Organisational Culture and Leadership in Safety-Critical Systems
Organisational culture is often talked about as though it were something that can be designed or “fixed” through a programme or initiative. In safety-critical systems, that view rarely holds true. Culture is not what is written in policy documents or displayed on posters; it is what people experience day to day as they go about their work. Leadership plays a central role in shaping that experience, whether intentionally or otherwise.
Edgar Schein described organisational culture as the shared assumptions that a group develops over time as it learns how to operate successfully. These assumptions shape how people interpret situations, make decisions, and respond to uncertainty. In practice, culture shows up in small, often unnoticed moments: how problems are discussed, how bad news is received, and which pressures are ultimately allowed to dominate when trade-offs arise.
In safety-critical environments such as aviation, these underlying assumptions matter greatly. When work becomes complex or time-pressured, people rely less on formal rules and more on what they believe is expected of them. Those beliefs are shaped by what leaders consistently pay attention to, what they tolerate, and how they behave when things do not go to plan. Over time, these signals form a powerful, if informal, guide to behaviour.
One of the most common cultural challenges arises when there is a gap between what an organisation says it values and what it rewards in practice. Many organisations articulate strong commitments to safety, openness, and learning. However, if those commitments are regularly overridden by delivery pressures or performance targets, staff quickly learn which priorities truly matter. Culture, in this sense, becomes less about stated values and more about lived experience.
Complex systems add another layer of difficulty. Not every situation can be anticipated, and not every decision can be governed by procedure. People are required to exercise judgement, adapt to changing circumstances, and manage uncertainty in real time. In these situations, culture plays a decisive role in shaping how risk is perceived and managed. It influences whether people speak up, whether uncertainty is acknowledged, and whether emerging problems are treated as learning opportunities or inconveniences.
Schein placed particular emphasis on the importance of learning in organisations facing uncertainty. In safety-critical systems, this requires leaders to demonstrate a degree of humility. Leaders cannot see every risk or understand every operational nuance, and acknowledging that reality is a strength rather than a weakness. When leaders show curiosity, invite challenge, and respond constructively to bad news, they create the conditions for learning and adaptation. When they do not, risk has a tendency to remain hidden until it manifests in more serious ways.
Attempts to improve culture through training courses or awareness campaigns often fall short because they focus on surface behaviours rather than underlying assumptions. Sustainable cultural change requires alignment between what leaders say, how systems are designed, and how decisions are actually made. Without that alignment, cultural initiatives risk becoming symbolic gestures rather than meaningful change.
Independent safety assurance can play a useful supporting role in this context. While assurance cannot change culture directly, it can help make cultural issues visible by examining how systems operate in practice. An independent perspective can highlight where policy and reality diverge, where assumptions go untested, and where leadership intent is not translating into operational experience. Used well, this kind of insight supports leaders in understanding the cultural dynamics that influence safety performance.
Ultimately, organisational culture and leadership are inseparable. Culture is the cumulative result of leadership decisions and behaviours over time. Schein’s work reminds us that culture is not something an organisation possesses; it is something it continually creates. For leaders in safety-critical systems, the challenge is not to declare the right culture, but to shape the conditions in which safe, thoughtful, and responsible behaviour becomes the natural way of working.
