I’ve had several conversations lately about upgrading a team or organization’s culture.
Oof. When a work environment isn’t healthy, productivity, fulfillment, and overall team spirit suffer…badly. And over time, it becomes the kind of place where good people quietly start looking for the exit.
What many leaders don’t realize is how much responsibility they carry in birthing a healthier culture into existence.
Psssst… it takes consistency.
Here are a few practical ways to start:
1. Define the culture you want.
Name 3–5 core values you want people to feel when they interact with your organization. Keep the list short so it’s easy to remember, and take time to clearly define what each word means for your team.
2. Put the values everywhere.
And I mean everywhere—almost obnoxiously. Bathrooms. Framed on walls. On the website. In email signatures. Your team should see them so often they could recite them if woken from a deep sleep.
3. Talk about them constantly.
Bring them into meetings. Ask team members to share their favorite value and why. Encourage recognition when someone demonstrates a value. Even create a playful trophy that gets passed along when someone exemplifies a value.
The goal? Make these words part of the daily language of your organization.
4. Hire and fire based on culture.
Sports have fouls when players don’t follow the rules. Workplaces should too. When behavior falls outside the culture you’ve defined, it needs to be addressed and documented. Repeated violations can become grounds for termination. If not, the message to everyone else is clear: culture doesn’t actually matter. Ouch.
5. Use values to guide decisions.
When answers aren’t obvious, core values become a North Star. Ask: How does the path forward uphold what we say matters most? Repeatedly making decisions that go against your stated values slowly erodes culture from the inside out.
And here’s the part most leaders underestimate…
You have to do this month after month after month.
You’ll get sick of talking about it far sooner than it starts sticking—but keep going. Eventually, the culture begins to carry itself, and that’s when the benefits show up.
Want a quick test?
Ask employees to write down 5–7 words that describe how the work environment feels to them.
If their words match your core values, congratulations—you have cultural integrity. Your words and actions align.
If the themes are very different, you now see the gap between the culture you’ve defined and the one people are experiencing.
If you’re a leader navigating this process and could use a sounding board, let’s talk.Make it a great day!
Halle
Plus a few other links of interest:
1. Could your team benefit from upgrading their leadership? Inquire about Leadership Essentials Academy, a 6-month leadership training & coaching cohort for new and emerging leaders.
2. Time for a new journal? Pick up a new copy of my Know Thyself Journal for daily support towards your most important intentions for the next 90 days.
3. Are you into individual assessments? Here is a link to take a free Core Values Assessment (CVI). It only takes 10 minutes and measures your innate, unchanging nature. Take it yourself and feel free to forward it to a friend, too.