Teachable moments #69 - Our "Great Culture" is Exhausting Your Best People
Jesmin Tan
6/15/20261 min read
Stop blaming "bad hires" or weak perks for high turnover.
Culture isn't built in the pantry with a foosball table. It’s destroyed in the boardroom by leadership habits that no one has the guts to question.
If your team looks like the person in this photo, exasperated, drained, and "done", it’s likely because of these 8 hidden culture killers:
1️⃣ Digital Noise Over Communication: Constant pings does NOT mean clarity. Teams are drowning in updates and missing the work that actually moves the needle.
2️⃣ The "Unlimited" PTO Trap: If there's no baseline for what's acceptable, no one actually unplugs. It’s not a perk; it’s a guilt trip.
3️⃣ Toxic Positivity: "Good vibes only" is just code for "don't bring me problems." It silences the very dissent you need to grow.
4️⃣ The "Talented Jerk" Pass: High output is never an excuse for low character. When jerks succeed, your values are just wall art.
5️⃣ Forced "Fun": Mandatory happy hours aren't culture. Respect, autonomy, and trust are.
6️⃣ Loyalty > Competence: Tenure should be respected, but blind loyalty to "the way we've always done it" keeps dead weight afloat.
7️⃣ Founder Worship: When the "visionary" becomes untouchable, the company becomes unfixable.
8️⃣ The Silence of Agreement: If everyone is nodding, someone isn't thinking.
Real culture invites friction.
The Ultimate Killer: Watching your top performers burn out in silence while low performers linger in comfort.
Gen Z (and let’s be honest, everyone else) can see right through the "we're a family" facade when the systems are broken. You can’t "pizza party" your way out of bad leadership.
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