How to change culture when it’s stuck or turning toxic
Culture is one of those things everyone talks about but few can explain well because it’s hard to put into words. Culture is about a sense of belonging and community. It’s the invisible glue that holds people together and makes you feel part of something bigger than yourself. When people feel they belong, they care more, contribute more, and bring their best energy.
Culture exists in every organisation and every team, whether you’ve thought about it or not, and it’s constantly evolving. Most of it happens beneath the surface: in the unspoken rules, the daily habits, and the subtle signals that shape how people behave and feel at work. It’s created through shared experience, learned behaviour, and how leaders act when things get difficult.
Culture is essential when times are tough: during change, rapid growth, or uncertainty. That’s when people look for belonging, clarity and trust. Paying attention to culture in those moments is what allows teams not just to survive but to strengthen.
This three-part series explores how leaders can build a culture that lasts: how to recognise when culture is stuck or turning toxic, how to rebuild strong foundations through purpose, values and behaviour, and how to embed change so it endures as your team grows.
Each article includes practical insights drawn from my work helping organisations design and sustain a people-first culture and includes simple reflection prompts you can use with your own team.
What is culture
Culture is the pattern of shared beliefs, behaviours, and visible habits that characterise a group of people. It shapes how work gets done and how people feel while doing it. It’s learned, shared, and dynamic and is passed on through stories, routines, and what’s rewarded day to day.
Culture and brand are two sides of the same coin: brand tells the world who you are; culture shows how you live it when no one’s watching. The two things come from the same root - knowing your purpose and living your values. When the brand and culture align, trust builds, and when they don’t, cracks appear in engagement, delivery, and morale.
Culture is made up of tangible, visible things like routines, meetings, and communication and the invisible: assumptions, trust, and belonging.
Why culture matters and what happens when it drifts
A healthy culture connects people to purpose and to each other. It fulfils a basic human need to belong. When people feel included, trusted and part of something meaningful, they’re more engaged, creative and resilient.
Recent research underlines this:
Belonging is linked to a 56 % increase in job performance and 56% lower turnover (Deloitte, 2023).
Teams with a strong sense of connection see higher customer satisfaction and profitability (McKinsey, 2023).
And yet, nearly half of remote or hybrid workers say they feel less connected than before.
At its best, culture creates a sense of belonging, and it’s what makes people stay and give their best.
Even when you’re not thinking about it, culture is evolving. Growth, new people, hybrid working, or leadership changes all reshape the norms. In small, close-knit teams, it often feels effortless; as you grow or work remotely, the glue thins. Unless you intentionally shape it, it can become negative.
Common signs that culture is stuck or becoming toxic:
A toxic culture rarely appears overnight. It deteriorates slowly when the gap widens between what’s said and what’s done. Common symptoms include:
Energy and motivation drop, even when targets are hit.
Teams stop sharing ideas and start to work in silos.
People say the right things but do the opposite.
Communication feels careful rather than open.
People disengage, presenteeism or silent quitting surface, and people leave.
Decision-making feels slow, opaque, or unfair.
Why cultures get stuck or turn toxic
Toxic culture emerges when small frustrations or unhealthy norms go unchallenged because “that’s just how we do things,” and it can’t be fixed by one-off initiatives; it takes focus, making time to listen, and following through on actions.
Inconsistent leadership when leaders say one thing, but do another.
Resistance to change and change fatigue, and people clinging to old norms.
Undefined or uneven values - interpreting what good looks like differently
Lack of psychological safety - when people fear speaking up, and problems stay hidden.
Lack of recognition and overwork - people don’t feel valued and stress and burnout are the norm.
The foundations of culture: purpose, values, behaviours
Culture grows from the alignment between why you exist (purpose), what you believe (values), and how you behave (actions). When these three are consistent, culture feels authentic and strong. When they drift apart, trust erodes.
Purpose provides meaning.
Values give direction.
Behaviours make both visible.
When people understand why the work matters, what the organisation stands for, and how they’re expected to show up each day, culture becomes coherent and self-reinforcing. Leaders shape culture most powerfully through what they reward, tolerate and ignore. Every meeting, feedback conversation and decision sends a signal.
