The Real Responsibility of Leaders in Shaping Culture from Day One

When someone joins your organisation, it’s more than a new role. It’s a new chapter of their life.

They walk through your doors (or log on remotely) with hope, ambition, and energy - but also a fair amount of uncertainty. They’re trying to work out how things really operate, who they can trust, and what success actually looks like.

In those first days and weeks, how they are welcomed, supported, and set up matters more than we often realise. It shapes their sense of belonging. It defines how engaged they feel. And it influences how quickly they can deliver at their best.

This is where so many organisations unintentionally drop the ball.

Onboarding is treated like a checklist. Development programs get deprioritised. The cultural experience is left to chance. And in the rush to chase performance, leaders forget to slow down and ask the most human question:

“What does this actually feel like for the people working here?”

If you want people to perform at their best, you need to take ownership of the environment they’re performing in. That’s not just a leadership choice. It’s a responsibility.

Bridging the Gap Between Expectation and Experience

Most companies say they care about their people. They talk about values, development, and culture. But there’s often a significant gap between what leaders think employees experience and what those employees actually feel.

When you speak to people, especially those new to a business, you hear comments like:

“I didn’t really know what success looked like here.” “It felt like I had to figure everything out on my own.” “I wasn’t sure where I belonged, or who to turn to when I needed help.”

These aren’t outliers. They’re common. And they point to a crucial truth: culture isn’t what you say it is… it’s what people experience every day.

When there’s a disconnect between intention and reality, people disengage. They hold back. They look for reasons to leave instead of reasons to stay. And performance suffers.

Stepping Into Their Shoes

One of the most impactful exercises for any leader is to put yourself in your people’s position.

• What does it feel like to walk in on day one?

• What does it feel like to navigate your culture, with its written and unwritten rules?

• What does it feel like to give feedback, raise a concern, or share an idea?

Leaders often assume their teams share their perspective, but you see the organisation from the top down, with context and influence they don’t have.

The most successful leaders I know don’t just push for results. They actively create the conditions that make results possible. They design onboarding programs that build confidence and belonging. They put systems in place to develop their people. They set expectations clearly and create trust by following through.

The Responsibility of Organisations

Creating high-performing teams doesn’t end with hiring great people. It begins there.

If you want employees to thrive, you need to take ownership of their experience, from day one to year five and beyond.

That means committing to:

1. Induction Done Well Onboarding isn’t about a one-hour presentation and a few logins. It’s about connection and clarity. A strong induction process makes people feel welcomed, sets expectations, and gives them the tools and relationships they need to hit the ground running.

2. Development and Growth Great cultures invest in their people. They build structured opportunities for learning, mentoring, and career progression. Development programs don’t just build capability - they signal to your people: “We believe in you, and we want you to grow here.”

3. A Culture of Trust Trust is the cornerstone of any great team. It’s built when leaders communicate openly, listen without agenda, and act with integrity. When employees trust their leaders, they’re more likely to share ideas, admit mistakes, and go above and beyond.

4. Balancing Care and Performance Performance and care aren’t opposing forces… they’re partners. People who feel cared for are more motivated to perform. But care without accountability leads to complacency, and performance without care leads to burnout. The best leaders know how to hold both.

5. Building Cultures of Achievement People want to feel proud of their contributions. They want to know their work matters. Great organisations create a sense of shared purpose and achievement, where successes are recognised and everyone feels part of something meaningful.

High Care + High Performance: Getting the Balance Right

One of the hardest tensions for leaders to manage is balancing empathy with accountability.

In competitive, high-pressure environments, it’s tempting to default to performance at all costs. But cultures built purely on pressure are fragile. They create fear, disengagement, and turnover.

Equally, organisations that focus only on care, without driving accountability, risk becoming stagnant.

The leaders who get this right build high care, high performance cultures. They support their people deeply while setting clear expectations and holding them accountable. They provide coaching and feedback, celebrate effort and results, and help people see how their work connects to a bigger vision.

This is how you build resilience. This is how you create teams who deliver consistently - not because they have to, but because they want to.

The Real Competitive Advantage

Markets change. Strategies shift. Products evolve.

But one thing stays constant: your people are your biggest competitive advantage.

Organisations that get this right, that truly invest in their people’s onboarding, growth, and experience, don’t just create happier teams - they create higher-performing ones. They build loyalty, unlock potential, and give their businesses a long-term edge that competitors can’t easily replicate.

This isn’t about being “soft.” It’s about being smart.

Great leadership recognises that when you create the conditions for people to thrive, performance takes care of itself.

So ask yourself: Are you giving your people what they need to do their best work?