Culture Isn’t a Program — It’s a Pulse
You can’t measure belonging by surveys alone you have to feel it in the everyday moments that make work human.
I’ve seen what happens when culture becomes a checklist instead of a heartbeat.
In both entrepreneurship and corporate, I’ve watched organizations roll out “culture initiatives” with glossy flyers, hashtags, and polished talking points. But here’s the truth: you can’t host a quarterly event and call it culture. You can’t run a campaign and call it a connection. Culture isn’t an announcement. It’s an atmosphere.
Where I First Learned the Lesson
When I started my own business, culture wasn’t something I could delegate; it was something I had to create. If my team or clients didn’t feel seen, supported, or safe to speak honestly, everything else fell apart.
Then I moved into corporate, and suddenly “culture” had departments, dashboards, and deadlines. I sat in meetings where people talked about inclusion, yet decisions were made in rooms that looked the same every time. That’s when I realized: culture doesn’t live in policies, it lives in people.
Culture isn’t what you post. It’s what people feel when they walk into the room.
The Pulse Check
If you really want to know the health of your culture, stop checking engagement scores for a second and start checking the energy in the building.
Ask yourself:
Do people feel comfortable being honest, even when it’s uncomfortable?
Are ideas welcomed from every level, not just the loudest voice in the room?
Do employees see themselves reflected in leadership or just in the company slideshow?
If you can’t answer yes, you’ve got a pulse problem.
From Program to Practice
Culture doesn’t start with HR or leadership retreats; it starts with how we treat people in the moments between meetings.
The way you say good morning, or when you enter the elevator.
The grace you give when someone’s having an off day.
The way leaders listen when someone speaks truth to power.
Those little moments shape more than any annual initiative ever will. Because culture isn’t something you launch. It’s something you live.
What I’ve Seen Work
In every healthy culture I’ve been part of, three things are always present:
Consistency. The message matches the moment, and what’s said publicly aligns with what’s practiced privately.
Courage. Leaders make space for conversations that stretch them instead of scare them.
Care. People feel like more than numbers, because empathy is built into how decisions are made.
When those three exist together, culture becomes less of a corporate concept and more of a shared heartbeat.
Culture isn’t built in a boardroom. It’s built into daily behavior. Every email, every meeting, every conversation, that’s where culture breathes.
If you want to know whether your culture is thriving, listen for its heartbeat, not its hashtags.
What does the pulse of your workplace feel like right now? If you’re ready to shift from programs to people……let’s talk.
Book NaTasha to speak or explore more stories at The Culture Edit — Confidence. Culture. Conversation.
