Dripping Culture
Small, Consistent Actions Build Powerful Cultures
The email arrived in my inbox at 8:45pm after an already long and challenging workday. “It can wait until tomorrow” was an option fraught with consequences. As expected, the email was terse and filled with “did you know” and “why didn’t you”? Questions with answers that would only lead to additional emails and heightened tensions. And, did I mention it had already been a long and challenging day?
DRIP.
The candidate was excited to be invited to a final interview with the team. They felt a warm connection with the recruiter and the direct leader from initial interviews. After a few questions, the operations leader started scrolling through their phone. When the recruiter reached out following the interview, the candidate removed themselves from the process stating they obviously were not the right person given the interview experience.
DRIP.
It was a weekly team meeting led by the head of the department. The intensity was high as the team wrestled with a challenging miss on their outcomes for the quarter. One of the team members offered an opinion that was in direct opposition to other voices in the room and may have been labeled “politically incorrect” in some organizations. The room became silent and then the leader - with genuine interest - said, “That’s an interesting perspective. Tell me more.”
DRIP.
We often think of “work culture” in terms of large and complicated practices with CEO-led edicts and major strategic overhauls with complicated communications plans. While strategies, plans and leadership alignment are important, culture arrives in the quieter, more consistent actions of leaders at every level, dripping cultural norms every single day.
Culture is forged in the daily interactions, habits, and choices of the people in leadership. What happens in the small moments — the impromptu check-ins, how mistakes are handled, whether issues are labeled as problems or opportunities — has a far greater impact on morale, trust, and the organization’s results than any organization-wide edict.
And there’s good research to back this up. A Harvard study on workplace wellbeing found that if a leader models healthy and positive habits, their direct reports are 35% more likely to adopt those habits, as well.
The power of small, consistent actions
· Showing up. Leaders who actively listen, put their phones away during one-on-ones, and ask thoughtful questions which show respect for others’ ideas and opinions. DRIP.
· Celebrating small wins and progress toward goals. We don’t just cheer when the team moves the football across the goal – we cheer for every 10-yard down achieved to get to the goal. Leaders who recognize and appreciate progress create teams willing to push toward the goal. DRIP.
· Owning mistakes. No leader is perfect. Admitting mistakes openly and explaining the lessons learned models accountability and vulnerability. It builds the habit of learning from setbacks. DRIP.
· Reinforcing values. Organizational values mean nothing if they are just a poster on the wall. Leaders who intentionally behave in alignment with the values, such as integrity, community, compassion embed values into the culture. DRIP.
A leader's thoughtless remark, inconsistent behavior, or dismissive nonverbal cues can erode trust.
An eyeroll or smirk during a team meeting shuts down participation and problem solving.
Publicly blaming or “dissing” a team member can and will destroy team morale.
Canceling or not being available for scheduled 1:1 meetings with direct reports.
Toxic behaviors spread. Research shows that negative leader behaviors have an even greater impact than positive behaviors, leading to disengagement and higher turnover.
Building a healthy, positive work environment isn’t a project. You don’t declare it to be true and wait for it to happen. It’s about every day, moment-by-moment actions. It’s about intentional behaviors leaders choose. It’s about understanding that every interaction is an opportunity to either build up or tear down the people around you and the culture you want to create.
What leaders can do
You don’t have to be the CEO to be a force for culture change in the work environment. If you are a leader of even one other person, start with one small shift. Start somewhere. Practice it for everything.
Pick one small change. Choose something visible, repeatable, and aligned with the culture you want – consistently start and end meetings on time, put technology away in meetings with your direct reports, begin team meetings with a moment of gratitude or with shout out’s, stop sending emails after hours.
Commit to Consistency. Doing one or two small things consistently for the next 3-4 weeks will be noticed more than doing one big thing once. Stick with it! To build trust, your team needs to see the change applied over time.
Build on the Foundation. Once one change sticks, add another. Culture shifts fastest when leaders model it, not mandate it.
What culture do you want to create? What is one thing you can do to model the way?
“Too frequently we think we have to do spectacular things. Yet if we remember that the sea is actually made up of drops of water and each drop counts, each one of us can do our little bit where we are. Those little bits can come together and almost overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu