Why Culture Work Fails
Most organizations are measuring the wrong thing, intervening at the wrong level, and wondering why nothing changes. Two years of research across 667 studies reveals what actually works—and why most approaches don't.
Read the Full AnalysisThe Core Argument
Three Problems Hiding in Plain Sight
The Measurement Problem
3.6%Only 3.6% of psychological safety studies properly operationalize the construct at the team level. Most organizations run individual surveys and call it "psychological safety assessment." They're measuring something—but not the thing that predicts performance.
The Intervention Problem
N=46,336Meta-analyses show individual wellness programs produce null effects. The interventions most organizations buy don't work—not because wellness doesn't matter, but because individual-level solutions can't fix team-level problems.
The Implementation Problem
40 YearsResearch consistently shows that people support what they help create. Top-down culture initiatives fail not because the ideas are wrong, but because the approach ignores four decades of evidence on participatory change.
The Evidence File
Field Notes from Research & Practice
Ongoing synthesis of what the research actually says—translated for practitioners.
Why 96.4% of Psychological Safety Assessments Miss the Point
The construct requires team-level measurement with ICC validation. Most vendors skip this entirely. Here's how to tell if yours does.
ReadThe Wellness Program ROI That Doesn't Exist
Individual-level wellness interventions show null effects across major meta-analyses. What works instead—and why it requires organizational commitment.
ReadWhy Leadership Training Shows Inconsistent Results
Meta-analysis of 335 studies reveals the design features that separate effective programs from expensive failures. The problem isn't training—it's transfer.
ReadThe Mental Health Claims No One Connects to Culture
Mental health now accounts for 40% of Canadian LTD claims. What insurers see in claims data that HR departments are missing in engagement surveys.
ReadWhy AI Adoption Fails Without Psychological Safety
Only 17% report successful AI implementation. Conservation of Resources Theory explains why—and what leadership behaviors buffer the effect.
ReadWhy Culture Work Fails: The Full Analysis
Three systematic problems—measurement, intervention, implementation—compound each other. Here's what the research says about breaking the cycle.
ReadSee Where Your Organization Stands
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