Originally published for Forbes Business Council.

Written by Khristian Gutierrez, Passport CEO

As leaders, we’re often trained to look outward during transitions: strategy, market trends, customer behavior and so on. But the real differentiator, especially in uncertain times, lies within the shared values, assumptions and behaviors that define how a team works through ambiguity, pressure and radical transparency on all business levers in our control. In other words, culture is the ballast that keeps a company upright.

For me, returning to the company I co-founded tested that ballast and proved culture decides whether a firm adapts or capsizes. The last 18 months were a firsthand lesson in how deeply a company’s culture shapes its ability to endure, adapt and move forward. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Culture is behavior, not benefits.

Too often, culture gets flattened into a set of benefits or policies. But when everything else is in flux, a company’s true culture comes into focus. Typically, it’s not the stated mission on a website or the perks listed in an offer letter. Culture appears when pressure spikes and it’s revealed in how colleagues act when mistakes carry real cost.

Focus through leadership change grows from blunt dialogue, mutual respect and rituals, such as standing meetings and direct feedback. It comes from the foundation built and nurtured over time, through honest conversations, mutual respect and a belief in the work being done. These habits become reflex rather than top-down mandates.

Culture is amplified by leaders.

During transition, teams scan leaders for patterns. They need to see a consistent process—fact gathering, open debate and decisive action in an idea meritocracy—applied every time.

This might mean stepping back with a sense of curiosity rather than forging ahead. It might mean taking a moment to ask better questions instead of rushing to find a solution. It might mean allowing others to take the lead when they’re better positioned to do so. Leadership rooted in humility isn’t weakness. It can be an invitation for others to bring their best selves forward. Humble leadership unlocks stronger execution.

When vulnerability is modeled from the top, it can create room for resilience throughout an organization, and can build a kind of cultural muscle memory so that when tension does arrive (as it will inevitably), people don’t freeze or flinch; they engage.

Culture is a strategic asset.

There’s no shortage of external forces that test a company’s stability. Customer churn, economic uncertainty, regulatory changes—none of these are rare or one-off events. But what determines how an organization responds isn’t the size of its market share or the precision of its quarterly forecast. Instead, it’s the strength of its internal cohesion.

I’ve seen this firsthand. In a moment where a strategic pivot was required, our team didn’t hesitate. The timeline was tight and the expectations were high, but the clarity and speed of our response came from a place of trust and collaboration. Because our culture emphasized shared ownership and candor long before the moment demanded it, we were able to meet the challenge without losing momentum or each other.

Culture is a daily practice.

The companies that talk the most about culture are often the ones struggling most to maintain it. That’s because culture isn’t something that can be declared into being, it’s something that must be cultivated and sustained through small, persistent acts rather than splashy slogans or performative gestures.

We reinforce our culture through hiring practices that prioritize alignment, leadership development that rewards self-awareness and conversations that acknowledge both success and failure as part of the same continuum. We don’t treat culture as something separate from business outcomes; it’s the context in which those outcomes are made possible.

Culture is an anchor.

It’s hard work keeping culture authentic as the company scales, but constant inspection and course correction can prevent drift from core values. Looking back, I’ve come to understand that culture is the one asset that makes everything else possible. Strategies will shift. Markets will surprise you. But culture, when rooted in purpose and trust, becomes the throughline that makes the rest sustainable.

If you are steering through change, audit what truly holds the organization together. Claimed values matter less than daily practice. Culture does not trail strategy; it makes strategy possible.