Go beyond stated values by using AI tools like Granola to analyze meeting transcripts in aggregate. This generates an "unspoken culture handbook" that reflects how your team actually operates, revealing gaps between stated and practiced values and providing a data-driven basis for hiring rubrics.

Research cited in the book "PQ" reveals that the strongest predictor of a team's performance isn't leadership or strategy, but its collective "Positivity Quotient" (PQ)—the ratio of positive to total thoughts among its members. A high PQ is directly correlated with high productivity.

WCM assesses both its own culture and that of potential investments by looking for an 'absence of fear,' a concept from Whole Foods founder John Mackey. This intangible quality indicates a high level of trust and psychological safety, which they believe is a prerequisite for high performance and innovation.

Address cultural issues by applying product management principles. Use surveys to gather data and identify pain points, then empower the team to propose solutions. Test these ideas like product features and iterate based on what works, making culture-building a shared, active process.

Instead of imposing top-down values, Gamma's CEO created a "notebook" of behaviors that team members organically praised in each other. These observed, authentic actions became the foundation of their culture deck, ensuring the values reflected reality.

To gauge if your culture supports momentum, observe your top performers during a colleague's celebration. True A-players will be at the front, celebrating. If they're resentful in the back, you have a culture of 'I-centered' individuals that will kill collective momentum.

A common misconception is that psychological safety means being comfortable and polite. In reality, it's the capacity to have necessary, difficult conversations—challenging ideas or giving honest feedback—that allows a team to flourish. A culture that feels too polite is likely not psychologically safe.

Culture isn't created by top-down declarations. It emerges from the informal stories employees share with each other before meetings or at lunch. These narratives establish community norms and create "shared wisdom" that dictates behavior far more effectively than any official communication from leadership.

Solely measuring a team's output fails to capture the health of their collaboration. A more robust assessment includes tracking goal achievement, team psychological safety, role clarity, and the speed of execution. This provides a holistic view of team effectiveness.