Changing Culture as a New Manager: When "We've Always Done It This Way" Is the Enemy

The Culture Problem Nobody Warns You About

Three weeks into my role as a manager, I proposed a simple change: let's start documenting our network configurations in a central wiki instead of keeping knowledge in people's heads.

The response:

"We've been fine without documentation for 10 years. Why change now?"

"That sounds like extra work for no benefit."

"Nobody's going to keep it updated anyway."

"We tried that before, and it failed."

I had logical arguments. Business cases. Examples from other organizations. Data showing the cost of undocumented infrastructure.

None of it mattered.

Welcome to culture change.

Where being right doesn't mean you win. Where having authority doesn't mean people follow. Where "this is better" isn't enough to overcome "this is different."

Six months into management, I'm learning that changing culture is exponentially harder than changing technology. You can mandate a new firewall platform. You can't mandate that people care about documentation.

Let me share what I'm learning about culture change as a new manager - the tactics that are working, the approaches that failed spectacularly, and the reality that nobody prepared me for.

What "Culture" Actually Means (And Why It's So Hard to Change)

Before we talk about changing culture, let's define what we're actually trying to change.

Culture Isn't What You Say, It's What You Actually Do

Culture is:

• How decisions really get made (not the official process, the actual process)

• What behaviors get rewarded or punished

• What's acceptable vs. unacceptable

• What people prioritize when no one's watching

• The unwritten rules everyone follows

In IT/Network Engineering, Culture Shows Up As:

• Whether people document their work or keep knowledge in their heads

• Whether teams collaborate or build silos

• Whether mistakes are learning opportunities or career-limiting events

• Whether technical debt gets addressed or is eternally deferred

• Whether changes follow the process or get implemented with "just this once" shortcuts

• Whether on-call is shared fairly or falls on the same people

• Whether new ideas are explored or dismissed with "we tried that before."

Why Culture Resists Change

Organizational Inertia:

Current culture exists because it worked (or seemed to work) at some point. People invested in building it. Changing it means admitting the old way wasn't optimal.

Loss Aversion:

People fear losing what they know more than they value gaining something better. "We've always done it this way" isn't laziness - it's risk avoidance.

Habit and Comfort:

Current practices are comfortable. They're habits. Changing requires conscious effort, which is exhausting.

Political Investment:

Some people have power and status in the current culture. Culture change threatens their position.

Past Failed Changes:

If previous culture change initiatives failed, people are cynical about new attempts. "Here we go again, another initiative that will die in 6 months."

The Bottom Line:

Culture is sticky. It wants to stay the same, and your new title doesn't magically overcome that inertia.

The resistance to change often connects to technical debt - people know the current way is broken, but changing feels riskier than continuing, something I explored in Technical Debt: What Engineers Wish Managers Understood.

The Authority Illusion: Why Your Title Doesn't Change Culture

What I Thought When I Became a Manager:

"Great, now I have authority. I can fix the broken processes and cultural issues I saw as an engineer."

What I Learned:

Authority gives you the ability to mandate changes. It doesn't give you the ability to make people embrace them.

The Compliance vs. Buy-In Gap

You can mandate:

• New processes

• Tool adoption

• Meeting attendance

• Documentation requirements

You can't mandate:

• Enthusiasm

• Cultural adoption

• Belief in the change

• Sustained effort when you're not watching

The Example:

I mandated that all network changes require documentation in our wiki before implementation.

What happened:

People complied. Minimally. They created wiki pages with bare-bones information that technically met the requirement but provided little actual value.

I got compliance. I didn't get buy-in.

The Political Capital Problem

As a new manager, you have:

• Formal authority (your title)

• Very little political capital (trust, credibility, influence)

Culture change requires political capital more than formal authority.

Why:

People follow leaders they trust, not just people with titles. You haven't built that trust yet. You haven't proven that your changes will actually work. You haven't earned the benefit of the doubt.

The Reality:

You're asking people to take risks (changing comfortable habits) based on promises from someone who hasn't proven themselves yet. That's a hard sell.

The Influence Boundary

What you can directly control:

• Your own behavior

• Your team's official processes and expectations

• What you prioritize and reward

• How you respond to situations

What you can only influence:

• How your team actually behaves when you're not watching

• Other departments' cultures and practices

• Organizational policies and norms

• How leadership prioritizes culture vs. delivery

What you can't control at all:

• Organizational history and baggage

• Other managers' priorities

• Budget and resource constraints that reinforce the old culture

• People's inherent resistance to change

The Mistake:

Trying to change things outside your sphere of control leads to frustration and burnout. Focus on what you can actually affect.

