In this episode of "The Humble Throne," Todd Robatin invites leaders to take a deep dive into the true essence of their organizational culture. "Culture Check" challenges you to look beyond polished mission statements and well-designed org charts to uncover the emotional residue of your leadership. Discover how culture is shaped not by what you say, but by what you leave behind. Through insightful reflections and practical questions, Todd guides you to evaluate the trust, safety, and clarity within your team. Tune in to learn how to conduct a meaningful culture pulse check and transform your leadership impact.

Transcript:

Welcome back to the humble throne, where leadership isn't just what you say, it's what you leave behind. I'm Todd Robatin, and today we're pulling back the curtain. This is episode 10, Culture Check. Today we're evaluating what's lurking beneath your leadership, because every leader creates culture. The question is, do you know what yours is really made of? Let's be honest. You can have a polished mission statement, a well-designed org chart, even a team that hits their numbers every single time. But beneath all of that fluff, there's a culture. And culture isn't what you preach, it's what people feel when you're not in the room. It's the emotional residue of your leadership, the tone you set, the behaviors you tolerate, the values you reinforce intentionally or not. And so today, we're doing a culture check, not to judge, but to reveal.Here's the real question. What's lurking beneath your leadership? Is it trust or tension? Is it clarity or confusion? Is it psychological safety or silent resentment? Because culture isn't built in meetings. It's built in moments, in how you respond to mistakes, in how you handle feedback, in how you treat the people who have nothing to offer you. It's not just what you say. It's about what you signal. Let's break it down. If your team hesitates to speak up, your culture might be cautious. If people avoid conflict, your culture might be conflict-averse, not peaceful. If feedback is rare, your culture might be polite, sure, but not honest. And here's the kicker. Culture is shaped by tone more than tools. You can have all the right systems in place, but if your tone is tense, dismissive, or inconsistent, that's what people remember, whether you like it or not. A senior leader once told me, I don't understand why my team's so quiet all the time. I've given them freedom. But when we dug a little bit deeper, we found something completely different.He gave freedom in a sense, but not safety. People were afraid to speak up, and it wasn't because of policy, it was because of tone. The leader was sharp, efficient, and results-driven, but they rarely asked questions. They rarely invited dissent, and they rarely paused simply just to listen. The culture, it wasn't toxic per se, it was just timid. And that's just as dangerous. Because when people feel unsafe, they don't challenge ideas. They don't innovate. They don't grow. They simply survive. And here's the truth. Culture is the shadow of your leadership. It follows you. It reflects you. And sometimes, it reveals what you didn't mean to create. That's why humble leaders do regular culture checks.not just performance reviews, but emotional audits. With that, here are today's humble truths. Number one, culture is shaped more by tone than by tools. You can't systemize safety. You must embody it. Number two, what's unspoken often speaks the loudest. Silence isn't neutrality, it's feedback. And number three, a humble leader asks, what am I not seeing? Because blind spots, they're not failures, they're invitations. Now these truths, they aren't just insights, they're mirrors. And if you're willing to look, you'll see what's really shaping your team and driving your culture. Now before we close, let's talk about what this actually means. What an actual culture check looks like.not just a guess at what it looks like....