Cultural transformation is an essential process for making companies fit for the future and competitive. Especially in times of digitalisation and changing markets, a company's values, mindset and behaviours are becoming increasingly important. Step 4 plays a central role in the KIROI model: Managers become the actual drivers and role models of cultural transformation.
The key role of leadership in cultural transformation
Managers are not only decision-makers, but also multipliers of new values and attitudes. Their attitude and behaviour have a decisive influence on whether a cultural transformation is actually put into practice in everyday life or remains just a theoretical concept. Many companies report from practice that managers strengthen their ability to reflect and recognise blind spots through targeted coaching. This creates a culture in which innovation, openness and collaboration are encouraged.
One technology company, for example, pursued the goal of anchoring agility more firmly in its work processes. The management teams took part in team coaching sessions in step 4 of the KIROI model. There, they developed a shared understanding of how agile values and new decision-making processes can be implemented. The result was a noticeable change in leadership behaviour that was transferred to all employees.
In the healthcare sector, too, it became clear that a cultural transformation can only succeed if managers themselves courageously question old routines and support new forms of collaboration. The more authentic the managers acted, the more willing the teams were to embrace change.
BEST PRACTICE at a customer (name concealed due to NDA contract): An open feedback culture was established in a medium-sized service company with KIROI Step 4. Managers underwent individual coaching sessions to clarify their personal understanding of values. New feedback formats were also introduced. These measures helped employees to better realise their potential and made the corporate culture noticeably more vibrant.
Concrete fields of action for leaders in cultural change
When mastering cultural transformation, managers should pay particular attention to the following aspects:
- Be a role model: Not just communicating values, but actively living them.
- Communicate openly: Making uncertainties and challenges of change transparent.
- Promote continuous learning: Regular coaching sessions support personal and collective development.
- Enabling agility: Organising decision-making and work processes flexibly.
- Strengthening teams: Building trust to increase willingness to change.
In the retail sector, managers successfully applied these principles by introducing flexible working models. This promoted motivation and personal responsibility within the teams and supported the cultural transformation in the long term.
In the manufacturing industry, managers also help to break down silos by organising regular learning sessions. This makes it easier for employees to provide impetus for innovation, which strengthens the company's competitiveness.
Anchoring cultural transformation permanently with the KIROI model
The fourth step in the KIROI model is the centrepiece, as this is where the culture is put into practice in day-to-day activities. A cultural transformation can only have a lasting effect through the active involvement and commitment of the management level. The newly defined values must be integrated into decisions, communication and processes and kept alive.
Shaping a culture of change requires courage and perseverance. Managers often report that there is scepticism or resistance at the beginning. However, these phases also offer opportunities to promote active dialogue and develop solutions together. In this way, cultural transformation enables dynamic, future-oriented change that not only benefits the organisation, but also its employees.
BEST PRACTICE at a customer (name concealed due to NDA contract): New decision-making powers were introduced on a broad basis in an international financial services provider. This strengthened the sense of responsibility in the teams and promoted an open error culture. The managers developed into real culture multipliers who show how the transformation is lived on a daily basis.
Impulses for your own cultural transformation
For managers, step 4 of the KIROI model offers valuable impulses for providing targeted support for cultural transformation:
- Reflect on your own behaviour and values.
- Encourage open dialogue within the team about change and challenges.
- Offer regular further training to expand competences.
- Use feedback as a valuable tool for your own development.
- Create structures that support agile working.
In this way, managers can create an environment in which cultural transformation can be experienced as a dynamic development process.
My analysis
Cultural transformation is not a one-off project, but a continuous process that must be deeply anchored in the values and behaviour of organisations. Particularly in the context of KIROI step 4, managers are decisive levers for establishing new cultural patterns and securing them in the long term. Their role as role models and shapers is essential not only to initiate change, but also to support it in a lively and sustainable way. Companies benefit from a strong, agile culture that promotes innovation and collaboration, making them fit for the future.
Further links from the text above:
Successful cultural transformation for companies
Mastering cultural transformation: KIROI step 4 for managers
Mastering cultural transformation: With KIROI step 4 to ...
Managers as a catalyst for co-creative transformation
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