If you\u2019ve ever gone snorkeling or scuba diving, you know this is true\u2014what you see from the boat is only a small glimpse of the world beneath the surface.<\/p>\n
Organizational culture works the same way. What we see in our teams at a glance is only a small part of what is going on and what actually shapes how people behave.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll dig deeper into this together in the next Leadership Labs workshop. But for now, let\u2019s look at what might be hiding beneath the surface of your team.<\/p>\n
Let’s go back to the ocean imagery. If you\u2019ve ever seen a photo of an iceberg, you know the visual. There’s a sharp, but relatively small, white peak above the waterline\u2013and a massive, unseen structure beneath the surface.<\/p>\n
Ship captains know that it’s the part beneath the surface you really have to worry about when navigating these waters. Organizational leaders might need to develop these same instincts.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s visible to us is usually small:<\/p>\n
But what actually shapes behavior lives below the surface.<\/p>\n
And most teams don\u2019t notice culture until they are confronted by it.<\/p>\n
A new hire joins the team and says, \u201cOh\u2026 so this is how things really work here.\u201d<\/p>\n
A high performer leaves unexpectedly.<\/p>\n
A meeting goes sideways, and no one can explain why it felt tense.<\/p>\n
Culture is rarely announced. Instead, it\u2019s experienced. <\/strong><\/p>\n And if you want to create the kind of culture people don\u2019t want to leave, you have to learn to see what\u2019s underwater.<\/p>\n Here are some of the most reliable indicators.<\/p>\n Officially, decisions may follow a clean process.<\/p>\n Unofficially though:<\/p>\n Research consistently finds that perceived unfairness and opaque decision-making erode trust faster than disagreement itself.<\/p>\n Next time, pay attention to:<\/p>\n Decision patterns reveal power structures, and power structures reveal culture.<\/strong><\/p>\n You don\u2019t necessarily learn a team\u2019s culture during success. Instead, you\u2019re more likely to learn it during failure.<\/p>\n Research identifies psychological safety as the strongest predictor of team effectiveness. <\/strong><\/p>\n Interestingly, though, psychological safety shows up most clearly in moments of error.<\/p>\n When mistakes happen:<\/p>\n If people protect themselves more than they protect the work, you\u2019ve uncovered something dangerous below the surface.<\/p>\n Every organization says it values collaboration, integrity, or innovation. Nearly every organization I’ve ever worked with claims these values.<\/p>\n But culture is defined by what actually gets rewarded. <\/strong><\/p>\n Pay attention to:<\/p>\n If someone hits numbers while steamrolling over teammates and still advances, the culture has spoken.<\/p>\n If someone raises concerns respectfully and gets sidelined, the culture has spoken.<\/p>\n Incentives clarify values more than front-facing statements ever will.<\/p>\n Meetings are culture in concentrated form.<\/p>\n The next time you\u2019re in a team meeting, ask yourself:<\/p>\n Research suggests that unclear expectations are one of the strongest predictors of disengagement.<\/p>\n You can often diagnose expectation clarity simply by observing whether people leave meetings knowing:<\/p>\n If meetings create motion without clarity, culture is drifting.<\/strong><\/p>\n Conflict itself is neutral. It happens in every organization without exception. However, when conflict is avoided, that reveals a lot about the culture. <\/strong><\/p>\n Watch for:<\/p>\n Healthy cultures normalize productive tension, but unhealthy cultures personalize it.<\/p>\n New hires see culture clearly\u2014for about 90 days. Then they acclimate. <\/strong><\/p>\n Pay attention to what they ask, such as:<\/p>\n Those questions are sonar pings into the base of the iceberg beneath your culture. They reveal hidden norms.<\/p>\n If you want an honest culture audit, ask a recent hire:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat surprised you most about how we operate?\u201d ‘Then listen without defensiveness.<\/p>\n Here’s the takeaway\u2013you don\u2019t create culture once. You reinforce it daily through:<\/p>\n Most teams don\u2019t drift toward a healthy culture. They drift toward unspoken rules and unexamined habits.<\/p>\n If you want to create the kind of culture people don\u2019t want to leave, start by looking below the surface.<\/p>\n The things that impact organizational culture more than anything else are invisible\u2014until they’re not. Instead of letting these things sneak up on us later, let’s grow in our ability to discover what’s beneath the surface today<\/p>\n The leaders who build strong cultures aren\u2019t the ones who manage what\u2019s visible.<\/p>\n They\u2019re the ones who learn to see what\u2019s underwater<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Sign up for our next Leadership Labs live workshop here<\/a>!<\/strong> These workshops are designed to help you learn, experiment, and grow your leadership skills<\/strong>. With Leadership Labs, you’ll get…<\/p>\n And it’s only $9.97 for each workshop! Sound like something you could use? Then sign up here<\/a> and let’s grow our leadership skills together!<\/p>\n Yulee Lee, PhD<\/strong> \u2709\ufe0f yulee@stuffyoucanuse.org<\/a> If you\u2019ve ever gone snorkeling or scuba diving, you know this is true\u2014what you see from the boat is only a small glimpse of the world beneath the surface. Organizational culture works the same way. What we see in our teams at a glance is only a small part of what is going on and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":382,"featured_media":464549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[83,241,387,350,351,388,84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-464546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kids-ministry-blog","category-leadership","category-leadership-home","category-planning","category-planning-youth-ministry","category-planning-home","category-youth-ministry-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n1. How Decisions Really Get Made <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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2. What Happens When Someone Makes a Mistake <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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3. What Gets Rewarded (Not What Gets Preached) <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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4. The Emotional Tone of Meetings <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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5. How Conflict Is Handled <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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6. What New Employees Notice First <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Culture Is Already Forming <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Go Deeper in Leadership Labs! <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Chief Operating Officer<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udf10 growcurriculum.org<\/a>
\ud83c\udf10 stuffyoucanuse.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"