Would You Want Your Child to Work Here?

Creating and Nurturing the Right Culture: A Leader's Most Important Work

What kind of culture are you building?

Not the one you hope exists. Not the one in your mission statement. The one that actually shows up every day in how your team works, communicates, and makes decisions.

This week, I spent time listening to Mike Linch's podcast, Linch With A Leader, and his conversation with Jenni Catron about the critical role culture plays in organizational success. The discussion got me thinking—really thinking—about how intentionally we approach culture as leaders.

Here's what I know: Culture doesn't just happen. It's either shaped by design or it forms by default. And the difference between those two paths determines everything.

Culture Is a Choice, Not a Consequence

We tell ourselves culture will evolve naturally if we hire good people and set clear goals. But that's leaving too much to chance.

Culture is about getting crystal clear on who we are and how we work together, then using that clarity to build momentum. When your entire team aligns around a shared understanding of values and behaviors, something powerful happens. The collective energy becomes unstoppable.

Your role as a leader isn't just to define culture. It's to model it. Every day. In every interaction.

If you're not living the behaviors and values you want to see, your team won't either. It's that simple. You are the mirror through which your team sees what's acceptable, what's celebrated, and what matters most.

Start With an Honest Assessment

Building a strong culture begins with truth-telling. You have to assess where you actually are, not where you think you are or wish you were.

This is hard work. It requires humility to look at your culture with clear eyes and see the gaps, the dysfunction, the areas where good intentions haven't translated into reality. It's especially difficult when you realize you might be part of the problem.

But here's the thing: you can't fix what you won't face.

Get feedback. Run staff surveys. Have open conversations. Create space for people to tell you the truth without fear of repercussion. Then—and this is the critical part—actually listen and take action on what you hear.

No culture is perfect. But when you create an environment where people can be honest about what's working and what's not, you set the stage for real growth.

Don't Wait for a Crisis

Too many organizations don't address their culture until it's already toxic. By then, turning things around becomes a massive, exhausting undertaking that requires significant time and effort.

Why wait?

As leaders, we need to be proactive. We need to intentionally shape and define the culture we want long before things go sideways. This means taking time now to clarify your mission, articulate your values, and establish the behaviors that will support both.

When you build culture with intention from the start, you prevent toxicity from taking root. You create a foundation that supports long-term success and gives your team room to thrive.

A Question That Changes Everything

Here's a reflection that will cut through the noise: Would you want your child to work in the culture you've created?

Sit with that for a minute.

Think about the daily reality of your organizational environment, not the polished version you present to stakeholders, but what it actually feels like to be on your team. The way decisions get made. How conflict is handled. Whether people feel valued and heard.

Would you want someone you love to experience that?

This question isn't about guilt. It's about clarity. It helps you see your culture not just through the lens of business goals, but as a space where human beings spend a significant portion of their lives.

Your leadership shapes that experience. What you model, tolerate, celebrate, and correct creates the environment where people either flourish or just survive.

The Work Ahead

Creating the right culture isn't a one-time initiative or a clever tagline on the wall. It's ongoing, intentional work that requires consistency, self-awareness, and courage.

It means defining what you stand for and then living it out, even when it's inconvenient.

It means being willing to look at hard truths about where your culture falls short.

It means understanding that everything rises and falls on leadership, your leadership.

The culture you build today sets the foundation for tomorrow's success.

It determines who stays and who leaves, who gives their best and who quietly disengages, whether your mission actually gets accomplished or just sounds good in meetings.

So what kind of culture are you building?

You can do this. Start where you are. Be honest about what needs to change. Model the behaviors you want to see. And remember: the best time to shape your culture intentionally was yesterday. The second-best time is today.

For more on building exceptional culture, check out Jenni Catron's new book, Culture Matters: A Framework for Helping Your Team Grow, Thrive, and Be Unstoppable.

What's one step you can take this week to be more intentional about your culture?

I'd love to hear from you at mark@markjcundiff.com.