The most powerful thing I have ever done to build a positive culture is set the expectation that people can show up as themselves without having to prove their worth every day. When people feel safe, they contribute more openly, they take healthy risks, and they support each other without being asked. In our remote-first team, this shows up in how we communicate. We normalize clarity instead of perfection. We make space for life to exist alongside work. We acknowledge wins often, not just at milestone moments. These small habits shape how people treat one another and how they treat themselves. Culture is not built during a retreat. It is built in the everyday moments. A positive culture grows when leaders model grace, accountability, and honesty in equal measure. When people trust the environment, they bring their best energy to it.
One thing that's worked really well for us at Eprezto is keeping a consistent rhythm of weekly, cross-functional "Growth Meetings." Nothing fancy, just everyone in the same room (or Google Meets) looking at the same numbers and bringing one idea that could move our north-star metric. What makes it work is the simplicity. There's no big presentation, no hierarchy, no long monologue. If you bring an idea, you own the test, ship it, and report back next week. Sometimes it works, sometimes it flops, I openly share my own bad calls too, but that's the point. It builds trust. And honestly, that transparency wipes out a lot of the usual startup tension. When people can see the real data for themselves, there's no guessing, no politics, no "why are we doing this?" Everyone understands the mission and feels part of it. The best part is the culture it naturally creates. People feel safe speaking up because they know they won't get punished for trying. They bring more energy, more ideas, and more ownership. It's been one of the simplest things we've done, but easily one of the most impactful for keeping the team aligned and motivated.
A practice that has significantly impacted my company culture is a straightforward method I refer to as "Friday Clarity Notes." Every Friday, I dispatch a brief note to the whole team that emphasizes three points: our accomplishments for the week, the lessons we've gained, and the adjustments we need to make for the upcoming week. It requires me roughly fifteen minutes, yet it establishes the atmosphere for the whole team. Employees understand the company's direction, recognize how their efforts relate to tangible results, and feel at ease voicing concerns when issues arise. It fosters transparency without introducing cumbersome processes or meetings. I began this at Wisemonk since our tasks demand close collaboration among HR, compliance, and client operations. We assist international companies in recruiting talent in India, so we cannot allow internal disorganization or inconsistency. The clarity notes made everyone feel informed and part of the process, particularly as we grew. The outcome has led to a more stable and optimistic culture. Individuals feel valued when leaders transparently provide context, which motivates them to express their thoughts or worries sooner. It may not be an elaborate initiative, but it has proven to be one of the most dependable methods for maintaining team connection and motivation.
One practice that has shaped our culture more than anything else is giving people psychological permission to speak early and not perfectly. In most teams, people wait until they have a "fully formed answer." The silence feels harmless at first, but eventually it becomes the culture, where only polished ideas are welcome. But, we flipped that dynamic. In every meeting, we start with one question: "What are you seeing that the rest of us might be missing?" The wording matters, as it invites observations, not polished opinions. And it works because people feel safe offering unfinished thoughts. When teams speak early, you get and leverage the following: Faster innovation: Example: A junior analyst once mentioned a "weird customer pattern" she saw; that unfinished thought led to a full-scale churn-reduction project. Cleaner problem-solving: Example: In one roadmap review, an engineer's quick observation helped us avoid a multi-week misalignment. Stronger commitment: Example: Teams were more invested in our new workflow rollout because their early feedback shaped it. Thus, culture is built in the moments when people decide whether they can show up as themselves while being unsure, curious, honest, and still be valued.
Co-Founder and Partner, Head of Investment Banking and Deals Division at Qubit Capital
Answered 2 months ago
One of the best things we did for culture was giving people more trust and time to think. We cut daily check-ins and replaced them with async updates so everyone could focus without interruption. Each team shares what they did, what's next, and any blockers in one shared format, and I use AI to pull it all together across Gmail, Discord, and project tools. At the same time, we launched Build Days. Every other Saturday, people pick one annoying task, automate a part of it, and demo it by 5 p.m. No pressure, just creative play. By Monday, there are fewer manual chores, more real progress, and a steady flow of small wins that make work feel lighter. It's practical innovation that builds confidence, ownership, and calm momentum. That's exactly what a positive culture should feel like.
One practice that's had a real impact on our culture is creating space for open, two-way conversations instead of top-down communication. Every week, I sit with small groups from across the team, production, design, operations, to hear what's working and what's getting in their way. These aren't performance check-ins; they're genuine discussions where everyone can speak freely. This simple routine has helped people feel heard, strengthened trust, and surfaced small issues long before they become bigger problems. It's also led to smarter decisions, because the best insights often come from the people closest to the work. Over time, this approach has shaped a culture where honesty, ownership, and shared responsibility come naturally.
