions are made, how leaders show up, and how people are supported.

I noted an interviewee saying, “Change is about doing away with practices deeply rooted in the fabric of an organisation.” That’s not a light task. It’s deep, demanding, and deliberate work which needs understanding and empathy.

Transformation Is a Cultural Journey

When designing global change programs, it’s tempting to roll out a standardized model. They operate in networks, teams, communities—and those are governed by culture.

What worked in Mexico may not in Ireland. What resonates in Malaysia might be resisted in Prague. Culture is context. And if we don’t engage with that complexity, we risk change fatigue, passive resistance, or worse—active disengagement.

So, What Do We Do About It?

1. Start with Diagnosis Work with HR and OD to assess cultural strengths, weaknesses, and fault lines—early. Use tools that use data and deep listening. Ensure measures to track are understood and transparent.
2. Make Culture Visible Translate cultural values into observable behaviors. Create a roadmap that turns vision into action, and ensure leaders are role models.
3. Adapt, Don’t Impose Align leadership messaging with local cultural realities. Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to communication and decision-making.
4. Lean into Relationships Trust is the bridge between strategy and execution. Foster open dialogue—especially in virtual teams.
5. Developing High Performance By establishing high performing team principles, such as building Trust, Enabling healthy Conflict, rewarding Commitment, enabling Accountability and focusing hard on outcomes can lead to stronger ties between the international teams.

Managing the clash between corporate and national cultures means understanding where they differ—and then meeting people where they are.

Culture is how things get done. It’s how people show up. And in transformation, it’s the invisible architecture that either holds everything together—or it falls apart.

If you’re driving change and not thinking deeply about culture, you’re only doing half the job. If you’re not showing up according to your corporate beliefs and values, you will lose. If you are a leader proclaiming “this is our culture”, but it is not genuine, the organization will struggle to transform and meet its expected outcomes.

If this resonates with your experience, I’d love to hear your perspective. How have you seen culture enable—or hinder—transformation?