How do you convince senior leaders to 'get' this culture stuff?
It’s one of the questions I get asked most by HR professionals, OD leads, operational managers and leaders who can see the impact of poor culture, low morale, and burnout… but feel like no one at the top is paying attention.
I spoke recently to a senior leader who felt exactly that.
Their company had been through years of acquisitions. Lots of change, little integration. The culture was a patchwork quilt. Strategy, transformation and tech investment were being prioritised. But people were struggling.
She raised her concerns with her leadership colleagues. The response?
“We don’t need to focus on problems, we need to focus on solutions.”
This isn’t unusual.
But it’s a problem.
It reveals a way of thinking that sees 'people stuff' as an obstacle to progress, something to minimise, reframe, or ignore.
But the reality is:
Burnout isn’t negativity. It’s exhaustion.
Low morale isn’t resistance. It’s a signal.
Culture isn’t a distraction from strategy. It’s what determines whether strategy works.
So how do you get leaders to see it?
Sometimes data helps. It depends what kind, but organisational data on sickness absence, performance and turnover over time can be a good starting point.
Sometimes they need to hear it from someone outside the system.
Sometimes they have to feel the pain before they take it seriously.
But often, the first step is simply naming what's happening. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when no one wants to hear it.
You don’t need to dress it up.
You don’t need to wait until you’ve fixed it.
You don’t need permission.
It takes nerve to be the person who says what others won’t.
But that’s often what leadership really is.
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