I’ve worked with enough leaders and organisations to know this; there’s a very fine line between building a healthy, high-performing culture and creating a system of subtle control. Currently, far too many workplaces are crossing it without even realising.
The Netflix documentary on WeWork brings this into sharp focus. What began as an inspiring and ambitious mission gradually unravelled into something far more toxic. Under the spell of a charismatic leader who demanded total buy-in and allowed no room for dissent, the organisation’s culture shifted. Rituals, mantras, and unquestioning loyalty transformed WeWork from a bold vision into something resembling a cult.
It’s not just a WeWork problem
This isn’t limited to tech unicorns or billion-dollar startups. I see the same patterns play out daily in businesses of all shapes and sizes; from well-established corporates to growing mid-sized enterprises. The symptoms are there, even if they’re harder to detect.
Culture becomes dangerous when it starts to favour obedience over originality, when we mistake performance theatre for engagement and when discomfort is pushed aside in favour of keeping the peace. Often, these behaviours are disguised as strength. Leaders confuse alignment with loyalty, positivity with morale and silence with stability. Unfortunately, none of these are reliable indicators of a high performing or psychologically safe workplace.
What I see inside workplaces
I see emotional suppression being praised as resilience. I see charismatic leaders being shielded from feedback and I see leaders and staff rewarded for likability, not contribution. I see employees quietly punished for asking difficult questions or challenging ideas and I see talented professionals labelled ‘not a cultural fit’ simply because they won’t conform to a narrow view of idealised behaviour.
This isn’t culture, it’s control and when it’s dressed up in language about vision, values and unity, it becomes even harder to challenge, especially for the people experiencing it.
Toxic positivity and the cost of silence
When positivity becomes mandatory, truth disappears and when truth disappears, trust evaporates. Innovation slows, critical thinking fades and the workplace becomes an echo chamber where no one wants to say what needs to be said.
This is why psychological safety matters so much. It’s not about creating a soft environment or encouraging endless debate. It’s about allowing people to bring their full selves to work, their ideas, concerns, questions and feedback, in the spirit of innovation and growth through diversity, without fear of judgment or retaliation.
Culture isn’t about being agreeable
Real culture invites debate. It values difference, depends on challenge, and creates space for voices that disrupt the status quo. Strong teams don’t avoid conflict, they know how to hold it.
If your culture shuts down dissent, you’re not building alignment, you’re breeding silence. And that silence? It rarely stays quiet for long. It shows up in disengagement, poor decisions, and risk.
Hard questions for courageous leaders
I encourage every executive and HR leader to ask themselves some tough questions. Is your culture energising or exhausting? Are your rituals and mantras driving the right behaviour? Is there worship or respect? Are people filtering feedback to protect themselves or their jobs? Are leaders open to challenge or do they only reward agreement?
Culture isn’t just what you promote it’s what you permit. If your environment silences differences of opinion, the greatest risks aren’t loud and obvious, but quiet and hidden. What’s left unsaid can cost you the most.
