Episode
Tobias Sturesson: from cult to corporate culture
- Podcast
- The Human Risk Podcast
- Published
- May 23, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4088
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Summary
What can businesses learn from cults? It might sound like an uncomfortable comparison: one involves strategy meetings, values statements and quarterly targets; the other manipulation, charismatic leaders and extreme behaviour. But perhaps the distinction isn't as clear as we'd like to think. Both create identities and shared beliefs. Both shape how people think and behave. And both can evolve gradually in ways that are hard to recognise from the inside. Unhealthy cultures rarely appear overnight. Small compromises become normal, difficult questions become harder to ask, and behaviours that once felt uncomfortable slowly become accepted. Episode Overview On this episode, I'm joined by Tobias Sturesson , culture advisor and author of You Can Culture , whose understanding of organisational culture comes not from business school, but from a deeply personal experience growing up inside a religious community that gradually evolved into a cult. Drawing on his own story — and his work helping organisations create healthier cultures — Tobias explains why good people can become part of unhealthy systems, why speaking up is often far harder than leaders realise, and why culture is shaped far less by mission statements than by the everyday behaviours people learn to accept. We also explore: How communities and organisations can slowly drift into unhealthy patterns Why leaving damaging environments is often much harder than outsiders imagine The role of sunk costs, identity and belonging in keeping people trapped Why organisations often mistake symptoms for root causes The difference between “tone from the top” and “example from the top” Why humility may be one of the most underrated leadership traits The dangers of leaders creating the appearance of listening without genuinely hea…