Why 'Culture Is What You Do'—Not What You Intend or Say

During a busy quarter, a growing tech team at a mid-sized company starts to notice small shifts in daily behavior. A single sarcastic comment about a customer turns into a running joke. A leader, pressed for time, starts interrupting more often in meetings. At first, no one thinks much of it—it’s just a bit of pressure, just how things go sometimes.

But as weeks pass, these little lapses become ‘the way things are.’ New hires quickly pick up on the unspoken permission to vent in public channels, to snipe at competitors, and to let meetings run late. Resentments grow subtly. It’s only when a valued team member mentions feeling demoralized that management pauses to examine how these ‘new normals’ took hold.

The company realizes it needs to act—fast. They bring everyone together to acknowledge the drift and commit to a cultural reset. Leaders start actively modeling the behaviors they want to see: punctuality, constructive feedback, and gratitude. They make it clear, through actions not just announcements, which traditions deserve keeping and which habits aren’t ‘just a phase’—they’re the culture.

Business research confirms that culture is shaped by repeated practice, not by mission statements or intentions. Early intervention is vital: letting negative patterns go unchecked makes reversing them far harder later. Culture isn’t what’s on the wall, it’s what’s in the hallway—day after day.

If you’re noticing shifts in your group’s atmosphere, spend a little time each week writing down the words, habits, or patterns that keep cropping up. When you catch even minor negative trends—maybe sarcasm, lateness, or ignoring good ideas—talk about it early, and then step up to show what better looks like through your own example. Tackle issues now, and you’ll make resetting the culture much easier down the road. Start small—try this at your next meeting.