In leadership, too often we treat «culture» as a collection of aspirational values etched onto glass walls or printed in employee handbooks. We talk about innovation, integrity, and excellence. However, culture is not actually defined by what we celebrate; it is defined by the worst behaviors we tolerate.
True leadership is not found in the high-reaching speeches, but in the difficult conversations that happen when standards aren’t met. When a high-performer is allowed to be toxic, or when a missed deadline is met with a shrug, a new «rule» is written into the company’s DNA. To build a resilient organization, leaders must understand how culture refracts through five critical layers: Purpose, rules, identity, safety, and measures.
1. Purpose: The «Why» behind the actions
Every culture begins with Purpose, which defines why an organization does what it does. This is the heartbeat of the company. However, when a leader tolerates behaviors that contradict this purpose, the heartbeat falters.
If your purpose is «Customer Obsession» but you tolerate a culture where support tickets are ignored or treated with cynicism, the purpose becomes a parody. The gap between what you say you value and what you allow to happen creates a «cynicism tax» that slows down every operation.
2. Rules: The spectrum of the permissible
The Rules of an organization are rarely just the ones found in the HR manual; they are the lived realities of what is expected or permissible.
If the official rule is «transparency» but the worst behavior tolerated is «gatekeeping information for power,» the real rule becomes gatekeeping. Employees are highly attuned to these contradictions. They don’t look at the posters on the wall to decide how to act; they look at what their managers ignore. When you fail to address a breach of standards, you are essentially issuing a new, unwritten rule that says, «This behavior is actually acceptable here.»
3. Identity: Who we are in relation to others
Identity defines how employees see themselves and their colleagues. A healthy culture fosters an identity of collaboration and mutual respect. But when leaders tolerate «brilliant jerks»—individuals who deliver results but destroy team morale—the identity of the company shifts.
The organization ceases to be a «team» and becomes a «collection of mercenaries.» If the worst behavior you tolerate is internal competition at the expense of others, your company’s identity will eventually be defined by silos and distrust.
4. Safety: How we help each other succeed
Psychological Safety is the bedrock of high-performing teams; it is the measure of how we help each other succeed. Safety is fragile. It is destroyed when leaders tolerate «blame-shifting» or the «punishment of honest mistakes.»
In a culture where the worst tolerated behavior is «public shaming,» safety evaporates. Without safety, there is no innovation, because no one is willing to take the risk of failing. Helping each other succeed requires the assurance that if someone falls, the team will help them up, rather than stepping over them.
5. Measures: What we value and pay attention to
Finally, culture is solidified by Measures—the things an organization values and pays attention to. As the saying goes, «What gets measured gets managed.» If you measure only revenue but ignore the «cost of turnover» or «employee burnout,» you are signaling that those human costs don’t matter.
If the worst behavior you tolerate is «hitting the numbers at any cost,» you are measuring results while ignoring the rot. A true leader measures not just the output, but the way the output was achieved.
The executive’s refraction point
I hope this PRISM-article serves as a reminder that culture is like light passing through glass. As a leader, you are that glass. If you are clouded by a willingness to overlook «small» infractions, the light that comes out the other side—your culture—will be distorted.
To fix a culture, you don’t start by writing a new mission statement. You start by identifying the worst behavior currently being ignored and addressing it with clarity and firmness.
Standard-setting is a daily act. It happens in the 1-on-1s, the Slack channels, and the All Hands meetings. When you stop tolerating the behaviors that undermine your values, you begin the real work of building a culture that lasts.
DREIESKIVA|Roald Kvam 
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