Organisational culture is an amalgam of shared history, explicit values and beliefs, and common attitudes and behaviors. Change programmes often require amending, creating (in new organisations or organisations built through shared delivery of services), retaining or merging culture to be successful.

Culture should be addressed as thoroughly as any other area. This requires developing a baseline through a cultural/organisational diagnostic, defining an explicit end-state or desired culture, and devising detailed plans to make the transition. After completing the vision and thinking about the desired culture, leaders can assess the current culture to understand the gaps that need to be bridged and to identify strategies to accelerate the development of a new culture. Leaders should be explicit about the type of culture and underlying behaviors that will best support the new way of working, and find opportunities to socialise, model, and reward those behaviours. Attacking the cultural center of an organisation – the locus of thought, activity, influence, or personal identification – is often an effective way to jump-start cultural change.