It’s a well-known fact that transformation is a rarely smooth process, and culture change is no exception. Just like the external energy transition, the internal journey toward alignment, agility, and performance is riddled with friction. Leaders are often told they need total buy-in across every level of the organization. But what if that pressure for comprehensive change is part of what’s holding transformation back?
Not every part of a business moves at the same pace. And in a sector already navigating the monumental tension between legacy systems and future ambitions, the idea of a full-system cultural reboot is often unrealistic and unnecessary.
What if the key to real transformation isn’t total alignment but strategic selectivity, concentrating on where momentum already exists?
The problem with "comprehensive" change
Organizational change management literature is filled with calls for alignment across all levels—executives, middle managers, and front-line employees. It’s a compelling idea in theory, but in practice, it often leads to generic efforts that lack focus, urgency, or measurable traction.
One of the most persistent blockers to this kind of change is the “frozen middle”—a term coined to describe middle management who, despite being crucial to implementation, often resist change. Why? Because they are overloaded, risk-averse, and frequently excluded from the why behind the transformation. A McKinsey analysis and Brandpie’s own CEO Study recently confirmed that change initiatives stall in the middle at the intersection of strategy, process, and people.
In a sector already navigating the monumental tension between legacy systems and future ambitions, the idea of a full-system cultural reboot is often unrealistic and unnecessary.
Kylie Sayer’s research into change management found that middle managers actively resist transformation efforts like Business Process Reengineering when they perceive them as a threat to their power or routine. This resistance isn’t malicious—it’s survival. And it’s why pushing change “from the top” or “across the board” often results in passive compliance rather than meaningful adoption.
The result? Culture programs that are too slow, too expensive, and too easily derailed.
The alternative: start where it matters most
What if, instead of targeting everyone, we were more intentional and selective? Specifically, the 10–15% of people whose roles, mindsets, and visibility have outsized influence on how things get done—and what gets valued—in your organization. These are the senior leaders who set the behavioral tone, sales teams stars who carry your brand promise to clients, and emerging leaders who are ambitious energizers to mobilize people and translate strategy into results. These are also the people whose actions speak louder than slogans.
When Shell faced pressure to decarbonize and modernize operations, it didn’t attempt a sweeping, company-wide reset. Instead, it zoomed in on frontline plant supervisors and safety leaders. Those with day-to-day influence over culture on the ground. Through behavior-based coaching, peer accountability, and targeted recognition, Shell shifted mindsets around ownership and operational discipline, resulting in a 30% reduction in recordable incidents. The transformation took hold not because everyone changed all at once, but because the right people changed first.
When Shell faced pressure to decarbonize and modernize operations, it didn’t attempt a sweeping, company-wide reset. Instead, it zoomed in on frontline plant supervisors and safety leaders.
Similarly, NextEra Energy chose to spark culture change not through lofty values campaigns, but through performance. By identifying high-performing units and investing in their leadership autonomy and development, they created localized blueprints of success that others across the business aspired to emulate. As one senior leader put it, “We focused on where the heat already was, and poured gasoline on it.” Their approach didn’t require broad mandates. It allowed performance to pull the culture forward—naturally, credibly, and fast.
A playbook to power performance through culture
1. Identify your individuals
Use data to find the 10–15% of people who influence how work gets done. Look at leadership impact, employee network analysis, sales team performance, safety data, customer satisfaction scores. Who people listen to matters more than who sits on the org chart.
2. Empower the few, loudly
Give them support, freedom, and responsibility. Pilot new behaviors, tools, or ways of working with them. Provide visibility and senior backing. Let them co-create what “better” looks like and recognize their wins publicly.
3. Amplify their success
Make the early adopters the story. Turn their results into internal case studies. Use storytelling and internal comms to shift what’s “normal.” As social norms shift, more people follow, not because they’re told to, but because they want to be part of what’s working.
4. Scale what’s working
Only after proof, not before. Once you’ve built critical mass, you can scale through playbooks, peer-to-peer coaching, and targeted onboarding. Change that is real, visible, and successful sells itself.
Lead loud, start small, scale fast
The tension between what needs to change and what’s ready to change isn’t a problem— it’s the pathway. Comprehensive culture programs often stall because they ignore this tension. But by starting where performance already shines bright, leaders can turn internal belief into external results, fast.
Just as the energy transition demands both bold direction and tactical patience, cultural transformation succeeds when it embraces the unevenness of progress. Identify your catalysts. Back them visibly. Let their impact spark belief in others.
Because in energy—and in culture—critical mass changes everything.
Energy magazine: Tension in the transition
How are energy brands navigating the energy crossroads?
Our latest energy magazine explores the complex balancing act energy leaders face as they work to deliver on today’s expectations while transforming for tomorrow. Inside, you’ll find insights from companies like Shell Energy, Galp, OneSubsea, Höegh Evi and more.