Starting Small: What's Actually Working

After months of trial and error, here's what's producing actual results:

1. Lead by Demonstrating, Not Just Directing

What Doesn't Work:

"Everyone needs to document their work in the wiki."

Then you don't document your own work because "management work is different."

What Works:

Document everything you do. Network design decisions. Meeting notes. Project plans. Troubleshooting notes.

Why It Works:

Actions speak louder than words. When people see you doing the thing you're asking them to do, it's harder to dismiss as "management asking for extra work they don't do themselves."

The Example:

I started documenting every major decision I made and the reasons behind it. Posted it in the wiki. Linked to it in discussions and referred back to it months later to show continuity.

Engineers noticed. Slowly, a few started doing the same. Not because I mandated it, but because I modeled it.

2. Find and Empower Your Cultural Champions

The Reality:

Not everyone on your team is resistant to change. Some people have been frustrated by the current culture and are hungry for improvement.

The Strategy:

Identify who those people are. Empower them. Give them visibility and support their efforts publicly.

The Example:

One engineer on my team was already documenting their work voluntarily. I highlighted their documentation in team meetings as "this is exactly the kind of work that helps the whole team."

That engineer became a culture champion. Others started following their example because it came from a peer, not just from management.

Why It Works:

Peer influence is more powerful than management directives. Cultural champions create change from within the team, not imposed from above.

3. Connect Culture Change to Pain Points

What Doesn't Work:

"Documentation is a best practice. We should do it."

What Works:

"Last month, we spent 6 hours troubleshooting the VPN issue because the config wasn't documented, and the engineer who set it up was on vacation. Documentation would have cut that to 30 minutes."

Why It Works:

People change when they see how the current culture is hurting them personally, not because something is abstractly "better."

The Strategy:

Every time you encounter a problem caused by the current culture, make the connection explicit.

Examples:

• Undocumented change caused an outage? "This is why we need to change documentation."

• Knowledge gaps when someone's out? "This is why we need centralized documentation."

• Repeated mistakes? "This is why we need post-mortem processes."

Connect pain to cultural gaps. Make it visceral, not abstract.

Pain points from poor culture often manifest during major incidents, something I explored in Managing Your Team Through a Major Outage - Crisis Moments Reveal Cultural Gaps.

4. Make the New Way Easier Than the Old Way

The Reality:

People follow the path of least resistance. If your culture change makes their lives harder, they'll resist.

The Strategy:

Remove friction from the new behavior, add friction to the old behavior.

The Example - Documentation:

Old way: Keep knowledge in your head. Fast and easy.

New way I tried first: "Document everything in the wiki." Extra work with no immediate benefit. Predictable resistance.

New way that worked better:

Created documentation templates that took 5 minutes to fill out. Integrated documentation into our change approval process (you can't submit the change without the doc). Made it easy to find and reference existing docs.

Reduced friction for creating docs. Increased friction for not creating them.

Result: Compliance went up because it was easier to comply than to avoid.

5. Celebrate Small Wins Publicly

What I Do:

Every time someone demonstrates the culture I'm trying to build, I call it out publicly.

"Great documentation on that firewall change, [Engineer]. This is exactly the kind of detail that helps the whole team."

"Thanks for running that blameless post-mortem, [Engineer]. Focusing on systemic issues rather than individual blame is how we improve."

Why It Works:

Public recognition reinforces desired behaviors. Shows what "good" looks like. Makes the new culture visible and valued.

The Caveat:

Don't be fake. Don't praise mediocre work just to praise something. Genuine recognition of genuine effort.

6. Accept Incremental Progress

The Mistake I Made:

I wanted an immediate, complete culture transformation. I got frustrated when 60% of the team adopted changes, but 40% dragged their feet.

What I'm Learning:

60% adoption is progress. Culture change is measured in years, not months. Celebrate the 60% rather than resenting the 40%.

The Mindset Shift:

You're not going to flip a switch and have a perfect culture overnight. Every small improvement compounds over time.

What's Spectacularly Failing (And Why)

Let me be honest about what's not working:

1. Trying to Change Everything at Once

What I Tried:

"Let's improve documentation, change management, incident response, AND on-call rotation all at the same time!"

What Happened:

Change fatigue. Resistance. Confusion about priorities. Nothing got meaningfully better.

What I Learned:

Pick one cultural change at a time. Do it well and make it stick. Then move to the next.

Trying to change everything creates the perception of chaos and makes you look unfocused.

