Read Our Blog On Culture Change

As we enter December, expecting employees to be interested in doing things differently is unreasonable. Naturally, they want the business of the year to end well. But most are on a fixed track, focusing on their performance metrics and hoping for the best. Leaders are in limbo between 2025 business plan approval and deciding what to say about the future at the year-end party. Expect to hear ‘Agility’ more often in discussions.

This is the time of year when companies are finishing their budget processes. Leaders and senior managers have signed up to ambitious targets for 2025, and many will quietly be wondering how they will deliver on them. Mid-junior managers and staff will almost certainly have no idea what is coming down the pipeline: they’re hanging on for the year-end party! Humans tend to repeat the approaches we know.

The modern workplace is dominated by a managerialist approach prioritising efficiency, control, and standardisation over genuine leadership. While you may think it has value, the trend creates significant barriers to success in our increasingly chaotic world. You only have to look at global politics, national institutions, and the business world to see the impact of a paucity of leadership at every level.

Many of us who have had breakfast in hotels are familiar with a device known as a conveyor toaster. Wherever bread is served, there’s usually one of these standing by, ready to toast bread slices to a soft golden hue in a nonstop sequence to the delight of sleepy guests. Except it never does. For me it provides a valuable analogy for the approach to organisational culture that prevails in many businesses.

Boeing has announced a US$6.2 billion quarterly loss, arguably one of the few warning signs a traditional American corporation cannot ignore. But, in truth, other signs have been there for a long time if they only cared to consider them. Kelly Ortberg, who took over as CEO in August, has called for a fundamental culture change at Boeing: "We need to identify, understand, and fix the root causes".

Marketeers consistently talk about consistency. That’s because it’s important. Externally it’s clearly important that brands are presented in a consistent way across their ID and how they are communicated through an often eclectic mix of channels. But it’s equally important that all employees and others who represent the brand are also consistent in the way that they treat customers. And that’s not always easily achieved.