Webinars On-Demand

Interplay between Leadership, Strategy, Design and Culture

Overview

We are proud to present a premier learning event hosted by the Academy for Organisational Change in strategic partnership with WorldsView Academy, titled Interplay between Leadership, Strategy, Design and Culture. This pivotal session is being brought to you through SA Accounting Academy and the SA Legal Academy.
Organisations today are under pressure to adapt, perform, and remain relevant in an environment of constant disruption. While leadership, strategy, design and culture are often discussed as separate topics, in practice they are deeply interconnected, and misalignment between them is one of the most common reasons strategy fails to translate into results.

This seminar explores the dynamic interplay between leadership, strategy, organisational design, and culture. It challenges the idea that culture can be “fixed” in isolation and instead positions culture as an outcome of leadership behaviour, strategic clarity, and organisational design choices. Through practical frameworks, real-world examples, and observable leadership behaviours, participants will gain a clearer understanding of how organisations truly “become” what they are.

Learning Objectives

By attending this seminar, participants will be able to:

• Understand the systemic relationship between leadership, strategy, organisational design, and culture
• Differentiate between culture as an aspiration and culture as an organisational outcome
• Recognise common misalignments that undermine strategy execution
• Apply practical lenses to assess leadership behaviour and organisational design choices
• Identify leverage points for shaping healthier, more effective organisational cultures

Content Outline

1. Leadership as the Catalyst

• Leadership as behaviour, not position: “walking the talk” in a modern organisational context
• The impact of leadership consistency, decision-making, and role modelling on organisational outcomes
• Leadership challenges in digital, hybrid, and high-change environments

2. Strategy: Clarity, Ownership, and Communication

• What “good strategy” really means beyond vision statements and slide decks
• The leader’s role in formulating, translating, and continuously reinforcing strategy
• Why unclear or poorly communicated strategy creates cultural drift

3. Organisational Design as the Enabler (or Blocker)

• Moving beyond organograms: decision rights, communication flows, and ways of working
• How design choices shape behaviour, accountability, and effectiveness of execution
• Common design misalignments that quietly erode strategy

4. Culture as the Outcome

• Culture as the lived experience of leadership, strategy, and design in action
• Diagnosing cultural patterns through observable behaviours and systems
• Practical implications for leaders and HR/OD professionals seeking sustainable change