InCorp Vietnam establishes a good culture through frequent structured two-way communications, not by an open-door policy. Each team has a short, low agenda monthly meeting during which they are all able to share wins, challenges, and ideas. The leaders are supposed to have their priorities and decisions explained in simple language. Such a routine can make it normal to speak up, reduce rumors, and make people feel part of the game and not merely a component of it. They are also conducting anonymous pulse surveys on a quarterly basis and never fail to follow up on what they heard and what they are going to do about it. As soon as individuals observe their input causing tangible changes, be it a minor adjustment in the process or a new perk, it creates a sense of trust and psychological security. In the long term, such open communication maintains the level of engagement, minimizes the amount of needless friction, and manifests itself in the form of improved morale, enhanced teamwork, and increased retention.
We have found that having a daily team check-in every morning before getting into our work is the best way to start the day. It establishes a positive routine for our team members to check in with each other every day so they know what is important, what needs to be done and what needs help. These calls help establish an open line of communication between all team members and reinforce their connection to each other. Over time, it has helped us create a lot of trust among our team members as everyone knows their teammates will support them and listen to them, starting every day at the same time.
One tip I'd share to foster a positive culture is to regularly "zoom out" and show people the bigger picture their work supports. When teams can see how their efforts connect to the broader picture, the customer experience, or the company's momentum, their sense of ownership and motivation naturally increases. It shifts people from feeling like they're doing isolated work to feeling like they're contributing to something meaningful. A shared picture creates shared purpose and that creates a more positive, healthier culture.
For my business collaboration is key to our culture of engaging our team and ultimately our success. Employee retention starts with engagement so to stay connected and keep the team on track I try to set the tone upfront with one rule, when in doubt over-communicate. Especially now that everyone is working hybrid it is key to set up regular e-mails/video/conference calls. Don't make assumptions of what people from different groups want or know, just ask or send an e-mail. It will save you a lot of time, money and frustration down the road. Be a good listener and make sure you hear the others, their hopes, frustrations and intentions. If the lines of communication are open and everyone makes an effort to listen and be heard then collaboration will happen naturally and the information will flow. I focus on creating genuine human connections by treating team members with respect, dignity, and sincere engagement. Clear communication and strong interpersonal interactions set the tone for how we work together, which strengthens trust and keeps the team adaptable and aligned.
We end our weekly team meetings with gratitude, thanking a team member (or multiple) for their leadership, collaboration, insights, or help. At Prosh Marketing, we ultimately want to cultivate an environment where teamwork is encouraged, so by having a section of our meetings dedicated to celebrating teamwork and by highlighting the strong team players in public, we can reinforce this value consistently.
The one thing that made a difference for my business was requiring outcomes without worrying about the process. In other words, I'd ask for certain results but didn't care how the team got there and which approach they used. This gave them freedom in how and when they work, and they could try out new methods and tools and fail without worry of criticism. For me, it means giving everyone the ability to the best work they can since I hired them because they're better than me at a specific set of tasks.
We host a monthly webinar where facilitators volunteer their time to spotlight local charities selected by our team, paired with donations and complimentary training. Giving employees a direct role in our social impact builds loyalty and a strong emotional connection. The program has supported over ten charities and has strengthened our culture.
No-meeting weeks. I block the entire week for deep work across the team. My team showed me they can actually finish projects, not just talk about them. It shows I value their time over my need for updates. Productivity jumped, but more importantly, people stopped feeling like their work was constantly interrupted by constant check-ins.
Organizational culture reveals itself in how we respond to unacceptable behavior. The foundation is setting clear boundaries and then consistently maintaining them. If we don't tolerate behaviors that go against our values, we create space to honestly evaluate whether we have the culture we actually want. If we do - great. If we don't, we need to change it. And the way we change it is by enforcing those boundaries consistently. This is something we must always do. Once those boundaries are in place, it's essential to hire people who will thrive within them. This is where "Hiring for Attitude" comes in - building a recruitment process that's centered around your company values and the standards you've established. When you hire people whose attitudes naturally align with your culture, they'll move freely and comfortably within this framework, reinforcing the positive environment you're building.
