Culture Is What Happens Between Meetings

Why Values on the Wall Don’t Mean Much if They’re Missing in the Moments

Ask any executive about their company’s culture, and you’ll likely hear a confident answer.

They’ll point to the mission on the website. The values framed in the hallway. The strategy decks and slide templates.

But here’s the thing:

Culture isn’t what gets said in all-hands meetings. It’s what gets tolerated in team meetings. It’s not what leaders promise. It’s what employees experience; in the quiet, in-between moments.

The Real Culture Is in the Micro-Moments

• It’s whether people feel safe speaking up in a Monday stand-up.

• It’s how feedback is given after a tough presentation.

• It’s what gets rewarded. What gets overlooked. And what gets whispered about after the Zoom call ends.

A company can talk about psychological safety; and still operate in fear. It can claim to value collaboration; and still promote heroes over teams. It can roll out DEI trainings; and still shut down different perspectives.

Culture isn’t aspirational. It’s behavioral.

Your Culture Lives in 3 Places:

1. What’s Normalized

What people see day to day becomes the culture. If blame is common, people play it safe. If leaders model curiosity, others follow suit.

Culture is contagious. The question is: what are people catching?

2. What’s Allowed

If managers tolerate gossip, avoidance, or micromanagement; those behaviors will spread. Not saying something is saying something.

Silence is one of the most powerful culture-shaping tools; and not always in a good way.

3. What’s Modeled

No team will ever outperform what its leaders demonstrate. Leaders set the tone; through words, actions, and even who gets their attention.

If the exec team talks about values but doesn’t reflect them, employees notice. Fast.

The Space Between Meetings Matters Most

Here’s what I often say to clients: You don’t need better values. You need to bring your values to life. Not just in strategy sessions; but in 1:1s, Slack threads, hallway conversations, and team dynamics.

The organizations that do this well don’t just run programs. They shape shared norms, foster everyday accountability, and create space for honest reflection.

Because culture doesn’t show up in the branding. It shows up in behavior.

Culture Is a Daily Practice

You don’t build culture in one retreat, one workshop, or one DEI session. You build it over time—conversation by conversation, decision by decision.

So next time you're thinking about culture, ask yourself:

“What are we teaching people to believe; through our everyday behavior?”

Because that’s your culture. And that’s what people remember.