Culture is about way more than foosball tables, snacks, and funky furniture. It’s a collection of big and small collective behaviors that set the tone and experience of working in an organization. That being said, leaders can build trust and accountability through behaviors that may seem small on the surface - like early on in Ted Lasso when he fixes the shower pressure in the locker room. This seemingly small moment is a turning point where we start to see team members trusting that he respects and responds to their concerns and gets things done to improve their experience.  

A 2021 report from McKinsey found that nearly half of all workers are burnt out - across multiple geographies. And that's just among the people who responded so it's likely that the number is higher.

So what does culture have in common with burnout? Unhappy, disconnected, unsupported employees leave organizations...or sometimes organize from within if they care enough to stay. 🤓

When it comes to nonprofits and purpose-driven organizations, there's even greater tendency to deprioritize culture leading to high rates of burnout, employee turnover, and ultimately far less positive impact than organizations could be making. 

Before doing the checkup, take a moment to reflect on what a great culture would look and feel like for you. What I love about culture is that you can teach ways to improve it and simultaneously, without teaching anything, most people know what good and bad culture feel like. 

For example, if I ask you…

• What teams have felt best to work with? What characteristics or behaviors did those teams have?

or

• What teams have felt worst to work with? What characteristics or behaviors did those teams have?

You could probably share a ton of things about past and present teams. So go ahead and think about these questions to get started. 

Take the Culture Checkup for free at this link - it only takes 5 minutes.