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I asked 100 CEOs this question and here are the top answers:
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Steven Bartlett, Founder of FlightStory, Thirdweb, The Diary Of A CEO & Investor in more than 60 companies. |
When a company culture is strong, new people become like the culture. When a company culture is weak, the culture becomes like the new people. There are so many things that shape a high-performance culture, but to give you 5 underlying principles that a company needs to create high-performance:
- Forward Motion - People feel they're progressing toward something meaningful, not spinning their wheels.
- Optimal Challenge - They're challenged but not overwhelmed. One foot outside their comfort zone, but not drowning.
- A subjectively meaningful goal - Everyone knows what they personally gain if the company wins: money, equity, status, recognition. And they want those rewards.
- Autonomy - They have sufficient control how they work and make decisions within their domain.
- Community - They're surrounded by people they respect and enjoy working with (an arsehole free environment).
The overlooked factor: Most founders are too scared to clearly define what "giving your all" actually means. In our post-pandemic world, leaders have become terrified of being honest about expectations around dedication and commitment. They fear being "cancelled" for demanding excellence. The cost? They live in quiet dissatisfaction while their companies underperform its potential.
If you want a culture where people give their all, you need two things: the courage to explicitly define what that looks like, and the backbone to quickly exit those who don't meet the standard. Being too nice isn't kind - it's toxic to everyone who does care.
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Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb. |
“I used to think you talk about culture by writing out a list of values (...) print them on the walls, keep saying they’re important. That can help a little, but it’s not how you build culture.
Your culture is the shared way you do things. It’s often based on lessons you’ve learned, the ones seared into you through trials and tribulations. It’s the way you rise in the face of adversity.
Culture is the behaviour of the leaders that gets mimicked by everyone else. It’s who you hire, who you fire, who you promote. It’s what everyone does. A leader doesn’t design culture by listing values, they lead by example, survey everything happening, and constantly shape it. You don’t let culture happen. You design it. You have a vision and constantly bring people together around it.
If you want a culture of excellence, you review work and say, “Not good enough,” until people know the standard without you being in the room. When the same actions happen in your absence, that’s culture. It becomes instinct. It’s your ultimate intellectual property.
The best cultures share consciousness. Everyone knows what you’d say. They finish your sentences. That’s collective consciousness. Culture starts where your vision intersects with how things get done.
I meet every team that works on projects I see. Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, I have them show the work. I’m like an orchestra conductor. I don’t push decisions down - I pull them in. We row in the same direction because we have the same values. A leader flattens the organisation. People feel close to you, and by being close to you, they’re close to the values - because you, as a leader, are the values.” Listen to the full conversation here.
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Emma Grede, Co-Founder and C-suite Executive behind SKIMS, Good American, Safely, Off Season, and a podcast host. |
“We talk so much about the flexibility of working from home and what it’s done for business, but we don’t talk about any of the rigidity of it and what it takes away from work. I don’t think that we’re having that exchange of what happens when you’re in a dynamic environment and you’re able to learn from people around you at the moment.
Had I been a work from home person in my 20s, I would not be where I am now. I want to be with people, collaborate [and] do things quickly. The culture of work right now makes that so hard.
The people that I work with (...) work really hard, and in return, (...) get an amazing place to work. You should get an incredible environment that is feeding you in ways that’s not just your job.
When I looked around our office and organization... there was a fertility seminar going on where there were hundreds of people all learning about having their eggs frozen... we do things for our employees that are above and beyond what a workplace back in the day may have considered the ‘norm’.
There are certain things that are the employee’s responsibility within that. And you figuring out what works for your life, how you’re going to pick up your kids, how you get home, how you get to work, what happens... these are all things that you need to figure out within the construct of your life. That isn’t the employer’s job, that isn’t the employer’s responsibility.” Listen to the full conversation here.
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Vlad Tenev, Co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, a $55 billion online trading platform. |
“Company culture consists of three things:
- How we hire,
- The working environment,
- Performance management.
We’re extremely intentional about who we hire (...) we look for leaders who have led smaller organizations and achieved a lot with few resources. Their experiences allow us to operate like a start-up, even as we grow.
