1. Culture is not what you say. It is what you do.

2. The fastest way to kill company culture is to let bad behaviours be tolerated and rewarded.

3. Work-life balance is not a perk. If you want a happy and healthy team, it is a necessity.

4. Firing people is as important as hiring people. Leaders must act on the values.

5. People don’t quit jobs. They quit managers. Train your managers to manage well and not just work.

6. Bean bags and free beer is not “culture”. A great culture does not start with perks.

7. Culture is about values, and values only become accepted once they are deeply understood and acted upon.

8. Culture is not something that HR does. It starts with leaders, acting on the values and removing bad behaviour and promoting good behaviour.

9. Promoting a "family culture" can harm employees with blurred boundaries, excessive loyalty leading to burnout, and enabling a power dynamic; instead, promote a supportive, performance-driven culture with clear boundaries and a defined purpose.

10. A strong and lasting culture is not about “fitting in”, it's about a brilliant diversity of thought, ideas and every other aspect of life.

11. To create a truly inclusive workplace, organisations must treat diversity, equity, and inclusion as integral cultural values, not mere buzzwords, requiring employees to embody these values in their actions and behaviours.

12. Recurring meetings can create a lot of problems. They fill up calendars that often feel like a waste of time, they go on for too long and they include people that should have been removed ages ago.

13. Always “being nice” will become your crutch. It's a convenient rationalisation to avoid hard decisions, uncomfortable conversations, and controversial actions.

14. Disagreement is here to stay. Normalise it. Healthy debate and shared outcomes are critical for progress.

15. Loud does not mean right. The quietest are often doing incredible things and want to just do the job rather than talk about it.

16. If your team cannot describe your culture, it is not because they “don’t get it”, it is because your communication is poor.

17. Psychological safety is often overlooked, but it's key to helping teams produce their best work.

18. You can never over communicate. Brevity, regularity and clarity is key to communication.

19. No one is above the rules. No one is irreplaceable.

20. An enduring culture needs to embrace change and adapt behaviours. Society evolves all the time, focus on seeking feedback from employees and continue to evolve.

A company culture is not just about work. It is about creating an environment where people are the best version of themselves.

“Culture” is not something you do once. It is a continuous journey.

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Originally posted on LinkedIn