Retention Starts with Culture: The Hard Work Behind Success

Healthy cultures are built through clarity of direction, intentional leadership, and talent development that equips managers to drive change. Tools and programs may create adoption, but engaged leaders create acceptance and lasting behavior shift. Organizations that invest in their managers build workplaces where people stay, thrive, and refer others.

The work behind cultures where people stay

Many leaders say they want to build a culture where people want to come to work, but precious few build the conditions that make it possible. This is especially true in the mid-market, where organizations may lack the talent and resources to design and execute a one- year to three-year talent plan. The organizations that retain people over time create environments where career paths are transparent, where leaders are intentional about growing talent, and where development is a core part of the employee experience. When I led global talent at the Internet Society and major human capital programs in other industry leading organizations, these themes surfaced repeatedly. They form the foundation of any culture where people stay, grow, and refer others because they believe in the mission and the team. The first step is understanding where your organization is heading.

Begin with where you are going

Strategy drives structure, and structure drives the kind of leadership you need. Too often, organizations rush to fill roles without fully understanding what tomorrow’s environment requires. Before assessing whether you have the right people, you need clarity on the business direction, the operating model, and the capabilities that matter most for future success. Once that vision is defined, the question becomes whether your leaders can actually move the organization toward it.

Do your leaders really know their talent?

This is where many organizations struggle. Leaders of leaders often lack a clear view of the talent on their teams. They may not know who is thriving, who is at risk of leaving, and who no longer aligns with the direction ahead. They may not know who truly wants to lead and who would rather deepen expertise as an individual contributor. I observed this firsthand during my corporate roles at Choice Hotels International and the Internet Society, where I worked closely with leaders to diagnose the issues behind leadership gaps that held teams back and put in place practical solutions that raised the bar on leadership and accelerated development. Too often, leadership roles are treated as the next logical step rather than a thoughtful match to skills, motivation, and readiness. When leaders misread what their people want, the new manager, the team, and the organization all feel the consequences.

Leadership development as a strategic investment

If someone truly wants to lead, the next question is whether the organization has programs to develop them. Leadership development is not a perk. It is a strategic investment in your employee value proposition. It demonstrates commitment to growth and reinforces that leaders are expected to evolve, not simply perform. It also strengthens a culture of clarity. [What is a culture of clarity?] When people understand the path ahead of them, whether as leaders or individual contributors, they are more likely to commit and less likely to seek that clarity elsewhere.

Manager capability and ownership of tools

Building a culture where people stay requires managers who can understand what their people want. Are they equipped to have honest career conversations? Do they know how to coach? Can they identify early potential and advocate for it over time? Strong leadership is one of the most powerful forms of retention. People leave organizations, but more often they leave leaders who are not invested in their growth.

And to be clear, relying only on platforms like LinkedIn Learning or BetterUp as a blanket resource and expecting employees to chart their own development is a mistake. If these tools are your budget, invest first in your managers. Strengthen them through teambuilding workshops, strategy offsites, and senior executive mentorship opportunities. Teach them how to use these tools, then have them educate their teams with intention. This gives them ownership of development and allows them to lead from the front.

This ownership matters because introducing a new tool or idea is not the same as having it influence behavior. Everett Rogers’s work on the diffusion of innovations explains the gap. Adoption is the moment something is introduced. Acceptance is when people change how they work. His research shows that most people do not shift behavior because a new tool exists. They shift because someone they trust demonstrates the value, reinforces the behavior, and helps them navigate the discomfort of change. In most organizations, that someone is the manager.

Managers are the real diffusers of innovation. Their credibility with their teams determines whether something stalls-out at early adoption or becomes embedded in everyday practice. When managers understand a tool, believe in it, and use it consistently, they accelerate acceptance. When they are disengaged or feel unprepared, innovation dies early, no matter how good the tool or idea is. This is why building manager leadership capability is essential. Without engaged and equipped managers, no platform, training program, or HR initiative will ever reach the level of acceptance required to shape culture.

When to bring in external help

Many organizations eventually reach a point where internal teams need support. Leadership consulting becomes valuable when teams are too close to the problem, when objectivity is needed, or when capability building must move quickly. A leadership consulting firm can help clarify the leadership profile required for future success, assess your current bench with rigor, and design development paths aligned to strategic goals. It can also help build the connective tissue across talent practices so that succession, career paths, job descriptions, total rewards, and policy all reinforce the same vision.

Conclusion

Organizations that invest in leadership excellence build cultures where people want to stay, where leaders own talent outcomes, and where the employee experience is intentional and inspiring. The future belongs to organizations that hire for will, train for skill, and develop leaders who create places where people can thrive.