Study Finds “Do As I Say, Not As I Do” Leaders Undermine Organizational Culture
8/7/26 – – There is consensus within the business community that a company’s culture is an important determinant of success. Great companies establish and maintain distinctive cultures embraced by employees at every level of the organization.
A major threat to this positive correlation, according to a just-released research report, is leadership behavior. Ann Melinger, CEO of the “culture change and communication advisory firm” bink, summarized this conclusion from “Culture at Work”:
“We found remarkable agreement about what good culture looks like. The real breakdown happens when leadership behavior doesn’t match leadership messaging. Employees learn what an organization truly values by watching what leaders reward, tolerate and reinforce every day.”
Model What You Preach
Bink surveyed 300 executives across industries representing “the functions responsible for defining, communicating and operationalizing culture.” Leadership behavior was identified as “the strongest signal of culture,” supported by these compelling findings (I quote from the report):
91% agree that a disconnect between leadership messaging and behavior is one of the most damaging cultural forces inside organizations.
78% agree that employees learn the real culture in their organizations by watching what leaders tolerate.
51% say high performers are sometimes, often or always allowed to violate cultural expectations in their organization.
Culture Impacts Crisis Prevention and Preparedness
While crisis communication was not a focus of the bink study, its findings reinforce major themes in The Crisis Preparedness Quotient.
One of the seven elements measured by the Quotient to determine the strength of an organization’s crisis prevention and preparedness is “Culture.” We ask, “Does your culture celebrate good behavior, reward honesty at all levels of the company and allow early attention to important issues?”
In Chapter 3, “Where Crisis Come From,” we address the predictable crisis risk when leaders tolerate “bad apples” within their ranks. The rationalization to look the other way usually centers on perceived productivity and value. “Yes, he’s a horse’s ass, but he’s our best salesman by far.” “Okay, she bends the rules, but her department’s results speak for themselves.” “He steps all over people, but that’s because he wants to get things done.”
When toxic “high-performing” bullies get promotions and drive the most expensive cars in the employee parking lot, that has far more impact on culture than even the best mission, vision and values statements. Bink refers to this as the gap between a company’s intended and experienced culture.
And The Crisis Preparedness Quotient is in full agreement with this bink study finding regarding the role culture and leadership consistency play in the midst of a storm:
Culture is revealed under pressure – – Financial strain, restructuring and leadership transitions put culture to the test. Employees learn whether culture is a priority by watching what happens when competing priorities emerge.
In earlier blog posts I’ve pointed out the hollowness of such CEO assurances as, “We’re all part of one big family here at XYZ company.” When massive layoffs are announced over Zoom, surviving employees have a very different understanding of the familial culture they had embraced.
The bink report is very well done and worth reviewing (not just because its findings are consistent with my book). Here’s the study’s key takeaway for leaders wanting to reinforce great cultures and prevent reputational crises from within:
Employees judge culture less by what leaders say than by what they consistently model, reward and allow.
Do as I say, and as I do.
https://thinkbink.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/TheCultureGap_Report_bink.pdf
Crisis Quotient Blog 