Organizational work culture facilitates the effectiveness more than the administrative structure. The spirit of an organization is not found in the leadership structure, rules and regulation but in the culture which the leadership must instill in the workforce. The role of the leadership is therefore crucial in shaping the organizational work culture.
Shaping the work culture requires a lot of care. It involves formation of new interactions which will propagate new approaches which in turn unite the people. Leaders should therefore focus their cognitive skills; leadership expertise and problem solving abilities to shape the culture of the organization without abandoning the structure and performance of the organization; structure and culture of an organization are effective barometers of the culture. Cultural transformation is therefore crucial for improved performance in an organization.
Cultural leadership approach views organizations as living things, therefore, an interactive process is mandatory. When leadership solely focuses on structure and performance of an organization the root cause of the functioning of the organization is missed. Diversity in the organization should therefore be viewed positively or valued and broad participation of all people in the organization ensured for its success. For example, when the people from various levels meet and share ideas, everyone has the opportunity to learn and hear diverse perspectives represented on the team (Kotter, 1992).
Focusing on the structures only, results into position mindedness among the workforce at the expense of vital and core values of an organization such as support, trust, integrity and honesty
Organizational culture is something that is very hard to change and the people in the organization need time to change and adjust to new culture. Therefore, to achieve the desired cultural change, the leadership must formulate a clear strategic vision, display top management commitment, model culture change at the highest level, modify the organization to support the organizational change, select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants, develop ethical and legal sensitivity since changes in culture can lead to tensions between the personal interests of individual employees or people and the interests of the organization.