This chapter examines what “culture” means within UNHCR, drawing on both theory and lived experience. Building on Schein’s iceberg model, it explores three levels: visible artefacts, like dress codes and acronyms; espoused values, such as transparency and accountability; and, at the deepest level, underlying assumptions that subtly influence behaviour. These assumptions—often unconscious—are the most powerful drivers of organisational life, affecting decisions, relationships, and protection outcomes. Examples from UNHCR reveal tacit beliefs, including regional hierarchies (“Europe is not Africa”), moral exceptionalism, and prioritising donor expectations over refugee voices. Such assumptions rarely appear in policy documents but are reproduced through everyday practices and silences. The chapter also examines the gap between stated values and actual behaviour, emphasising Argyris and Schön’s distinction between “espoused theory” and “theory-in-use.” By combining organisational and psychodynamic perspectives, it demonstrates that culture is not an abstract concept but a lived reality—often complex, contradictory, and decisive in shaping UNHCR’s effectiveness.