Episode 4: De-risking cultural change: my approach to transforming your organization
Published on 12 November 2024 • Hosted by Dr Lisa Colledge
In many organizations, cultural change is treated as a daunting — and risky — endeavour. Leaders worry about disruption, resistance, and unintended consequences. Yet at the same time, culture is increasingly recognized as critical to long-term performance, adaptability, and resilience.
In this episode of Culture by Neurodesign, I share how I approach cultural change in a way that makes it manageable, deliberate, and far less risky than it’s often assumed to be.
I often compare cultural transformation to launching a new product. There is uncertainty, of course — but with the right direction, sequence and feedback loops, it’s no more risky than any other significant organizational initiative. The risk comes not from attempting change, but from approaching it in an unstructured or overly abstract way.
In the episode, I explore the four elements that consistently underpin successful cultural change initiatives, drawn from both the literature and my own experience working inside complex organizations:
Visible and sustained leadership engagement.
A shared sense of purpose that people can connect to.
Deliberate upskilling, so people are able to work in new ways.
Alignment between processes, incentives, and desired behaviors.
These elements create the conditions in which change can take root — not as a one-off programme, but as an evolving capability.
I also share three additional strategies that I’ve found make a material difference in practice, but are discussed less often:
Working with internal influencers rather than relying solely on hierarchy.
Adopting an agile, experimental mindset that allows learning to emerge over time.
Involving employees directly in shaping the change, rather than treating them as recipients.
Together, these approaches help embed change more deeply and sustainably, reducing reliance on heroics or constant top-down pressure.
Cultural change doesn’t need to be a leap of faith. It’s a skill set. And like any skill, it can be learned, practised, and strengthened over time.
➡️ If you’re navigating or considering cultural change right now and want a space to think it through, you’re welcome to get in touch. I’m always happy to explore what you’re seeing and whether my work might be useful in your context.
