The Culture You Lead Is the Culture You Create

Thoughts from the recent Consulting from the Couch podcast interview with Chellie Phillips, speaker, coach, author, and creator of the Successfully Ever After framework, about leadership.

Culture doesn’t live on a poster.

It lives in the small, invisible choices leaders make every day—how we listen, how we recognize effort, and how we set outcomes without suffocating initiative.

That’s the premise of our conversation with Chellie Phillips, award-winning cultural strategist and creator of the VALUE Culture Formula. Her work reminds us that culture isn’t a memo from HR—it’s the mood, rhythm, and energy people feel when leaders walk into a room.

Leaders don’t find culture; they build it. And every behavior, no matter how small, sends a signal.

Designing Culture on Purpose, Not by Default
Phillip’s VALUE Culture Formula—Vision, Accountability, Leadership, Uniqueness, Engagement—offers a roadmap for creating workplaces where people want to join, stay, and grow.

She starts with a blunt truth: if you don’t design your culture intentionally, it will form by accident.

Vision becomes real when leaders connect strategy to story. It’s not enough to post a mission statement; employees must see themselves in it. When leaders share how today’s project links to tomorrow’s impact, people find meaning—and meaning fuels performance.

Accountability Without Anxiety
Many organizations misunderstand accountability. They confuse it with punishment or micromanagement. Phillips reframes it as empowered ownership—a combination of clarity, communication, and trust.

When leaders define success clearly and then step back, they unlock autonomy instead of fear. Weekly “check-in, not check-up” conversations shift the tone from control to collaboration:

“What’s working? Where are you stuck? What can I take off your plate?”

These brief, consistent touchpoints show employees they’re supported, not surveilled. The result? Confidence rises. Initiative flourishes. And accountability stops being a buzzword—it becomes a shared rhythm.

Approachability: The Trust Multiplier
Phillips identifies six core leadership traits that shape culture: self-awareness, vision, communication, approachability, empathy, and resilience.

Of these, approachability is the force multiplier.

People won’t tell the truth—or bring you their best ideas—if they fear your reaction. An open-door policy doesn’t matter if leaders never leave the office.

Real approachability looks like five-minute doorway check-ins, remembering names, and noticing effort before it needs to be rescued. These micro-moments build psychological safety. Over time, they create the heartbeat of a healthy culture: trust.

Uniqueness Turns Inclusion Into Performance
Phillips argues that great cultures don’t ask people to blend in—they help them stand out for the right reasons.

By mapping roles to strengths, leaders give employees room to shine. Recognition becomes personal and powerful when it’s specific, timely, and tied to results.

“Pizza parties don’t drive engagement,” Phillips says. “Purpose does.”

Generationally attuned recognition—public for some, private for others—shows genuine respect. It’s not about perks; it’s about being seen. Engagement grows where appreciation feels authentic and work feels meaningful.

Leadership as Cultural Infrastructure
One of Phillips’ favorite case studies involves a co-op that broke down silos and dramatically improved restoration times. The turnaround didn’t come from new policies—it came from a new tone.

Leaders modeled the behaviors they wanted to see: clarity, consistency, and calm accountability. They built shared outcomes across departments and celebrated wins together.

That’s the quiet power of leadership-driven culture. When behavior at the top changes, belief in the middle follows, and performance at the bottom rises.

The Daily Habits That Define Culture
If culture is built by behavior, then it’s maintained by habit. Phillips points to a few that cost nothing but change everything:

• Five-minute doorway check-ins to connect with your team.

• Recognition that’s specific—what they did, why it mattered.

• Boundaries that empower rather than restrict.

• Consistent follow-through that proves your word has weight.

These small acts are the leadership version of compound interest. Over time, they shape identity, loyalty, and pride.

Lead the Culture You Want to Live In
The message is simple but urgent:

Culture isn’t built in retreats or branding decks—it’s built in behavior.

The culture you lead is the culture you create. Every conversation, recognition, and decision either reinforces trust or erodes it.

Leaders who design with VALUE—Vision, Accountability, Leadership, Uniqueness, Engagement—turn culture from an idea into an experience. They don’t need posters to prove it; their teams feel it every day.

To listen to the podcast interview with Chellie, click here.