Culture Isn't Built in the Big Moments

I've got a half-day leadership training coming up that I'm genuinely excited about. I’ll get to meet a new team that already has a good thing going. It’s the kind of session where I have the opportunity to add real value and, hopefully, give them a few "aha" moments along the way.

And my presentation will not be the reason they take their team culture to the next level 

That's not me being modest. It's just true. One event — even a good one — doesn't build a culture. As my friend Christi Dickey said recently, culture gets built on Wednesdays. The regular, nothing-special, nobody's-watching days when you're just doing the work.

What You Do Matters More Than What You Say

Actions speak louder than words. And what leaders do after the meeting carries far more weight than anything they say during it. It's easy to talk a good game for the two hours you've set aside for "team development." The real test is what happens after — when you're back on the floor, a customer is upset, and things aren't going according to script.

That's where culture actually gets formed. Not in the training room. In how you respond when your door should be open and isn't. In whether you're as willing to take time to celebrate a win as you are to point out a miss. In whether people can bring you a hard truth without bracing for impact first.

You Set the Tone, Whether You Mean To or Not

Leaders have to remember that their influence on a room is magnified. All the time. Whether they’re being intentional about making an impact or not. When everything's calm, that's easy. But in the crucible moments, when everyone's hair is on fire and nothing's going according to plan, that's when your team is watching closest. And that’s when it’s easy to send the wrong message if you’re not careful.

Michelle put it well: when the leader isn't calm, nobody in the house is calm. When chaos is happening, your actions can calm it or multiply it. Either way, your effect on the situation will spread.

What You Tolerate Is As Important As What You Reward

People are smart. They notice what actually gets tolerated versus what gets talked about in the meeting or mission statement. And nothing tanks morale faster than letting a toxic person operate unchecked while your best people watch and wonder why nobody's saying anything.

We were shocked how much this idea resonated when we posted a short video clip recently of Michelle articulating it. People engaged. By the thousands. That little video garnered 1,000X our regular number of views in just a few days. You can check it out here.

Having that conversation is hard. It’s much easier to avoid it. But avoiding it has a cost, and your best people are the ones who pay it.

Leadership Is Service

Real leaders serve their people. Not the boss. Not the board. Their people. Take care of your people and your people will take care of the work. And the boss, the board, and everyone else will be happy.

Sometimes that means taking a deep breath and confronting that toxic person on the team. Sometimes it means taking the loss so your team gets the win. If something fails, you own it — even when you could point to someone else. If something succeeds, you give the credit away. It goes against basic human nature. It's also the whole job.

Culture Takes Time

The point is that the kind of healthy culture we all want to work in is never a quick, clean outcome from a one-and-done training session. It’s a process. It’s the leader and everyone else on the team consistently doing the hard, right things. Today and every day. Even on Wednesday.

Ready to build something better than one good training day? Book a free discovery call.