In one of Uganda’s fastest-growing financial institutions, let’s call it ABC Financial, a middle manager named Sharon stumbled on a buried truth. She wasn’t snooping, but she had been asked to compile data for a quarterly performance report. She opened the shared folder the director had left open, and there it was: a PowerPoint titled “Strategic Realignment, High-Cost Units.” Slide 5 hit her like a stone. “Branch X — Underperforming. Recommend closure or integration.” That was her branch, her team, and her people. She wiped her face again to make sure she was reading right. Not once had anyone hinted,…

Forget policies. Forget charters. The real governance of any organization is shaped by one invisible force: boardroom culture. Boardroom culture is the unwritten code of how directors behave when no one is watching, how they challenge, how they listen, and how they decide. It is the mood, the mindset, and how governance plays out around the board table. You can have a world-class governance manual… But if your boardroom is gripped by fear, apathy, or groupthink, it’s worthless. Why boardroom culture defines governance In a toxic culture, tough questions are avoided. Bad news is sugar-coated. Real risks hide in plain…

A few years ago, I worked with a company whose board was known for its passive oversight. The chair, an affable industry elder, avoided conflict like a virus. His signature phrase? “Let us not rock the boat.” Over time, directors stopped asking probing questions. Committee chairs glossed over risk flags. Even the audit committee began rubber-stamping reports. The result? The bank sleepwalked into a compliance crisis that cost millions in fines. When the chair finally resigned, a director confided, “We reflected him. When he blinked, we blurred.” This is the leadership contagion every boardroom faces. The chair’s posture, whether vigilant…

Years ago, a regional telecom firm hired a consultant to fix a failing product launch, marked by missed deadlines and blame games. Morale broken. Yet the team had the “best talent.” The first thing they noticed? It was a group, not a team. A group meets. A team delivers. Like lions on a hunt, every member of a high-performance action team knows three things: the mission, their role, and the kill shot. No lion chases alone. No lion waits for a meeting. They move with silent clarity, each trusting the other to execute. In that firm, the consultant split the…

The popular saying goes: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” And when it comes to risk, culture doesn’t just eat your strategy; it leaks your passwords, signs off bogus deals, and buries red flags under a carpet of silence. So how do you stop that?   How do you build a culture where every employee thinks like a risk manager? This isn’t a textbook answer. This is war-room advice. Because today, your biggest risk is not knowing what is walking out your door, or into your systems.   Start with this truth: Risk is not the job of Internal Audit or…

I once worked with a financial institution that proudly claimed 92% of its strategic initiatives were “on track.” The CFO & CEO beamed. The board applauded. The dashboard glowed, a sea of green. But on the ground? Staff morale was collapsing. Key investors were quietly withdrawing. The boardroom was fractured, divided along unseen battle lines. So, I asked: “On track… according to whom?” They pointed to the dashboard, bright green, immaculate. A Christmas tree of deception. When I get an opportunity to work with leaders and deep dive into a business, the starting point is by ripping apart the dashboard.…