Read Our Blog On Culture Change

Recognition is one of the most powerful forces in the workplace - and one of the most undervalued. When someone sees your effort, acknowledges your input, or thanks you for going the extra mile, it does more than boost morale. It creates a sense of belonging. Recognition isn’t just about good manners it’s fundamental to shaping a productive culture. Recognition also reinforces an organisation's behaviours.

If Purpose is about why an organisation does what it does, that ‘why’ can certainly be a source of inspiration for employees and give them ‘boasting rights’. There’s a golden opportunity to motivate and inspire employees through combining your organisation’s Purpose with the Personal Purpose of everyone working there – in a tailored way. It needs to complement what employees are looking to achieve too.

Most people in business are familiar with meetings. But let’s be specific: they’re familiar with reporting meetings - those calendar fillers where the aim is survival. These are not environments where innovation thrives. And yet, when organisations decide they want to be more innovative, they often expect it to happen inside the same meeting culture that has rewarded evasion and blame.

We’ve all heard the advice: “Fake it ‘til you make it.” Say it with enough confidence, and it sounds almost empowering. It’s a useful push to keep going despite feelings of self-doubt. But not far behind those words lies a quieter voice that whispers, “You don’t belong here.” That voice belongs to Imposter Syndrome - which can show up even when we’re not faking anything at all - the persistent belief that your success isn’t deserved.

Workplaces love a good shortcut. Roles, departments, and reporting lines help to make sense of who does what. But there’s a different kind of shortcut that quietly works against inclusion: stereotypes. These sticky labels flatten people into one-dimensional characters and distort how we relate at work. The problem with stereotypes is not only that they’re inaccurate. It’s that they flatten curiosity.

There’s always one. The late arrival with their mic on, crashing into the call mid-sentence while asking, “Can you hear me?” The person eating cereal on camera, or the mystery participant whose name is “iPad (3)” and hasn’t said a word in 45 minutes. The well-meaning multitasker, typing furiously on another screen. Or the over-sharer who doesn’t know when to stop. If any of these sounds familiar, you’ve lived through Zoom Doom.