Bad behavior can often be justified by pointing to leadership principles, e.g. using them as a method of silencing dissent.
A leader may not be able to weigh in on a company's parental-leave policy, or the quality of its cafeteria, but he can position each person to play to his or her strengths every day, or not, etc...
Teams matter a lot more than cultural plumage.
Teams simplify, they help us see where to focus and what to do. Culture doesn't do this because it's too abstract.
Teams also, paradoxically, make homes for individuals. Whereas culture's focus leans towards conformity to a common core of behaviors, teams focus on the opposite. They aren't about sameness, marching in lockstep, instead they're about unlocking what is unique about each of us.
The thing we call planning doesn't tell you where to go; it just helps you understand where you are. Or rather, were.
People inevitably chafe at being told what to do in the context of something so static, so conceptual, and potentially out of touch with the real world they face.
By harnessing people to a pre-fabricated plan you're not only constraining your people but quite possible also revealing how out of touch with reality you are.
Many plans are overly generalized, quickly obsolete, and frustrating to those asked to execute them. It's far better to coordinate your team's efforts in real time, relying heavily on the informed, detailed intelligence of each unique team member.
An intelligence system is distinct from a planning system. It's goal is to move information across an organization as fast as possible. The underlying assumption being that people are wise and that if you can present them with accurate, real-time, reliable data about the real world, they'll invariable make smart decisions. (Planning systems tend to silo to the "need to know" so as to reach consensus more easily, Intelligence systems liberate as much information as possible)
In the old model, subordinates provided information and leaders disseminated commands. Reversing this, so that leaders provide information so that subordinates, armed with context, understanding, and connectivity, can take the initiative and make decisions.
Trust can never emerge from secrecy. Frequency creates safety.
Sales goals for example degrade the performance of top salespeople as they bank deals so as to more easily reach their quota the next time. The goals also added more pressure and anxiety to the struggling salespeople. This coercion in the worse case can create fear-fueled employees to resolve to inappropriate and sometimes illegal tactics. (e.g. Wells Fargo bank accounts)
The first 20 miles of a marathon are one thing, the last 6 are another. You can’t run 20 miles and think you've reach the majority of your goal.