What Truth Is Your Culture Telling?

I was sitting with a CEO once who kept insisting his people were “fine.” The numbers were decent, the turnover wasn’t catastrophic, and the town halls were quiet. But every time he spoke about his team, something in the room felt off. Not broken. Not dramatic. Just… muted.

So I asked him a simple question:
“What truth is your culture telling that your metrics aren’t?”

He paused, and that pause told me everything. Because culture speaks long before people do, and it speaks louder than any dashboard you’re reviewing at 6 a.m. before your leadership meeting.

Culture reveals the truth through tone. Through silence. Through who speaks up and who never does. Through how decisions get made. Through what people defend… and what they quietly tolerate.

And here’s what most leaders forget:
Your culture is telling the truth about you.
About what you value.
About what you allow.
About what you avoid.
About what you reward.
About what you ignore.

Metrics might tell you what happened.
Culture tells you why it happened.

When leaders finally stop looking for the “right” culture and start listening to the truthful one, clarity arrives. And with it, responsibility. Because culture rarely lies. It simply reveals where the organization is aligned, where it’s drifting, and where a leader’s shadow is shaping far more than their strategy.

If you want to change culture, begin by listening to it. Not the glossy version. The real one. The one people feel in their bodies when they walk into a room.

Because culture doesn’t whisper.
Culture tells the truth—whether we’re ready for it or not.

If this resonates and you want the full roadmap to building a strong, intentional, unshakeable culture, explore my new book, The Making of a Strong Culture: Intentional Organizations