Eliminate Culture Filters: Turning Leaders into True Believers

In last week’s article, we uncovered a hard truth: your culture isn’t what you say it is—it’s what your people experience. And that experience is shaped first and foremost by your leaders.

So why might your leaders be filtering out the culture? It could be that they don’t know how to demonstrate the culture, or it could be that their own belief in the culture is weak. Today we will deal with the second one.

If your leaders don’t believe in the culture, they won’t model it. If they don’t model it, your employees won’t live it. That's the reality.?

So, how do you bridge the gap? How do you ensure your leadership team is sharing the message that you want them to share?

You start by making them true believers.

This is where most culture initiatives fail. Companies roll out new values, mission statements, and cultural priorities in a fancy PowerPoint or a high-energy town hall, expecting middle and frontline leaders to fall in line. But here’s the problem—leaders don’t buy in just because they’re told to.? They buy in when culture connects with them personally, when they see the value for themselves and their teams.

Let’s look at how to make that happen.

1. Show Them the “Why” (That they care about)

Leaders are busy. They’re managing teams, hitting targets, putting out fires. If they see culture as just another corporate mandate, it will become something that they figure out how to work around to get to what they see as the truly important things.

Instead, connect culture to their world. Show them:

? How this culture will make their teams better,

? How it will help them hit their performance goals and make their bonuses.

? How it will make their own leadership role easier and more fulfilling?

Culture can’t be an abstract concept. It has to solve real problems that leaders face every day. If they don’t see the direct impact on their own journeys (there’s that word again), they won’t be invested.

Example: If you want a culture of innovation, don’t just say, “We value creativity and out of the box thinking.” Show leaders how fostering innovation will reduce burnout, improve problem-solving, and help them deliver better results faster.

2. Make It Personal

You can’t sell culture to leaders in a one-size-fits-all way. Each leader is on their own journey.? Each of them has their own set of experiences, motivations, and goals. The trick is to meet them where they are at. For example:

? Some leaders are motivated by business impact—show them the data.

? Some are driven by personal growth—connect culture to leadership development.

? Some care most about team success—demonstrate how culture improves retention and morale.

Take the time to talk to each of your leaders individually. Find out what makes them tick, then help them connect the dots.

Example: A leader who’s struggling with high turnover will be far more receptive to a culture shift if you can show them how the culture can reduce attrition.

3. Give Them Ownership

Nobody fully buys into something they feel they had no say in. Leaders need to feel like culture isn’t just handed down to them, instead it’s something they have a role in shaping.

Here’s how to give them that sense of ownership:

? Involve them early. Get their input before rolling out cultural initiatives.

? Encourage discussion. Let them ask questions, safely challenge ideas, and help develop a communication strategy.

? Encourage them to personalize it. Give them the flexibility to apply cultural values in a way that fits their teams.

Example: If your culture prioritizes psychological safety, don’t give your leaders set in stone implementation plans? and scripts.? Instead, give them guidelines and boundaries and let them experiment with different ways to create open, trusting team environments.

4. Model It from the Top (No Exceptions)

Nothing kills culture faster than leaders who don’t practice what they preach. If executives talk about trust and transparency but operate with secrecy and micromanagement, no leader (let alone employees) will take the culture seriously.

Culture starts at the highest levels of leadership. That means:

? No hypocrisy.

? No one culture for executives, one for everyone else

? No cultural values that conveniently disappear when results are on the line (in my experience, this is a big one).

Leaders further down the chain will buy in when they see top executives walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

5. Reinforce It with Recognition and Rewards

Want leaders to adopt culture? Make it matter.

Most leaders are measured on performance metrics—revenue, efficiency, productivity, etc. But what about cultural leadership?

? Are leaders recognized for developing their teams?

? Are they rewarded for driving engagement and innovation?

? Are they held accountable when their behaviors contradict company values?

If culture is just a “nice to have” with no real consequences, it won’t stick. Build it into performance reviews (if you must have them), promotion decisions, recognition, and incentives. Make culture a priority—not an afterthought.

Bottom Line: Leaders Can’t Sell What They Don’t Believe In

If you want your culture to thrive, start with your leaders. They must be true believers before they can inspire others.

Next week, we’ll talk about the second step: helping leaders effectively model and communicate culture to their teams in a way that works.

Until then—how have you successfully gotten leaders to buy into your company’s culture? Share your thoughts in the comments!