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Dear Reader,

Have you ever walked through an open office space and not been greeted by a single person? How about being in a meeting when it’s clear that people are "side-chatting" over text? Maybe you’ve even side-chatted yourself? What about hearing the same generic critical feedback tossed out in group settings over a period of months and suddenly realizing the person is referring to you?

Culture isn’t built by slogans or slide decks. It’s built in motion—tiny behaviors that signal belonging or exclusion.

I’ve had so many clients who’ve shared variations on a theme of the environment described above. The leader who always asks, “Anything to add?” but never actually pauses long enough for a response. Someone who made a joke that subtly dismissed a concern—and how that single moment resulted in concerns not being raised. The difficult interaction on a Zoom meeting that was handled by shutting down the chat feature for future meetings rather than handling the specific issue directly.

You don’t need a culture survey to know when something’s off. You can feel it in a meeting by the lack of participation. You can hear it in the silence after a leader speaks. You can sense it in the way people enter or exit a room.

And in the same way that toxic culture is made in moments, so is healthy culture.

Healthy culture isn’t what’s on the wall. It’s what’s in motion. The consistent, small behaviors that tell people:

→ You’re safe here

→ Your voice matters

→ We are paying attention

When you treat culture as kinetic, you realize: You don’t need a full re-org to start building trust. You need consistent micro-movements in the right direction.

Culture is hard to change at an organizational level. But there is something we can do as individuals and as leaders. Let’s start to drop in micro-moments that shift the culture in a positive direction.

What’s one small behavior you’ve witnessed—or modeled—that changed how a team felt? What’s one you want to try this week?

Painting the picture of toxic culture

Have you experienced toxic work culture? I was recently asked to "paint the picture" of what it's like. To make the reader really feel it. That's where some of the descriptors above came from, based on my own experience. But I'd love to paint a more robust picture for people. So if you've been there, tell me: What did it feel like? What did it sound like? What did it look like? Just hit reply on this email to share -- I won't share names or organizations. I am grateful for your contribution!

Wishing you a peaceful and purpose-filled week,

Beth

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