When organizations struggle with people-related issues—turnover, disengagement, conflict, and underperformance—the root cause often comes down to culture. Company culture is a powerful driver of business success, yet it’s frequently misunderstood, neglected, or left to evolve on its own. That’s a dangerous strategy—or, more accurately, a dangerous non-strategy.
The ability to build and protect culture starts at the top. Executive teams set the tone for the entire organization. If your culture is struggling, odds are it’s time for leadership to step back, reflect, and realign.
But don’t wait until things are broken. Even if your culture is thriving, there’s always room for improvement. If your culture is going great and you want it to get even stronger and healthier, a focused retreat can elevate your organization to new heights. That’s why your next executive retreat should focus on culture—because without a deliberate plan for cultural health, your business will always be fighting uphill.
Culture Drives Business Success
Consider these statistics:
- Companies with strong cultures see a 4x increase in revenue growth compared to those with weaker cultures (Forbes).
- Organizations with high employee engagement are 21% more profitable (Gallup).
- Companies with effective cultures experience 26% less employee turnover and 41% fewer quality defects (Deloitte).
These statistics probably aren’t eye-opening because they reinforce what you already know: culture is the foundation of performance, productivity, and profitability. Yet, despite this widespread understanding, many executive teams fail to prioritize culture.
Why? Four common reasons:
- They don’t know what to do.
- They don’t realize how much their current culture could be improved.
- They think they know how to fix their culture—but they don’t..
- They are busy with other things, so they never quite get around to developing a coherent plan for cultural health. That “culture work” is always left to another day. Unfortunately, that day never comes—until it’s too late.
Why You Need Expert Help to Improve Culture
When companies face complex challenges—whether technology issues, financial concerns, construction projects, or legal matters—they bring in experts. They don’t attempt to resolve these critical issues internally because they understand the value of specialized knowledge.
If you want an executive team that excels in internal dynamics and leadership alignment, you need an expert like BetterCulture. We don’t offer generic advice; we provide proven frameworks and hands-on facilitation that have transformed hundreds of top teams.
Attempting to manage cultural health internally, without the right expertise, wastes valuable time and leads to mediocre results. Bring in BetterCulture, and your leadership team will gain the clarity and momentum it needs to succeed.
Think about it this way: you wouldn’t try to save the architect’s fee on a $20 million building by sketching the plans yourself. You’d end up unhappy with the result—and it would cost you a lot more in the long run. The same logic applies to your executive team’s cultural alignment. Investing in expert guidance ensures a better outcome and a higher ROI.
Common Pain Points When Culture Is Ignored
When leadership neglects culture, the symptoms are impossible to ignore:
- High turnover and difficulty hiring – People leave toxic environments, and your reputation as an employer suffers.
- Disengaged employees – Workers show up, but they’re not motivated to go above and beyond.
- Internal conflict and team dysfunction – Without clear values and alignment, people pull in different directions.
- Burnout among leaders – Both top-level and front-line managers feel stretched thin, reactive, and out of sync.
Culture Starts at the Top
Phase One: Heal the Executive Team
The health of your organization’s culture reflects the cultural health of its leadership team. Dysfunction or misalignment at the top will ripple through every layer of the organization.
At BetterCulture, we strongly recommend that executive teams start by looking inward. Before crafting an organization-wide plan for cultural health, leadership teams must ensure their internal dynamics are strong. A well-planned, expertly facilitated executive retreat provides the perfect opportunity to:
- Align on shared values and priorities.
- Reduce silos.
- Enhance decision-making.
- Improve communication.
- Build trust.
- Set expectations for executive team membership.
- Strengthen individual leadership skills.
Phase Two: Create a Strategic Culture Plan
Once your leadership team’s internal dynamics are strong, you can turn your attention to crafting a comprehensive cultural health plan for your entire organization. This isn’t a task you can afford to tackle casually. It requires a structured approach that addresses all critical factors of culture-building and protection.
Many organizations want to improve their culture but lack a working model to guide them. That’s where BetterCulture excels. We help leadership teams develop and implement plans that improve cultural health—across all levels of the organization—ensuring lasting impact.
The Bottom Line
A great culture starts with your executive team. It requires commitment, alignment, and a clear plan to build and sustain cultural health across the organization. Skipping this step means your culture will continue to drift—and your business will pay the price.
The ROI of Focusing on Culture at Your Next Executive Retreat
Investing in culture isn’t just a feel-good initiative—it drives real business results. At BetterCulture, we specialize in helping executive teams lead this charge through retreats focused on leadership alignment, team dynamics, and company-wide strategic planning.
Our retreats help leadership teams:
- Reconnect and align on both business and cultural goals.
- Create a people-first plan that prioritizes employee engagement and development.
- Identify blind spots in leadership behaviors that could harm culture.
- Develop sustainable strategies to build and maintain cultural health long after the retreat ends.
Ready to Lead the Charge?
As leaders, you have the power to shape the culture of your organization—but it won’t happen by accident. It requires intention, alignment, and a clear plan.
If your executive team is ready to prioritize culture, we’d love to help. Our Executive Culture Retreats are packed with expert content and proven processes that drive action on what matters most.
Your people are your greatest asset. Make sure your leadership team is doing everything it can to create a thriving culture where both employees and your business can succeed.
Ready to start? Let’s talk.
