#79 | 1.24.25 - Problems Good Culture Doesn't Fix / The Power of Positivity / A Marathon Every Day in 2024 / When Is It Too Cold to Walk Your Dog?
Hello, friends, and welcome to Further Faster Fridays!
If this is your first issue, welcome! We ship the best content in personal development and leadership each Friday to help you go further, faster. Glad to have you as part of the community!
Now, on to the content!
Problems Culture Doesn't Fix
As promised in last week's edition, here is a question from David and the accompanying answer:
Hi there! Thanks for the weekly newsletter; I enjoy reading it each week. Got a question for you. I’m 32 years old and just got promoted to my first management job. I’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, so I wanted to ask - what kind of problems does culture NOT fix? Also, do you have any advice on those? Thanks a ton!
This is a great question, David! A strong workplace culture is often seen as the secret ingredient to a thriving organization, for good reason - it IS instrumental. That said, culture isn’t a magic wand—it doesn’t automatically resolve every issue. Even in the best environments, some problems continue unless leaders act intentionally.
Here are five challenges a great culture won’t fix and how to address them effectively:
1. Poor Performance
A positive culture can encourage employees to do their best work, but a good culture alone won’t transform an underperforming employee into a high achiever. Some individuals struggle due to skill gaps, motivation issues, or misalignment with their roles.
What to Do:
Provide clear performance expectations. As we’ve talked about so many times, clarity is kindness. Conversely, if you’re not being clear, you’re not being kind.
Provide regular feedback - schedule weekly 1:1s in which you discuss the clear performance expectations you outlined above.
If the above steps don’t work, address persistent performance issues with structured improvement plans provided in writing.
When necessary, make tough decisions about letting go of employees who do not meet standards despite support. (See my article, 5 Questions For Underperforming Employees)
2. Toxic Individuals
Even in a strong culture, one toxic person—whether a leader, peer, or direct report—can undermine morale, create friction, and disrupt team cohesion.
What to Do:
Set and enforce clear behavioral expectations. If you’ve established your Core Values, refer back to them as the bar set for the team.
Address toxic behaviors swiftly, specifically and directly. Don’t let them build up.
Foster accountability by empowering employees to report issues without fear of retaliation.
If behavior persists, consider the steps above using a structured improvement plan and/or potentially removing the person from the organization.
3. Structural Issues
Culture can encourage innovation and teamwork, but it won’t compensate for broken processes, unclear roles, or inefficient workflows. If people don’t understand how work gets done, frustration builds, and productivity suffers.
What to Do:
Conduct regular process audits to identify inefficiencies. An After Action Review is a great place to start. After the completion of projects/initiatives, ask your team:
What did we do well?
What did we do not well?
What can we change to improve next time?
Clearly define roles and responsibilities to eliminate confusion.
Regularly ask your team/employees, “What is not working in our day-to-day operations?”
4. Mismatched Leadership
A strong culture starts at the top, but if leaders don’t model the values of the organization, employees will feel disengaged and distrustful. Culture won’t fix misalignment between leadership behavior and company values.
What to Do:
Continually remind your team of your mission, vision, and values. Continual discussion brings up conversations that may not surface normally.
Ensure leaders embody and reinforce cultural values in their actions and decisions.
Create feedback loops where employees can share concerns about leadership misalignment.
5. External Pressures
Even the best culture can’t shield an organization from economic downturns, industry disruptions, or external crises. Employees may experience uncertainty, stress, or burnout despite a positive work environment.
What to Do:
Foster transparency by keeping employees informed about external challenges.
Equip teams with adaptability and resilience training.
Lead the way in support - regularly ask your team, “How are you doing?”
Offer well-being resources to support employees through difficult times.
A good culture is a foundation, not a fix-all. Strong values, clear expectations, and proactive leadership are necessary to navigate the challenges that culture alone cannot resolve.
NOTE: Do you have a question you’d like answered? Reply here or send an email and we’ll do our best to get it answered!
The Power of Positivity
This is a neat video that exhibits the importance of the people you surround yourself with in determining your outcomes. A participant is asked to shoot a basketball. She misses over and over again. Watch what happens when her environment changes…
A Marathon Every Day in 2024
Making a New Year's resolution is one thing, but following through is another challenge entirely. Hilde Dosogne, a 55-year-old runner from Belgium, had an exceptionally ambitious resolution: to run a marathon every day of the year. In 2024, she accomplished this remarkable feat! 🤯 Now, she is submitting evidence to Guinness World Records to be officially recognized as the first woman to run a marathon daily for a year.
When Is It Too Cold to Walk Your Dog?
As a cold snap envelops most of the country this week, I thought this was a very appropriate article to reference. Granted, our dog doesn’t like the answers. 🦮
Words to wrap up:
Your company culture isn't about free pizza or ping-pong games.
It's how your people feel on Sunday night.