LEADERS BUILD AND CREATE POSITIVE CULTURES – PART II
Last week I wrote here about John Harbaugh, the former head coach of the Baltimore Ravens and the new head coach of the New York Giants. I emphasized what I had learned about the way Harbaugh built a positive culture among his staff, his players and his organizational colleagues.
During this past week I read more about Harbaugh’s leadership qualities, including how he saw his job as head coach as a CEO type of position. He believes in hiring great people, training them up, and then delegating as much as he can to them so they can display their own knowledge, acumen, skills and ideas.
I was reminded of the critical value of culture again this week when I was reading a paragraph penned by Candace Chellew, the editor of “Smart Brief on Leadership.” At the conclusion of each daily digital issue of this newsletter, Candace selects one of the articles from among that morning’s pieces and comments upon it for her subscribers.
On this particular day, Candace commented upon an article by author, consultant and speaker Kimberly S. Reed. Reed said that people do not want to work for a leader “who treats belonging like a checkbox…They want an authentic connection, not corporate theatre.
Creating a culture of belonging isn’t about installing a fancy coffee machine or declaring ‘We’re all family here’ while monitoring bathroom breaks. It’s about recognizing that your people aren’t performing in your story – they’re writing it with you. The most successful organizations will be the ones where everyone feels like they have a speaking part, not just a spot in the chorus line.”
Candace adds: “The beautiful irony? All those leaders who spent 2025 obsessing over AI and automation are discovering that the real competitive advantage was hiding in plain sight: treating humans like humans…People still crave what algorithms can’t deliver- genuine recognition, psychological safety, and the simple dignity of being seen and valued.
The organizations that will thrive in 2026 are those that make people feel like they belong, not despite their differences, but because of them. When mistakes are learning opportunities, not career-ending disasters. Where asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.”
So as we navigate 2026, maybe it’s time to stop treating culture like an afterthought and start recognizing it for what it really is: the whole show. Because when people feel like they truly belong, magic happens. Not the corporate retreat trust-fall kind of magic, but the real kind – where innovation flourishes, creativity soars, and people actually give their best because they want to, not because they have to.
Welcome to 2026, where culture finally gets the spotlight it deserves. And if you’re a leader still trying to command attention rather than earn trust? Well, enjoy your seat in the back row!”
There is so much truth in what Kimberly writes and what Candace summarizes. People want to work at organizations where culture is recognized as the lynchpin of everything that happens. When you conduct “stay interviews” with your best team members,
-Do you ask them the characteristics of your culture that motivate them to stay?
-Do you ask them how you can improve the culture?
-Do you ask them what they admire most about other organizations’ cultures?
-Do you ask them to give you a historical perspective about how the culture has improved over time?
-Do you ask them how culture can best be passed down to new team members?
-Do you ask them how positive culture reminders can be communicated to all, verbally and through displays?
Culture can never be an afterthought. It must be front and center – all the time. That is how we construct powerful and purpose-driven departments and organizations!
What can you do – starting tomorrow – to help ensure that you work or volunteer as part of a truly positive culture?!
If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along!
-Larry