The role culture plays in your business – and how to foster the one you want

Culture isn’t a poster on the wall or a buzzword buried in your strategy deck. It’s the heartbeat of your business. It’s the lived experience of your people – the behaviours you reward, the stories you tell, the decisions you make when no one’s watching.

Get culture right, and it becomes a powerful force for performance, innovation and loyalty. Get it wrong, and it quietly eats away at engagement, decision-making and reputation.

So how do you define the culture you want—and more importantly, build it into the everyday rhythm of your organisation?

Why culture matters

Culture is the invisible thread that ties strategy to execution. Research shows that organisations with a strong, values-led culture outperform on everything from engagement and retention to customer satisfaction and profitability.

Here’s why:

• Engagement and retention – people stay when they feel connected to purpose and values.

• Innovation and adaptability – a culture that encourages curiosity and safe experimentation makes businesses more agile and resilient in the face of change.

• Trust and decision-making – open, transparent cultures reduce blind spots and build confidence in choices.

• Performance – culture is not “soft stuff.” It drives hard outcomes. Toxic cultures, by contrast, cost millions in turnover, burnout and lost productivity.

Defining the culture you need

It’s tempting to look at culture only as it stands today. But the most effective leaders define the culture they need for the future they’re building.

Start by asking:

• What’s our ambition? Where is the business heading — growth, scale, expansion, new markets, new products? Your culture needs to be shaped with this destination in mind.

• What’s critical to get us there? If your strategy leans on customer obsession, product innovation, safety first, data-driven decision making or performance excellence, your culture should enable those outcomes.

• How do we articulate it? Once you’re clear on direction and priorities, define the behaviours and values that will sustain them. Do you need a culture of experimentation? Rigour and accountability? Collaboration across borders? Write it down. Test it with your people.

The culture you need tomorrow may not be the one you’ve got today. Being deliberate now sets the foundation for sustainable growth, rather than leaving it to chance.

Where are you now?

Before you begin to shape the culture you want, you need a clear view of the one you’ve got. That means looking beyond what’s written in policy to what’s happening day-to-day.

• Ask your people - through surveys, focus groups, or informal check-ins.

• Observe the gaps - what’s celebrated versus what’s tolerated.

• Track the signals - engagement, turnover, absenteeism, even customer feedback tell the story of your culture.

Culture is revealed in patterns: what happens consistently, not occasionally.

Building the culture you want

Shaping culture is all about alignment – between what you say, what you believe, and what you do. Here are the levers that matter most:

1. Define your values and purpose
   Involve your people so your values aren’t just words, they’re shared beliefs that feel lived. Purpose connects the dots between everyday work and the bigger picture.

2. Lead the way
   Culture follows leadership. How leaders make decisions, respond under pressure, and treat others are the strongest signals of “what matters here.”

3. Embed it everywhere
   Hiring, onboarding, recognition, performance reviews, communication - every process and practice is an opportunity to reinforce culture. If values don’t show up in your rituals and your systems, they won’t stick.

4. Create safety and transparency
   People need to know they can speak up, question, and even fail without fear. When information flows openly, trust grows.

5. Listen and adapt
   Build regular feedback loops and act on what you hear. Even when change isn’t possible, explaining the “why” builds trust.

6. Celebrate what you want more of
   Shine a light on the behaviours that bring your culture to life. Storytelling and rituals are powerful reinforcers.

The long game

Culture isn’t a project you tick off. It’s both a journey and a discipline. Small, consistent actions over time compound into big shifts. The danger lies in saying one thing and doing another — misalignment erodes trust faster than almost anything else.

The good news? When you get deliberate, when leaders walk the talk, and when rituals, processes and systems reinforce what you value, culture becomes a competitive edge. It attracts the right people, powers strategy, and sustains performance.

Final word

At Nine Yards, we often say culture is the thread that ties it all together. It rallies teams in the tough moments and gives them the energy to push forward. The culture you foster is the one your business will be known for — inside and out.

So the question is: are you letting culture drift, or are you designing it with intent?

If you’re ready to take a more deliberate approach to culture, reach out to the team at Nine Yards. We can help you define where you want to be, uncover where you are today, and build the practical steps to get there.