Culture Is Not Inclusion

But inclusion might just be what keeps your culture alive.

Lately, I’ve had a few people ask me: “Now that DEI has been labelled divisive and ‘woke’, and organisations are backtracking, are you pivoting into culture instead?”

For clarity.... I’ve been working in organisational culture for just as long as I’ve been doing inclusion. These are not new conversations, they’re just louder now that the spotlight has shifted.

However, one thing that really bothers me is the idea that Culture and inclusion are the same thing. Treating them as interchangeable is precisely the kind of oversimplification that keeps organisations stuck, progress stagnant, and businesses divided.

What’s the difference?

Inclusion is often expressed in questions like:

“Who’s missing from this conversation?” “Let’s start our meetings at 10 am for working parents.” “Let’s add pronouns to our comms.”

It’s a conscious and intentional effort to create space for people, for differences, and equity. Inclusion is intentional. It’s disruptive. And it often begins by naming what's uncomfortable.

Culture, on the other hand, is what happens when no one’s paying attention:

“Ask so-and-so, they’ve been here for years.” “We always do Friday drinks.” “It’s normal to get 10 pm emails from leadership.”

Culture is the invisible social code, social expectations and accepted behaviours of a workplace. It’s what gets rewarded, tolerated, passed down and protected. It’s “the way we do things around here.” Whether healthy or harmful, culture holds power because it feels natural, even when it has been nurtured over time.

Culture is not a department. It’s the DNA of your business.

Many executive teams still view culture as something soft and abstract, some combination of values on a wall, perks, and the office atmosphere.

But culture is neither fluffy nor accidental. It’s behavioural. It’s structural. And it's commercially strategic.

And while inclusion and culture are intertwined, they are not interchangeable. If anything, inclusion is the younger sibling, loud, energetic, rebellious, trying to disrupt the family dinner of status quo culture.

The two can co-exist. But they play very different roles:

• Culture explains how things are.
• Inclusion challenges how they should be.

Sooo... Is culture nature or nurture?

Let’s unpick this a little....

Culture is often treated like an unspoken force that exists. But in reality, it’s entirely constructed. It’s the result of leadership behaviours, unwritten rules, historical power structures, and what we choose to ignore or reward.

And that’s where inclusion plays a critical role. Inclusion is the deliberate act of nurturing a culture that is fair, human, and built for everyone, not just the familiar few.

Culture is often treated like an unspoken force, something that “just is.”

“It’s the vibe here.” “You’ll get it once you’ve been here a while.” “Ask so-and-so, they’ve been around the longest.”

But here’s the truth: Culture doesn’t just happen. It’s built. Brick by brick. Leader by leader. Behaviour by behaviour.

It’s the outcome of what gets rewarded, ignored, or quietly tolerated. It’s shaped by who gets promoted, who gets heard, and who disappears after raising a concern. It’s reinforced in the 10 pm emails, the Friday drinks, the inside jokes, and the subtle signals that say:

“This is how we do things around here.”

So while culture may feel natural, it is absolutely nurtured. Which means — it can be redesigned.

Inclusion plays a critical role in building an inclusive culture. Inclusion is the conscious act of designing culture with intention and with everyone in mind.

Without inclusion, culture becomes a comfort zone for the few and a risk zone for the rest. With inclusion, culture becomes a space where difference isn’t just accepted, it’s expected, respected, and reflected.

So, how do organisations really build culture?

Let’s break the illusion.

You don’t build culture with a slogan, a values poster, or a ping-pong table. You build it through the everyday decisions and dynamics that shape how people feel when they show up to work.

Here’s what actually builds culture:

• Leadership behaviour. What your leaders tolerate, excuse, praise, or model is what others copy.
• Values in action. If your values don’t show up in your hiring, your feedback loops, or your performance reviews, they’re just words.
• Unwritten rules. Who gets to challenge ideas? Who stays silent in meetings? Who gets to leave loudly, and who has to fade away quietly?
• Structural bias. Who’s over-mentored and under-sponsored? Who’s always “a great culture fit” and who’s never “quite ready”?

Culture is not a department. It’s the water everyone’s swimming in. The question is, do your people feel like they’re floating, fighting, or drowning?

Inclusion is not a vibe. It’s a discipline.

It asks different questions:

• Who’s missing from this room, and why?
• Who’s adapting constantly to survive here?
• What assumptions are baked into our norms?

It’s the intentional design of cultures that are psychologically safe, systemically fair, and emotionally intelligent.

Because when inclusion is embedded, culture evolves. And when culture evolves, performance follows.

Inclusion is the foundation for everything else.

When done right, inclusion becomes the breeding ground for:

• Diversity that isn’t just visual, but experiential.
• Equity that isn’t just policy, but practice.
• Belonging that isn’t just branding, but behaviour.

Without inclusion, culture gets built on the loudest voices and the most comfortable norms. With it, you build something worth scaling, something sustainable.

The work I’m loving right now…

I’m currently working with a brilliant Series A business that’s in the early stages of scale-up. They’ve brought me in to help define and embed their core values, behaviours, and leadership norms, before their culture becomes something unintentional.

We’re asking the big questions:

• What do we want to be known for?
• What behaviours will define us—inside and out?
• What must we protect as we grow?

We’re not just drafting value statements. We’re building a culture blueprint that will guide hiring, decision-making, and everyday behaviour. A culture rooted in purpose. Defined by people. Designed to grow with intention.

As I continue to be led by the work that excites me, and step into the world of consulting, I’m deeply enjoying, rediscovering the power of culture, crafting visions with depth, and helping leaders create inclusive strategies that aren’t just words, but ways of working.

Because culture isn’t something you write. It’s something you live.

And inclusion? That’s what ensures everyone gets to breathe in that culture and thrive.

Final Thought:

Culture without inclusion is tradition. Inclusion without culture is chaos.

But together? That’s how you build companies people trust, love, and stay in.