The Six Figure Rule

What to do when a high-performing senior leader creates dysfunction for the CEO, leadership team, or company There is a particularly frustrating kind of leadership problem: a senior leader who is very good at part of their job – and still makes running the business harder. Maybe they deliver great results but create constant drama. […]
Why Leaders with Intellectual Humility Are Secretly Superheroes

Let’s shine a spotlight on a leadership superpower that rarely gets the glory it deserves: intellectual humility. It might not come with a flashy cape or dramatic theme music, but it can boost the way you lead and inspire your team. At BetterCulture, we’re huge fans of intellectual humility because it aligns with many of […]
Max Was Crushing It… Until He Got Promoted

Max wasn’t used to struggling. At 31, he had already done what most people in his company were trying to do. Seven years in, two promotions behind him, and a reputation that carried weight. He was the kind of employee people pointed to and said, “That’s how you move up around here.” He was fast, […]
Why Your Core Values Are Underperforming Assets (And What to Do About It)

Most organizations proudly display their core values. They’re on websites. They’re on walls. They’re in onboarding decks and employee handbooks. And yet, many leaders quietly sense the same thing: Our values sound good … but they’re not really changing how people behave. That’s not a values problem. That’s a performance problem. The uncomfortable truth about […]
Three Tips for Improving Your Performance Review Process

Let’s talk about something that sparks eye rolls in even the best workplaces – performance reviews. At BetterCulture, we’ve often consulted on this topic, and while we could go deep, today we’re keeping it simple: here’s a fresh perspective to transform a manager’s role in employee evaluation conversations that will make those conversations more impactful […]
Customer Trust: The Right Goal for Long-Term Business Success

Trust isn’t fluff – it’s the fuel that powers growth, loyalty, and long-term success. But here’s the million-dollar question: How do you build that trust – and keep it strong over time? Trust Doesn’t Start at “Hello” Think about the first time a customer interacts with your business. There’s often a subtle tension in the air. […]
Get Serious About Recruiting Talent (Like, Really Serious)

Imagine this: A 16-year-old phenom of a power forward (a basketball position, for the non-sports crowd) living in the most rural corner of Mississippi, reaches out to one of the top 10 college basketball coaches in the country and invites him over for Christmas Eve dinner. Odds that the coach shows up, even on that […]
The #1 Priority for HR Executives

At BetterCulture, we’ve long had a guiding principle we call The Prime Directive for Human Resources (HR). If you’re a Star Trek fan, you know what a prime directive means: an overarching non-negotiable mission. Ours is simple – yet profound. HR’s Prime Directive should be: attract, build, motivate, and retain great talent. When BetterCulture first […]
The Workplace Conflict No One Talks About

In the magical world of Harry Potter, “Unspeakables” are the secretive operatives of the Department of Mysteries – so secret is their work that all are forbidden to even speak of it. At BetterCulture, we’ve reimagined this term to describe a different kind of mystery: one that exists quietly in workplaces everywhere. An Unspeakable is […]
The 3-Step Formula to Drastically Improve Employee Retention

Retaining top talent is one of the most pressing challenges companies face. The single most powerful factor in overcoming this challenge? Outstanding supervisors at every level of your organization. Nothing else comes close. The Leadership Reality In most organizations, leadership quality varies widely. You’ll find one or two exceptional leaders, a fair number of mediocre […]