Walking the Talk: Embedding Organisational Culture On and Off the Field
At Explore Performance, many of the programmes we run are centred around one big challenge: how to help corporate teams define, introduce and truly embed their culture across the organisation.
It sounds straightforward on paper, but in reality, it’s anything but. Every company talks about culture. Most have it written on posters, painted on office walls, or hidden in a slide deck somewhere. The real question is: does anyone actually live it?
Culture Starts at the Top
One thing we’ve seen time and time again is that culture simply doesn’t stick if it doesn’t start at the top. Leaders can’t just talk about values—they need to show them in action, day in and day out.
Good behaviours and habits flow downhill. If leaders don’t model the culture, the rest of the organisation won’t follow. It’s as simple as that.
As the Harvard Professional Development blog puts it, employees look more closely at what leaders actually do than at what they say. When actions and words don’t match, culture collapses.
That’s why, at Explore Performance, we often remind leaders that what they do speaks much louder than what they say.
Walking the Talk Ourselves
This belief doesn’t just apply to our client work—it’s something my wife and I try to live out in our own lives too. Every week, we coach a group of kids in touch rugby here in Phuket. It’s one of the highlights of our week.
With kids, just like in companies, culture doesn’t take care of itself. There are always new players joining, and if we don’t keep reinforcing the values we want to see, those behaviours can quickly drift.
That’s why we created our very own “culture on a page” for the team. Nothing fancy—just three simple values, printed out so we can bring them to training sessions and remind the players, old and new, what we stand for.
Our Three Core Values
- Competitiveness – We play and train with a competitive spirit.
- Respect – We respect each other, the officials, and our opponents on and off the field.
- Fun – We have lots of fun, not by messing around, but by training hard, playing together, and competing as a team.
The kids respond so well to this. They know exactly what’s expected of them, and they start holding each other accountable too. And, just like in business, it only works if the coaches (that’s us!) consistently role-model the values ourselves.
Lessons for Leaders in Business
So what does a kids’ rugby team in Phuket have to do with corporate culture? Quite a lot, actually.
- Culture needs to be simple. Three values are easier to remember than a paragraph of vague statements.
- It needs to be visible. Printing it out and bringing it to every session works far better than leaving it in a document no one reads.
- It needs to be lived. As Harvard notes, even small lapses in leadership behaviour send powerful signals. Consistency matters more than grand speeches.
Whether you’re leading a global team or coaching nine-year-olds on a rugby pitch, the principle is the same: culture only comes alive when it’s modelled consistently.
Final Thoughts
At Explore Performance, we believe culture isn’t about slogans—it’s about daily behaviours. Leaders who walk the talk give their teams the best chance to align behind shared values and perform at their best.
And as we’ve learned with our young rugby players, when culture is clear, visible and lived out, it creates an environment where everyone can thrive—on the field and in the boardroom.
Whether you’re leading a global team or coaching nine-year-olds on a rugby pitch, the principle is the same: culture only comes alive when it’s modelled consistently.
👉 If you’d like to explore how we help leaders embed culture through leadership programmes or develop the Explorer Mindset in your teams, we’d love to connect.
