COLIN ON CULTURE
Subscribe to get the weekday email, monthly deep dive plus bonus digital resources
A Year of Culture Content
Looking back on a year of culture content designed to inspire action, spark ideas and ignite curiosity and critical thinking.
Why Psychological Safety isn't a 'Nice to Have'
Psychological safety isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s a ‘must have’ if you want high performance. However, not enough people understand how to create it. Read on to learn what it actually means and how to ‘do’ it in practice.
The Wellbeing Program Paradox
As a culture consultant, I see too many organisations trying to meditation-app their way out of fundamental workplace issues. It's like putting a plaster on a broken leg. Instead, invest in creating healthy cultures from the ground up and build something worth being part of.
The 5 Types of Employees (and the 2 you need to worry about)
Meet the five employee archetypes I have encountered in my work helping organisations to transform their cultures. Understand what drives and defines each of them, plus which two to look out for and why.
4 Ways to Jazz Up Your Culture
A recent trip to a legendary London music venue was a demonstration of what it takes to be - and stay - at the stop of your game. Here's how you can tune up your culture with inspiration from Ronnie Scott's.
What HR needs to change to regain employee trust
HR departments are facing a crisis of confidence, increasingly seen as complicit in toxic workplace cultures rather than agents of positive change. The future of HR lies in creating environments where employees feel safe, respected, and empowered to thrive.
Culture Rots From The Top
Toxic culture is the biggest risk to every organisation, regardless of size, industry or country. It can destroy lives, results, reputations and the organisation itself. Ignoring it will only make things worse. Take a different approach and turn toxicity around.
Are Your Stories Killing Your Culture?
Stories are the primary means of passing down cultural knowledge, values and beliefs from one generation of employees to the next. Understanding this and reframing negative narratives, seeking out positive tales and not giving air time to gossip are simple ways to ensure your culture doesn’t become a story no one wants to hear.
Culture Renovation: A proven blueprint for change
I’m sharing my proven four-step blueprint for successful culture renovation that can start paying dividends in as little as three months.
Emotional intelligence alone doesn't ensure success
Emotional intelligence is critical in building relationships, developing empathy and generating the resilience required to stay committed to the team. However, without the drive and discipline to succeed, it won’t bring you the success you’re seeking.
The Promises and Perils of AI at Work
We stand on the precipice of an AI-powered future of work. Whether it liberates us or entraps us largely depends on our ability to be the human architects and governors of these mighty technologies.
Personal vs. Team Measurement
For years now, organisations have put the emphasis on setting individual rather than team targets in the hope that it provides intrinsic motivation to contribute to team goals. It rarely does. Instead employees are motivated by the personal gains they can achieve rather than the collective goals of the team.
The Great Leadership Delusion
Instead of falling for the leadership industrial complex, organisations should be doubling down on developing foundational skills for middle managers. It's the supervisors, team leads, and mid-level managers who shape the day-to-day experience for most employees.
The 5 Pitfalls of Team Building Events
If you're going to take your team off the job for a day it has got to add value to, and reinforce, the work you do together. Avoid these pitfalls and instead have an experience that will set everyone up for success for the rest of the year.
Are silos sabotaging your culture?
Every organisation is a collection of subcultures and, with growth, silos can be inevitable. By ensuring managers have culture building skills, these subcultures can be positive rather than destructive.
10 Undebatable Benefits of Purposeful Culture Building
Not investing in culture development is like buying all the ingredients and then expecting dinner to make itself! Here are 10 compelling reasons for working on your culture.
Empathy is the foundation of productivity
Empathy is not a ‘nice to have’. It’s the connective tissue of high performing, productive teams that enables people to do their best work without overwhelm or burn out.
Why 'Culture First' leaders will always succeed
When senior leaders make investment in culture their top priority, they will always reap the rewards, both in terms of business results, but also in staff engagement too.
How to be an email trailblazer
Too much email is everyone’s problem. Yet is can be simple to solve - provided there’s agreement on some behavioral changes.
4 Signs of Culture Window Dressing
Does the culture you are projecting to the outside world correlate with your employees’ experiences? When you window dress your culture you are creating a disconnect that will ultimately play out across the entire organisation and its performance.