Palm Beach Gardens Living - August 2025

12 PA L M B E A C H G A R D E N S L I V I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 - By Bob Fashano - Captain of the Culture Who is the “Captain of the Culture”? Well, if you’re the CEO, the owner of the business, an executive leading a team, a department head or for that matter anyone who is responsible for the performance of a group, You are the Captain of the Culture. What is Culture? It is not necessarily tangible, but you know when it performs. What I am referring to here is the work environment. As the leader, what sort of values are you projecting? What is the atmosphere that is created for the players? Are people excited to go to work every day? Do they feel supported and appreciated? What I have found to be true is that there is a huge difference between people working to accomplish a goal because they get paid to do it versus working toward the goal because it is a rewarding experience. Culture does get improved results. Just because leaders generally agree that culture is important doesn’t mean they can define it well. Take a look at these attempts: • “There’s no magic formula for great company culture. The key is to treat your staff how you would like to be treated”-- Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group. • “ Culture is like the wind, it is invisible, yet its effect can be seen and felt”—Bryan Walker, Partner and Managing Director, IDEO • “ Culture is the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization; they operate unconsciously and define in a basic 'taken for granted' fashion an organization’s view of itself and its environment”—Edgar Schein, MIT Professor There you have it, “no magic formula, like the wind, operates unconsciously”. Do these definitions bring more clarity to the question of culture? We usually can tell an unhealthy culture, but defining a healthy one doesn’t come easily. So the big question remains: what defines culture? I have come to believe it is shaped by how people Think, Act, and Interact. Culture begins with how people think. People tend to think about things; this typically results in action, and they interact with each other. For example, if we value people, we treat them in an appreciative manner, thinking positively of them. Unfortunately, the opposite of this is also true. As leaders, our secret weapon is our culture. We need to learn how the team thinks, acts, and interacts, and then we can orchestrate a culture worth promoting and protecting Building a strong culture is not an easy task. We must attract the right people. We must equip them and place them where they can shine. We must clearly communicate our values and, most importantly, “live them out”. As leaders, we must demonstrate daily what we stand for and what is important. All of this takes time and intentionality. The bottom line is that a strong culture is no accident. A great culture doesn’t just happen. It’s the job of every single person in the organization to create a positive culture. And it’s the leader’s job to be sure everyone understands and believes that. Here is a quote from Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks. He said, “The only thing we have is one another. The only competitive advantage we have is the culture and values of the company. Anyone can open a coffee store. We have no technology, we have no patent. All we have is the relationship around the values of the company and what we bring to the customer every day. And we must earn it.” Oftentimes, when I speak at seminars about culture, it is viewed as the “soft stuff” in business, not as important as hard results like sales figures or profits. The reality is, when carefully examined, a great culture is what will produce those hard results. Numbers don’t run the business, people do. This type of culture will help you capture opportunities as they appear, and it will help you with setbacks and obstacles you must confront. Bob Fashano is the founder of Lead One Consulting, LLC, an executive Coaching and Leadership Development Company located in Palm Beach Gardens. Bob Is a certified Executive Coach from the Center for Executive Coaching and a member of the International Coaching Federation. He is the author of a recently released book, "Make Today Your Masterpiece" and a new book to be released in the second quarter of 2025. He serves on the Keiser Flagship Advisory Counsel. COMMUNITY