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No institution’s survival is more important than the welfare of those it serves. If any organisation behaves in ways other than this, the culture can already be described as rotten. It is the leader’s job is to establish and develop that culture. What is culture and how can it be changed?

The best definition is, I think, “the way in which a group solves problems”. From religious centres to boardrooms, culture is about what we value. It is demonstrated by what we pay attention to and how we behave. When a leader misdirects the culture of which he is the prime mover either the organisation deteriorates badly or the leader must go.

The reason cultures take so long to change is because newcomers to the organisation are taught that the present way to perceive, think and feel in relation to problems is the correct way. Teachers are powerful and a learner is predisposed to accept what he is told, at least until he is established enough legitimately to question the standards and behavior of his institution.

All this makes it sound as though a good leader must be a dictator. The reverse is true. There are times and situations in which total obedience to the leader is essential – in emergencies, for example, when people’s lives are at stake. The best leaders are those whose followers consider that they are contributing to the culture. There is no greater endorsement of anything than whole-hearted participation in it.

The problem is that cultures tend to perpetuate themselves. In helping to revive a declining UK business when I was young I had to close the director’s bar, patronized by those entitled to use it from 10am to 10pm daily. The Chairman was an alcoholic; his lengthening shadow, a hangover. The relatively small act of closing the bar began the rejuvenation of the business which went on to flourish.

Styles of leadership vary not just from one person to another but also from one time to another. What is a suitable wartime style is not necessarily right for peace. Leadership fifty years ago was more dogmatic than it can be today. It must now be collegial, more difficult than a ‘ruler and ruled’ situation. Encouraging people to contribute is itself a major factor in forming a culture. Managing their contributions is a skill many old-style leaders never learnt.

For all the need to involve and engage the members of an organisation, the leader remains the driving force in creating the culture. Shareholders would do well to take more interest in the culture of the businesses in which they invest than the minutiae of the annual report. If they get the right leader they will also get the right rewards.

The organisation truly is the leader’s lengthening shadow.