What You Walk Past, You Accept.
And what you accept becomes your culture.
Culture isn’t what’s written. It’s what’s repeated.
And what leaders allow—through action or inaction—becomes the standard.
If you’re in a leadership role, you’re shaping culture every day—whether you mean to or not.
I’ve seen this across organizations, clients, and even within high-performing teams: A set of behavioral or operational standards exists on paper—values, expectations, workflows, metrics.
But the moment those standards are inconsistently enforced—or quietly ignored—they lose power.
And something else takes their place—the workarounds, shortcuts, and side deals people start to rely on instead.
A senior leader delivers results but disregards process—and is rewarded anyway.
Teams complete reviews late or inconsistently—and it becomes “just how it is.”
A new standard is introduced—but no one follows up to track adoption
Slowly, alignment erodes.
Accountability weakens.
And the organization starts running on exceptions instead of expectations.
That’s a culture and a business problem.
Edgar Schein reminds us: “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture.”
He defines culture as the sum of what leaders consistently reward, tolerate, or ignore. And in the day-to-day, culture is shaped most directly by behavior.
What behaviors are being recognized?
Which ones are quietly reinforced by silence or avoidance?
And where are leaders modeling alignment—or accidentally modeling drift?
When misaligned behaviors go unchecked—especially at the top—credibility cracks. And culture shifts, quietly and quickly, in the wrong direction.
Why It Matters
The impact of misalignment is real:
Quality becomes unpredictable
Morale dips as high standards go unrewarded
Change stalls because old behaviors never leave
Top talent quietly disengages, sensing integrity gaps
You lose time. You lose trust. You lose momentum.
High-performing cultures don’t emerge from inspiration.
They emerge from consistent behavior.
How to Correct Cultural Drift
Name the disconnects. Where are behaviors misaligned with values or standards?
Level the playing field. Hold everyone—especially senior leaders—accountable for how they show up.
Coach in the moment. Use 1:1s to observe, reflect, and redirect behaviors—not just outputs.
Reinforce through structure. Tie reviews, feedback, and recognition to behaviors that reflect the culture you want.
Model publicly. Let others see what aligned behavior looks like—and explain the “why” behind your choices.
Your Turn
Where might silence be sending the wrong signal?
What behaviors are you permitting that are slowly becoming the norm?
Because what you permit doesn’t just reflect you.
It becomes the organization.
