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Brain Circuits
Culture shock: A checklist for leaders
Culture has never been a more important factor in business success. Consult this checklist to gauge whether you’re adapting successfully to geopolitical, economic, and technological upheaval, read on for definitions of what culture is, and check out the five actionable strategies to shift culture today.
Checklist for leaders
- Who truly owns your culture – leadership, or HR?
- How do you, as a leader, visibly model the behaviors you expect from your team?
- How do you ensure culture is not delegated but owned at every level?
- How does culture inform your decision-making and innovation, especially under pressure?
- How quickly does your culture evolve in response to geopolitical, economic, and technological upheaval?
- Do you consult your culture before making high-stakes business decisions, or only after a crisis?
Culture is NOT:
- A mission statement on a website
- A bunch of HR initiatives
- A list of corporate values
- Employee-engagement scores
- A top-down, one-way street
- A high Glassdoor rating
Culture is:
- How leaders make decisions under pressure
- How risk is managed and rewarded
- How conflicts are addressed and resolved
- How accountability is enforced
- How employees take ownership of their roles
- How failures are handled and learned from
- The unspoken rules that govern employee behavior
Five actionable strategies to shift culture today
1. An “own-it” policy
Require employees to identify their role in solving workplace challenges rather than shifting blame. Before escalating issues, employees must propose at least one solution.
2. Mandatory AI and innovation training
Every employee must complete ongoing AI and digital upskilling programs to stay competitive in an evolving workforce.
3. Transparent feedback loops
Implement real-time feedback systems where employees and leadership openly discuss cultural misalignments and solutions.
4. Accountability meetings
Every department should hold biweekly culture reviews to acknowledge failures, discuss improvement strategies, and reinforce behavioral expectations.
5. No passive complaints
Employees who raise concerns must suggest realistic improvements to ensure problem-solving is proactive.
Key learning
If you treat culture as an afterthought, you are setting yourself up for failure. Focusing on culture as a key part of your business will help you grow, innovate, and survive in an era characterized by shocks and uncertainty.
Authors
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