RTO Mandates Won’t Fix a Broken Culture

Leaders need to stop obsessing about in-office time and start focusing on the six enablers that change how people work. Marching employees back five days a week won't solve your culture problems. Why? Because culture isn't where people work—it's how they work. It’s the behaviors of leaders, what (and who) gets rewarded, and how teams interact that set cultures apart.Marching employees back five days a week won't solve your culture problems. Why? Because culture isn't where people work—it's how they work. It’s the behaviors of leaders, what (and who) gets rewarded, and how teams interact that set cultures apart.

In this column, Brian Elliott dives deep into six tools for building culture:

Build dependability-based trust: When people follow through on commitments, teams thrive.

Foster a "first team" mindset: When leaders prioritize organizational success over functional silos, cultures flourish.

Use personal user manuals: "About me" documents help teams understand how each person works best.

Reward outcomes over productivity theater: Perhaps the most fundamental cultural shift needed in today’s workplace is moving from monitoring activity to measuring impact.

Build team-level agreements: Effective workplace cultures don’t rely on rigid policies but rather on clear agreements within each team of collaborators about how work gets done.

Ensure you're investing in time together in-person as a team: While daily colocation isn’t necessary for a strong culture, intentional in-person gatherings play a vital role in building connection and a shared identity.