I'm Volen Vulkov, co-founder of Enhancv. Here's my one tip for helping teams build a truly positive culture. Collect aligned culture "stories" deliberately and share them relentlessly with the entire team. The immediate effect of this is turning culture statements into actual daily 'permission' people can refer to in order to act human, act on their own and add that personal touch to everything they do. The perfect example of this, not from a tech unicorn but a company known for maintaining a positive resilient workforce - Southwest Airlines. Southwest's leadership is so intentional about sharing actual stories of employees embodying their culture of being "the world's most loved airline", that they shared a story of Darlene Taylor, who went out of her way to help a stranded family after a snowstorm. Despite being unassigned, Darlene figured out the logistics, braved the snow and physically went back to retrieve the family's bags from another plane so they wouldn't miss their cruise. Take note that no manager was there to tell her to do it before she did it because Southwest employees are awash in these kinds of culture stories in their weekly magazines, from the CEO, internal videos and the like - so people know it's not okay not to embody the kind of customer service culture they say they have. Here at Enhancv, the little things we do for our customers or for each other which we capture and share inspired people to show up with heart more often. By making the sharing of these stories a monthly ritual, peer to peer recognition in our teams witnessed a 21% increase. We also saw an uptick in employee engagement, with our quarterly pulse survey climbing from 7.1 out of 10 to 8.4 out of 10 once this was seeded in. The secret is being relentless, pushing 4-5 real stories every month that tie back to the bigger why behind your company. The one thing founders should walk away with is not to just come up with core values your company will live by, but to weave the stories of actual people living those values into your culture. This empowers your team to know that really following that culture does in fact give them permission to be human in the workplace and act on their own to leave the mark that only they can give, no matter what.
One of the most important areas of LAXcar is the culture, and how we build it by making people feel that their work fulfills a purpose. In the sense of the people we help, a driver assisting a traveler with mobility challenges or a dispatcher calming a stressed traveler can completely change someone's day. I try to keep it alive without the formality of check-ins. It can be just a simple question, such as, "How's your week going?" or "What's making your job harder right now?" It is in those moments, people feel heard, and more often than not, those are the moments that problems are diagnosed before they get too big. I have come to notice that it is the small moments, not big events, that stand out and shine brightly in the culture of the company. Moments of everyday support for someone create a culture of support, and if your team knows you value them as people, not simply employees, they show up with heart, and that energy reflects to the clients.
One of my favorite aspects of our company culture is our Friday Wins tradition. Each Friday, we take ten minutes so that everyone can share something, big or small, that they accomplished and are proud of from the week. Initially, this seemed trivial, but I will never forget the first time someone said, "I didn't think anyone noticed this, but...", and I knew then and there that even the smallest, quietest contributions deserve acknowledgement. These are the things that keep companies going and thriving, and without them, so many aspects of a company would collapse. It is also very impactful to reflect on things in the room that can lighten the atmosphere and build a collective, organic trust instead of constructing trust through the use of team-building activities or other corporate "cheerleading" tactics. Appreciation and recognition didn't only occur in the Friday Wins sessions, and we didn't experience many conflicts outside of Fridays because the team had already built a habit of empathy. The culture we had built was not a result of a few large, grand gestures. It was because of the small, everyday activities that paved the way for so many positive outcomes and impacts.
One tip I use to foster a positive culture is giving people recognition in real time, not saving it for quarterly reviews or big milestones. So, when a person does a great job, I point that out and tell them what it meant, in that moment. This sets a habit of appreciation that trickles down through the group. In a company where things are moving quickly, especially in a service-based business, it can feel like no matter how hard people work, their contributions are lost in the woodwork. Recognition keeps people's spirits up. A positive company culture isn't something that you create with a motto.
To build a positive workplace culture at Legacy Online School, one of the simplest ways I do this is through the establishment of a transparent and co-owned environment that is in place as part of the school's normal rhythm. From day one, we were clear about allowing everyone (including staff supporting instruction and staff supporting students) to view our student performance metric, our obstacles, and our successes. By providing this level of open access, we are building trust within the organization and collaborating rather than being part of a hierarchically oriented institution. Why This Matters: Organizations with a strong culture of collaboration and openness have greater engagement and retention rates which directly correlate to improved organizational performance and business continuity. When employees can see the bigger picture rather than just their individual job responsibilities, they become invested in the organization as a whole. Within the context of an online school, this translates to all staff members viewing themselves as contributing members towards the success of our students, rather than just completing tasks. We have periodic meetings where we provide feedback to staff about student experiences, what worked well from a marketing perspective, and any future initiatives we are planning. If we find that something was successful, we celebrate it as a team accomplishment (not as an individual accomplishment). If something did not work, we use the experience as a learning opportunity rather than a reason to place blame on someone. This helps us stay flexible, strong and excited even when facing adverse situations. More importantly, it creates a sense of belonging and purpose for everyone. Individuals who feel like they belong to the Legacy Online School community are more likely to remain with the company longer, perform at a higher level, and take more pride in their work.