The Power of Organizational Culture

 The world of work is changing fast. The COVID-19 pandemic, digital technology, and new employee values have all reshaped how we think about organizational culture. Today, employees expect more flexibility, fairness, and purpose in their work. At the same time, new tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and remote working are changing how teams operate and how leaders manage people.

 We often hear that a strong organizational culture leads to high performance, happy employees, and lasting success. While this is true in many cases, strong cultures can also become rigid, toxic, or outdated. When leaders fail to adapt or question the status quo, even the strongest culture can become a problem (Schein, 2010).

Changing an organization’s culture is not easy. Culture is built over time through shared values, behaviors, and experiences. When a company needs to change, whether due to growth, a crisis, or new leadership, its culture must often change too. But if this isn’t done carefully, it can create confusion, resistance, or even failure (Kotter, 2012).

Organizational culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and ways of working within a company (Schein, 2010). When employees feel the culture matches their personal values, they are more likely to be engaged (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004).