Our guest, Theo Papadopoulos, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Bank of Valletta plc, is the ideal person to explore what culture is and what culture change truly requires. Alongside his banking expertise, Theo is also a certified professional leadership coach, bringing a unique perspective to the discussion.

In this episode, we dive into Theo’s favourite topic—the importance of human skills and cultural competence among the C-suite, as well as the pressing need to foster an adaptable, collaborative mindset within the workforce. Theo offers invaluable insights into why change—whether personal, professional, or cultural—is challenging yet rewarding.

Key take aways

Behaviour, impact, output

Leaders impact people, their well-being, and their professional futures through their everyday actions. It is critical to understand the footprint leaders leave on others; to always remember how your behaviour impacts others, as this influence defines the outputs that ultimately drive financial results.

Ultimately, leadership is about taking people to places they have not been; it is about fostering the personal growth of others.

Leading people is not about pleasing them. Leadership is about being honest regarding an individual’s performance, and it often takes both the leader and the receiver of feedback into a zone of discomfort.

To be at the service of others does not come naturally to many. Therefore, leaders must work hard on themselves before they can truly serve others.

Why build culture

Culture, as a concept, does not exist without people. The first question for leaders to ask is: considering where I want to take this company, what kind of workforce do I need? One that innovates? One that just executes? Leaders must have a clear vision of the shared values, beliefs, and collective mindsets that influence how people work, interact, make decisions, and execute them.

The goal and benefit of building a good culture are simple: if you create a work environment that values people and supports their professional growth, they will be more willing to align with what we want to achieve and go the extra mile to reach goals.

If leaders fail to strike the right balance between focusing on financial performance and culture, it will ultimately cost the business.

Why change is hard for people and companies

People are wired to seek comfort, which stems from habits and stability.

Both individuals and organisations suffer from a “wish-commit” gap. It is easy to embrace the idea of becoming a better version of ourselves or creating a better work culture. However, it becomes much harder when it is time to turn that wish into an actionable plan. It takes significant effort to identify exactly what needs to change in our thinking and actions, to unlearn what must be left behind, and to learn, step by step, what will replace it. The further you go in this process, the greater the discomfort.

Individually, changing the lenses through which we interpret the world is one of the hardest things to do. Organisationally, change is a collective effort, and everyone must own it. It is the collective nature of change that makes it so challenging.

What does it take to change

“No gain without pain” is a cliché, yet it holds true. What is the pain, then?

Change does not happen without honest self-reflection, and this is hard work. Not everyone is open to it. People, especially leaders, often feel trapped if they let their current position define them, rather than the other way around.

Leaders also need to create a space for others to go through the same process: to understand where the gaps lie between organisational goals and individual behavioural performance, and why those gaps exist.

You have to give up something to gain something. If we are not clear about what needs to be given up, the steps towards something different or better will not happen.

Change always comes with an element of grief. It means letting go of a part of your identity. Culture change requires both leaders and employees to be open to evolving their professional identities.

Finally, change happens in small steps, requires consistency, and takes time.
The good news is that change is for everyone who is willing to sacrifice, face fear, and fail.

To err is human

Any change, including cultural change, is hard because being human means making mistakes, and change never happens without failures.

Error tolerance and seeing failures as learning experiences are prerequisites for change and innovation.

The lower the error tolerance in an organisation’s culture, the harder it is for people to evolve professionally and for the company to respond to external changes.

Motivations to change

In the corporate context, the challenge lies in walking in the shoes of others to articulate what’s in it for them.

Interestingly, if you are not open about the current problems that negatively impact the emotional climate or hinder work from being done effectively—i.e., the issues the change seeks to address—it becomes difficult to make a compelling case.

The point is that the sustainable reasons for cultural change, on a personal level, are rarely financial. They are about addressing the problems most people experience in their daily work. Remember, people love the idea of being part of something that makes things better.

“He who has not the spirit of this age has all the misery of it”

As Voltaire said, to lead change, you have to be part of it; you cannot stand against it. The most self-serving approach is to cling to the past and resist change.

As a leader, you must embrace the evolution of the values of society and people. You need to decide which side you want to be on: the side of the past or the future.

Culture is the strategy

Strategy might look impressive in a PowerPoint presentation, with compelling long-term projections. But without culture, it’s nothing more than a fantasy.

A brilliant strategy is meaningless without the right mindset, behaviours, and environment to bring it to life. Culture ensures that strategy is understood and acted upon. Without culture, execution is doomed to fail.

Culture is not only a strategic topic but also an essential leadership competence. It helps maintain the relevance of both leaders and the companies they work for.