Five practical steps to change your culture
Acknowledge and assess the problem
You can’t change what you don’t see. The first step is identifying the gap by gauging where you are now using data, dialogue and listening:
Quantitative data: turnover, eNPS, absenteeism, career progression
Qualitative insights: anonymous surveys, focus groups, exit interviews, open conversations
Observation: watching how decisions are made and how people contribute to meetings
Narratives: listen for the stories people tell — they reveal what’s truly valued.
Try a simple Culture Mapping exercise: Gather a cross-section of people.
What do we reward here?
What do we ignore or excuse?
What stories define who we are?
Map the values and behaviours you aspire to versus the reality to find the gap.
Culture change workshop
2. Define and communicate new values and expectations
Once you know where you are, re-articulate your purpose and values clearly. Show people what those values mean in their day-to-day behaviours and actions by defining them into behaviours you reward and those that you would call out - e.g. “If we value collaboration, here’s what that looks like in a meeting”.
We’ll explore this in more detail in the next article How to build a strong team culture and take a practical look at how to define your purpose, co-create values with your team, and translate them into consistent behaviours that bring culture to life.
3. Lead through example and accountability
Culture change lives or dies by what leaders do next. Policies and posters don’t shift behaviour - people do. If your team sees leaders acting one way and asking for another, trust collapses. A leader’s job in culture change is to make it safe for people to tell the truth, try new things and know they’ll be supported when they do. That’s how accountability builds trust instead of fear.
Start with visibility. Talk openly about what’s changing, why it matters, and what you’re learning along the way. Share small wins and small mistakes - when leaders model vulnerability, it gives others permission to do the same.
Accountability isn’t about being tough; it’s about being consistent. The most effective cultures make expectations clear and hold everyone to them fairly and compassionately. If a behaviour isn’t aligned with your values, address it early, directly and with curiosity.
Ask yourself:
What signals do my everyday decisions send about what really matters here?
Where might my silence be read as acceptance?
When did I last thank someone for living our values?
4. Involve and support your people
Culture isn’t built in a boardroom; it’s co-created through daily experience. The more people feel part of the journey, the stronger and more sustainable the change becomes. Involve your team in defining how values come to life. Ask them what behaviours already make the team work well, and which ones get in the way. These conversations often surface both frustration and pride, and they give people ownership of what comes next.
Support matters as much as involvement. Big shifts can be uncomfortable, so give people the tools and time to adapt. Workshops on feedback, communication or emotional intelligence help translate values into action. Recognising progress, even in small steps, builds momentum.
And never underestimate the power of care. When people feel looked after, through flexible working, realistic workloads, or a simple “how are you doing?, they find the capacity to care back.
Team exercise:
In your next team meeting, ask: What’s one small change that would make our daily experience feel more connected, fair or enjoyable?
Capture ideas, act on one quickly, and show people that their input leads to action.
Step 5 – Monitor and adapt continuously
Culture isn’t a one-off initiative, it’s a way of life and breathes every day. The organisations that sustain strong cultures don’t run an annual survey and move on; they build a rhythm of listening, learning and adjusting.
Start light-touch: short pulse surveys, quick “temperature checks” in meetings, or informal check-ins that explore how people are experiencing work, not just doing it. Look for patterns rather than perfection. Encourage leaders and managers to hold regular Culture Check-Ins with questions like:
What’s one behaviour that strengthened trust this month?
What’s one thing getting in the way of collaboration?
Where have we seen our values in action recently?
Use what you learn to build an Embed & Sustain Plan.
Identify which behaviours and rituals to reinforce, who will champion them, and how to keep them visible through change and growth. When new people join or structures shift, return to these questions; they’ll help you recalibrate rather than start again.
Reflection for Leaders
Ask yourself:
What parts of your organisation’s culture bring you pride?
Where do you see small inconsistencies between what’s said and what’s done?
How might your own habits be reinforcing the old culture or shaping the new one?
Who on your team might have insight you haven’t heard yet?
What’s one conversation about culture you could start this week?
Culture evolves whether you guide it or not. Left unattended, it can drift or decay. But when you treat it as the living system it is, anchored in purpose, co-created with your people, and reinforced through daily habits, you create a workplace where people feel safe, connected, and proud to stay.
In the next article in this series, we’ll look at how to build a strong team culture, moving from purpose to values to the everyday behaviours that bring them to life.
Would you like help to change your culture?
Please get in touch with Polly to explore how Growth Space can help with Culture Change >
