Category: culture

leadership dot #4933: transitioning

April 29, 2026April 28, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I’m helping coach someone transitioning from an individual contributor role to a leadership role. She made an astute observation that in her previous position, her life revolved around checklists. She was able to write out tasks, cross them off as she accomplished them, and use them to direct her work. But as she is discovering in her new role, there are not always checklists as a leader. She wisely realized this difference and is working “to train her brain” to think differently about her work.

It’s a living example of the difference between a technical problem (where there is a ‘right’ solution) and an adaptive one (where no one solution exists). Leadership is much more intuitive and iterative, and often involves work on things that are never finished or can’t be checked off a list. It can trip up a new leader who has only known success through tasks and tangible outputs. Not only do you have to think differently, but you must also manage your time and priorities in a new way as well.

Consider whether you are in a “checklist” role or whether your time is more appropriately spent on relationships, strategy, and the intangibles that create an effective culture. Without the dopamine hit of crossing something off the list, successful leaders develop internal metrics of success.

leadership dot #4927: levity

April 16, 2026April 14, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

In my class, we were discussing ways to build camaraderie and a positive culture without spending much time or money. This is especially important for organizations with hourly employees who may be unable to participate in out-of-office activities without clocking out.

Studies have shown that informality fosters candor and connectedness, both important qualities for your team. Some ideas for quick ways to interject occasional levity at work:

Have different employees pick their favorite song to start the day
Start with a crazy question, with the winner getting a goofy prize (e.g., the number of feet in the household [dogs = 4])
Have a potluck just with snacks
Hold office pools: for sports, for when the first snow will fall, for when the first 90-degree day occurs, etc.
Have taste tests: Red Vines vs Twizzlers, Pepsi vs Coke, etc.
Post pet photos and guess their owner
Hold a donation drive for a charity
Have employees wear shirts from their favorite team, color, band, etc.
Bring in coffee and donuts to enjoy during morning break
Pick a color, and go crazy with it: (e.g., wear orange, bring in orange foods, use orange in emails)
Play silly games — one office rolls balls down the hall into a box in the boss’s office, again for a “fabulous” prize
Share some of the many different flavors of Oreos or M&Ms and rate them
Play Bingo to see when jargon or catch phrases are used
Repeatedly share 1 can of pop with another person — have a conversation and build the relationship

I’m sure you (and your team) can add many more ideas to the list. The activities may sound silly, but fostering some connectedness is nothing to laugh at.

leadership dot #4877: monster

February 24, 2026February 23, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

You may have heard about the blizzard in the Northeast. A genuine bombogenesis blizzard with nearly two feet of snow and hurricane-force winds. The storm was so big that on the satellite it looked like a hurricane swirling toward land.

The National Weather Service said there were whiteout conditions that will make “travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening. Travel should be restricted to emergencies only.” The governor said it was “critical” for people to stay off the roads. The mayor said they need “everyone to stay inside to let the plows do their work.”

What did the head of HR of a major employer say? “The offices will be open, and we will be operating as normal.” What?!

Note that this is offices, not a hospital or essential service. No message of “stay safe” or any display of empathy. Just get in here or take a vacation day. What they gained (if anything) in productivity, they lost in how they (mis-)treated their employees.

If you can’t muster the willingness to care for your employees in normal times, at the very least, try to do so when there are extenuating circumstances. “Monster” doesn’t just describe this storm.

This photo is an image from the GOES East weather satellite 22,236 miles above the ground.

leadership dot #4831: serve

January 9, 2026January 8, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A colleague was reminiscing about her time serving on a restaurant staff, calling it the “best team.” What made it more enjoyable than her career jobs was what she described as “an awareness of others” — that everyone knew what they were supposed to do, and that from the dishwasher to the line cook to the wait staff, everyone worked in concert to make the experience happen.

It’s a reminder that great teams can happen in any environment if there is a clear mission and a strong sense of trust. It doesn’t have to be glamorous work, and you don’t need a lofty title to create an environment that fulfills people and provides a sense of purpose. Serve up clarity and collaboration for a winning staff recipe.

leadership dot #166a: organizational fruit

January 4, 2026December 24, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

This week, I got my first pomegranate of the season — one of the few wintertime things that I actually enjoy! I did not even know what the fruit was until a few years ago, but now I will have a bowl of pomegranate seeds in my refrigerator continuously until spring comes and they are no longer available.

Pomegranates are a lot like organizations. If you open one up, there are pods with seeds clumped together, but the seeds are all individual pieces. It’s a lot like departments in an organization — honeycombs of little seeds — all separated from each other.

For those who try to get all the seeds out individually, it is a lot of work. Usually, it is more work than it is worth. But if you cut the pomegranate in half and soak the halves in a bowl of water, the seeds will pull away from each other effortlessly and are easily skimmed off.

So it is with organizations. If you encompass the group in a common environment and have a shared mission, people will come out of their clusters and become part of the whole. If you try to gain favor individually without an overarching vision, it is difficult to achieve.

