Modern workplace culture can be compared to the way our prehistoric ancestors set themselves up for survival. Back then, survival depended on teamwork, shared understanding, and the capacity to collaborate for a common objective–whether it was gathering food, protecting territory, or surviving severe weather.
It might sound a bit dramatic to compare the survival of early humans in a hostile environment with employees navigating the modern workplace, but the dynamics aren’t really so different. In fact, some of the best workplace TV shows—The Office, Parks and Recreation, and one of my favorite quirky movies, Office Space, play on this very idea: the all-too-true story of awkward, messy, and very human attempts of a group of strangers to form a team (or silos) for their own survival or gain.
The key difference is that ancient clans were often bound by family ties, while in corporate life people are thrown together and expected to act like a unified tribe. Without a leader who intentionally builds a great culture—and employees who share a vision of who they are as a group, bonded by the company’s mission—unity remains fragile and often unattainable. Social scientists define culture in a society as:
“Patterns of behavior, explicit and implicit, acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups… the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and their attached values.”
—Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952
When we apply that definition to the workplace, we get a clearer, more strategic view of organizational culture.
Patterns of Behavior: “How We Really Work Together”
Anthropology defines culture as a set of learned and shared behavioral patterns. Organizational rules are the official guidelines for how people solve problems, cooperate, and decide. They are not just the procedures in your organization's handbook. They are the lived reality of the day-to-day lives at work of the employees that also shape a subculture. Subcultures are created when you put your employees in a double-bind.
Journey to Excellence Insight:
Leaders shape behavioral patterns. Your own daily conduct must exemplify excellence if you want it in your culture.
Symbols and Artefacts: The Signals of What Counts
Carriers of culture within a society include artifacts and symbols that bind a group together, according to anthropologists. In business, that could be an office layout, rewards programs, the corporate logo, acronyms for reports (such as the "TPS report" in Office Space), or even the language and tone employed in internal emails. These features expose what your organization really values.
Journey to Excellence Insight
Align your symbols with your stated values. If you preach teamwork but reward only individual achievement, employees will believe the incentives, not the symbols or the values they are supposed to align with.
Core Values & Beliefs: The True North of the Organization
At the heart of culture are the mission, values, and beliefs that guide a group. In organizations, these are the compass for decision-making—whether they’re posted on a wall, the company website, or quietly enforced.
Journey to Excellence Insight
Undefined mission, values, and beliefs allow employees to drift toward convenience and easy shortcuts over excellence. Define them, live them, and reinforce them until they become second nature.
Transmission of Culture: Onboarding, Mentoring, and Stories
In human societies, culture is also passed down through teaching, imitation, and storytelling. In organizations, it’s through hiring, onboarding, leadership modeling, and the stories employees tell others about “how things are done here" through their actions.
Journey to Excellence Insight
Be intentional about every new hire, onboarding experience, leader’s example, and company story. They should consistently reinforce the culture you want.
Explicit & Implicit Rules: The Written and Unwritten Playbook
Anthropologists recognize that explicit rules (laws, codes) and implicit rules (social expectations) are part of a group's culture. The same applies in business.
Journey to Excellence Insight
There are always two cultures in every organization. Pay attention to the unwritten rules and actions as they often reveal the real culture—how things really get done—more than formal policies do.
Why This Matters to You
Organizational culture isn’t just a soft leadership concept. It impacts your measurable KPIs. It also determines:
- How quickly your organization can adapt to change.
- The level of engagement of your people.
- Whether your organization can sustain high performance.
As the leader of your organization, you don’t just influence culture—you intentionally need to set it, model it, and guard it. And when you do, you will transform your organization from a group of unrelated individuals into a unified, high-performing tribe that can help future-proof your organization.
