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In most organizations, the managerial culture has evolved without ever being clearly defined. Each manager has developed their own way of working, influenced by their experience and context. As long as teams operate in similar ways, this does not pose any obvious problems. But when management styles diverge, inconsistencies quickly emerge.
In some teams, decisions are made quickly and responsibilities are clearly defined. In others, priorities remain unclear and trade-offs take time to resolve. These differences become particularly apparent when the company grows, undergoes a transformation, or hires new managers.
Defining a managerial culture means establishing common guidelines for decision-making, setting priorities, and supporting teams. But defining it is not enough: it must also be made tangible for managers and embedded in day-to-day practices.
In many companies, the management culture is described in terms of stated values: trust, autonomy, and accountability. However, it is rarely these stated intentions that actually shape management practices.
Managerial culture is first and foremost reflected in concrete behaviors: the way decisions are made, the way managers set priorities, and the role given to teams in problem-solving. Understanding these practices allows us to start from the reality on the ground rather than from a theoretical model.
Observing how managers work on a day-to-day basis often reveals discrepancies between their stated intentions and their actual practices. How are decisions made? Are priorities discussed with the teams, or are they decided solely at the managerial level? Do managers allow room for initiative, or do they systematically take control of decision-making?
At an industrial company, management wanted to increase the teams’ autonomy. However, observations of steering committee meetings showed that the majority of decisions remained concentrated at the managerial level. The teams proposed solutions, but final decisions were systematically escalated upward. This disconnect between intention and actual practice served as the starting point for transforming the management culture.
Once existing practices have been identified, the challenge is to define the managerial principles that should underpin the strategy. An organization that prioritizes rapid innovation does not have the same managerial expectations as one whose priority is operational reliability. In the former, autonomy and experimentation take precedence. In the latter, coordination and rigorous processes are essential.
At a technology company facing short innovation cycles, management chose to center its managerial culture on experimentation and taking initiative. Managers were encouraged to embrace phases of testing and learning rather than seeking perfect results right away.
These principles provide clear direction. They also define the type of leadership expected within the organization—that is, the way managers make decisions, engage their teams, and embody the strategy—a topic we explore in greater depth in our article on what leadership is. However, they remain abstract until they are translated into concrete guidelines for managers.
When the management culture remains implicit, each manager interprets expectations in their own way. Some favor autonomy, while others retain control over decisions. These discrepancies accumulate and create visible inconsistencies, particularly for employees who switch teams or for new managers who arrive without clear guidelines.
Concepts such as “trust,” “cooperation,” and “empowerment” remain abstract unless they are translated into observable behaviors. Encouraging autonomy, for example, can be broken down into specific practices:
In a service company, the principle of accountability has been translated into a simple rule: every project must have a clearly identified project leader who is capable of making operational decisions without requiring systematic approval from a manager. These types of guidelines help managers turn general intentions into concrete practices.
To align practices across the organization, some companies formalize these principles in a management framework. This document is not intended to impose a single style, but rather to define common guidelines: how to set goals, provide feedback, conduct meetings, and manage group decisions.
In a rapidly growing organization, this type of framework has helped new managers get up to speed more quickly. Rather than learning solely by observation, they had a clear framework for understanding what was expected of them. The framework thus becomes a tool for alignment, not a procedures manual.
Defining and formalizing the managerial culture creates a framework. But this framework only comes to life through day-to-day practices.
A managerial culture is not conveyed solely through documents or presentations. It is built in the workplace: in the way meetings are conducted, feedback is given, or collective decisions are made. For this reason, the main challenge is to integrate these principles into management practices and rituals.
Managers rarely develop their skills solely through theoretical training. Managing conflict, prioritizing tasks, or supporting an employee who is struggling are situations that require hands-on practice. Targeted training, co-development workshops, and role-playing exercises based on real-life scenarios allow managers to hone these skills in conditions that closely resemble real-world situations.
In a consulting firm, managers regularly participate in co-development sessions. During these sessions, each manager presents a complex managerial situation they have encountered in their team. The other participants offer insights and suggestions for action. These discussions help generate more robust solutions than a manager would have come up with on their own.
One-on-one meetings, team meetings, feedback sessions, and collective decision-making are the settings where managerial culture truly comes to life. It is these regular practices that make the difference between a culture that is merely proclaimed and one that is actually lived out. Feedback, in particular, plays a pivotal role in this dynamic: it helps align expectations, regulate practices, and bring the managerial culture to life in everyday work, as detailed in our article on feedback in management.
At a service company, team meetings have been redesigned to give employees more opportunities to contribute. Rather than being limited to top-down information sharing, the meetings now include time set aside for suggestions for improvement. It’s a simple change, but one that has tangibly altered managers’ approach during these meetings.
It is this consistency between stated principles and day-to-day practices that determines whether a managerial culture is truly embedded in the organization.
Managerial culture is not limited to a set of stated values. It manifests itself in everyday practices: the way decisions are made, priorities are clarified, and teams are supported. Defining it , formalizing it, and embedding it in daily life are three distinct steps. But they only make sense if they follow one another: a principle without concrete guidelines remains merely an intention, and concrete guidelines without consistent practice remain just a document. What makes a managerial culture strong is not the quality of the guidelines themselves. It is the consistency between what is written and what actually happens within the teams.
In most organizations, the managerial culture has evolved without ever being clearly defined. Each manager has developed their own way of working, influenced by their experience and context. As long as teams operate in similar ways, this does not pose any obvious problems. But when management styles diverge, inconsistencies quickly emerge.
In some teams, decisions are made quickly and responsibilities are clearly defined. In others, priorities remain unclear and trade-offs take time to resolve. These differences become particularly apparent when the company grows, undergoes a transformation, or hires new managers.
Defining a managerial culture means establishing common guidelines for decision-making, setting priorities, and supporting teams. But defining it is not enough: it must also be made tangible for managers and embedded in day-to-day practices.
In many companies, the management culture is described in terms of stated values: trust, autonomy, and accountability. However, it is rarely these stated intentions that actually shape management practices.
Managerial culture is first and foremost reflected in concrete behaviors: the way decisions are made, the way managers set priorities, and the role given to teams in problem-solving. Understanding these practices allows us to start from the reality on the ground rather than from a theoretical model.
Observing how managers work on a day-to-day basis often reveals discrepancies between their stated intentions and their actual practices. How are decisions made? Are priorities discussed with the teams, or are they decided solely at the managerial level? Do managers allow room for initiative, or do they systematically take control of decision-making?
At an industrial company, management wanted to increase the teams’ autonomy. However, observations of steering committee meetings showed that the majority of decisions remained concentrated at the managerial level. The teams proposed solutions, but final decisions were systematically escalated upward. This disconnect between intention and actual practice served as the starting point for transforming the management culture.
Once existing practices have been identified, the challenge is to define the managerial principles that should underpin the strategy. An organization that prioritizes rapid innovation does not have the same managerial expectations as one whose priority is operational reliability. In the former, autonomy and experimentation take precedence. In the latter, coordination and rigorous processes are essential.
At a technology company facing short innovation cycles, management chose to center its managerial culture on experimentation and taking initiative. Managers were encouraged to embrace phases of testing and learning rather than seeking perfect results right away.
These principles provide clear direction. They also define the type of leadership expected within the organization—that is, the way managers make decisions, engage their teams, and embody the strategy—a topic we explore in greater depth in our article on what leadership is. However, they remain abstract until they are translated into concrete guidelines for managers.
When the management culture remains implicit, each manager interprets expectations in their own way. Some favor autonomy, while others retain control over decisions. These discrepancies accumulate and create visible inconsistencies, particularly for employees who switch teams or for new managers who arrive without clear guidelines.
Concepts such as “trust,” “cooperation,” and “empowerment” remain abstract unless they are translated into observable behaviors. Encouraging autonomy, for example, can be broken down into specific practices:
In a service company, the principle of accountability has been translated into a simple rule: every project must have a clearly identified project leader who is capable of making operational decisions without requiring systematic approval from a manager. These types of guidelines help managers turn general intentions into concrete practices.
To align practices across the organization, some companies formalize these principles in a management framework. This document is not intended to impose a single style, but rather to define common guidelines: how to set goals, provide feedback, conduct meetings, and manage group decisions.
In a rapidly growing organization, this type of framework has helped new managers get up to speed more quickly. Rather than learning solely by observation, they had a clear framework for understanding what was expected of them. The framework thus becomes a tool for alignment, not a procedures manual.
Defining and formalizing the managerial culture creates a framework. But this framework only comes to life through day-to-day practices.
A managerial culture is not conveyed solely through documents or presentations. It is built in the workplace: in the way meetings are conducted, feedback is given, or collective decisions are made. For this reason, the main challenge is to integrate these principles into management practices and rituals.
Managers rarely develop their skills solely through theoretical training. Managing conflict, prioritizing tasks, or supporting an employee who is struggling are situations that require hands-on practice. Targeted training, co-development workshops, and role-playing exercises based on real-life scenarios allow managers to hone these skills in conditions that closely resemble real-world situations.
In a consulting firm, managers regularly participate in co-development sessions. During these sessions, each manager presents a complex managerial situation they have encountered in their team. The other participants offer insights and suggestions for action. These discussions help generate more robust solutions than a manager would have come up with on their own.
One-on-one meetings, team meetings, feedback sessions, and collective decision-making are the settings where managerial culture truly comes to life. It is these regular practices that make the difference between a culture that is merely proclaimed and one that is actually lived out. Feedback, in particular, plays a pivotal role in this dynamic: it helps align expectations, regulate practices, and bring the managerial culture to life in everyday work, as detailed in our article on feedback in management.
At a service company, team meetings have been redesigned to give employees more opportunities to contribute. Rather than being limited to top-down information sharing, the meetings now include time set aside for suggestions for improvement. It’s a simple change, but one that has tangibly altered managers’ approach during these meetings.
It is this consistency between stated principles and day-to-day practices that determines whether a managerial culture is truly embedded in the organization.
Managerial culture is not limited to a set of stated values. It manifests itself in everyday practices: the way decisions are made, priorities are clarified, and teams are supported. Defining it , formalizing it, and embedding it in daily life are three distinct steps. But they only make sense if they follow one another: a principle without concrete guidelines remains merely an intention, and concrete guidelines without consistent practice remain just a document. What makes a managerial culture strong is not the quality of the guidelines themselves. It is the consistency between what is written and what actually happens within the teams.
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