Is Your Culture Really Working Everywhere?
Why even award-winning businesses can have cultural blind spots - and how to fix them
Best Place to Work - But Not Everywhere
A while ago, I worked with a family business that had just won a Best Place to Work award.
From the outside, things looked great. Employee retention was strong. Staff spoke positively about the company. Morale seemed high.
But inside the business, something didn’t add up.
One area of the organisation — just one — was completely out of step.
🚫 Engagement was low
🚫 Efficiency had dipped
🚫 And the culture in that department? Toxic
It wasn’t just unpleasant. It was starting to spill over into other areas. The company’s wider culture - and its performance - were under threat.
We came in, identified the root cause, worked with the leadership, and rebuilt the cultural foundations of that part of the business.
Fast forward: That team now has some of the highest engagement scores in the business. It’s supportive, efficient, and thriving.
The wider business didn’t need a new culture. It needed consistency.
Culture Is How Your Values Show Up - Day In, Day Out
You can’t declare a great culture. You have to live it.
Culture is what happens in the space between policies and behaviours. It’s not what your values say - it’s how people act when no one’s watching.
And here’s the hard truth:
Your culture is happening whether you’re shaping it or not.
The Danger of Fragmented Culture
In family businesses, this usually plays out in one of three ways:
1. Different interpretations of the values
What ‘Respect’ means in one department may look like passivity in another. What ‘Customer First’ means to one manager might be ‘Profit First’ to another.
2. Strong leadership in some areas, misalignment in others
You have pockets of excellence - and pockets of confusion.
3. Inconsistent onboarding or communication
New hires and new leaders absorb what they see - and if what they see varies, so does the culture.
The result?
😬 Mixed employee experience
😬 Disjointed customer experience
😬 Missed opportunities for accountability, performance, and engagement
Culture Is the Commercial Multiplier of Your Values
When culture is aligned to values:
✅ People know what’s expected
✅ Leadership is trusted
✅ Behaviour is consistent
✅ Recruitment and performance conversations get easier
✅ Customers feel the difference
When it’s not:
🚫 People spend time second-guessing
🚫 Leadership credibility drops
🚫 Performance suffers
🚫 Customers lose confidence
Culture isn’t soft. It drives how your business works - and how well it works.
The Culture Trap: Thinking It’s “Mostly Fine”
A common trap I see in family businesses is thinking:
“Our culture’s pretty good overall - we just have a few tricky spots.”
But culture doesn’t average out. One toxic team, one disengaged manager, or one inconsistent pocket can do real damage - fast.
Your culture is only as strong as its weakest point.
Where I Come In
Through my Values to Profit Audit, I work with family businesses to assess how well their culture aligns with their values - across the whole business, not just the leadership level.
We explore:
How consistently values show up across teams
Where cultural misalignment is undermining performance or trust
Where values-based culture could be working harder to drive results
And how to create practical strategies to strengthen the cultural foundation for growth
It’s not about rewriting your values. It’s about making them live and breathe throughout the business - every day.
Try This: The Culture Consistency Check
Ask your senior team:
“Where in our business is our culture strongest? Where is it most fragile?”
Then ask:
“What are the behaviours that make the difference in each case?”
You might be surprised at what comes up - and where.
Let’s Talk
If you want to strengthen your culture and make sure your values are driving performance at every level - I’d love to help.
📅 Book your free 45-minute Values To Profit Exploration Call
Let’s explore how your culture can become a growth engine - not a hidden liability.
Coming Next Time:
Once your values and culture are aligned, how do you attract and retain the people who thrive in that environment - and who drive your business forward?