Next time you’re at the market, pick up a pomegranate if you haven’t yet enjoyed one, and think about organizational culture when you’re preparing it for your yogurt or salad. There are lessons to be learned everywhere.

Originally published in modified form on November 14, 2012

leadership dot #4823: appeals

December 16, 2025December 11, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

When I was growing up, “Because I said so” was the final word when uttered by my parents. There was no arguing or further justification; the decision was made.

However, today, people from pre-schoolers to presidents are unwilling to accept the initial answer from anyone. I heard someone describe it as living in “the appeal culture”, where if you don’t like something, you appeal it to the next level.

Whether parent to teacher > principal > superintendent or employee to boss > boss’s boss > CEO, this unwillingness to accept a decision that doesn’t go your way diverts time and energy as the appeal process lingers on.

There are certainly times when a higher authority needs to review a miscarriage of justice, but further pursuit is often unwarranted. Before you escalate a grievance or decision to the next level, consider whether there was an actual wrong or whether it’s just something you don’t like.

leadership dot #4747: over the top

October 1, 2025September 30, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Since I missed seeing the Savannah Bananas in person, I decided that the next best thing was to read their story in the book Banana Ball. Founder Jesse Cole describes the evolution of the crazy team/movement.

One of the behind-the-scenes processes they use to create the energy that has captivated thousands involves “Over the Top” (OTT) sessions. Every single week, the team introduces something new into the Banana Ball experience. That is a lofty goal, and to achieve it requires participation from everyone in the room.

“We are never afraid of bad ideas. I mean, never,” wrote Cole. “Anything to get the flow going. Bad ideas usually lead to good ideas. We have our buckets, similar to idea themes, and we just start throwing out ideas. Everybody has to come up with an idea for each bucket. If we get these crazy reactions and animated responses, that’s when we know we’re headed in the right direction. If there’s a lot of pausing and stammering and quiet, then we’re stuck.”

To push the envelope as they do — every week — it requires a level of trust that most organizations fail to achieve. I’m teaching a culture class where we’re studying psychological safety, and OTT sessions could be a good illustration of that concept in action. If people are hesitant to speak up, if they are afraid of being ridiculed or of their idea being laughed at, or if there is fear of providing a ‘wrong’ idea, safety doesn’t exist. Apparently, in Bananaland, trust is high and the safety net is strong — leading to phenomenal success within the organization.

Two takeaways: 1) work first to create psychological safety so that people can speak freely about ideas or issues, and 2) don’t just brainstorm for ordinary ideas — shoot for Over the Top to achieve something truly special.

Source: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas by Jesse Cole, 2023

leadership dot #4666: memorialized

July 5, 2025July 4, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I was in Plymouth, Massachusetts — so of course, I had to see the infamous Plymouth Rock that I heard about in grade school. All the locals warned me that the site was “underwhelming” (and it was), but it seemed like a bit of history that I should see while I was so close.

It was disappointing to learn that the rock has been moved inland from its original (authentic?) location, but then I was reminded that it isn’t really “the rock” that is the important part. “It is the fact that they landed — and remained — that matters, not where they landed. Yet it is no bad thing for a nation to be founded on a rock,” reads the plaque at the site.

Plymouth Rock serves as a symbol of the building of a new nation. In some ways, it’s inconsequential whether it is a true story, the original rock, or the initial location of the boulder. People come to see and celebrate what the rock represents.

Think of the values and moments that you wish to memorialize in your organization. Creating a symbol can be the rock that solidifies that message into the future.

leadership dot #3422a: dinosaur

June 27, 2025June 22, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I have a friend who has been interviewing for the same job for two months. He went to multiple in-person interviews, plus had to do a presentation, but still has not finished the process. The company is a 9-5, in-person only, formal dress kind of place — and that, combined with their antiquated interviewing process, makes me think that they are less than progressive with their culture and way of operating.

And yet, in the latest interview, the vice president commented on how they were a fast-moving company that was able to pivot quickly. The misalignment between how they see themselves and how they act is a red flag. It’s one thing to work at a place that follows traditional practices, but worrisome when the leadership doesn’t realize that their human resources are anything but cutting edge.

It’s easy to get so used to the culture that you can’t see it from an external perspective. Counteract this by capitalizing on your new hires or using external groups to get a reality check on how you are perceived by those who aren’t ingrained in the organization. It’s ok to be a dinosaur, but not ok to be one and think you’re a cheetah.

Originally published in modified form on October 28, 2021

leadership dot #4620: brainstorming

May 13, 2025May 12, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It’s fashionable for people to seek out-of-the-box thinking. It implies innovation and creativity, and the new ideas generated in such brainstorming sessions can lead to product breakthroughs and market gains.

There is also out-of-the-planet thinking where the ideas are so far out of the box as to not be doable under the parameters provided. Out-of-the-planet can be awesome in the right circumstances or with the right timeline, but pushing for such changes within hard constraints doesn’t lead anywhere.

Before you engage in any idea generation or brainstorming, it’s important to understand the purpose and desired use of the outcomes. Staying grounded on Earth may be the most helpful, or the culture may embrace further exploration. Know how far your rocket is headed before you blast off.