Jack sat across from Diane, collected his thoughts for a moment, and then reviewed the latest feedback from employees. “Well,” he said, closing his notebook, “we’ve made progress. More of your leaders believe in the culture. But now comes the hard part.”
Diane raised an eyebrow. “Harder than getting them to buy in?”
Jack paused as dramatic, ominous music began to play. “Much harder. Now, they actually have to live it.”
The Culture Gap
Diane leaned back in her chair. “So, what’s stopping them? If they believe in the culture, why wouldn’t they just put it into action?”
Jack flipped through his notes. “It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they don’t always know how to. Culture isn’t just about what you say. It’s about what people see, hear, and experience every day. And if your leaders aren’t consistently demonstrating it, guess what? Employees won’t either.”
Diane sighed. “So, what do we do?”
Jack leaned forward. “We help them bridge the gap between our values and lived experience. Here’s how.”
1. Speak the Culture—But Walk the Talk
Jack pulled out an employee survey comment and read it aloud:
“Leadership says we value transparency, but they only share what they think we need to know. I usually hear big updates through the grapevine first.”
Diane groaned. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not,” Jack agreed. “But we see it again and again. Employees see the difference between what’s said and what’s actually done. If leaders talk about collaboration but don’t involve their teams in decisions, guess what? People stop believing collaboration really matters.”
Diane nodded. “So, leaders need to back up their words with actions.”
“Exactly,” Jack said. “If we want to promote transparency, they need to share information openly. If we want innovation, they need to support risk-taking—even when it fails. Our culture is what our employees see their leaders do every day.”
2. Make Culture a Daily Conversation
Jack continued, “We need to go further, culture isn’t something you talk about once a year at an all-hands meeting. It has to be part of how leaders lead every day.”
Diane nodded. “We do have really cool all-hands meetings…..but ok, how do we make culture an every day thing?”
Jack outlined a few ideas:
• Team Meetings: Start with a quick discussion on company values. Ask employees how they’ve seen culture in action. Get examples.
• One-on-Ones: Ask employees, “How do you feel about our culture? What’s working? What’s missing?” Help them understand that this is really important to us.
• Decision-Making: Connect choices to cultural values. “We’re prioritizing this project because it aligns with our value of innovation.”
Diane tapped her pen. “So instead of culture being this big abstract thing, it becomes part of daily work.”
Jack nodded. “Exactly. Leaders need to make it real—every single day.”
3. Recognize and Reinforce the Right Behaviors
Diane frowned. “Okay, but how do we get people to actually follow through?”
Jack grinned. “Simple. Recognize the behavior you want repeated.”
He flipped to another survey comment:
“I put extra effort into mentoring a new team member, but leadership only recognized my sales numbers. I guess culture isn’t as important as performance.”
Diane exhaled. “Ouch.”
Jack nodded. “If employees don’t see culture being rewarded, they won’t prioritize it. Leaders need to:
• Publicly recognize employees when they demonstrate company values.
• Share success stories of culture in action.
• Make cultural contributions part of evaluations and promotions.”
Diane scribbled notes. “So, culture needs to be more than a nice idea. It has to impact success for the employee.”
4. Model Vulnerability and Psychological Safety
Jack leaned forward. “Here’s something that really stood out in the feedback—employees don’t always feel safe speaking up.”
Diane raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
Jack read another comment:
“We say we value open communication, but I’ve seen people get beaten down in meetings. So now, I just keep my ideas to myself.”
Diane sighed. “That’s exactly what we don’t want.”
“Right,” Jack said. “But here’s the problem—psychological safety has to start at the top. If leaders never admit mistakes, employees won’t either. If leaders don’t ask for feedback, employees assume their voices don’t matter.”
Diane nodded. “So how do we fix it?”
Jack listed a few simple steps:
• Leaders should openly acknowledge when they don’t have all the answers. (“I’m not sure, but here’s what I’m thinking.”)
• Leaders should admit mistakes and talk about what they learned. (“I got this one wrong, but here’s how we’ll adjust.”)
• Leaders should invite feedback—then act on it.
“If leaders model openness,” Jack said, “employees will follow. If they don’t? Culture dies.”
5. Hold Everyone—Including Leaders—Accountable
Diane looked up. “Alright, so we’ve got leaders talking about culture, living it, and reinforcing it. But what happens when someone—especially a leader—goes against the culture?”
Jack exhaled. “This is where most culture efforts fail.”
Diane folded her arms. “Let me guess—culture is ‘important’ until results are on the line?”
“Bingo,” Jack said. “And when that happens, employees take note. If someone undermines the culture and nothing happens, people assume culture doesn’t really matter.”
“So, what do we do?” Diane asked.
Jack laid it out:
• Address behavior that contradicts the culture—even from high performers.
• Make cultural leadership part of promotions and rewards.
• Give employees a voice—let them hold leaders accountable too.
“If culture matters,” Jack said, “it has to matter for everyone.”
The Bottom Line
Diane sat quietly for a moment, then nodded. “So, believing in culture was just the first step. Now, our leaders have to live it—every day, in every interaction.”
Jack smiled. “Exactly. And if they do? Culture won’t just be words on a wall. It’ll be real.”
Looking Ahead
This week was about helping leaders bring culture to life in daily actions. Next week, Jack and Diane will tackle the next challenge: how to sustain culture long-term—even when things are tough.