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In this crazy Trump world, are you reacting fast enough to external change?

  • Writer: John Crossan
    John Crossan
  • May 19
  • 3 min read

Cultural agility is one of the biggest hidden barriers to building a fit-for-purpose culture, yet it’s surprisingly simple to get right. Organisations (and leaders) sometimes find adapting to new ways of working and changing circumstances very challenging, and this is reflected in their strategy.  However, in today’s constantly changing world, while everything and everybody around them moves fast, their strategy remains stuck. 

 

In some ways, a strategy not adapting quickly enough is understandable. Leadership teams invest time, energy, and goodwill in creating a bold strategy. It fits, but for the world as it was. Then the market shifts, technology evolves, and societal expectations move on. And instead of adapting the strategy, they cling on, hoping small tweaks will be enough, when the actual reality is, a change in organisational mindsets to encourage agile ways of working would be the best place to focus.   



A shift in cultural barriers

 At Culture Impact, we are reviving our research into the alignment of Strategy and Culture.  In 2017, we commissioned our research paper “Does your culture support your strategy?”, which identified ‘changing business strategy to evolving market conditions’ as the least problematic cultural barrier. However, with world leaders and rising levels of innovation inflicting rapid change across the world, we questioned – is this still the case?  

 

With the hypothesis that this will be a lot higher in the cultural barrier rankings, we are seeking responses to our 2025 survey, which you can start below, to help inform our updated research and insights into the cultural barriers that organisations need to overcome to unlock strategic success.  

 

The common reasons leaders struggle to manage culture in ever-changing times  

 

Leading culture under these conditions is tough for three main reasons. 

 

  1. They’re using an outdated strategy  

If an organisation has already gone to the trouble of designing a culture to deliver its strategy, it’s gone further than most (and deserves credit). But when the strategy becomes outdated, so does the target culture. Pressing ahead with culture initiatives that no longer serve the business may still feel good, but they won’t move the dial. 

 
  1. The culture isn’t evolving with the strategy  

If strategy is being adapted, great! But the culture must evolve too. During the pandemic, we saw supply chain strategies shift from ‘just in time’ to ‘just in case’; innovation move from long R&D cycles to rapid prototyping. These changes worked, not by accident, but because they were underpinned by new behaviours, symbols and systems – the channels that create culture. Just a few examples of modified ways of working that turned cultural aspirations into a reality, include: 

 

  • Leaders role-modelling vulnerability and psychological safety, enabling people to flag risks early (behaviours). 

  • ‘Ask me anything’ sessions and the celebration of learning mindset role models, to build openness and curiosity (symbols). 

  • Real-time dashboards for agility, and internal talent marketplaces to redeploy skills fast (systems). 

 

  1. Confusing culture and climate  

Many leaders get the two mixed up. Climate, the organisational mood, is what you can track through your engagement surveys. It can change quickly. Culture doesn’t. If external change is impacting climate, that’s a great early warning system. You’ll learn how people feel, but you won’t learn why. Reacting to climate without a cultural lens can leave you exhausted from chasing symptom after symptom, without understanding the cause. This will undermine longer-term efforts. 

 

So, where do you start in a world that keeps shifting? 

 

The answer, in part, lies in leadership. Leaders need to move, to shift mindsets and behaviours relating to change, and how they model adaptability. When leadership resists change, organisations slow down too. And slowness can be risk. 

 

The paradox? Tackling organisational inertia starts with leaders slowing down. Taking time to pause, reflect, and ask: 

  • What’s changing in the world around us? 

  • How might it impact our customers, our people, our purpose? 

  • Should our strategy change and, if so, what culture will enable us to deliver it? 

 

Culture isn’t a one-off design project. It’s living and breathing, shaped by internal and external forces. If leadership doesn’t listen, scan, and adapt, culture efforts stall. Worse, they risk becoming performative. 

 

The leaders we see thriving in uncertainty are those who adapt, not reactively, but thoughtfully. They build cultures that thrive in change, not in spite of it. 

 

What’s shifting outside your organisation right now that you haven’t yet adapted for? 

We’d love for your voice to be included in our 2025 survey! This is a great chance to reflect on your strategy, barriers to success, and cultural focuses, and be the first on the list to receive the actionable insights from our 2025 report later in the year! 



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