The habits and moments that help culture take root.
People spend most of their days at work. It’s no wonder that company culture can make or break them, and your business. The best leaders know culture can be shaped through small, consistent moments and gestures.
We asked members of the Inc. Leadership Forum what’s a small cultural ritual they do that has a big impact. Here, 29 of them shared what fuels a culture of positivity and productivity, even when things get tough.
1. Listen, it’s that simple.
Our firm’s cultural ritual is simple: listening. Before strategy, before numbers, we sit with the client and let them tell their story. Not the summary. The whole thing. It’s a great reminder why our work matters. Our clients are up against billion-dollar insurance companies with legal departments built to wear people down until they give up. Somebody needs to sit across that table and not blink. That’s our job. And seeing a client’s joy and relief when we get that insurance company to finally move is one of the most satisfying parts of a case. — Angel Reyes, Angel Reyes & Associates
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2. Learn something new together.
One of the most powerful cultural rituals
One of the most powerful cultural rituals is learning something new together. Shared learning gives teams a common language and frameworks for making decisions, solving problems, and navigating change. When everyone is being challenged at the same time, it can also create the conditions for group flow. Artificial intelligence is a great example: When everyone is left to figure it out independently, people reinvent the wheel. When teams openly share what they’re testing, learning, and discovering, everyone learns faster and the organization can move with far greater velocity. — Ali Winkle, Just Drive Media
3. Share a “weekly curiosity.”
Every Friday, our team shares a “weekly curiosity”—something that made them think beyond their horizon that week. It could be a business insight, a conversation, a book, a campaign, a sign they noticed while walking, or a cultural shift. The point isn’t what you learned. It’s building the habit of paying attention. Over time, it’s fostered a more curious team that brings fresher ideas and broader perspectives to our clients. — Simona Rozhko, EVNA PR
4. Pick an annual theme.
One thing that our firm has integrated with great success is an annual theme. For example, the theme for 2026 is relentless. We have read the book Relentless, by Tim Grover. We integrated the book into our leadership meetings, our team retreats, and “reading time” throughout our year. Something so small has had a great impact on our team, our mission buy-in, and team atmosphere. — Sarah Jones, Sarah Jones CPA LLC
5. Protect the first conversation.
We protect the first real conversation on every
We protect the first real conversation on every project. No decks, no tools, and no slides. Just people in a room (or on a call) talking about the actual problem before anything gets designed or planned. It sounds minor, but it resets the entire relationship. It cuts through assumptions, surfaces the real constraints, and builds trust faster than any formal kickoff. We treat that blank space as sacred. Once it’s over, the work tends to become more reactive and less honest. This keeps us together on trajectory to beautiful execution. — Goran Paun, ArtVersion
6. Every employee has a right to disagree with their manager.
We’ve built an organization where every employee has the right to disagree with their manager. If such a situation occurs, an employee can simply tell the manager, ‘Would you mind if I went above your head to resolve it?’ Good managers will always allow them to seek assistance from the next level. This applies even to me in my role as CEO. My chief operating officer can disagree with me and involve a second partner to resolve the dispute. That is a very powerful part of our culture. We stop disagreements from turning into larger disputes. We appreciate straightforwardness, and that is what makes it such a strong cultural trait in our organization. — Michael Podolsky, PissedConsumer.com
7. A weekly idea development meeting.
An impactful, small cultural ritual is our weekly idea development meeting. We pride ourselves on being pioneers in sales and use tax consulting. We intentionally create time to brainstorm, debate, and evaluate new strategies. The ideas may involve maximizing existing exemptions, developing original interpretations of current tax law, or identifying law changes where we can be first to market with a solution. If an idea holds up internally, we pursue rulings or guidance from the appropriate states. Those efforts often become unique and proprietary solutions. That weekly ritual turns a core value into an operating practice. — Aaron C. Giles, Agile Consulting Group, Inc.
8. Hold a weekly CEO audio call.
One small cultural ritual that has a surprisingly
One small cultural ritual that has a surprisingly big impact is our weekly CEO audio call every Friday at noon. Participation is completely voluntary, but over time it has become something employees genuinely rely on. Each week, I share updates on the business, recognize team accomplishments, discuss challenges we’re facing, and provide context around important decisions. It’s a simple cultural practice, but it creates a consistent rhythm of transparency and connection across the organization. — Carolyn Stanworth, BL Companies