2. Fighting Organizational Culture as a New Manager

What I Tried:

Challenge organizational norms about how things work. Push back on processes I disagreed with. Advocate for big changes to how the whole IT department operates.

What Happened:

I looked like a troublemaker who didn't understand "how things work here." Lost political capital. Damaged relationships with peers and leadership.

What I Learned:

As a new manager, I don't have the standing to challenge organizational culture yet. I need to build credibility and relationships first.

The Strategy Now:

Focus on my team's culture (which I can control). Build success stories. Gain credibility. Then, maybe, I'll have standing to influence broader organizational culture.

3. Expecting Culture Change to Be Rational

What I Assumed:

"If I explain why this change is better with data and logic, people will embrace it."

What I Learned:

Culture change is emotional, not rational. People's resistance isn't because they don't understand - it's because they're uncomfortable, afraid, or invested in the old way.

The Mistake:

Treating resistance as an information problem when it's actually an emotional and political problem.

What Works Better:

Addressing the emotional aspects. "I understand this feels like extra work. Let me show you how it'll save you time long-term."

4. Mandating Without Explaining the "Why."

What I Did:

"Starting next week, all changes require documentation. No exceptions."

The Response:

Resentment. Minimal compliance. People feel like they're being micromanaged.

What I Should Have Done:

"I've noticed we're spending a lot of time re-learning things when people are out or have moved on. I want us to capture knowledge so we're not constantly starting from zero. Let's talk about what good documentation looks like and how to make it not feel like a burden."

The Difference:

Explaining the "why" and inviting input creates buy-in. Mandating without context creates resistance.

5. Ignoring the Cynics' Valid Points

The Cynics Said:

"We tried documentation before, and it failed. Why will this time be different?"

My Initial Response:

Dismissed them as resistant to change. "This time will be different because I said so."

What I Should Have Done:

"You're right, past attempts failed. Let's talk about why. What made it not work? What would need to be different for it to work this time?"

Why That's Better:

Acknowledges their experience. Shows you're not naive. Engages them in problem-solving rather than dismissing their concerns.

What I Learned:

The cynics often have valid insights about why past changes failed. Ignore them at your peril.

The Shadow Problem: When Your Team Changes But Others Don't

The Situation:

You've successfully changed your team's culture. You've got documentation, blameless post-mortems, collaborative problem-solving, and knowledge sharing.

Then your team interacts with other departments that haven't changed.

What Happens:

Your team documents everything. The other team doesn't, and can't find anything when you need information from them.

Your team runs blameless post-mortems. The other team still does witch hunts.

Your team follows change management. The other team makes cowboy changes that break your infrastructure.

The Frustration:

Your improved culture is constantly undermined by teams that haven't improved theirs.

What You Can't Do

You can't force other managers to change their teams' cultures.

You don't have authority over them. You probably don't have relationship capital with them yet. Trying to change their teams directly will fail and damage relationships.

What You Can Do

1. Lead by Example Across Team Boundaries

Make your team's improved culture visible. When other teams see your team functioning better - faster problem resolution, less firefighting, better knowledge retention - it creates organic interest.

"How does your team handle [X] so smoothly? We're constantly struggling with that."

Now you have an opening to share approaches.

2. Build Relationships with Peer Managers

Don't lead with "your team needs to change." Build relationships first. Share your struggles and lessons learned. Ask about their challenges.

Cultural influence happens through relationships, not through demands.

3. Document and Share Success Stories

When your cultural changes produce measurable results, share them broadly:

"Our post-mortem process reduced repeat incidents by 40%."

"Documentation saved us 15 hours last month when [Engineer] was out."

Data and stories travel. They create interest and FOMO (fear of missing out) in other teams.

4. Protect Your Team from Other Teams' Dysfunction

You can't fix other teams, but you can buffer your team from their chaos:

"I know the [Other Team] doesn't document their work. That makes our lives harder. Here's what we can control: we'll document our interactions with them so we have a record when we need it."

5. Be Patient

Organizational culture change happens slowly, through the accumulation of team-level changes. Your team's improved culture is one data point. Over time, successful teams create pressure on lagging teams.

But this is measured in years, not months.

The Long Game: What Culture Change Actually Looks Like

Here's what I'm learning:

Culture change is a marathon, not a sprint. Six months in, I'm seeing progress, but I'm nowhere near "done."

What Success Looks Like at Different Timelines

Month 1-3: Planting Seeds

• You're modeling behaviors

• Having conversations about why culture matters

• Identifying champions

• Starting to implement small changes

• Getting lots of resistance and skepticism

Success metric: You haven't given up yet.

