Blog Layout

The Amplifying Effect of Leaders on Company Culture

Dr. Nancie Evans

The Amplifying Effect of Leaders on Company Culture

Leadership is the primary driving force behind company culture. In a thoughtful piece for the Harvard Business Review, Jim Whitehurst, the CEO of Red Hat, one of the leading providers of enterprise IT products and solutions, argues that changing a company’s culture isn’t easy, but involves changing how the employees of that company behave and think. “Culture,” he argues, “is a learned behavior, not a by-product of operations.”

Leaders Shape Company Culture

Leaders play an integral role in this process, influencing company culture through their own words and actions. As Whitehurst puts it, if you want to create an “innovate” culture, you can’t simply decree “go innovate!” It is the combined product of embraced behaviors of the entire corporation from the top down.

Companies like Amazon are excellent examples of creating a thriving culture of innovation. They have implemented an organizational model where employees aren’t afraid to fail. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, and CEO has instilled a core-belief of innovation and risk-taking amongst his employees. Bezos has stated if his employees have a one-in-ten chance of making a one-hundred-fold return on an investment, they should make that bet every time. This acceptance – and even embracing – of failure has promoted the innovate culture that continues to drive Amazon today.

What Can Leaders Do to Enact Change?

When it comes to driving culture change, leaders play a critical role. This begins with using their behavior to set the tone for what’s acceptable within a company. This is especially true for start-ups, such as Amazon. “The moment you found a company, culture comes into the conversation,” says Lisa O’Keefe, Senior Advisor of Talent and Engineering Culture at Pritzer Venture Capital. The more that leaders can share a company’s core values, the more likely that according to O’Keefe they will “become a reality and not just these random words uttered without meeting or random quotes on a wall.” The key according to Nancie Evans, VP Client Solutions at Culture-Strategy Fit is to be authentic while at the same time living the values consistently day in and day out…no exceptions and no excuses!


Enacting change, or instilling values, can only occur with a proactive drive from the top. By identifying and consistently acting in a way that makes your core beliefs and aspirations real, it is possible to create genuine change in an organization. Taking a vested interest in helping employees grow and thrive, for example, can create more motivated employees and boost production. This investment in the development of “human capital” goes a long way towards creating a culture of engagement, inspiring all within its structure and forming a discernable company ethos.


Similarly, as more leaders realize that their employees can provide valuable insights into their corporate culture, they can encourage employees to become an ambassador for their brand through social media channels. This creates not only publicity for the brand which helps to attract new talent, as well as a sense of solidarity and ownership in employees but also has the benefit of increasing the authenticity of social media posts.


Inspiring cultural change can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. If you need help defining or improving your business’s culture, check out some of Culture-Strategy Fit’s leading-edge cultural products and services, or give us a call today at 1-833-391-1896 for a free consultation.
How to solve problems, change behavior and lead your team to success.

When Culture Eats Strategy

By Nancie Evans • 10 Feb, 2024
The story of AVSC and how its risk-averse culture impeded revenue growth is just one of the many examples I’ve encountered over the years. When this happens, the company’s culture is no longer an asset; it is a problem that needs to be solved.

Culture Change: Senior Leaders Must Lead The Way

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 01 Apr, 2021
Culture Change: Senior Leaders Must Lead The Way
Rowing team displaying a culture of unified teamwork and sense of unified direction.

Culture Fit and Performance

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 27 May, 2020
“The culture-environment fit in the case of the higher performing firms was usually reported to be significantly better than in the case of the other companies” Kotter & Heskett (1992: 37) The idea that organizations perform better than their peers when they have a culture that is aligned to their strategy and appropriate to their […] The post Culture Fit and Performance appeared first on Culture Strategy Fit.

Acquisition Integration Strategies Part 1

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 03 Dec, 2019
This blog is a chapter from my doctoral dissertation which was published in 2002. My research studied the integration of two firms involved in a joint-venture buyout, specifically Sprint Corporation’s buyout of the PCS business from its cable partners. It is important to note that PCS had operated as an independent company with no active […] The post Acquisition Integration Strategies Part 1 appeared first on Culture Strategy Fit.
Several corporate executives connecting 6 puzzle pieces 0 depicting the need for Culture in M&A

Acquisition Integration Strategies Part 2

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 03 Dec, 2019
Part 1 of this blog presented a knowledge-based argument in support of acquisitions and discussed the role of integration strategies in terms of their significance to the achievement of acquisition goals. It also examined ‘organizational integration strategies’ from three different perspectives.
CEO leader in front of his employees with his arms raised in the air smiling.

Leaders and Culture

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 18 Oct, 2019
Culture is created by shared experience, but it is the leader who initiates this process by acting out his or her beliefs, values, and assumptions in the behaviors he or she demonstrates and the practices he or she uses. Anyone who has worked with a very good leader or a really bad one can clearly […] The post Leaders and Culture appeared first on Culture Strategy Fit.

The Culture-Performance Dilemma

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 20 Aug, 2019
If you are a manager at any level in an organization, you need to care about culture. Specifically, you need to understand how your words and actions are affecting the values, beliefs and assumptions of the people within your sphere of influence, and particularly those who report to you. This goes well beyond behaving in […] The post The Culture-Performance Dilemma appeared first on Culture Strategy Fit.

The Culture-Performance Dilema

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 25 Jul, 2019
If you are a manager at any level in an organization, you need to care about culture. Specifically, you need to understand how your words and actions are affecting the values, beliefs and assumptions of the people within your sphere of influence, and particularly those who report to you.
left and right hand each holding a puzzle piece that will soon be connected.

Conducting Culture Due Diligence

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 25 Jul, 2019
Every acquisition an organization makes, no matter how large or small, has a culture that defines the way things are done around here. This is deeply embedded in its DNA and affects all aspects of organizational life. It is anchored in a set of unconscious and taken-for-granted beliefs and assumptions about the expected and best […] The post Conducting Culture Due Diligence appeared first on Culture Strategy Fit.

Lesson 4: Who Are Your Leaders?

By Dr. Nancie Evans • 24 Jun, 2019
Culture is created by shared experience, but it is the leader who initiates this process by acting out his or her beliefs, values, and assumptions in the behaviors he or she demonstrates and the practices he or she uses. So far, we have focused on senior leaders due to the power they have to drive […] The post Lesson 4: Who Are Your Leaders? appeared first on Culture Strategy Fit.
More Posts
Share by: