To change culture, simply change the way decisions get made, and who makes them.
This law has important implications for leading change. It means that leading change in the direction of better results is actually about leading change in how decisions get made and who makes them. When the frequency and quality and volume of value delivery needs improvement, how decisions are getting made is usually a big part of the problem. Look here first.
Predictably, those who are subject to any downgrade in decision-making authority will rationally become worried and will resist the change. This implies that leading genuine change is an exercise in leadership communication, an exercise in leadership storytelling. It means that leading change is really about communicating a coherent and reassuring story about the WHY of the changes in decision rights.
Culture is not “read only” and changes in the way decisions get made and who makes them will change your culture almost instantly.