9. Hold a Friday retrospective.
One small ritual that has had an outsized impact on our culture is our Friday retrospective. We reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned that week. We also make time to play a game together. It gives everyone a chance to connect as people, disconnect from the work itself, and end the week on a shared note. That balance of reflection and play has made continuous improvement and genuine connection part of our culture. — Anjelika Lours’ Kour, DD.NYC
10. A few minutes of connection before the agenda.
Every meeting opens with a few minutes of connection before we move into the agenda. It’s a chance for people to arrive as themselves rather than as their function. We also keep birthdays on a shared calendar and send acknowledgments naming who that person has been for the team, not just what they delivered. — Elena Armijo, The C-Suite Collective
11. Make core values part of daily life.
We have six core values that we make
We have six core values that we make a part of our daily lives. They are on the walls, and used in any training, hiring, or disciplinary actions. We can tie almost any activity back to them. It gives us words to create accountability but to also keep people committed to our organizational goals. Those six core values are: be kind, be intentional, be open, be accountable, be trustworthy, and take initiative. With those six items we can handle almost anything our team, clients, or vendors throw our way. — Kelsey Hensley, NovEx Supply Chain
12. Be BOLD.
I believe culture only works when people live by it, when it shows in the little things we do every day. Our culture is grounded in BOLD: It means building for the customer, owning the outcome, living with a growth mindset, and doing the right thing even when it’s not the easiest choice. You see that in how people think, act, and make decisions every day. We challenge each other, disagree without being disrespectful, and push for better without losing sight of the people we’re building with. Because when people share the same values, the impact becomes far greater. — Shiva Dhawan, Attentive.ai
13. Assign accountabilities for all actions.
Governance is a living part of organizational success and accountability is where it starts. Enforce internal accountability to inform adequate training and escalation paths to protect against liability. Require vendor due diligence before signing partnerships and name clear owners for engagement oversight. Build consumer trust into product and service design. Ask what happens if operations fail and who bears the cost. Accountability rituals are critical in emerging high-trust sectors, such as fashion and luxury, where risk ownership can determine the sustainable future of the developing industries. — Tracy Guarino, Guarino Advisors
14. Host a no-work-talk-allowed weekly lunch.
We host a weekly company-catered lunch with one non-negotiable rule: no work talk allowed. It creates space for everyone to connect as people, not just coworkers, building trust that translates directly into stronger teamwork. We also host a monthly company-wide contest featuring everything from ping-pong tournaments and water balloon tosses to chili cook-offs. The winner gets the coveted covered parking spot closest to the front door for the month. This perk typically reserved for a CEO is shared across our team instead. It’s a fun, low-cost ritual that keeps leadership humble, rewards participation, and brings genuine joy to the workweek. — Nathan Miller, Rentec Direct
15. What gets celebrated gets repeated.
In business, celebration is more than recognition
In business, celebration is more than recognition or making people feel good. It sends a powerful signal about what the organization truly values not what is written on the wall, but what receives attention and appreciation. Over time, those signals shape behavior. People learn what matters by watching what leaders notice, reward, and celebrate. Done consistently, celebration reinforces desired behaviors, creates shared stories, strengthens belonging, and gradually turns individual actions into organizational culture. — Erik Musalem, Evolve & Grow
16. Be as transparent about the business as possible.
At the start of each team meeting, I pass down from leadership the numbers, the debates, and the things still unresolved. I’m as transparent about the business as I can be. It costs 15 minutes and it’s the highest-leverage thing I do all week, because people need to understand the why before they can feel invested in the how. A marketer who knows what the company is trying to move will make better calls in a hundred small moments I’ll never see. Context isn’t a perk you hand down. It’s the input the work depends on. That builds a culture of shared accountability. — Shachar Scott, Sunbit
17. Wear a silly hat.
My team made me a silly hat as a gag gift for Christmas. It then turned into “Operation Sideways Hat,” which is a monthly manager’s lunch or happy hour meeting where we each wear a silly hat sideways at a local sports bar as we discuss the latest issues at hand. — Ron Jumper, Bath Makeover of Arkansas
18. Hold a monthly all-hands meeting with fun questions.
As our team has grown across 10 countries, our monthly all hands has become an important way to connect beyond Slack. Before each meeting, I ask a few fun questions and everyone DMs me their answers. During the meeting, we play “Guess Who?” and then I share a few team stats. We’ve discovered someone who took a pet squirrel to basketball tournaments, adults who still build LEGO, someone whose favorite childhood hobby was “eating dessert,” and teammates who love Spam with seaweed, peanut butter and pickles, and Hot Cheetos with cream cheese. Our pets also agree on one thing: We all work too much and don’t give enough treats. — Dr. Brandy Zachary, The Dr Z Functional Medicine Academy LLC
