Bias for Action – Why Culture Matters

by Pamela Coleman

September 2025

Most managers will tell you they value it when employees take initiative. Often, teams prepare interview questions to identify this trait in candidates. While a bias for action is highly desirable, a culture must support it by making it safe to take risks. If employees believe that taking risks will result in blowback, only the brave or reckless will do so. Employees tend to hesitate or stay on the sidelines in unclear cultural environments. 

As a consultant, I attended meetings where attendees remained silent except for the most senior person present. I watched as heads would swivel toward the one person whose voice mattered. I would scan the room, sometimes full of people, and wonder how the organization could thrive on the ideas of just one or two individuals. In other instances, leaders openly claimed to value a bias for action but would silence people, appropriate ideas, or react negatively to those who took initiative. Which way is it?

Cultural coherence helps. By building and reinforcing cultural frameworks, leaders give employees an empowerment tool. Armed with a clear understanding of how the culture works, more employees feel confident about how to participate, and risks become less risky. A cultural framework does not need to specifically spell out bias for action as a key cultural trait. It needs only to outline how the organization operates and makes decisions.

For leaders aiming to build a highly engaged team that takes initiative, establish a cultural environment where employees feel safe to act because they understand how to do so. A clear cultural framework, modeled by leaders, is essential for fostering an engaged and intellectually active team. Are you interested in the model? Please reach out!