Category: culture

leadership dot #5057: involvement

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

Employee engagement sounds like a lofty goal, but there are simple ways to help employees become more involved in the organization.

Three examples:

Our local Dairy Queen allows team members to create a “Treat of the Month” and share their concoction. It spotlights an employee and can drive additional sales as people are tempted to try the new treat.
Bookstores often display featured selections recommended by their staff, thereby engaging them in the organization and, hopefully, also increasing sales.
An organization recently rebranded and allowed its employees to choose the final logo design and the new apparel to accompany it.

None of these efforts required an expense; instead, they offered opportunities for genuine participation. Help foster a sense of belonging for your team by asking for input and crafting ways that they can share in the work.

Screenshot from Rhomberg Dairy Queen

leadership dot #5018: unrestrained

July 30, 2026July 29, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The Michigan Central campus (see dots #5016 & 5017) includes several streets where the owners have been given permission to experiment free from regulations. This allows for speedier innovation trials, without the time lag to secure permits and approval from the city.

One use of this latitude involves piloting a test strip where wireless charging capabilities are placed underground so electric vehicles can charge their batteries without stopping. Currently, it only encompasses several blocks, but the hope is that it could have greater adoption in the future. The American Automobile Association (AAA) notes that “range anxiety keeps 60% of consumers from considering electric vehicles despite their environmental benefits,” so underground charging is an experiment to overcome that hesitation.

How can you adopt your organization’s policies as Detroit has done to provide more freedom and flexibility in the innovation process? Let your thinkers, artists, and engineers spend their time on creating rather than on navigating internal or external bureaucracy.

leadership dot #5017: a new chapter

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

The transformation I wrote about at Michigan Central’s Station (dot #5016) wasn’t just about rehabbing the building. Bill Ford wrote, “Restoring Michigan Central is much more than a trip down memory lane. This is a place that will help create the future and ensure Detroit and the region remain the center of mobility.“

The renovation of the building was a technical change, but Ford and his team are attempting to institute an adaptive change — one with no knowable answers that involves affecting mindsets and mental models. Adaptive change requires modification of the heart, not just the head, and has a much longer time horizon to implement.

Michigan Central notes that it is “continuing Detroit’s legacy of mobility and innovation and capitalizing on the opportunities the city offers. We will not cede the future of this industry to anywhere else.” That is a banner for an adaptive change effort, one that will forge into the future with an unchartered path.

If you know what needs to be done, it’s a technical change; adaptive change requires a cultural shift. Be cautious not to confuse the two. The timelines are different, people’s emotions are different, and the strategies to navigate the uncertainty require different skills. Think first about the change you are trying to create: are you renovating a building or revitalizing a region?

leadership dot #4998: void

July 3, 2026July 2, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I’ve always been a big fan of the hot dogs at Portillo’s, the Chicago-based restaurant known for its wieners and Italian beef. For many years, the chain had only a handful of local locations. Consequently, there was always a line, maybe a wait for tables, and it was always a beehive of activity. Attendants would call out order numbers with little sayings: “One zero three, come see me,” or “Three ninety-two, I’ve got food for you.” The whole vibe just created energy.

And then Portillo’s expanded—fast and furious, far out of Chicagoland —with seemingly as many franchisees as they could sign. I was in one of those out-of-state locations at the peak of the lunch hour, high noon. There were barely any other people there. No little ditties to call out my order. No lines, and I had a whole section to myself. It just wasn’t the same. The food was still good, but the experience wasn’t.

It was a reminder that the culture is as important as the product, and you need to pay attention to both. Expanding beyond a culture you can replicate does more harm to your brand than good.

leadership dot #4996: trashed

July 1, 2026June 29, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I was at a baseball game, and when I finished with my snack, I threw the paper basket on the floor under my seat. There, it joined the wrappers, cups, and uneaten food from everyone in the row.

I would never even think of leaving trash on the ground at a park, concert, or really, anywhere else. I even carry out my refuse at a movie theater, but the norms at a baseball stadium say it is acceptable (even expected) to leave the garbage behind.

It was a reminder of the power of organizational behavior. You can create norms that have people pick up after themselves and leave no trace behind, or ones that let people throw everything on the floor. If you don’t set clear expectations for the behavior you want, people will default to the most convenient, less demanding outcome.

Be explicit about the type of culture you want to create. One piece of (metaphorical) garbage easily leads to more of it, whereas a lack of it also models the expected behavior. Don’t trash your culture by letting undesirable behavior go unchecked.

leadership dot #4982: without you

June 17, 2026June 15, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Supervisors can’t always be present for their teams, especially if their staff is located in multiple locations. In the absence of on-site leadership, performance can falter, and others may see it as their responsibility to report others’ transgressions to the boss. If you’re the supervisor, it puts you in a tough position to address behavior you didn’t witness.

It’s better to be proactive about the circumstances and hold a team meeting to develop — and agree upon — group norms. As the leader, you can also set the expectations for performance.

But the most important step is also determining what will happen when someone violates those norms, even in a small way. (e.g., if timeliness is important, what will happen if someone arrives late?) The group needs not only permission but also a clear expectation that everyone will help enforce the agreed-upon standards. The supervisor should only be involved when something escalates or when a correction is persistently ignored.

If you’re the boss and someone complains to you about the minor behavior of another, do not address it unless you want to be in the middle forever. Fictional Ted Lasso knew this when he let senior player Roy Kent address star Jamie Tartt’s bullying of the kit man. Roy came to Ted to complain, but Ted put it back on Roy to handle, thus modeling how minor conflicts should be addressed.

You can’t be everywhere all the time. When you are present, use your energy to create norms and expectations that will be carried out without you.

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.