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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajiving. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul

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<v Speaker 1>Fello Aledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode six forty four. Let me ask you a question.

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<v Speaker 2>If someone offered you free snacks, a nice office chair,

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<v Speaker 2>flexible fridays, and a small bonus, but you had to

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<v Speaker 2>work in a place where people talk behind each other's backs,

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<v Speaker 2>where standards were unclear, and where leadership changed direction every week,

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<v Speaker 2>would you stay? Most people would not. Now flip it.

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<v Speaker 2>No fancy perks, no gourmet coffee, no ping pong table

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<v Speaker 2>in the breakroom. But the expectations are clear. The mission

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<v Speaker 2>makes sense. Leaders keep their word, the team protects each other.

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<v Speaker 2>Performance matters, and accountability is real. That is culture, and

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<v Speaker 2>culture beats perks every single time. Here's the mistake I

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<v Speaker 2>see leaders making right now. They're trying to buy loyalty.

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<v Speaker 2>They're trying to rent engagement. They're trying to solve a

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<v Speaker 2>culture problem with surface level incentives, and it never works.

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<v Speaker 2>Long term perks are temporary. Culture is permanent. Perks are visible.

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<v Speaker 2>Culture is felt. Perks show up in a job post

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<v Speaker 2>in culture shows up in the hallway conversation. When leadership

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<v Speaker 2>is not around and your team knows the difference, you

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<v Speaker 2>can give someone a fifty dollars gift card that feels

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<v Speaker 2>good for about a day. You can also give them

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<v Speaker 2>clarity about their role, respect from their supervisor in a

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<v Speaker 2>voice in how decisions get made that lasts a lot longer.

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<v Speaker 2>One is a try transaction. The other is trust. Here's

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<v Speaker 2>something leaders need to hear. People do not leave companies

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<v Speaker 2>because there was no pizza party. They leave because they

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<v Speaker 2>felt ignored. They leave because standards were uneven. They leave

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<v Speaker 2>because politics mattered more than performance, And they leave because

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<v Speaker 2>leaders tolerated behavior that chipped away at morale. Culture is

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<v Speaker 2>not what you print on a wall. Culture is what

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<v Speaker 2>you allow. You can offer remote work, gym memberships, tuition

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<v Speaker 2>reimbursement and still have a toxic culture. We've all seen it.

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<v Speaker 2>High pay, shiny benefits, and behind the scenes it is chaos,

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<v Speaker 2>no accountability, no ownership, no real leadership. Culture answers questions perks.

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<v Speaker 2>Never can do I feel safe speaking up? Does my

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<v Speaker 2>boss tell me the truth? Are promotions earned? Or hand

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<v Speaker 2>it out? If I make a mistake, will I be

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<v Speaker 2>coached or crushed? Those questions matter more than free lunch.

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<v Speaker 2>And here's where this becomes tactical. If you want a

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<v Speaker 2>strong culture, you have to decide what you will protect

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<v Speaker 2>at all costs standards, integrity, fairness, performance, professional behavior. Then

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<v Speaker 2>you have to enforce it consistently. Culture is built in small,

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<v Speaker 2>daily moments. Who you hire, who you promote, who you coach,

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<v Speaker 2>who you let slide, what you ignore, what you confront.

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<v Speaker 2>You cannot fake culture. You cannot outsource it to hr.

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<v Speaker 2>You cannot announce it in a memo and assume it exists.

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<v Speaker 2>It is built by leaders who show up the same

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<v Speaker 2>way every day. And let me give you a real

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<v Speaker 2>world pattern. I see a company starts losing people leadership panics.

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<v Speaker 2>They add more perks, casual fridays, bigger holiday party, extra

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<v Speaker 2>time off, and maybe a retention bonus, and people still leave.

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<v Speaker 2>Why Because the problem was not perks. The problem was trust,

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<v Speaker 2>or communication, or inconsistency, or a leader who says one

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<v Speaker 2>thing in a meeting and another thing behind closed doors.

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<v Speaker 2>Perks are decorations. Culture is the foundation. You don't fix

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<v Speaker 2>a cracked foundation with new curtains. Here's the uncomfortable part.

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<v Speaker 2>Culture takes work. It requires hard conversations, It requires leaders

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<v Speaker 2>holding other leaders accountable. It requires setting expectations and following

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<v Speaker 2>through even when it's awkward. Perks are easy. Culture is earned.

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<v Speaker 2>This is why organizations with strong cultures can survive hard seasons.

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<v Speaker 2>They can survive i've economic downturns, they can survive industry

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<v Speaker 2>disruption because the people inside believe in what they're part of.

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<v Speaker 2>They trust leadership, they know what the standards are. When

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<v Speaker 2>the culture is strong, people lean in. When the culture

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<v Speaker 2>is weak, people quietly update their resumes. If you're leading

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<v Speaker 2>right now, I want you to audit something. Take away

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<v Speaker 2>every perk in your organization for a minute in your mind,

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<v Speaker 2>no bonuses, no extras, no fringe benefits. Would people still

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<v Speaker 2>respect the leadership, Would they still believe in the mission?

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<v Speaker 2>Would they still feel proud to work there. If the

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<v Speaker 2>answer makes you uncomfortable, that is your starting point, and

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<v Speaker 2>here's how you fix it. First, define your non negotiables.

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<v Speaker 2>What behaviors are required, what standards are expected, what values

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<v Speaker 2>are real not decorative. Second, communicate them clearly and often

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<v Speaker 2>not in corporate buzzwords, in plain language. Here is who

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<v Speaker 2>we are. Here is how we act. Here is what

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<v Speaker 2>we do not tolerate. Third, enforce them evenly. High performer,

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<v Speaker 2>low performer, new hire veteran.

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<v Speaker 1>The rules are the rules.

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<v Speaker 2>Fourth, model them yourself. Culture does not listen to your

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<v Speaker 2>speech as it watches your behavior. If you want a

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<v Speaker 2>culture of accountability, be accountable. If you want a culture

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<v Speaker 2>of respect, be respectful. If you want a culture of ownership,

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<v Speaker 2>stop blaming circumstances. Culture is leadership multiplied. Perks are optional.

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<v Speaker 2>Culture is oxygen. And here is the final truth. The

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<v Speaker 2>best leaders do not use perks to distract from dysfunction.

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<v Speaker 2>They use perks to reward performance inside of a healthy culture.

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<v Speaker 2>That is the difference. When culture is strong, perks feel

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<v Speaker 2>like appreciation. When culture is weak, perks feel like bribery.

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<v Speaker 2>So here is your challenge for this week. Spend seven

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<v Speaker 2>intentional minutes examining the culture you're shaping. Look at what

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<v Speaker 2>you tolerate, look at what you celebrate, look at what

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<v Speaker 2>you avoid. Then decide what kind of environment you want

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<v Speaker 2>your name attached to. Because long after the gift cards

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<v Speaker 2>are spent and the snacks are gone, your culture is

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<v Speaker 2>what people will remember. So build something worth staying for.

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<v Speaker 2>This has been the seven Minute Leadership podcast, and I

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<v Speaker 2>thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot

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<v Speaker 1>com