There is a debate in leadership circles about who owns culture. A 2021 Harvard Business Review article by Denise Lee Yohn argued that company culture is everyone’s responsibility. She is right. And yet, leadership matters enormously in setting the conditions that allow a healthy culture to take root and grow.

What Is Culture, Anyway?

Edgar Schein, the MIT professor whose work remains the foundation of how we understand organizational culture, described it as the shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that a group develops over time as it learns to solve problems. In plain terms: culture is not the mission statement on the wall. It is not the free snacks in the break room. Culture is what happens when no one is watching. It is how decisions get made, how people treat each other, and what gets celebrated or ignored.

Culture is built over time by everyone in the organization. That means leadership cannot dictate it. But leadership can nudge it. Leadership can name it, model it, and create the conditions for it to strengthen.

My First Week

I started my new CEO role with culture on my mind. Not to impose something new, but to understand what already existed and to signal clearly what I value.

My all-staff introduction, which I wrote about in my last post, was my first opportunity to do that. I named the values I believe in: learning, constant improvement, celebration, and caring. I shared personal stories because I wanted the team to see me as a human being, not just a title, and I want to be approachable.

The week (my second) started with a staff retreat. Getting it ready was a sprint. But it was worth it. I was intentional in its design. The agenda prioritized cross-division collaboration, which breaks down silos. It created space for staff to get to know each other as people, not just colleagues, which builds trust. And it gave staff at all levels a voice in defining what they need from each other. That last piece matters a great deal to me. Building a leadership muscle is not something that happens only in the executive suite. It happens when people at every level are given real responsibility and real voice.

I also met with my directors. They are middle management, and they are often where culture either holds or breaks down. What I found was a group full of ideas, who are engaged and thoughtful. That meeting was another chance for me to demonstrate that I value leadership at all levels.

What I Am Learning

I am still reading this organization’s culture. It takes time. But early signals are encouraging. The values I named in that first introduction seem to already live here. The people I have met are curious, collaborative, and committed. That matters more than I can say.

It is much easier to step into an organization whose culture already aligns with your own values. When you have to change culture as a leader, the work is long and hard, because culture is not yours to change unilaterally. You can name it. You can model it. You can reward the behaviors that reflect it. But ultimately, culture belongs to the people who live it every day.

My job is to make the good things more visible, so the people here can build them stronger.