Imagine you are sitting in a small meeting. A new senior leader has recently joined the organisation to take responsibility for a significant part of the business. The organisation has clear values. Respect matters, and Bullying is unacceptable. The policies are unambiguous. People have been trained.

We had the pleasure of launching our White paper titled: ‘Culture as a Performance System’ at the City HR Association roundtable in March 2026, where the discussion focused on a familiar challenge for many leadership teams.

When leaders talk about performance, the conversation often centers on strategy, targets, incentives, and structure. All important. Yet between intention and outcome sits culture.