Culture is Not a Soft Factor—It’s a Strategic Advantage
“We’ve put the culture change initiative on hold since the landscape has shifted. Instead, we are going through a small restructuring process and re-focusing our KPIs.”
This statement from the CEO of a German firm in the energy sector reflects a common belief: that culture is a “soft” factor, a “nice to have” when times are stable, but dispensable when things get tough.
This decision turned out to be very expensive.
The Cost of Underestimating Culture
The team moved ahead with the restructuring, believing that tightening KPIs and focusing on operational metrics would stabilise performance. But something unexpected happened: productivity dipped, collaboration faltered, and engagement levels plummeted. Why? Because putting the culture process on hold showed people that, when push comes to shove, culture doesn’t really matter. The glue that holds high-performing teams together was treated as an afterthought.
As pressure mounted, communication became transactional, teams became siloed, and trust eroded. What had once been a high-functioning, cohesive team environment started to fracture. In trying to optimise for efficiency, they had unintentionally weakened the very foundation of their performance: their culture.
Culture is the Backbone of High Performance
Too often, we see organisations approach culture as an accessory to strategy, something that’s nice to work on when there’s time. But here’s the reality: if you want a high-performance organisation, you need a high-performance culture. Culture drives how people interact, how decisions are made, how problems are solved, and how resilient teams can be under pressure.
In times of crisis or change, it’s not the most finely tuned operational systems that will carry your company through—it’s your people. And people thrive in environments where trust, communication, and shared purpose are prioritised. Culture is not soft; it’s a strategic imperative.
What Happens When You Get Culture Right?
Let’s look at another example. A mid-sized technology firm recognised that they were at risk of falling into the same trap. Instead of putting their culture work on hold, they doubled down. They knew that the only way to meet the increased demands of the market was to make sure their teams were aligned, motivated, and supported.
They made culture central to their strategy. Leaders prioritised transparent communication and ensured that teams stayed connected to the company’s broader mission, even as roles and responsibilities shifted. The result? Not only did they meet their performance targets—they exceeded them. The investment in culture wasn’t a “soft” decision; it was the key to unlocking their highest potential during a challenging period.
Building a High-Performance Culture: Where to Start
If you’re aiming for consistent high performance, here’s what we’ve learned from working with organisations that get it right:
Diagnose First: Don’t assume you know the strengths and weaknesses of your culture. If you are part of the system, you’re likely blind to it. Conduct a thorough cultural assessment to get a clear picture of what’s working and what’s holding your teams back. Or, for quick assessment: ask the interns and people who have been there less than 60 days.
Align Culture and Strategy: Culture isn’t separate from your business strategy—it’s part of it. Ensure that your cultural initiatives are directly linked to the outcomes you want to achieve and vice versa.
Equip Your Leaders: Leadership sets the tone for culture. Equip managers with the skills and tools they need to lead cultural change, not just operational change. No clue what these skills and tools might be? Talk to us.
Create a Time and Place for Open Communication: In high-performing cultures, people feel heard. Create spaces where employees can ask questions, raise concerns, and contribute to the company’s vision. In these spaces, make sure you listen more than you speak.
Make Your Top Team the Best Example: View your top leadership team as the holders of your desired culture. Whatever you want to organisation to life by, your top team needs to live first. They are your baseline, your ambassadors and probably also hold the key to everything that’s not (yet) working.
Culture Isn’t Optional—It’s Essential
When companies face change or uncertainty, culture is often the first thing to be sidelined. But time and again, we see that this approach is costly. Treating culture as a soft factor is not just a misunderstanding—it’s a missed opportunity to build the kind of high-performance organisation that can thrive despite a turbulent environment.
The companies that succeed in VUCA times are the ones that invest in their people, their values, and their shared vision. High performance starts with culture. And if you’re serious about performance, culture is not something you can afford to put on hold.
