Episode Overview
In this episode of Culture Bites, host Dominic Gourley explores dependent culture – a workplace pattern where decision-making is centralised, authority sits at the top, and people wait for direction rather than taking initiative.
Dependent cultures are often highly hierarchical. Employees are expected to “do what they’re told,” seek approval for even routine decisions, and defer responsibility upward to avoid blame. While this can feel safe in the short term, it creates bottlenecks, slows execution, reduces motivation, and ultimately limits organisational performance.
Dominic unpacks how dependent culture shows up day to day, the impact it has on teams and customers, and what leaders can do to shift toward a more empowered, achievement-oriented culture.
Subjects Discussed
- What a dependent culture is and how it differs from healthy hierarchy
- How centralised decision making creates bottlenecks
- Why people avoid ownership and initiative in dependent cultures
- How dependent cultures show execution and stall progress
- The impact on motivation, engagement, and customer service
- Leadership behaviours that unintentionally reinforce dependency
- The role of clarity, capability, and context in empowerment
- Why mistakes get punished – and how that drives risk avoidance
- The link between dependent culture and poor onboarding
- How leaders can shift from dependency to achievement
Key Insights
When decisions must be approved up the hierarchy, even routine work gets delayed. Leaders become bottlenecks, and progress stalls while people wait for permission rather than acting.
Fear of Blame Drives Inaction
In dependent cultures, people avoid ownership because mistakes are punished more than initiative is rewarded. Playing it safe becomes the norm – even when better options are obvious.
Centralised Authority Disempowers Teams
When authority sits at the top, capability and thinking are underutilised elsewhere. Instead of many people solving problems, organisations rely on a small number of decision-makers.
Lack of Clarity Fuels Dependency
When goals, priorities, and decision rights aren’t clear, people default to pushing decisions upward. Clarity on direction and boundaries is essential for empowerment.
Empowerment Requires Capability, Not Just Permission
Telling people they’re empowered isn’t enough. They need context, training, experience, and an understanding of the business to make sound decisions confidently.
Leaders Often Reinforce Dependency Without Realising
Micromanagement, over-involvement, and always having the “answer” teaches people to defer decisions. Even well-intentioned leadership can unintentionally weaken initiative.
Achievement Is the Antidote to Dependency
Shifting out of dependent culture requires building achievement – clear goals, shared understanding, decision guardrails, and leaders who help others think for themselves.
Resources Mentioned
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