Month 3-6: Early Adopters

• 20-30% of team embraces changes

• You have some small wins to point to

• Resistance is softening slightly

• You're learning what works and what doesn't

Success metric: Visible minority adoption. Some cultural champions are emerging.

Month 6-12: Tipping Point

• 50-60% of the team has adopted the new culture

• It's starting to feel "normal" for the team

• New hires see the new culture as "how we do things."

• Resistance is now the minority position

Success metric: New behaviors are becoming habits. Less active enforcement is needed.

Year 2+: Embedded Culture

• New culture is the default. Old culture is historical

• Team self-enforces cultural norms

• New members are socialized into the culture by the team, not just by you

• You're working on the next cultural improvement

Success metric: The culture sustains itself without your constant attention.

Where I Am:

Somewhere between Month 3-6. Some early adopters. Some visible wins. Still lots of work to do.

The Metrics That Actually Matter

Don't measure:

• Whether everyone says they like the changes

• Whether there's zero resistance

• Whether it's perfect

Do measure:

• Adoption rate (what % of the team demonstrates new behaviors)

• Outcome improvements (are the problems you're trying to solve actually improving?)

• Voluntary adoption (are people doing it when you're not watching?)

• New hire feedback (do new people see this as "how we do things"?)

When to Pivot vs. When to Persist

Pivot when:

• The change isn't addressing the actual problem

• Resistance reveals legitimate flaws in your approach

• The cost (time, energy, team morale) exceeds the benefit

• You've tried multiple approaches over 6+ months with no progress

Persist when:

• You're seeing incremental adoption (even if slow)

• The problem you're solving is real and important

• Early adopters are showing positive results

• Resistance is decreasing over time (even if slowly)

The Judgment Call:

Knowing the difference is hard. Talk to your champions. Talk to your boss. Get an outside perspective.

What I'm Still Figuring Out

Let me be honest about what I haven't figured out:

How to Change Culture Without Exhausting Myself

The Reality:

Culture change requires constant attention, reinforcement, and energy. I'm finding it exhausting.

What I Don't Know Yet:

How to sustain this effort long-term without burning out. How to make culture change less dependent on my constant energy.

How Much Resistance to Accept

The Question:

Do I keep trying to bring along the 40% who are resisting? Or do I accept that some people will never embrace the new culture and focus on the 60% who are?

What I'm Learning:

Probably the latter but I don't fully know yet.

When to Push Harder vs. When to Back Off

The Balance:

Too much pressure creates resentment and backlash. Too little pressure lets momentum die.

What I'm Learning:

Reading the room. Feeling out when to push and when to let things simmer. Still getting this wrong sometimes.

How to Influence Organizational Culture as a New Manager

The Reality:

I can change my team's culture. But my team operates within a broader organizational culture that often conflicts with our improvements.

What I Don't Know Yet:

How to influence that broader culture without overstepping my authority or burning political capital I don't have yet.

Building political capital and influence as a new manager is something I'm still learning, as I explored in 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Manager - some lessons take time and experience.

The Bottom Line: Culture Change Is Slow, Hard, and Worth It

Six months into trying to change culture, here's what I know:

It's harder than I thought. Way harder. Technology changes are straightforward compared to cultural changes.

It's slower than I want. I want to see a dramatic transformation. I'm seeing incremental progress. That has to be enough.

My title helps less than I expected. Authority gets you compliance. It doesn't get you culture change. That requires influence, trust, and relationship capital that you have to build over time.

Small wins matter. 60% adoption is progress. One cultural champion is progress. One fewer repeated mistake is progress. Celebrate it.

Leading by example matters more than mandates. People watch what you do more than they listen to what you say.

You can't change everything at once. Pick one cultural change. Do it well. Make it stick. Then move to the next.

Resistance is normal, not personal. People resist change because change is uncomfortable and risky. It's not about you.

The long game is the only game. Culture change is measured in years. Stay patient. Stay consistent. Trust the process.

It's worth it. Despite the difficulty, seeing even small cultural improvements - better collaboration, less firefighting, more learning, stronger team cohesion - makes it worth the effort.

You won't do it perfectly. You'll make mistakes. You'll misjudge situations. You'll push too hard or not hard enough. That's fine. Learn and adjust.

You're not alone in this struggle. Every manager trying to improve their team's culture faces these same challenges. Some have been at it longer. None has it fully figured out.

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What's your experience with culture change? What's worked for you? What resistance have you hit? Share your experiences in the comments or connect with me on LinkedIn - we're all figuring this out together.