Clarity, Consistency & Culture
Leaders shape culture more through their actions than through their words.
Clarity, Consistency & Culture
Leaders shape culture more through their actions than through their words.
Why leadership signals matter more than ever
The working world may be evolving, but one thing remains clear: leaders shape culture more through their actions than through their words.
In the years since the pandemic upended traditional working patterns, many organisations have been recalibrating their approaches. Remote work, hybrid models, return-to-office mandates – each organisation is making decisions about what flexibility means now. But the way those decisions are communicated, and how consistently they’re applied, sends signals far beyond policy. It shapes culture.
Take Elon Musk’s now-infamous directive: return to the office full-time or leave. Harsh? Perhaps. But what it lacked in empathy, it made up for in clarity. There was no ambiguity. People knew where they stood. And in a climate of competing expectations and shifting norms, that kind of clarity has its own currency.
Leaders don’t need to emulate Musk’s tone, but they should take note of the leadership lesson: culture ambiguity breeds confusion, disengagement and risk aversion.
Espoused vs enacted values
Culture isn’t what’s written. It’s what’s witnessed.
Organisational psychologists have long identified the difference between espoused values (what we say we believe) and enacted values (what people actually experience). That gap is where culture and trust either flourish or fracture.
Employees take behavioural cues from those with the most influence. If a team member cuts a corner, it might raise eyebrows. If a leader sees it and does nothing, or cuts that corner themself, it becomes the accepted norm. Over time – if this isn’t a one-off – it becomes the culture.
That’s why visible, consistent leadership matters. In the absence of formal rules, people follow social norms, which are set by the behaviours that get noticed, rewarded, or tolerated.
As psychologist and researcher Edgar Schein put it, “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is create and manage culture.” Everything else flows from that.
Flexibility requires structure
The shift toward flexible and hybrid work has opened new opportunities for autonomy, productivity and inclusion. But without structure and shared understanding, flexibility can lead to fragmentation.
Take the example of “unlimited leave” policies: intended to be empowering, but often counterproductive. Without clear expectations or role-modelled behaviour from leaders, employees tend to take less time off, not more. Why? Because in environments with high ambiguity, people default to safety. They look around, take emotional cues, and make decisions based on what seems acceptable – not what’s written.
This is where HR and executive leadership play a critical role: not just in designing policies, but in shaping the symbolic and emotional environment in which those policies are lived.
One standard, not two
Equity of experience is central to trust. When some employees are required to be on-site, whether they work in healthcare, logistics, hospitality, or manufacturing, they quickly notice if leaders aren’t visible. If flexibility is extended only to the top tier, or rules apply differently depending on hierarchy, resentment grows.
Leadership, when done well, is not a privilege – it’s a responsibility. When leaders show up with their people and visibly walk the talk, they build cultural alignment. And in distributed or hybrid workplaces, these symbolic acts matter more than ever.
Culture is everyone’s job – but it starts with you
As HR leaders and executives, our behaviours, decisions and communication set the tone, often more than strategy decks or values posters. You don’t just influence culture. You are the culture.
That’s why clarity and consistency matter. Because:
- When expectations are clear, trust builds
- When leadership is consistent, culture strengthens
- When leaders model the behaviours they ask of others, alignment follows
If we want cultures that are healthy, human and high-performing, we can’t rely on policies alone. We need leaders who understand the power of emotional cues, social norms, and cultural consistency.
So the question for leaders is not just: What do we stand for?
But: What do our people see us do when it counts?