19. Bring teams together for in-person gatherings and retreats.
Small, intentional rituals can have a significant impact on company culture. Bringing teams together several times a year for in-person gatherings or retreats helps strengthen relationships and collaboration. Celebrating key holidays with in-person or virtual events fosters connection across distributed teams, while sending branded swag throughout the year reinforces a sense of belonging and encourages employees to become authentic brand ambassadors. — Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising
20. Shout-out meeting to recognize team members.
We open every core team meeting with “Ladi Love,” a quick shout-out to another team member. It’s often tied to a core value, but not always. The point is simply to name something we appreciate about each other out loud. It takes a few minutes, and it grounds the whole team in gratitude for one another before we get into the work. Small rituals like this are how culture gets built, one moment of recognition at a time, not through a poster of values on the wall. — Noelle McInerney, Ladidadi Events & Incentives
21. Start meetings with a pulse check.
We start every leadership meeting with a pulse check: Each leader rates how they’re doing professionally and personally on a scale of one to 10. It takes a few minutes, but it tells us immediately where someone’s time and energy are being pulled before it shows up as a missed deadline. We don’t pretend there’s such a thing as perfect work-life balance. This is how we acknowledge that out loud and adjust for it. Well-being isn’t just a cultural pillar here. It’s a standing item on the agenda. — Tiffany Whitlow, Acclinate
22. Argue with your own plan.
Once a week our leadership team sits down
Once a week our leadership team sits down and argues with our own plan. Are we solving the right problems? Are we betting on the right things? The only rule is that nobody defends a position—including me, especially me. The minute I get protective about something I said, the conversation is over and everyone in the room knows it. Most weeks we don’t change course. We leave more sure of it and moving faster. That’s the whole point. People stop guarding decisions and start making them better. — Matt Dircks, Appfire
23. Celebrate big and small wins.
One of the simplest but most impactful rituals we’ve adopted is celebrating wins—big and small. Whether it’s recognizing a project milestone, a team member who went above and beyond, or a customer success story, taking a few minutes to acknowledge great work reinforces the behaviors that drive our culture. Recognition builds momentum, strengthens relationships, and reminds everyone that their contributions matter. Over time, those small moments of appreciation create a culture where people feel valued, motivated, and committed to achieving something bigger together. — Brad Burns, Burns Companies
24. Share one non-work lesson learned.
Every Monday our team shares one thing they learned the previous week that had nothing to do with work. It sounds simple but it does two things: It reminds everyone they are people before they are employees. It also surfaces unexpected knowledge that often connects back to client problems in ways nobody planned. Some of our best strategic ideas came from someone mentioning a documentary, a conversation with a friend, or a random article about something unrelated to cybersecurity or media. — Kevin Leyes, LeyesX
25. Hold a monthly coffee with new hires.
One ritual that really matters is our monthly
One ritual that really matters is our monthly leadership coffee with new hires. We bring together a small group on Zoom so they can connect directly with our leaders, ask questions, and get to know the people behind the titles. There is no formal agenda. It is simply a chance to build a human connection, share more about our vision and values, and help them get the most out of their experience here. No ivory towers here. — David Nilssen, DOXA Talent
26. Pick a song for monthly meetings.
Every month, a day or two before our company meeting, we ask someone on our team to recommend a song. We then play it at the start of the call. We’ve heard everything from Adele to Dire Straits and even obscure folk music from around the world. It’s a small ritual that’s become a fun way for us to know each other beyond work. Now we can’t imagine starting a company meeting any other way. — Liviu Tanase, ZeroBounce
27. Create a loop.
When we fund a young woman’s dream through our organization, we close every conversation the same way: “When you get to where you’re going, reach back and pull the next woman forward with you.” It’s one short sentence with a lot of impact—and it works because it creates a loop. The person who needed help this year becomes the one offering it next year, and the community starts to grow itself. In turn, generosity becomes more of a habit than a personality trait, and the momentum from that goes further than you give it credit for. — Christie Garton, 1,000 Dreams Fund
28. Honor your team heroes.
We do Hero Stories every Monday morning—just 10-15
We do “Hero Stories” every Monday morning—just 10-15 minutes where our team members highlight another team member being an example of our core values of hustle, humility, and relationships. It is a great way to start the week, reminds our team of our core values every week, and gives us an opportunity to recognize our fellow team members. — Chris Younger, Class VI Partners
29. Share a meal.
I grew up in a culture where the table was where relationships were built, stories were shared, and time slowed down. In a world that moves so fast, sitting down to eat together is still one of the simplest ways to create connection. — Anna Anisin, AI Loves Data
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