AI should not be seen as a plug-and-play solution but as a magnifier of the current culture. If an organization struggles with trust, communication, or judgment, AI will amplify those weaknesses rather than solve them.
Culture is an emergent outcome of underlying organizational conditions. To change it, leaders must modify the environment, processes, and reward systems that shape employee beliefs and behaviors. The culture will then shift as a natural consequence.
Leadership only emerges when the organizational system supports judgment, accountability, and influence. Instead of trying to 'fix' individual leaders, companies should focus on shaping the environmental conditions that allow effective leadership to function.
Alignment is not about forcing everyone to think alike ('sameness'). Instead, a leader's role is to cultivate a shared purpose ('shared meaning'). This allows diverse perspectives to become assets that improve decisions rather than sources of friction.
Instead of blaming individuals for errors, leaders should analyze the systemic conditions that led to the mistake. Error isn't random; it's a patterned outcome. This shifts the focus from 'fixing people' to designing more resilient systems.
When implementing new processes to prevent errors, the new way of working must be demonstrably easier than the old one. If it adds complexity, employees will inevitably revert to the path of least resistance, negating the change.
A growing number of talented individuals are avoiding leadership positions. This isn't due to a lack of capability, but because the roles come with immense pressure and accountability, often without the necessary environmental support from the organization to succeed.
While Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure past results, Cultural Performance Indicators (CPIs) like 'trust flow' or 'decision latency' quantify the human conditions that predict future outcomes. Paired together, they provide a complete view of systemic health.
When a new leader joins, the immediate pressure is to deliver results. However, the most effective first step is to 'wander'—to observe, listen, and deeply understand the existing environment and power dynamics before trying to implement change.