Last verified: October 10, 2026.
The short answer
Leaders tend to blame culture when performance stalls because it's a safe target that implicates no one, according to an analysis in Entrepreneur. The real issue is often a leader losing hands-on proximity to their work or making specific decisions that get skipped or rewarded incorrectly. To fix this, owners need to notice the distance before diagnosing culture and ask what they've been doing specifically that's producing the current results.
Why culture is the easy scapegoat
You see a dip in performance and you want to blame culture. It feels like the answer because it explains everything without pointing at anyone. But as Entrepreneur reported, leaders often use culture as a shield. The article notes that culture is safe to blame because it points everywhere at once while being specific enough to implicate no one.
That tracks with what iHire found in their 2026 Toxic Workplace Trends Report, which showed that 79% of employees who experienced a toxic workplace cited poor leadership and management as the cause. Before you start another retreat or hire an HR consultant, look at the decisions being made. The problem is rarely the vibe. It's usually the choices you're making or ignoring.
Spotting operational distance
Jana Boone, SVP of growth enablement at Intero Digital, puts it bluntly. The more common issue isn't culture at all, but a leader who hasn't spent hands-on time with their people in a while. When you get busy scaling or dealing with other parts of the business, you lose that proximity.
The article points to an FAA audit following the Alaska Airlines 737 Max door panel incident as proof. The audit didn't just wave its hands at culture. It identified specific leadership decisions:
- What got rewarded
- What got skipped
- What got signed off without a safety briefing
You can do the same for your business. Notice the distance before diagnosing culture. Ask yourself where you've stepped back too far and what processes are running on autopilot without your eyes on them.
How to identify the habits stalling your team
Fixing performance starts with a tougher question, according to the article. You have to ask what you've been doing specifically that's producing this. A University of Iowa study by researcher Daniel Newton found that management teams respond with more urgency to employees who point out a problem than to those who show up with a proposed fix. That tells you something about how your team feels safe speaking up.
If you want to identify the specific leadership habits stalling your team, take these steps:
- Request direct feedback from peers and reports. Ask them what decisions are causing the stall.
- Reward employees who surface problems early. When people see that surfacing issues leads to action, they'll stop hiding them.
- Examine what gets rewarded versus what gets skipped in your daily operations. Your team is mirroring your priorities.
Frequently asked questions
Why do leaders blame culture instead of their own behavior?
Leaders often use culture as a safe target because it's broad enough to describe everything and specific enough to implicate no one, according to the article. The real cause is usually poor leadership decisions or operational distance.
How can I tell if my team performance issue is cultural or leadership-related?
Check your proximity to the work. If you haven't spent hands-on time with your people recently, the issue is likely operational distance rather than culture. Also look at what gets rewarded and what gets skipped in your daily decisions.
What does research say about toxic workplaces and leadership?
iHire's 2026 Toxic Workplace Trends Report found that 79% of employees who experienced a toxic workplace cited poor leadership and management as the cause, not general team dynamics.
How should I handle employees who report problems?
University of Iowa researcher Daniel Newton found that management teams respond with more urgency to employees who point out a problem than to those who propose a fix. Lean into that urgency and reward early surfacing of issues.
What is the first step to fixing a performance dip?
The article suggests asking a tougher question before blaming culture. Ask yourself what you've been doing specifically that's producing the current results, then correct those decisions.
Take a closer look at your own habits
I talk to owners every day who are stuck in the weeds of operations and wonder if their team is the problem. More often than not, it's just distance from the work or decisions that aren't being made clearly. If you're ready to stop blaming culture and start fixing the real issues, reach out. We can help you look at the systems and decisions that matter.
Sources
Get your Transferability Score
Free 14-question assessment. See where your business stands and what's holding it back from a clean exit.
Take the Free Score