Culture Leaves Clues - And This One Was Obvious

I was walking through the office of one of my favorite teams recently - the kind of team you just feel good being around.

You know the energy. Light. Easy. Alive.

And then I saw it. On one of the desks, someone had stacked another coworker’s supplies into a tiny, ridiculous tower. Kleenex box. Keys. Mouse. Carefully balanced like those rock stacks people make on hiking trails.

Naturally, I took a picture (see below). Not because it was “fun.” Not because it was playful.

But because it revealed something deeper.

Culture leaves clues – and this one was obvious.

When a team is truly connected, it shows up in the micro-moments. The inside jokes. The playful pranks. The comfort to mess with each other and know it will land with laughter, not tension.

That tiny supply tower wasn’t about being silly. It was a signal:

• Psychological safety lives here.

• Relationships exist beyond job titles.

• People feel seen, not just managed.

And here’s the part leaders can sometimes miss…This team isn’t just fun, they’re wildly effective.

This same group is:

• High performing

• Reliable under pressure

• Consistently productive

• Deeply committed to their community

They carry heavy workloads. They deliver real impact. They solve complex problems. And yet… they still have space for joy.

Because healthy culture doesn’t compete with results. It fuels them.

The myth we need to retire:

Somewhere along the way, we bought into this idea that:

• Serious work requires serious faces.

• Professionalism means emotional distance.

• High standards require low humanity.

The strongest teams I’ve ever worked with laugh more, not less. They trust faster. Recover quicker. Communicate clearer. And show up harder when it matters most.

That silly little stack of office supplies? That’s what trust looks like when it’s relaxed enough to breathe.

Here’s the leadership question this moment raises:

What clues does your culture leave behind? Not your mission statement. Not your strategic plans. I mean the real stuff.

• How people talk to each other

• How safe it feels to be human

• Whether joy is allowed in the room

• Whether people want to stay, not just succeed

Because culture isn’t what you announce. It’s what shows up on desks, in hallways, in break rooms… and in moments no one planned.

Final thought:

If your team can stack supplies and still stack wins…You’re doing something right.

And if your workplace feels productive but joyless? That’s not “high performance.” That’s burnout waiting to happen.

Build a culture where people can carry both:

• Excellence and humanity.

• Results and relationships.

• Impact and play.

That’s where the real magic lives.

#leadershipdevelopment #parksandrec #parksandrecreation #culture