by Julie Tuggle-Nguyen
Part 5 in the Building Culture Series
Strong cultures don’t happen by chance — they happen by choice. Each article in this series has explored how small, intentional actions build on one another to strengthen culture over time. Recognition sparks belonging. Storytelling connects people to purpose. Shared values anchor the work. But none of it lasts unless leaders live it first.
Culture integration always begins at the top. As a small business owner or CEO, you are both the carrier and the multiplier of your company’s culture. Your actions, tone, and daily choices either breathe life into your culture or quietly contradict it.
What It Means to be a Culture Carrier
Being a culture carrier means serving as the ambassador of your company’s mission and values — the example your people will follow. You set the tone and model the behaviors that you want your team to see and do, ultimately defining what your company stands for.
Ask yourself: how clearly do you understand your company’s culture today? Are you actively shaping it, or is it evolving on its own? Leaders who intentionally invest in their culture can strengthen it. Those who don’t risk letting it drift in unintended directions.
Look for Clues: Evaluating Your Company’s Culture
All companies have a culture, whether or not you see it, and whether or not you like it.
To understand yours, start by looking for clues:
• What does engagement look like?
• How’s productivity and morale?
• Do people attend after-hours events?
• Are concerns raised openly, and how do leaders respond?
• What’s your retention rate? Do you conduct exit interviews?
• Are there patterns in which teams people leave? Could those patterns lead back to you?
Approach this with curiosity, not defensiveness. Understanding how people experience your culture gives you a roadmap to make it stronger.
Seek Feedback: Asking the Hard Questions
Because culture starts with you, it’s critical to engage in self-work. Open yourself up to feedback. Ask your people what they think of you — and really listen. That might look like hosting small lunch discussions, sending an anonymous engagement survey, or simply stopping by to check in.
At Midwest BankCentre, our Chairman and CEO recently participated in a 360-degree feedback evaluation. And he went a step further: inviting feedback from the entire organization. His message was clear: every voice matters, including yours. That level of openness builds trust and reinforces that feedback isn’t just welcomed, it’s valued.
Culture thrives when leaders stay humble enough to learn from their people and use that insight to become stronger.
Practice What You Preach: Leading with Authenticity and Consistency
Disingenuous leadership erodes culture faster than any policy can fix it. If your team sees a disconnect between what you say and what you do, it undermines their faith in your leadership.
Take this example: I know a CEO who enforces a strict in-office policy, yet periodically works from home herself. Her team notices. It sends a message that the rules don’t apply equally, and that double standard chips away at trust.
Authenticity and consistency make culture stick. Build trust by modeling the same expectations you set for others. Ask more than you tell. Own your mistakes. Be transparent about challenges. Even small habits — arriving on time, keeping commitments, showing gratitude — send powerful signals about what you value.
Live Into Your Mission: Embodying the Culture
To truly embed culture, you have to live into it every day. Be the ambassador of the values you expect others to uphold, whether it’s how you make decisions, handle customers, or support your team.
Your Call to Action
This week, challenge yourself to live into your mission in one small, tangible way. Because when leaders intentionally lead through culture, they don’t just build better teams; they build stronger companies.
Julie Tuggle-Nguyen is Chief Human Resources Officer at Midwest BankCentre.