Why Organisational Culture Is Often Different From What Leaders Expect

Most leaders can describe the culture they want in a sentence or two. Collaborative. Customer-focused. Innovative. Accountable. Ask employees, though, and you often hear a more complicated story. They describe what it really feels like to work there: where decisions stall, which behaviours get rewarded, and whether speaking up is genuinely safe.That gap matters. Culture shapes execution far more than a values poster ever will. It affects retention, performance, trust, and how quickly a business