Jude Jennison judges at the UK EXA Awards 2025
I had the honour of judging at the UK EXA Awards 2025 this year. I judged the Rewards and Recognition category and the Best Company Culture for companies with 1000+ employees.
The quality of the entries was strong and the judging was tough. It was great to work with Hannah Cox and Busola Firnamade. It was great to see how seriously organisations are taking culture and recognition, not as a “nice to have” but as a business-critical part of performance.
Last night I attended the awards and presented the award for Best Company Culture for 1000+ employees. Plenty of collaboration, nervous anticipation and celebration.
Company culture has never been more important than in the world we live in today. We are surrounded by division. Social media amplifies polarisation, and uncertainty only widens the gaps. In my book Leading Through Uncertainty, I wrote about how uncertainty doesn’t just create anxiety, it increases polarisation. One of the skills we need most is the ability to sit with our differences we can find common ground and embrace differences, even when our perspectives clash.
That’s where culture matters. It’s easy to agree on the big vision. The hard work comes in how we work through the tension, how we recognise and value people who are not like us, and how we build organisations where everyone feels they belong. When companies invest in culture, they don’t just create a “nice” place to work – they build resilience and deliver results.
It also changes people’s lives. The skills you learn at work are replicated in how you lead your family and friends and your view of society as a whole. Organisations have a major role to play in helping everyone thrive both at work and in society. Because when people thrive, business and society do too.
I forgot to ask anyone to take photos, so above is a photo of me presenting an award at another event a few years ago! I must get better at asking people to take photos of me. How often do we forget to spotlight ourselves, too. Another reminder that recognition applies at every level.
Thank you to the EXA Awards team for hosting such an inspiring event and to all the finalists for showing what’s possible when culture is taken seriously. It’s work that matters not just to employees, but to the future of business and society.
How do you create space for people to be different, without dividing into camps?
Where does uncertainty create polarisation in your team, and what conversations need to happen?
How are you investing in culture so that performance is strengthened, not eroded, by difference?
Culture is never static. It’s created every day by the way you choose to lead, recognise, and relate to one another.
