Fix the Frequency: What Culture Is Really Broadcasting

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.” — Bob Marley, Redemption Song

Back in 2011–12, I worked with Red Stripe in Jamaica. It changed me. Jamaicans don’t hide how they feel—they live out loud. Their music pulses with truth. Their conversations don’t dance around discomfort. And no one embodied that more than Bob Marley. Rising from Trenchtown to global icon, Marley didn’t get there by playing it safe. He told the truth—even when it hurt, sometimes literally.

Now, I’m writing this from Mijas, in the sunlit hills of Andalucía. A place layered with centuries of rise, collapse, and reinvention. Moorish fortresses and Roman ruins remind you: nothing built on illusion lasts. It’s the perfect place to finish the final chapters of my book:

Design for Reality: How Behavior Beats Strategy (Every Time)

At its core is the SAT model — Simplify. Align. Transform. — a behavior-first lens for cutting through complexity and cultural smokescreens. Because what you tolerate always tells the truth.

The Culture Lie That Costs Millions

June 2025. Just north of here, Madrid erupts in protests, as thousands demand Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s resignation over allegations of institutional manipulation. The official narrative? Stability. Integrity. Control.

The public signal? No one believes it.

And Madrid isn’t alone. In Thailand, student protests flare again as the military-linked government delays promised reforms. In Colombia, public trust plummets after sweeping tax reforms mask deeper corruption.

Everywhere, a pattern repeats:

• Leaders push polished messaging.

• People watch the behavior.

• And trust falls through the cracks.

It’s no different inside companies.

The Myth of the Happy Dashboard

You just ran your engagement survey. Scores are up. The pulse looks strong. Your leaders celebrate.

But somewhere in your organization:

• Psychological safety is dead.

• Mediocrity is protected by tenure.

• Political players are rewarded over principled ones.

People aren’t speaking up. They’re smiling and shutting down.

A study published in Harvard Business Review (O’Neill & Salas, 2020) points out the danger of what they call false positives:

“False positives in engagement metrics are not just misleading—they’re toxic. They build confidence in the wrong places and blind leaders to cultural decay.”

Neuroscience adds another interesting layer here. The confirmation bias (Nickerson, 1998) explains why leaders keep clinging to data that tells them what they want to hear. It’s more comfortable than facing inconvenient truths.

The Alignment Illusion

Let’s talk about alignment. It’s one of those shiny words that looks great on PowerPoint and corporate manifestos.

But ask yourself:

• Do your stated values match what gets rewarded?

• Are people promoted based on competence—or compliance?

• Does silence mean alignment… or fear?

If the answers sting, they should. This is the A in SAT: Align. Because no transformation holds if what’s said and what’s done don’t match.

Real Companies. Real Gaps.

Let's do a quick round of "Guess that Company", ready?

Company A: A global tech firm with glowing internal comms and quarterly culture awards. Meanwhile, high-potential talent in Asia quietly exits after repeated incidents of bias go unaddressed.

Company B: A European financial services brand. Its “Speak Up” program is front and center in every town hall. Yet internally, retaliation still exists — and the data is suspiciously clean.

Company C: A LATAM startup growing like wildfire. LinkedIn is full of praise. But Glassdoor tells another story: burnout, chaos, and fear.

These are composites — but if you’re guessing Rappi, Google, or a major Swiss bank… you’re not far off.

• Rappi burnout and culture issues: Rappi’s leadership responded: “We are a fast-paced company. Challenges are part of growth.”

• Google walkout over harassment: Google stated, “We are listening and taking action.”

• Swiss bank whistleblower culture: The bank emphasized “zero tolerance,” even while gaps in protections remain.

Questions That Should Make You Uncomfortable

When was the last time someone challenged leadership without consequences? Be honest.

Who are you promoting—the most competent, or the most compliant?

What unspoken rules are louder than your published values?

Where are people smiling… just to survive?

Let’s not breeze past these. Sit with them. If one of these questions stings, good — it means there’s something real underneath worth exploring.

Let’s Debunk Some Dangerous Myths

MYTH #1: High engagement scores = healthy culture.

— Only if psychological safety exists. Otherwise, it’s a signal of optimism bias—not truth.

MYTH #2: Silence means agreement

— Often, it means fatigue. Or fear. Or a quiet drift into disengagement.

MYTH #3: Values protect you from cultural drift

— Only if they’re practiced, not just printed. Laminated values don’t build trust.

So What Now?

Don’t just run your culture survey. Audit your signals.

• Who gets promoted?

• Who gets protected?

• What gets tolerated?

Want a starting point? Begin with SAT:

1. Simplify what you’re really trying to build.

2. Align behavior with consequences.

3. Transform by confronting what no longer serves.

Or, as Bob Marley said:

“None but ourselves can free our minds.”

Fix the Frequency

Now let's move on to the fix.

If your culture could speak without fear— what would it say about you?

Would it celebrate your values? Or expose your contradictions?

Don’t wait for a crisis to find out. Don’t wait for the next walkout, the next whistleblower, the next leaked memo.

Audit your signals. Own your impact. Fix the frequency.

Because in the end, it’s not the loudest slogans that define you.

It’s the quiet things you let happen.

Call to Action

If this hit a nerve, share it. Forward it to someone stuck in dashboard delusion. Or better yet:

• Ask your team what signal they actually see from you.

• Let them answer. Unfiltered.

• Then start fixing the broadcast.

Culture isn’t what you print. It’s what you permit.

Big up to all my friends in Jamaica 🇯🇲

I still follow all of you whilst your leadership continues to transform Jamaica.

From my Red Stripe days to now — your truth, energy, and no-nonsense honesty taught me lessons I carry with me every day.

Respect, always.

The Author

Ilja Rijnen MSc is a global HR transformation leader, executive coach, and the founder of Talent Transformer. With over 20 years of experience across EMEA, APAC, and North America, Ilja specializes in culture renovation, leadership behavior, and strategic learning. He is the author of Design for Reality: How Behavior Beats Strategy (Every Time), and creator of the SAT model: Simplify. Align. Transform.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own and do not represent the views of any current or former employer. All case examples are anonymized or composited unless otherwise stated, and sources are publicly available.

References

• O’Neill, T. A., & Salas, E. (2020). Measuring Engagement Accurately: What Surveys Miss. Harvard Business Review.

• Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises. Review of General Psychology.

• Marley, B. (1980). Redemption Song. Uprising [Album]. Island Records.

• Google walkout over harassment: NYT

• Rappi burnout and culture issues: Rest of World

• Swiss bank whistleblower culture: Reuters

• Rijnen, I. (expected late 2025). Design for Reality: How Behavior Beats Strategy (Every Time). Talent Transformer Press (forthcoming).