Strategy shifts test the stories organizations tell about who they are. These cultural narratives, however, often only feel solid as long as the environment remains stable. Designed to motivate and unify when priorities are clear and performance metrics are steady, strategy shifts test this by creating uncertainty, and uncertainty changes what people pay attention to.
“In reinvention moments, people aren’t just absorbing the message. They’re scanning for cues,” says Dr. Emilia Concepcion. A recognized business coach and President of Strategies for Success, Dr. Emilia Concepcion, argues that culture narratives risk failing if they aren’t embedded in how leaders and teams actually work.
Employees look for signals about what is really happening now, such as what gets approved and what gets ignored. “Culture narratives endure because they’re reinforced by consistent behavior systems, not necessarily because they’re inspiring,” she says. Below, Dr. Concepcion outlines three practical steps to help leaders embed culture into operations.
When Stability Disappears, So Does Certainty
With nearly two decades of experience in executive coaching and a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Dr. Concepcion works at the “intersection of behavioral science and real-world leadership.” Her focus is on turning culture into something usable and predictable, something that guides decisions when conditions become fragile.
That fragility tends to surface when the narrative isn’t tied to decision-making and when leaders underestimate the emotional reality of reinvention. During a pivot, priorities inevitably collide. If culture is expressed only as abstract values, it offers little guidance when leaders and teams must choose between speed and quality, innovation and risk control, short-term results and long-term investment. “People need decision rules, not just values,” she says.
Another pressure point emerges when leaders underestimate the emotional reality of reinvention. “It can feel like loss. Loss of competence, loss of identity, loss of what used to work,” she says. When leaders frame change as a purely executional challenge, employees experience the culture narrative as spin rather than support.
Turning Narrative Into Decision Rules with Proof
One move is to anchor the narrative in decision-making. Leaders must translate the story into a small set of simple decision rules that teams can apply in real time. “People need to know what wins when everything feels urgent,” says Dr. Concepcion. If the cultural narrative can’t help someone make a hard call on a Tuesday afternoon, it won’t travel.
These decision rules act as guardrails. They clarify trade-offs and reduce improvisation. Over time, they build predictability, which is essential for performance in uncertain environments. Another move is to establish proof points quickly. “Not promises. Proof,” says Dr. Concepcion. Within the first 30 days of a shift, leaders should make two or three visible behavioral changes that demonstrate alignment between the new strategy and the stated culture.
That might mean restructuring meetings to reflect new priorities, making trade-offs explicit rather than implicit, retiring legacy initiatives that no longer fit, or shifting what gets recognized and rewarded. It may also involve clarifying which decisions are escalated and which are owned locally. People don’t expect perfection, but they do look for evidence. When employees can point to specific behaviors that reflect the narrative, credibility builds.
Culture Is the Strategic Foundation
A further move focuses on language. Many narratives fail because middle managers are left to interpret broad themes in their own words, and the message fragments as it moves through the organization. Dr. Concepcion advises leaders to create a simple, repeatable language system that others can use without distortion. That includes clear statements about what is changing, what is staying stable, why the shift matters, and what it looks like in day-to-day behavior.
“When employees can explain it in their own words and still get it right, that’s when the narrative starts traveling with you,” she says. Portability ensures consistency without rigidity. It allows the story to adapt to context while preserving its core meaning.
AI, Speed, and the Human Core
As artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates communication and analysis, Dr. Concepcion believes cultural narratives will spread faster and on a larger scale. AI can summarize shifts, tailor messages to different roles, and surface patterns in employee feedback, but the core remains human.
“AI can scale the message, but it can’t replace credibility or honesty,” she says. Culture runs on trust, and trust is earned through lived experience. If leaders say one thing and reward another, employees will see it immediately.
The distinction between strategy and culture is essential. Culture defines how decisions are made and how people behave under pressure. When aligned, they reinforce each other. The leaders who navigate strategy shifts most effectively embed their narrative into decision rules, proof points, and repeatable language. That’s how culture survives change and becomes a true strategic asset.
Follow Dr. Concepcion on LinkedIn for more insights.
