Culture Runs the Company
Team Culture Archetypes
They say culture eats strategy for breakfast. But culture doesn’t just eat strategy. It’s the chef, the host and the reason people want to come back tomorrow. Many leaders nod to it, few embody it. Strategy sketches the plan, but culture breathes life into it.
Research by Deloitte found that only 12% of employees think their company nails culture, and less than 30% can describe what it is. Why? Because culture isn’t written down. It’s lived in the jokes people tell, the emails they send and the way they react when something changes.
If you want your business to move, grow, and last, here are 5 cultural clues that reveal where you’re really at and how to shift it.
Image: Work, by Japanese artist, Saburo Murakami , 1958 . Extracted from The Art Institute of Chicago.
1. The Apathy Culture
What it feels like: Everyone’s polite, meetings are fine, but there’s no spark. Ideas are nodded at, not acted on.
🔎 Clue: When 'this is how we’ve always done it' becomes the unofficial slogan.
⚡️Why it works: Smooth day-to-day operations. Minimal conflict. Decisions feel safe.
😖 Why it hurts: Innovation stalls. People disengage. Growth is stifled, quietly eroding performance.
🙋🏼 Shift it: Ask, 'What’s one thing we’ve not changed in six months that quietly says we can’t?' Fix that first.
2. The Burnout Culture
What it feels like: Fast. Frantic. Forever too busy. The to-do list is endless, and nobody’s leading; they're just surviving.
🔎 Clue: When speed is celebrated more than sanity. It’s giving work hard, play hard vibes.
⚡️Why it works: Things get done. Deadlines are met. Energy feels alive, even if chaotic. Things get done. Deadlines are met. Energy feels alive, even if your response to those you meet is usually ‘crazy busy!’
😖 Why it hurts: Exhaustion sets in. Creativity and focus drop. Employee turnover rises.
Shift it: Create a visible ritual that says 'we value how you work.' It could be Friday reflection sessions or mandatory no-meeting hours. Small, consistent pauses rebuild trust and energy.
3. The Chaos Culture
What it feels like: Endless brainstorming, new initiatives every week, and no follow-through. Everyone’s moving, just not in the same direction.
🔎 Clue: When excitement is high but results are low.
⚡️Why it works: People feel empowered to try new ideas. Creativity flourishes. Change feels constant and exciting.
😖 Why it hurts: Momentum stalls. Confusion reigns. Wins are fleeting because no one finishes what they start.
🙋🏽♀️ Shift it: Commit to one thing. Make it clear, measurable, and collective. Let your team feel the satisfaction of finishing something.
4. The Control Culture
What it feels like: Rules on rules. Ideas must go through 12 approvals before they see the light of day. Risk is treated like rebellion.
🔎 Clue: When people stop asking 'why not?' and start asking 'is this allowed?'
⚡️Why it works: Risk is minimised. Standards are consistent. Compliance is strong.
😖 Why it hurts: Innovation dies. Morale drops. People stop thinking proactively and wait to be told what to do.
🙋🏿♂️ Shift it: Remove one layer of permission. Let a team pilot a project with full ownership. Then show what trust looks like in practice.
5. The Live Wire Culture
What it feels like: Purpose is clear. People speak up. Failure isn’t fatal. Energy hums. This is what happens when strategy and culture dance, not duel.
🔎 Clue: When people talk about what they learned, not just what they did.
⚡️Why it works: Engagement soars. Innovation thrives. Teams move with clarity and confidence.
😖 Why it hurts: It’s fragile. Without protection, rituals, and recognition, energy can dissipate quickly. Risk can also come without enough calculation.
🙋♀️ Shift it: Have easy ways of socialising ideas and testing them so that you can prioritise where to take action. Build rituals that keep it alive like open retrospectives or shoutouts for how people worked, not just what they achieved.
Research shows companies that align culture and strategy outperform their peers, often seeing up to double the profit margins and significantly higher growth. Double! Yet only 32% of leaders say they do, so there’s work to be done.
Culture isn’t a vibe. It’s the pulse of your business. The energy that fuels performance, creativity, and trust. When culture leads, strategy doesn’t fight to survive, it thrives.
Because in the end, culture doesn’t just eat strategy for breakfast. It grows the food, cooks the meal, and keeps everyone coming back for more.
