What HR Leaders Can Learn About Change Management and Culture Strategy
When an organisation experiences repeated leadership turnover, public criticism from senior figures, large-scale redundancies, and visible employee disengagement, HR professionals tend to ask one question:
Is this a toxic workplace culture?
Recently, we explored this question on The HR Room Podcast, using Manchester United as a high-profile case study. Listen in here.
While football clubs operate in a unique, high-pressure ecosystem, the underlying organisational challenges mirror those faced by many businesses navigating cultural transformation, restructuring, and strategic change.
For HR leaders, People & Culture Directors, and CEOs grappling with culture drift, employee trust erosion, or change fatigue, there are powerful lessons here.
What Does a Toxic Workplace Culture Actually Look Like?
“Toxic workplace” is a term that gets used frequently — but rarely diagnosed properly.
As our MD and Founder Mary Cullen shared in the episode:
“Toxic workplace culture is often characterised by things like favouritism and complaints, general unhappiness… absenteeism, poor work performance and an environment where leaders are prioritising results at any cost.”
From a change management and organisational design perspective, common indicators include:
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High leadership turnover
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Inconsistent strategy or direction
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Fear-based management
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Blame culture
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Psychological safety deficits
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High attrition or presenteeism
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Tolerance of high-performing but disruptive individuals
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Misalignment between stated values and lived behaviours
Leadership Turnover and Strategic Instability
One of the most visible parallels in the Manchester United case study was constant leadership change.
As Joe Thompson, our Head of HR Services noted:
“It’s clearly part of a pattern of consistent strategic change of direction… When you’re constantly having this churn at the top, nobody knows who’s in charge. Nobody knows what direction they’re going in.”
From an organisational change perspective, this creates:
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Strategic ambiguity
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Reduced employee engagement
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Low psychological safety
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Declining retention
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Change fatigue
Research consistently shows that uncertainty — particularly when it feels outside employee control — directly impacts retention and performance. HR professionals often describe this internally as “organisational drift” or “culture instability.”
When strategy resets every 12–18 months, employees disengage from the concept of long-term transformation. They wait it out.
The Danger of Public Criticism and Fear-Based Leadership
One of the most striking moments discussed in the podcast was how the team’s manager publicly describing them as “the worst… in the history of the organisation.”
Mary responded candidly:
“Imagine if I stood at the top of the room… and called our team useless. That is not motivational. It breeds hostility, fear, silence.”
This speaks directly to psychological safety — a core pillar of high-performing cultures.
In organisations where leaders:
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Publicly criticise teams
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Dismiss concerns
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Fail to model accountability
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Operate defensively
You will see:
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Reduced innovation
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Silence in meetings
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Low upward feedback
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Passive compliance
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Talent exit
HR leaders seeking support often phrase it differently:
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“We’re struggling with employee engagement.”
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“Our managers are resistant to feedback.”
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“There’s a culture of fear.”
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“Our high performers are disengaged.”
These are symptoms of deeper cultural erosion.
High Performer Favouritism: A Classic Cultural Risk
Another hallmark discussed was the perceived double standard between elite performers and other employees.
Mary described it clearly:
“Favouritism is one of the hallmarks… where you are tolerating the behaviour of high performers within an organisation, even though that behaviour is unacceptable.”
In many corporate settings, this manifests as:
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Revenue generators exempt from behavioural standards
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Senior executives shielded from accountability
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Disruptive talent retained because they ‘deliver results’
This creates what we often call a “two-tier culture.”
The long-term impact?
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Erosion of trust
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Reduced perception of fairness
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Increased grievance risk
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Employer brand damage
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Loss of high-integrity employees
For HR professionals focused on culture strategy, consistency is critical. What you reward, tolerate and promote defines your real culture — not your values statement.
Redundancies and Culture Shock: Change Done Right vs Change Done Fast
Large-scale redundancies were also part of the conversation.
Mary made an important distinction:
“They may have needed to cut jobs… but how they went about doing it is the problem.”
This is where change management strategy becomes essential.
When workforce restructuring is:
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Rushed
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Poorly communicated
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Perceived as unfair
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Not aligned to a clear long-term strategy
It damages:
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Trust capital
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Organisational commitment
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Psychological contract
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Remaining employee morale
HR leaders seeking support often frame this as:
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“We’ve lost trust after a restructure.”
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“There’s survivor guilt in the organisation.”
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“Engagement has dropped post-redundancy.”
Redundancy itself does not create toxicity. Poorly managed change does.
Why Culture Change Takes Years — Not Months
One of the most important insights from the episode was this:
“Fixing it and taking the necessary actions to improve it can actually take you years.”
Culture transformation is not a quick-win project.
It requires:
- Diagnostic assessment
- Leadership alignment
- Structured listening mechanisms
- Behavioural coaching
- Accountability frameworks
- Consistency over time
Joe highlighted the importance of structured listening:
“You can facilitate team checks or listening groups or pulse surveys… Really important questions are: Do you feel safe raising concerns? Do you feel there is consistency and fairness?”
For HR leaders, culture recovery typically involves:
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Organisational culture audits
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Employee engagement surveys
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Leadership development programmes
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Conflict resolution training
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Governance reinforcement
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Rebuilding psychological safety
Values on the Wall vs Values in Action
Perhaps the most transferable lesson for organisations of all sizes was about values.
Mary reflected:
“I always ask the question… can you name them? Even management don’t know them.”
Values are not culture. Behaviours are culture.
If your organisation’s values:
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Are not embedded into performance management
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Are not linked to promotion decisions
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Are not modelled by senior leadership
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Are not referenced in daily decisions
Then they are brand decoration.
True values-led cultures require:
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Behavioural competency frameworks
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Transparent accountability
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Leadership modelling
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Consistent consequence management
Without these, you risk what we call “cultural misalignment” — where the internal employee experience contradicts the employer brand narrative.
Practical Advice for HR Leaders Facing Cultural Concerns
If you are an HR Director, People Partner or CEO thinking:
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“We might have a culture problem.”
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“Our leadership behaviour is impacting morale.”
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“Engagement is dropping but we don’t know why.”
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“There’s an ‘us and them’ dynamic.”
Start here:
1. Diagnose Before You Label
Avoid calling the organisation “toxic.” Instead, conduct structured interviews, surveys, and cultural diagnostics.
2. Build Psychological Safety First
Without safety, feedback will be filtered or silent.
3. Align Leadership Behaviour
Culture change begins at the top. Without visible modelling, change fails.
4. Reinforce Consistency and Fairness
Address favouritism immediately. Double standards erode culture quickly.
5. Commit to Long-Term Strategy
Sustainable culture transformation is a multi-year journey.
Final Thought: Small Exceptions Become Big Problems
Joe summarised it powerfully:
“Most toxic patterns don’t begin with dramatic fallout… They begin with small exceptions that become normal.”
That sentence alone captures why culture strategy matters.
Every organisation tolerates small behaviours that feel harmless in isolation. Over time, those behaviours compound — until trust, performance and retention suffer.
Whether you are running a global sports brand or a 50-person SME, the same principle applies:
Culture is built daily — through leadership behaviour, consistency, and accountability.
And when it drifts, recovery requires structure, strategy and sustained commitment.
If your organisation is navigating culture challenges, leadership misalignment or post-restructure engagement decline, it may be time for a structured culture diagnostic and change management plan.
Because culture doesn’t fix itself — but with the right strategy, it can absolutely be rebuilt.
If any of these issues are affecting you, reach out for a confidential chat about our change management services or redundancy management services.
