Leadership doesn’t thrive in silence. As much as we’d like it to, leadership doesn’t emerge from a slide deck or a single standout individual. Leadership flourishes – or fails – based on the culture that surrounds it. And yet, too often, we pour time and money into formal development programs while ignoring the very environment where leadership behaviors are meant to take root.
The truth is clear: you can’t grow strong leaders in weak soil. Culture is the hidden architecture that determines whether leadership sprouts organically across an organization – or withers before it begins.
Leadership Doesn’t Thrive in Barren Soil
Ask most leaders how they’re developing future talent, and they’ll point to coaching programs, succession plans, or executive training. These are all valuable, but insufficient. Because when the culture punishes risk, avoids feedback, or hoards decision-making, no amount of training can compensate.
It’s the daily environment – not the annual offsite – that tells people whether it’s safe to speak up, take initiative, or lead without a title.
Take Google’s famed Project Aristotle study, which sought to uncover why some teams outperform others. The strongest predictor of success wasn’t intelligence, skill mix, or resources. It was psychological safety – the sense that team members could take risks without fear of embarrassment or retaliation.
“Leadership can only grow where fear doesn’t live.”
— Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School
In a culture where silence is safer than speaking, where hierarchy overrules contribution, leadership simply doesn’t take root. We end up with compliance – not commitment. Project Aristotle’s findings were surprising and challenged their initial assumptions:
The team behind Project Aristotle had initially guessed that successful teams primarily required a structured hierarchy of intelligent minds. Instead, guided by [Amy] Edmondson’s 1999 paper [on psychological safety], they found that teams with a culture focused around value and respect were more successful.
Psychological Safety: The Root System of Leadership Growth
At its core, leadership requires stepping into uncertainty. It means challenging assumptions, raising new ideas, and taking responsibility for outcomes that aren’t guaranteed. And none of that is possible without psychological safety.
Psychological safety is the unseen root system of leadership. Without it, people won’t stretch—they’ll shrink. They won’t raise their hand to lead; they’ll look for cues to stay quiet.
So, let’s look at what safety looks like in practice:
- Leaders ask more questions than they answer.
- Team members feel respected, even when they disagree.
- Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities – not liabilities.
And importantly, psychological safety isn’t a “soft” leadership issue. According to a 2017 study published in HBR, teams with high psychological safety are more innovative, more collaborative, and better at navigating change.
Leadership begins where people believe their voices matter. That belief must be actively cultivated – especially at the top, but it must permeate all levels of the organization and all ways of working.
Culture Is What You Tolerate, Not Just What You Preach
For sure, every organization has a culture, whether it was built with intention or not. But here’s the key – culture isn’t defined by the values you print on a poster and place on the wall. It’s defined by what leaders model, what teams repeat, and what’s allowed to persist.
Consider Netflix, where the culture of radical candor and accountability has created a feedback-rich environment. It’s not always comfortable – but it’s incredibly generative for leadership. Why? Because feedback becomes fuel. Leaders at every level are expected to speak up, challenge ideas, and own their decisions.
On the flip side, cultures that tolerate passive-aggressive behavior, over-politeness, or chronic avoidance often find themselves starving for leadership. Not because people aren’t capable – but because the environment whispers: “Stay in your lane.”
Leadership behaviors like initiative, problem-solving, and ownership emerge when people feel safe and supported. And those signals start with what’s modeled at the top.
Cultures That Empower, Not Permit
There’s a fundamental difference between empowering leadership and granting permission. Empowerment invites leadership from every level. Permission waits for a title.
The way I see it, in leadership-rich cultures:
- Decision-making is distributed, not centralized
- Stretch assignments are seen as development tools, not risks
- Everyone – from interns to execs – are expected to lead within their sphere of influence.
Take Atlassian, the global software company. They don’t just talk about shared ownership – they build it into their systems. Leadership principles are embedded into team rituals, product sprints, and cross-functional reviews. Leadership isn’t a special lane; it’s the way all teams and divisions move forward, together. And that’s what we’re striving for.
Nina Nets It Out
If leadership is the outcome, culture is the soil. You can’t grow what your environment can’t sustain. Organizations that want more leaders must first become more leadership-friendly. That means creating a culture where safety is high, feedback is real, and ownership is shared. Leadership isn’t an exception, it’s an expectation. And it starts with the culture you choose to cultivate every single day.