When Local Culture Eats Company Culture

by Pinar Koyuncu Oktar

Every company loves to talk about culture. It is described as the invisible glue that holds people together, the DNA that makes the organization unique. Leaders proudly announce values like collaboration, equality, or agility. Offices are decorated with posters. New joiners are introduced to the culture handbook on day one.

But once you operate in multiple countries, you quickly learn an uncomfortable truth: culture does not travel as easily as products do. Local habits, traditions, and ways of working can reshape or even override your carefully designed company culture.

I remember a case from years ago. A global organization I knew had a culture built around equality, flat hierarchy, and informality. The idea was simple: speak openly, question decisions, and collaborate without titles getting in the way. On paper, it was beautiful.

Then came expansion into new markets. Suddenly, those same principles met traditions built on hierarchy, respect for seniority, and collective harmony. Team members hesitated to call managers by their first names or to disagree in meetings. The intention was not resistance; it was respect. What headquarters saw as “lack of openness” was, in truth, local politeness.

At first, headquarters resisted. The message was: “This is who we are, and this is how we work. Follow the playbook.” But eventually, the organization realized that culture isabout translating the same values into different realities. So they started to adapt. Leadership training was redesigned to respect hierarchy while still encouraging more dialogue. Employee engagement programs were rewritten to balance collective traditions with individual accountability. The values stayed the same, but the way they were practiced became local.

This is the lesson: company culture is a living system that interacts with local norms.

Leaders who succeed globally do not force a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, they ask:

• How does respect look in this culture?

• How does openness sound in this language?

• How can teamwork be expressed in this society?

The answers differ, but the core values remain intact.

As leaders, we often think culture is what we design. In reality, culture is what people live shaped by their own context, beliefs, and habits. If you want your company culture to thrive across borders, you need policies that are flexible enough to respect local customs, yet strong enough to hold on to your DNA.

The best global leaders know that balance. Global leadership is the art of blending headquarters and local ways into one shared rhythm that keeps the culture alive and evolving.