Introduction
Culture is not written in policy manuals or posted on the wall. It is lived daily in the field, in the office, and across every department of a facility. Organizations in the industry face similar cultural challenges in their plants, where aligning values and behaviors is critical to success. It can be strong or weak at any stage: planning, execution, or routine operations. While it becomes most obvious during the stress and pressure of a turnaround, culture exists everywhere and influences every group in a manufacturing or production facility.
Teams look to their leaders to see what really matters, and more importantly, what is tolerated. The tone of the organization is set not by what leadership says in kickoff meetings but by how they act under pressure and what they allow to slide.
A leader’s attitude and behavior spread quickly. Positivity, ownership, and discipline cascade down into teams. But the same is true of negativity, excuses, or indifference. Culture is contagious, and leadership is the source of the outbreak.
The Problem of Tolerance: Common Challenges
When leaders tolerate behaviors that conflict with standards, those behaviors multiply:
If shortcuts are ignored, teams assume safety rules are optional.
If lateness is overlooked, attendance and readiness erode across the team.
If low productivity is excused, teams match the lowered expectation.
If negative attitudes go unchecked, morale drops, and cynicism spreads.
It doesn’t take long for one tolerated behavior to spread from an individual to a team, and from a team to the wider site. What leaders allow becomes the true standard.
The Impact
Cultural drift caused by weak tolerance is not abstract; it shows up directly in execution:
Safety risk: When unsafe acts are not corrected, they multiply until an incident happens.
Schedule slip: Teams waste time when leaders allow unclear priorities or excuses.
Cost overruns: Low productivity and rework become normalized.
Organizational erosion: Negativity spreads from teams to peers, polluting the wider workforce.
These negative outcomes create concerns for project success and site safety, as unresolved issues can lead to delays, rework, or even incidents that compromise the entire operation.
Attitudes spread faster than directives. One negative leader can undercut months of planning by creating a culture of excuses and mediocrity.
What Works: Setting the Standard by Effective Turnaround Execution
Culture is not controlled by slogans; it is enforced by daily leadership action.
Strong leaders:
Model the attitude they want: Ownership, positivity, and urgency.
Correct what is unacceptable, no matter how small. Every tolerated lapse becomes precedent.
Reinforce what is right: Publicly recognize when teams demonstrate the standard.
Hold peers accountable: Leadership culture spreads sideways as well as down; what one leader tolerates, others may copy.
Stay consistent under pressure: Standards matter most when execution is hectic and time is tight.
Leadership and Culture in Turnaround Projects
Teams mirror their leaders. If a leader approaches the day with discipline and focus, the team tends to follow. If the leader shrugs off standards or adopts a negative attitude, that attitude spreads. Culture is contagious in every direction; downward to the teams, sideways to peers, and upward in how senior leaders perceive site discipline.
This is why leadership tolerance is the most powerful cultural driver. It is not what leaders say, it is what they tolerate that sets the real standard.
Governance and KPIs: Measuring What Matters
In the world of turnarounds and shutdowns, what gets measured gets managed; and what gets managed, improves. Effective turnaround execution depends on strong governance and the use of clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to guide every phase, from initial turnaround planning to final completion.
Governance provides the framework for decision-making, accountability, and alignment with company objectives. By establishing clear processes and standards, companies ensure that every aspect of the turnaround, scope, schedule, safety, and cost is managed with discipline and transparency. This structure is essential for reducing risks and keeping turnaround projects on track.
KPIs translate objectives into measurable targets. Whether tracking schedule adherence, cost performance, safety incidents, or equipment reliability, KPIs allow leaders to evaluate progress in real time. They highlight areas where performance is strong and flag issues before they escalate into costly delays or overruns. With the right metrics in place, companies can execute turnarounds more efficiently, control costs, and deliver results that align with business goals.
Ultimately, governance and KPIs are not just tools; they are a reflection of a company’s commitment to excellence. When leaders prioritize measurement and accountability, they reinforce a culture where high performance is expected and achieved. In turnarounds, as in all operations, success is built on the standards you set and the results you measure.
Takeaway
Turnarounds live and die by culture, and culture is contagious. If leaders tolerate excuses, negativity, or unsafe behavior, it will spread until it defines the site. If they model ownership and enforce standards, that too will spread.
The practical step is clear: leaders must decide what kind of culture they want, model it consistently, and refuse to tolerate its opposite. Because in turnaround execution, the culture you allow is the culture you get.