A Purpose-Led Approach to Organisational Culture

Image Credit: DUY Gradient Company, Doodles and Daydreams, photograph by Brian Slater

In recognition of the challenges and opportunities in our sector today, we recently launched our winter blog series focusing on our need for a new approach to leadership and governance – a purpose-led approach.

The first blog in this series set out the importance of centring purposeful leadership in our organisations and practices. That is to say, leadership which enables leaders to be conduits for change, and an approach to leadership which is focused on coalescing decisions and stakeholders around a measurable North Star – your purpose – which brings together the work created or curated, and the impact or change being brought about with and for priority audiences.

Our second blog explored the need to apply this approach to leadership to those in both Executive and Non-Executive positions. We championed the need for a new contract to exist between executive leaders and Boards of Trustees, centring a relationship focused on collaboration and partnership, as opposed to one which narrows that critical connection to a reporting relationship focused solely on a reduced lens of value (which is often financial).

When considering these elements of purposeful leadership, it is vital, therefore, that we consider what this means within the context of our organisational culture. Research shows, and it’s no surprise, that developing and maintaining a positive culture is vital to organisational sustainability, and further, an organisational culture which is misaligned with organisational purpose leads to an erosion of culture. This in turn manifests in a number of ways, including (but not limited to) the entrenching of siloes, disillusionment from staff, a lack of productivity, an increase in burnout, a feeling of overwork amongst staff, and a disconnect across organisational staffing levels (i.e. a gulf between those in senior and junior positions).

Our work at Achates spans the breadth of the culture and heritage sector and as part of that work we can see many organisations facing these challenges. Often these challenges come about as the result of an organisational culture which is misaligned with organisational purpose. In some cases, this is due to a lack of clarity as to what the organisational purpose is, and in others whilst there may be clarity of purpose, there is a disconnect between what it is and how it manifests in the fundamental ways the organisation’s values, behaviours, systems and processes are demonstrated and structured, i.e. its culture.

At Achates we define organisational culture as the embodiment of your purpose as realised through the values, behaviours and experiences of key stakeholders, which are in turn underpinned by the structures, systems and processes within which your organisation operates. This means that developing (and holding) a positive organisational culture must stem from a clarity of organisational purpose, which in turn feeds into a clear purpose-led strategy, which then filters through towards values, behaviours, systems and processes which are purpose-led and in turn enables an organisational culture which is healthy, positive, productive and measurable.

Our approach to leadership – one centred in purpose and based around the pillars of transparency, empathy and communication – provides an opportunity for organisational culture to take a more fundamental role, and for decisions around how to develop and hold a positive organisational culture to become clear as they are informed by the distinct purpose of your organisation.

Achates Community provides support, tools and resources to support organisations in moving towards a purpose-led approach, including from a leadership and cultural perspective.

Our Purposeful Leader Programme (PLP) supports participants to think about the concepts of purposeful leadership within the context of real topics and challenges faced by those in the sector today and to develop the skills and tools needed to face those in a purposeful way. In late November 2025, we launched PLP Advanced. This new programme – available to Achates Community members who have completed the first PLP programme – will apply the concepts of purposeful leadership to organisational culture, supporting participants to deepen their understanding of purposeful leadership and develop an approach which adapts their organisational culture to align with purpose.

Access to these programmes is included in all Achates Community memberships, which is just £50 p/m (for a 12-month minimum subscription) for cultural sector charity employees, or £500 annually when paid up front.

Join our community today to get full access to the PLP programmes, plus over 60 further Masterclasses to provide you with all of the tools needed to adopt a purpose-led approach to leadership and governance.