TAKING the ‘pulse’ of a place is the quickest way to know what’s going on. 

For example, if I am travelling to a city such as London, I slip into the back of a black cab and ask the driver a question, which usually prompts a no holds barred dissertation drawn straight from their lived experience. 

Over the years they have shared their frustrations at “Boris’ bikes”, the folly of closing Oxford Street, and the nicknames for the newest buildings on the skyline: The Scalpel, The Walkie Talkie and The Cheese Grater among them. 

I refer to their collective intel as my ‘London cabbie index’. 

This listening exercise adds another dimension to my information gathering, with what they tell me becoming part of my line of questioning when meeting formally with civic, academic and business leaders.

At home, I’ve developed a Perth version: the ‘Uber driver index’. And while the tone is different, the lessons are just as rich. 

Often, I am driven by someone who has chosen Perth as their home and I’m regularly told that its beauty is cited as an unexpected blessing and the cost of housing its biggest curse.

I use the same approach when chairing a board.

The induction meeting and the materials provided, such as policy documents and previous minutes, tell me how the organisation is meant to work. The time spent on the ground with staff and others such as volunteers, as well as my fellow directors, tells me how it actually works.

Over my career, I have had the privilege of leading several boards and serving on others. In that time, I’ve found that the most valuable insights have come from spending time with people at every level — not just those at the top — to understand the work they do and elicit what’s working and what’s not.

My style is an adaptation of the 1980s leadership principle popularised by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman: ‘managing by walking around’. It is undertaken adhering to the good governance principle of ‘noses in’ (be informed), ‘fingers out’ (it’s not your job to do the doing).

It’s a complementary but powerful tool that works alongside the understanding gained from the results of people and culture surveys. These are, of course, most meaningful when the conditions are right.

Staff must feel safe enough to respond honestly, trust that their views will be taken seriously, and see that management is willing to look beyond the high notes to the low ones (and engage with the commentary that substantiates the claim).

One of the things I’ve found valuable as chair of people and culture committees is to have an implementation plan developed to address every concerning issue, outlining the solution pathway and timeframe as well as assigning an accountable officer. It then becomes the job of the chief executive and their direct reports to communicate the plan and its actions throughout the organisation and provide regular updates on progress.

Without it, staff can become disillusioned, and this lack of transparency hardens into a cultural wedge between them and management. It takes considerable effort to turn an organisation around at this point. I know, I’ve done it several times.

The research into toxic cultures is clear: recovery begins when leaders acknowledge reality, demonstrate early integrity, and rebuild psychological safety through consistent follow through.

A new leader may enjoy a brief honeymoon because they weren’t part of the problem, but that doesn’t guarantee a warm and lasting reception. What matters is how they show up with trust, openness and respect, because that is what ultimately creates the watershed where mistrusting staff choose to fully re engage.

Twenty-five years in leadership roles has taught me that culture reveals itself in unexpected moments; the ones in which you glean valuable information because you’re watching and listening rather than assuming or dismissing.

For leaders who make space for those moments and act upon what they hear, the organisation has the best chance to repair culture and improve efficiency and satisfaction.

Leaders who choose to ignore those valuable inputs will find themselves at the head of a race to the bottom as toxicity eats at productivity and goodwill.

• Marion Fulker is an executive coach and the WA state chair of Smartgroup