As a leader, you set the tone for how your team’s culture. The environment you create isn’t just about the physical workplace – it’s also about whether people feel comfortable sharing new ideas, trying different approaches, and adapting when things shift. And with so much change ahead, you want people on your team who don’t just accept change, but are ready to embrace it and even lead it.
As a leader, what are you doing to build a culture where your team members thrive and flourish?
I was in the Perth CBD recently for some client meetings, and then went to work for a few hours at Australia’s newest university campus: Edith Cowan University. This campus is only about six months old, and when they built it, they had the opportunity to build a very modern university, and that’s exactly what they did.
The entrance is open, spacious, and airy; and it celebrates our Indigenous cultures and of course Edith Cowan. They have many options for student collaboration, with open tables, study booths, quiet areas, and many other options. Not surprisingly, digital options are also widely available, with chargers and powerpoints everywhere.
The lecture rooms and seminar rooms all have high-tech digital facilities for presenting and facilitating; and I presume they also support recording and live-streaming for students who aren’t attending in person.
So the physical workplace reflects everything you would expect from a 2026 university campus. And, if it’s used well, it can support and facilitate a thriving culture of collaboration, discussion, learning, and innovation.
But of course that physical workplace doesn’t automatically CREATE that culture. It supports it, but the people create the culture.
And the same applies to your team, too.
As a leader, YOUR tone sets the culture.
A major part of your role is to create an environment – physically and in other ways – where people thrive and flourish.
They feel confident speaking up.
They know how to respectfully challenge others.
They go out on a limb, knowing somebody else isn’t going to saw it off.
And especially, they are open to change – because we all KNOW we’re facing a lot of change in our future.
You want an environment where people feel comfortable with change, are open to change, and ideally embrace and lead change.
Look around at your physical workplace environment. If it’s supports and facilitates change, that’s a bonus. But that culture starts with the people.
That might sound obvious, but many workplace cultures just don’t encourage change. In fact, if anything, they push back against change. And that generally starts from the leader.
For more about building a culture of change, join my free online presentation, “Keep the Change”, where we look at the six kinds of change cultures, and I help you identify yours and take simple, concrete steps to elevate it. It’s free, public, and open to everybody. So register here, and invited others in your team and network, too.
