MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Building Culture From the Middle Out

Midlevel leaders are critical to fostering an organizational culture that’s healthy and vibrant.

We have asked thousands of executives from around the world the same simple question: “Who is responsible for culture in your organization?” Hands go up and, almost to a person, the response is, “Everyone.”

We then ask a follow-up: “If everyone is responsible for culture in your organization, what do you do to manage it?”

Hands go down. Gazes divert. The most common answers are uninspiring: “Keep an open-door policy.” “Provide good performance reviews.” “Check in with employees.” While each of these actions may be helpful, not one is specific to culture. They are simply generic management habits — that is, none are practices specific to translating a company’s unique set of values into a lived experience for the people who work there.

About the Author

Spencer Harrison is a professor of organizational behavior at Insead. Kristie Rogers is an associate professor in management at the College of Business Administration at Marquette University and an associate editor at Academy of Management Review. The authors contributed equally to this article and are listed in alphabetical order.

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