This month, I had the opportunity to present on governance in action for Public Affairs Ireland, alongside a session from Euronext Dublin on the Irish Corporate Governance Code (2024). The Code was built specifically for Ireland, reflecting EU priorities while supporting a distinct Irish equity market. It sets out six key responsibility areas, each underscoring the need for Boards to be more deliberate, inclusive and strategic in how they oversee culture, enable long-term value creation, strengthen stakeholder trust and ensure accountability across leadership and decision-making.
What struck a chord with many in the room was a simple but powerful message: governance is no longer just about compliance, it is about leadership on people and culture. Change does not happen by policy alone. It happens through practice, accountability and informed oversight.
Culture as a strategic lever
Leaders who understand culture through the eyes of their people are better equipped to lead with impact. My advice to Boards: treat culture as a strategic lever, not a side initiative. That starts by asking better questions about who thrives in your culture and who may be left behind. Questions alone are not enough. Culture must be informed by credible data and employee voices.
People are the pulse of the organisation. When leaders understand the lived experience across different groups, they gain the insight needed to truly shape the culture they oversee. Because when you can measure culture, you can shape it.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Even the best strategies will fail without a healthy, intentional culture to support them.
Beyond culture theatre
The stakes are significantly higher now and surface-level gestures are no longer acceptable. Culture theatre, engagement by entertainment and tick-box initiatives may look good externally but risk eroding employee trust internally. When Boards and CEOs focus on awards, events and optics without asking what the cultural impact is or what the return on investment looks like, they risk mistaking activity for progress. If the answer is no, or even we are not sure, it is time to rethink the strategy.
Today's employees, stakeholders, investors and regulators expect more than optics. They expect impact.
What leaders and boards can do
- Listen deeply to the voice of your people and give them the opportunity to be counted and understood for their individual differences
- Understand their experience of the culture, their levels of psychological safety and trust
- Measure culture like you measure performance, because it drives it
- Recognise that a toxic or unchecked culture leads to a disengaged workforce, loss of talent and legal and reputational risk
If your organisation relies on people to succeed, understanding your people and their lived experience of the culture is not optional. It is essential.
Final thoughts
Culture is a core driver of performance and a growing area of compliance risk, as outlined in the Irish Corporate Governance Code. Comply or explain reporting looks at not just what organisations are doing, but how they are doing it and whether workplace culture aligns with stated values and responsibilities. Measuring culture is no longer optional. It is essential to both performance and governance.
Boards must take a clear and deliberate stance by positioning culture as a strategic driver of trust, innovation and sustainable performance. This is no longer a matter of sentiment, it is an organisational imperative. The case for action is no longer anecdotal. We now have the frameworks, tools and insights to measure culture in a credible way and link it directly to outcomes. The opportunity and the responsibility, to lead this shift sits firmly with those at the top.
Kintris's Scientific Culture and Benchmarking Framework is built on eight years of research and data from thousands of employees, giving leaders and boards a powerful tool to measure what was once considered intangible. Built around five core culture metrics, 17 sub-dimensions and 64 data points, it provides a clear, evidence-based view of the lived culture within an organisation, highlighting the drivers of performance, trust and psychological safety, as well as areas of cultural risk. For Boards, this means no more guesswork. With credible, comparative data, leaders can hold leadership accountable, track progress over time and ensure culture aligns with strategy, governance and long-term value creation.