The Power of Positive Leadership

02How To Build A Positive Culture

Every organization on the planet has a culture, whether it was intentionally designed or accidentally formed through years of unchecked habits and behaviors. A core tenet of Jon Gordon’s philosophy is that culture drives behavior, behavior drives habits, and habits ultimately drive massive results. You simply cannot expect extraordinary, positive outcomes from a team that operates within a negative, stagnant, or toxic culture. Many leaders mistakenly believe that culture is something you can fix with a quick team-building retreat, a new ping-pong table in the breakroom, or a motivational poster slapped on the hallway wall. True positive culture goes much deeper than superficial perks; it is the invisible, yet highly palpable, lifeblood that flows through every interaction, decision, and process within your company. Building it requires relentless dedication, crystal-clear communication, and an unwavering commitment to shared values. To truly understand how culture works, it is incredibly helpful to look at the metaphor of a tree, specifically its roots and its fruits. In the business world, leaders are often obsessively focused entirely on the fruits. The fruits represent the tangible outcomes: the quarterly revenue, the sales quotas, the stock price, the championship trophies, or the final profit margins. When the fruits are looking a little bruised, sparse, or rotten, the instinct of a panicked leader is to yell at the branches, demanding that they immediately produce better fruit. But any successful farmer will tell you that if you want better fruit, you cannot simply focus on the branches; you absolutely must tend to the roots. The roots represent your organizational culture, the underlying values, the daily relationships, the shared beliefs, and the level of trust among your people. If you consistently nourish the roots with positivity, clear expectations, and genuine care, the tree will naturally produce abundant, high-quality fruit over time. Creating this kind of deeply rooted positive culture requires the leader to be the chief architect and the primary role model. You cannot outsource culture building to the human resources department and expect it to stick. It must start completely from the top. When Dabo Swinney took over as the head football coach at Clemson University, the program was struggling, and the morale was incredibly low. Swinney did not immediately focus on complex new offensive schemes or advanced tactical adjustments. Instead, he poured all of his energy into building a culture of intense belief, family, and positivity. He famously stated that you have to build belief before you can build the scoreboard. He changed the way the players spoke to each other, the way the coaches interacted with the athletes, and the overall mindset of the entire athletic facility. It took time, but by deeply nourishing the roots of the program, he eventually led Clemson to multiple national championships, proving that a superior culture will eventually manifest as superior execution on the field. One of the most effective ways to start building a positive culture is by establishing a shared vocabulary. Words have immense power, and the language your team uses on a daily basis shapes their collective reality. When a team constantly uses words like "impossible," "disaster," "unfair," or "exhausted," they are subconsciously reinforcing a culture of victimhood and defeat. A positive leader actively introduces and champions a new vocabulary centered around growth, opportunity, and resilience. Instead of saying "we have a massive problem," the culture shifts to saying "we are facing a unique challenge." Instead of complaining that "we have to do this," the language shifts to "we get the opportunity to do this." It might sound like a minor semantic difference, but over the course of thousands of daily conversations, this deliberate shift in language fundamentally rewrites the psychological operating system of the entire organization. Furthermore, a truly positive culture is not built solely during the good times when revenue is flowing and everyone is happy. The actual strength of your culture is vigorously tested and ultimately forged during periods of intense difficulty. When a major crisis hits, a weak culture will immediately fracture. People will retreat into silos, point fingers, hoard information, and prioritize their own survival over the well-being of the team. In contrast, a strong, positive culture acts as a powerful unifying force during a crisis. Because you have spent months or years building deep trust and shared values, your team will inherently draw closer together when things get tough. They will support one another, share resources, and tackle the problem as a unified front. The adversity becomes a shared crucible that actually strengthens their bonds and deepens their commitment to the organization. It is also crucial to recognize that maintaining a positive culture is not a one-time initiative; it is a daily, unending practice. Just like a garden will quickly become overgrown with weeds if left unattended, an organizational culture will naturally drift toward negativity and complacency if the leader is not actively tending to it. You must continuously find ways to celebrate small victories, publicly recognize employees who embody your core values, and consistently reinforce the overarching mission of the company. Every single meeting, every performance review, and every casual conversation in the hallway is a valuable opportunity to pour water on the roots of your culture. By making the deliberate choice to prioritize the health of your organizational roots every single day, you ensure that your team will consistently produce the extraordinary fruits of success, innovation, and long-term sustainability.

Continue reading with LeapAhead app

Full summary is waiting for you in the app

Continue reading