Bothwell Nyajeka
THE phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast” has become a familiar quote in boardrooms. It is often repeated as a warning that even the most well-crafted strategy will fail if the organisation’s culture does not support it.
But beyond the rhetoric lies a more important question for modern governance: what role should the board play in shaping organisational culture?
Historically, corporate boards focused on financial performance and shareholder returns, treating company culture as a strictly managerial issue. That view is rapidly changing. In today’s environment, culture is increasingly moving to the centre of governance.
At its core, corporate culture is what people repeatedly do. It is reflected in everyday decisions, behaviours and interactions across the organisation.
More formally, corporate culture can be understood as the combination of values, attitudes and behaviours that define how an organisation operates and how it relates to its stakeholders.
It is visible in how employees treat customers, how decisions are made, how information flows, and how organisations engage regulators and partners. Ultimately, corporate culture is the glue that connects people in the shared pursuit of shareholder value creation.
Understanding corporate culture in Zimbabwe requires an appreciation of the broader societal environment in which organisations operate.
From my experience in corporate Zimbabwe, our business culture is generally hierarchical. Decision-making authority is often concentrated at the top, and employees may be reluctant to challenge leadership. Personal relationships also play a significant role, with requests for favours sometimes extending into professional settings.
At the same time, the influence of Hunhu/Ubuntu, emphasising respect, community and human dignity, provides a strong foundation for cohesion at all levels within a company.
Overlaying this is an increasingly formal governance framework shaped by instruments such as the Zimbabwe Code of Corporate Governance (ZIMCODE), the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act, and the Public Sector Financial Management Act.
These dynamics create both strengths and risks. While respect and community foster alignment, hierarchy and personal influence can, if unchecked, weaken transparency and accountability.
Corporate culture is not confined to the operational level, it is also present in the boardroom.
It influences how management presents information to the board, the escalation process for tough issues, and the quality of debate among directors. It also shapes the relationship between the board and management.
In my opinion, the board’s responsibility is not to manage corporate culture directly, but to ensure that it is aligned with strategy and supportive of ethical, sustainable shareholder value creation.
Boards that take this responsibility seriously strengthen employee engagement, build stakeholder trust and improve long-term performance.
The board’s influence on corporate culture is both direct and indirect.
Setting the tone at the top is the starting point. Directors must model the behaviours they expect from management. Any disconnect between stated values and board conduct quickly cascades through the organisation.
Translating values into behaviour is equally important. Values such as integrity, accountability and collaboration must be defined in practical terms to indicate the expected behaviours for each value. Without this translation, values remain slogans rather than drivers of action.
Boards must also strengthen key control functions, namely human capital/resources, safety, quality, internal audit, risk management, ethics and compliance. These functions provide insight into how the organisation actually behaves, beyond what is reported in financial statements.
Another critical area is measurement. Corporate culture must be assessed with the same discipline applied to financial performance. Annual corporate culture surveys, engagement metrics and ethics indicators provide early warning signals of misalignment.
In addition, boards must ensure alignment between performance and rewards. To be effective, compensation frameworks should incorporate key behaviours into performance metrics, ensuring a balance between strategic goals and short-term financial targets.
Finally, leadership development and succession planning are central to sustaining corporate culture. Future leaders must embody the organisation’s values. A misaligned succession decision can undo years of investment in corporate culture.
The growing focus on corporate culture reflects a broader shift in governance thinking. Boards are moving beyond monitoring financial outcomes to understanding the underlying drivers of those outcomes. Sustainable success is also a function of people, relationships and shared values.
In a Zimbabwean context, where governance frameworks are becoming more structured and stakeholder expectations are rising, corporate culture provides the bridge between compliance and performance. It ensures that governance is not merely about rules, but about behaviour.
Ultimately, corporate culture also creates an invisible set of rules, values and expectations that guide the behaviour of employees more strongly than written policies alone. This is critical in guiding employees when faced with an ethical dilemma or have to make difficult and grey area decisions.
Boards that embrace their role as custodians of corporate culture will strengthen governance, enhance resilience and build trust with stakeholders. In the long run, strategy defines direction, and corporate culture determines whether the organisation gets there.
Nyajeka is a business consultant and board advisor. He has vast experience as a corporate executive and has sat on various boards in Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Uganda. He is currently chairman of ACR Solutions and is also a seasoned trainer and facilitator for the Institute of Directors Zimbabwe (IoDZ). For business consulting, board advisory and executive coaching. Email him at: bnyajeka@acr4solutions.com