The delicate business of nurturing a better culture

Confession time – I’ve been as guilty as the next person of believing that the culture of an organisation can be changed and that specific action can move the culture from where it is to where you want it be.

Yes, a series of programmed interventions can help to shift the culture closer to the desired one, but does it actually lead to the real change required below the surface? Personal experience would lead me to say no: such interventions are often only superficial in impact, unless backed by commitment at the most senior levels and sustained over a prolonged period of time.