Cultural Wardens

A piece on creating change and understanding who can help or hinder you.

Within every business lie wardens who guard culture. They assess potential change and maintain the status quo. Cultural wardens are often mistaken for change resisters, when in reality their influence runs deeper than that.

They hold institutional memory, protect teams from poorly considered change, and preserve efficiency, psychological safety, identity, and trust. We forget that the status quo exists for a reason. These wardens can either help or hinder the change you are trying to make.

I have often seen new managers get this wrong, pushing change while informal leaders go unheard. The result? Teams disengage and sometimes leave. So how do you understand the informal hierarchy at play? Who are these wardens? You can figure this out by getting to know your people.

Creating change is not just about providing directives, no matter how well you sell them. It is about understanding how everything is intertwined relationally and using that as a channel. Formal leaders can enforce change, but for it to be intrinsically motivated and lasting, you need to understand your teams thoroughly.

Look to the people who have trained countless others, the informal leaders who set the tone, the strong communicators, and the technical experts whose knowledge has been built over years. Their influence runs deeper than it may appear. Culture is not just how we do things; it is how people with their histories, anxieties, and experiences interact with each other and the business. Drawing from Larry E. Greiner, American Economist, outlines that individual behaviours are determined primarily by previous experiences and events, not what lies ahead. As an organisational collective, take this as a marker to understand the history of your teams in order to move forward.

Unlocking these cultural wardens gives you a window to create lasting change. That is not to say these wardens cannot be disrupted. Wardens may indeed be self-serving, undermine teams, and protect their own status. Sometimes a cultural shift is required for the benefit of the business. That is your assessment to make.

I approach every team as something to understand. There is always a dynamic to uncover and a way to connect, even with those who seem resistant at first. One thing I stand by is that integrity is a non-negotiable to creating lasting change. Try it for yourself.

Jenny Dinh