Cultural Integration Challenges: From Teaching to Learning Together

by Paul Edelman

Across the wealth advisory industry — RIAs, MFOs, and beyond — mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the landscape. Consolidation is accelerating, bringing both opportunities and challenges.

Too often, these integrations are approached as if one side simply needs to be “taught” the right way. Policies and playbooks get handed down, with the implicit message: “Do it our way.” That approach may create short-term compliance, but it rarely builds lasting commitment.

A better path is to see cultural integration as a process of evolving a new culture together. By combining the best of both firms, and creating something new in the process, leaders can strengthen engagement, reduce resistance, and build a culture that is sustainable for the future.

Teaching vs. Learning Together

Teaching the culture relies on manuals, policies, and training sessions. It’s a one-way process that risks leaving employees feeling corrected or diminished.
Learning the culture together means working side by side — through shared projects, peer shadowing, and open dialogue. It invites humility, reciprocity, and shared ownership.

The outcomes couldn’t be more different:

Teaching yields surface-level compliance and lingering silos.
Learning together builds a shared, living culture — one that sustains engagement and lowers turnover risk.

Practical Shifts

Small changes in approach can make a big difference:

Instead of saying, “Here’s how we handle clients; do it this way,” try pairing advisors from both firms to serve clients jointly for 90 days.
Instead of one-way onboarding presentations, try facilitated dialogues where members of each firm share what they’re most proud of culturally.

These moments of collaboration create the experiences that build confidence in the new culture.

Five Questions That Unlock Integration

At the heart of successful integration is asking the right questions, and creating forums where people can wrestle with them openly:

What are you most proud of in your firm’s culture?
How is that connected to your past success?
What has changed that requires us to work differently going forward?
What structures are currently in place that make this difficult?
What structures are missing that would make this easier?

These questions move the conversation from anxiety and resistance to pride, curiosity, and shared ownership.

The Leader’s Role

Leaders who create forums for reflection and collaboration, not just instruction, can turn integration from a threat into an opportunity. It’s not about teaching others to “get with the program.” It’s about evolving a new culture together.

Cultural integration doesn’t happen by mandate — it happens by conversation, collaboration, and shared ownership. Leaders who create space for those processes don’t just preserve value; they build confidence in a new, stronger culture.

If you’ve faced these challenges in your own organization, I’d love to hear what worked (and what didn’t). Share your thoughts in the comments — or reach out if you’d like to explore how these tools can help in your context.

Cultural Integration Challenges: From Teaching to Learning Together

Teaching vs. Learning Together

​

Teaching the culture relies on manuals, policies, and training sessions. It’s a one-way process that risks leaving employees feeling corrected or diminished.

Learning the culture together means working side by side — through shared projects, peer shadowing, and open dialogue. It invites humility, reciprocity, and shared ownership.

The outcomes couldn’t be more different:

​

Teaching yields surface-level compliance and lingering silos.

Learning together builds a shared, living culture — one that sustains engagement and lowers turnover risk.