Culture: The Missing Link Between Strategy and Results

“Culture is a system that connects what we say, what we design, and what people feel.”– Timothy Tiryaki

The plan has been created but the momentum isn’t what you expected. The strategy is sound. The priorities are clear. Why does progress feels slow, uneven, or even nonexistent? Some teams move forward while others hesitate. Effort is present, but execution is inconsistent. If only execution lived within strategy alone. It actually lives within the organizational culture and leaders don’t often spend enough time understanding culture.

Culture isn’t a statement. It is not just a set of values on a wall. As Timothy Tiryaki describes, it is a system. He reminds us in “Leading with Strategy” that culture is the connection between what we say, what we design, and what people experience. When those elements are aligned, execution flows. When they are not, friction emerges.

Leaders sit at the intersection of vision, systems, and people. Every decision, every process, and every interaction either strengthens or weakens that connection. Here are three ways to align direction, operations, and lived experiences into one system that supports the organizational capacity.

1. Define the North Star Before Expecting Alignment

Key Idea: Culture begins with direction. If people are unclear on where the organization is going or why it matters, they will default to personal priorities. That creates fragmentation. Tiryaki describes this a “Culture as North Star” or the shared understanding of purpose and direction that guides decisions. It’s your anchor symbolized as your guiding North Star.

Try This:

• Clearly articulate where the organization is going and why it matters - in simple terms

• Connect individual roles and initiatives to that broader purpose

• Reinforce the message consistently, not just once. Make it your mantra.

Example:
A college aligns is messaging around improving student readiness for practice. Faculty begin to frame course decisions through that lens. Alignment improves because the “why” is clear, shared, and visible.

2. Design operation that match what you say

Key Idea: Misalignment often occurs between state values and actual processes, structure, and systems. Leaders say collaboration matters, but processes reward individual performance. They emphasize innovation, but decision pathways slow new ideas. This “Culture as Operations” or how work actually gets done.

Try This:

• Evaluate whether workflows, incentives, and structures reinforce stated priorities

• Remove processes that create unnecessary friction or contradictions

• Build systems that make the desired behavior easier to execute

Example:
A department emphasizes interdisciplinary teaching but schedules courses in ways that prevent collaboration. After redesigning scheduling structures, collaboration increases not because expectations changed, but because the system allowed it.

3. Pay attention to what the work feels like

Key Idea: Culture is ultimately experienced. It is shaped by daily interactions, feedback, workload, and how decisions are made. This experienced culture determines whether people feel supported, valued, and able to contribute. What people feel influences how they engage and how they engage determines how work moves forward.

Try This:

• Ask: “What does it fell like to work here right now?”

• Pay attention to patterns such as fatigue, hesitation, and disengagement

• Align expectations with support so that experience matches intention

Example:
A faculty team is expected to deliver high-quality outcomes under tight timelines but receives limited feedback or support. After introducing regular check-ins and clearer communication, engagement improves because the experience changes.

Final Thoughts:

Tiryaki’s model frames the connected roles that a leader plays: (1) the envisioning leader defines the “why” and sets the North Star; (2) the executing and enabling leader builds the systems that support delivery, and the (3) engaging and empowering leader ensures people experience meaning and alignment. When one is missing, execution and results fade.

Clear vision without systems creates frustration. Strong systems without meaning create disengagement. Positive experience without direction creates drift. Execution is optimized when leadership aligns all three as part of nurturing culture.

Next Steps to Strengthen Culture

Looking for a thought partner to support your decision-making process? EduLead-Rx offers individualized leadership coaching and consulting to pharmacy faculty and leaders to navigate complexity, disruption, and real-world constraints to achieve what matters most building practical decision frameworks, reducing cognitive overload, and making high-impact choices that influence culture.

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