There are a million places you could focus your culture work. The smarter move is choosing the few places that actually move the needle. After 14+ years of helping organizations do this for real, we’ve boiled it down to four smart, practical starting points you can use today.
1) Pause — and go three layers deep
The first thing we recommend: stop all the action, pause and reflect. Most culture work stalls because people reach for the visible problems — the symptoms — instead of the source.
A quick way to go deeper is simply to ask “Why?” three or four times. For example a CEO told us the team was overwhelmed because turnover left too few people doing the work. When we asked why the turnover happened, she named leadership gaps, lack of time to train, and gossip. Asked “why” again and she realized all of those sprang from one thing: a lack of boundaries. Once she shifted her focus to boundaries, everything else began to realign.
Pro tip: Put a sticky note on the wall/table: “What's really causing this?” Keep asking until you find the structural or behavioral through-line.
2) Don’t rush to “fix” — shift how people are being
We’re wired to do. To launch initiatives. To check boxes. But culture rarely changes because you added another program. It shifts when people change how they show up — in meetings, with clients, and with each other.
Before creating new projects, audit how people are being: respectful, rushed, curious, defensive, accountable? Those words matter — because small shifts in how people show up create big changes in daily experience.
Pro tip: Pause or cancel one “initiative” that feels shiny but adds workload. Spend that energy coaching small behavior changes instead.
3) Get a true read — include everyone
Don’t assume. Don’t rely on the loudest voices. A real culture read includes the whole org and gets honest participation — ideally 80%+ response rate without pressure. (We typically see ~94% since our survey is well-designed and people trust the process.)
Map your org chart and ask: who haven’t we heard from? What themes repeat across levels? What surprises you?
Pro tip: Pair an anonymous all-team survey with a few facilitated listening sessions. Surveys show patterns; listening sessions explain them.
4) Run a Clean Slate Meeting — clear the clutter
One of the most common mistakes: trying to craft a future culture without fully addressing the present. You can’t expect people to embrace a new way of working while past grievances are unresolved — that’s like putting whip cream on top of mud.
A Clean Slate Meeting is a structured, facilitated opportunity to surface, own, and resolve the big sticky stuff so you can truly start from a clear foundation. Done well, it frees energy for real forward motion. Done poorly, it buries issues and creates resentment.
Pro tip: You only get one shot at this one — prepare the agenda, norms, and follow-up carefully. If you’d like, we can walk you through our step-by-step Clean Slate Meeting process.
A thriving culture isn’t a hazy ideal — it’s practical, intentional work. Start with these four aligned actions: pause and probe; shift from doing to being; get a genuine read from everyone; and clear the slate so you can build on firm ground. Those moves will give you traction — and the clarity to choose the next right steps.
Want help with a culture survey or running a Clean Slate Meeting? We’ve built repeatable templates and facilitation guides that make it simple — reach out and we’ll customize a plan for your team.
