Do you feel like your organization is stuck in a rut? Are you struggling to attract and retain top talent?

In today's competitive business landscape, it’s essential that organizations keep productivity high, turnover low, and collaboration, innovation, and growth thriving.

But many companies find themselves struggling to create a cohesive culture that aligns employees' behaviors with the company's mission and values.

If you feel like we just described your organization, we’ve got good news for you:

A culture code can help — and we can help you create one!

Have you ever received a warning from someone about a potential new hire?

I have, on several occasions.

Here’s a short story of one hire in particular that sticks out in my mind --

Just as I was making the decision to hire this person, someone warned me -- “If you go with them, they’ll cause you so much trouble.”

It’s no secret that great leaders aren’t born overnight. Rather, they’re nurtured and developed through continuous learning, self-reflection, and access to valuable resources.

If you find yourself looking for unique, innovative tools to help you become the best leader possible for your team, look no further.

As a company culture consultancy, we specialize in providing resources for leaders in a multitude of industries.

“Empathy is one of our greatest tools of business that is most underused.” Daniel Lubetzky (CEO of snack company Kind LLC)

When it comes to empathy, most of my time is spent teaching leaders how to effectively use it. But in some cases, I find that leaders can fall into the EMPATHY TRAP.

To know if you fall into this trap, first let’s define empathy -- Empathy is feeling WITH someone. For example, I feel your frustration, disappointment, etc. It is stepping into someone else’s shoes.

When we fall into the EMPATHY TRAP, we feel as if we’re being held hostage by the feelings of others.

Did you know that 30%-50% of the hours that we spend in meetings aren't productive? Yikes......😳

That's a significant chunk of time that could be better utilized for increased efficiency and improved outcomes. But how exactly do we make our meetings more effective?

We have 5 tips to make your meetings better:

Leaders - 🛑  Stop with the GRATITUDE PLATITUDES 🛑

What are gratitude platitudes? They are comments that may be well-intentioned in expressing thanks to people, but their lack of specificity and personalization often causes them to fall flat. Think examples like —

“Thanks for everything.”

“Appreciate your hard work.”

“You’re the best.”

So how do we express gratitude in a way that truly makes the recipient feel heard and seen? Here’s what to do instead. 👇

If you consider yourself a culture-savvy (or even culture-curious) leader, keep reading. 😉

As leaders, we should always be looking for ways to improve our company’s culture and help our employees to thrive in it. So, if you’re ready to take your company's culture to the next level, we’ve got something exciting just for you!

Allow us to introduce you to our new Company Culture Assessment.

This isn't your run-of-the-mill quiz -

Bad news -

Turnover isn’t just frustrating; it’s EXPENSIVE.

Maybe this isn’t earth-shattering news for you. You know that it is:

• Making it hard to stay fully staffed

• Putting a drain on your training

• Decreasing your productivity

• Increasing burnout for remaining employees

But here’s the math-

If you’re anything like some of the leaders I work with, you might occasionally find yourself thinking one or more of the following things:

• “Why is it that no one seems to be communicating effectively?”

• “I’ve noticed a lack of confidence in some of my employees, but I’ve already given them everything they need to be confident in their work.”

• “Sometimes it feels as though we’re not all on the same page…everyone has different ideas of the values our company represents.”

If any of these thoughts or similar ones have made their way into your mind, the first thing to know is…

Do This, Not That — Company Culture Edition

🍋 Give employees attention, not feedback.

🍋 Appreciate the value someone brings, not the hours they spend at work.

The first step is always the hardest -

If you're like many of the leaders that we work with, you've been thinking about getting intentional in creating a thriving culture for years, but where do you start?

Let's break this down -

What exactly do we mean when we say we want our companies to be innovative, open-minded, or fun?

These words are such popular ways to describe our company’s values or culture, that they have nearly become meaningless.

Might I make a suggestion? 💁‍♀️

As you consider your company values and/or culture code, build in some questions that can help clarify whether or not you and your team are living these traits.

Let’s take a look at “Open-Mindedness”. It might be helpful to ask yourself and your team the following questions:

Common backhanded compliments that need to GO —

• “You’re a VP? Wow. You’re so lucky.”

• “I never would have thought you’d be capable of that. Great job.”

• “You’re pretty talented for your age.”

Here’s the thing — it’s likely that the person giving the compliment means well, but is it the thought that counts?

What does it mean to be a “BAD EMPLOYEE?”

Here’s a story that DOESN’T illustrate that. 🎥

🚨 5 Signs your team needs better boundaries🚨

As a leader, one of your main responsibilities is setting your team up for success. However, it is pretty rare for your team or a team member to say that they are burned out or need help with boundaries.

I love conducting employee focus groups. The whole process of —

🤨 Seeing employees switch from skeptical to trusting.

👯‍♀️ Experiencing the bond when two employees have been same experience, but never knew it.

🧩 Helping employees switch from idle frustration/talk to problem-solving.

But, the ultimate reward for me is gaining human insight.

Anne M. Mulcahy, former Xerox CEO, once said, “Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person — not just an employee — are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled.”

This quote begs the question — Leaders, how do you care for someone as a whole person?

Here are a few habits that can help:

Employees want to meet your expectations.

It's human nature — we want the boss to be happy with us.

So why, as leaders, do we find that our expectations are not always met?

Lack of clarity is one of our chief saboteurs.

Enter the culture code. A culture code is a way to define your company's shared beliefs, values, and practices.

Leaders often ask me —

Is it a good time to work on my company's culture?

My answer —

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

So, yeah. It's a good time. 💅

But, here are some events that signal it's an especially good time to take on company culture initiatives:

Remember that time they hired a speaker that fired everyone up for about a week?

As a Company Culture Consultant who does a fair amount of public speaking, companies doing things like this make my job so much harder.

I’m not interested in the work unless we have an opportunity for REAL change.