Strategies can be written, structures painted in organizational charts. But all of this remains a sketch if the culture does not resonate. Anyone who only thinks about change in terms of organizational charts without taking people with them will fail. Transformation is no longer an exception – it is a permanent condition.
Especially in a world of VUCA and BANI – volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous; fragile, anxious, non-linear, incomprehensible – it is clear that culture is not an accessory. It is the anchor that provides orientation when everything is in motion.
Culture as a heartbeat
Culture is the heartbeat of an organization. It determines how we react to problems: Put up walls – or see opportunities. Waiting for rules – or learning, growing and shaping together.
And it starts with ourselves – especially with managers. Because inner clarity and resilience radiate outwards. “If you don’t lead yourself, no one will follow you”, as the saying goes. Richard Davidson describes four skills that are crucial here: overcoming negative states quickly, keeping positive ones active, staying focused – and remaining generous. Sounds simple, but it’s radical.
This makes it clear that leadership today is no longer an either-or proposition. Toughness and empathy are not mutually exclusive, they are interdependent. “It’s all in the mix,” as Friedemann Schulz von Thun put it in a nutshell in our podcast “Auf einen Tee”. Cultural work means consciously shaping this field of tension – day after day.
Problems as fuel
Those who shape culture also know that problems are not a nuisance. They are fuel. As Gerald Hüther puts it: “Happiness means solving problems.” Our brains are programmed to resolve contradictions. Organizations that do not suppress conflicts, but deal with them openly, release enormous energy – and transform obstacles into engines for innovation.
That is why cultural development is not about staging an ideal world. It is about creating spaces in which problems become a common learning field. Where dialog is more important than monologue. Where storytelling is inconceivable without storylistening. In which leadership not only drives, but also enables flow – that feeling of collective connectedness in which meaning, self-efficacy and performance coincide.
Culture as hard currency
A recent Forbes analysis also shows that culture is much more than a “soft issue”: managers with a clear transformation vision are almost six times more successful in shaping cultural change. Culture is hard currency. It determines whether organizations find stability in change – or remain in chaos.
Our contribution as shapers of communication, transformation and culture
And this is where we all come into play – those who enable communication, make culture visible and accompany transformation. Culture does not unfold its power automatically. It needs people who open up spaces, translate conflicts and provide orientation when structures falter.
We can all contribute to organizations finding stability in change:
- Translating technology into attitude – instead of just introducing tools.
- Turning data into dialog – instead of leaving numbers isolated.
- Consciously shaping culture – instead of leaving it to chance.
That’s why we talk about it – to provide impetus, ask questions and encourage people to see culture not as background noise, but as a decisive lever for future viability.
In the end, it’s not just about whether we shape culture – but how consciously we do it. Perhaps now is the time to pause for a moment: What culture do our managers and employees feel today – and what culture do we want together for tomorrow? If you have the courage to ask these questions honestly, you have already taken the first step. Everything else comes from the conversation.
Speaking of which, let’s get talking.