Teams from both of the merged companies were brought together and were asked to answer three questions: Which parts from each of the previous cultures should be left behind and stored in “the museum”? Which parts of each company’s culture are worth keeping and carrying forward? Which new cultural ways and aspirations should the merged company adopt from scratch? Â
All three questions should be answered with practical examples: habits, rituals, tone of voice, ways of cooperating, and social events rather than empty headlines. As is often the case, the process itself and the network it fosters may turn out to be the most valuable outcome of this exercise. Â
6. Create mutual symbols
Like national flags, the symbolic aspects of a merger matter immensely: names, titles, logos, visual identity. These artefacts are important to create psychological safety and a feeling of belonging and pride. In one newly formed NATO unit, soldiers kept their old unit crests and attached them to the inside of their NATO berets while wearing the official crest on the outside. People have their company’s logo on everything from fitness gear to backpacks, cups, and pens. Â
Let people keep these items for the museum back home, and make sure to create new ones together. Top management should start using these objects, and explain why it’s important to have mutual symbols by creating a sense of community and a feeling that we are in this together. This may sound like glossing at first, but with time these artefacts become laden with meaning and tokens of belonging. Â
7. Align desired behavior with incentives
 This may sound trivial – especially in banking – but put your money where your mouth is. Look at the incentives and bonus schemes with a wider view. This is not just about monetary rewards, but generating a feeling of fairness, hierarchy, ethics, and culture. Research shows that incentives are counterproductive when used as individual bonuses. Make sure that you don’t just reward individuals, but also team efforts – and that bonuses and incentives are linked to the ethical compass of the company right away.Â
When you are paid handsomely and celebrated for your work, you begin to develop a strong sense of entitlement that makes you think you can “walk on water”. The higher you climb, the fewer people will tell you the truth. So, when you merge two cultures, make sure to really address, with examples, what kind of behaviors you want to see – and which ones are unacceptable. Â
Most companies have articulated company values, policies, and codes of conduct. These are sensible measures for preventing and dealing with ethical lapses. However, they rarely address the psychological and cultural root causes that drive people to slip up, make shortcuts, or turn a blind eye to misconduct. During a merger, responsible boards and management teams can start out by recognizing that even trusted leaders with high integrity are at risk of tripping up. Â
Leading a people-centric merger Â
In any merger situation, management is under pressure to demonstrate that they are moving ahead quickly to realize the synergies and benefits of the deal. On the surface, leaders may ask: How should we look? How will we integrate? What are our new routines and ways of working? What are the costs and benefits of joining? Â
But leaders will also have to answer more fundamental questions: Why are we here? What’s important? What are we about? What’s sacred to us? What is in it for each of us?Â
When the pressure is on, it’s the people leaders – those who spend time talking about purpose and authentically communicating with staff, by keeping eye contact, truly reading the room, and supporting their teams – who will pull ahead. While the to-do list is no doubt endless, you will never get to the bottom of it if you don’t spend time strengthening and reinforcing relationships to make your people come with you too.Â