In our working environment, we instill a need to operate with urgency without sacrificing quality and eliminate pointless bureaucracy. We also reward people based on their impact, so truly exceptional performance is rewarded with multiples of their compensation.
We have great employees who believe in our mission and are passionate about what they do, and that drives our culture forward."
Kristin Moyer, Gartner global chair, Distinguished VP, and Fellow in Gartner's CIO Research Group.
"Most organizations build cultures optimized for control and then feel frustrated when employees won’t change. Create a dynamic culture that boosts productivity and motivates creativity by taking these steps:
- Purpose: Simplify the organization’s “why” to inspirational basics
- Rules: Leverage technology to get rid of as many rules as possible
- Empowerment: Create space for creativity, not just compliance
- Trust: Prioritize employee outcomes over keystrokes
- Safety: Penalize adversarial behaviors like intimidation and sabotage."
Sponsored by Gartner
Kristin provides research and advice about cybersecurity value, the AI impact on leadership and management, sustainability and digital transformation. She participated in the creation and will present the findings of Gartner’s 2025 CEO survey at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™. To learn more visit: gartner.com/Symposium.
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John Caplan, CEO of Payoneer, former President of Alibaba, investor, and entrepreneur. |
"You treat people like adults, start with the truth, and earn trust. You make sure the mission means something, and you intentionally define ways of working to drive culture. What drives our customers (...) drives us, we’re aligned by one purpose.
This isn’t a top-down culture; decision-making is distributed and leadership is shared (...) that’s how you stay effective at a global scale. Culture doesn’t build itself; we shape it, deliberately, every day.
We recently took a clear-eyed look at how we work and made it sharper, more focused and more honest - who we hire, how we communicate, what we reward. We call it our Ways of Working:
- Act as our customer's partner
- Take ownership of outcomes
- Continuously improve
- Build each other up
These are daily habits. When they take hold and when we hire for them, the shift is real: more accountability, more collaboration, more clarity on what winning looks like. Ambitious people who live these values (...) drive our culture. They earn promotions, new opportunities and financial rewards for their impact and helping others grow.
Culture doesn’t come from HR. It comes from how people lead. Champions at every level live these values, give feedback, and strengthen our culture - not through playbooks, but through action. Building culture takes all of us, and it takes time. Since rolling out our Ways of Working, we’ve seen real collaboration grow across teams and offices.
People give their best when they believe in the mission, are trusted to lead, and see the impact of their work. One employee who joined our “Ambition Hackathon” in NYC said it best: “When global ideas and culture collide, the result is truly transformative”. From founders building across continents to teammates living our shared ambition, this is how we grow."
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Cesar Carvalho, CEO and Co-Founder of Wellhub, an online wellness platform trusted by 20,000+ companies to support employee wellbeing. |
“Want a team that truly gives their all? Understand this fundamental truth: healthier employees build stronger companies.
The data is clear: healthy, engaged employees are 40% less likely to leave. Wellness keeps top talent motivated and committed. To foster a culture where employees are driven to give their all, leadership must visibly embody wellbeing.
Our latest Return on Wellbeing study (1,500 CEOs surveyed) revealed a major blind spot: while 92% of executives think employees see them prioritising wellbeing, only 68% of employees agree. That gap impacts motivation and discretionary effort.
The most impactful leaders (35%) engage in wellness programs daily. To build a culture where people go all in, leadership needs to model wellbeing. Show it’s a priority, and you’ll unlock deeper commitment and the true return on your investment in people.
Bottom line? Prioritise wellbeing. Make it a business imperative.”
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Natalie Ellis, Founder and CEO of Bossbabe, who has built a digital community of 4M+ ambitious women and entrepreneurs around the world. |
“You can’t fake culture. People can feel when a company’s values are just words on a wall versus lived out in the way decisions are made, feedback is given, and people are treated.
In our company, culture starts with ownership. Everyone on the team knows what success looks like in their role, and they’re empowered to make decisions without constantly asking for permission. We treat people like adults - and we expect them to rise into that. When you give someone autonomy, and you also show them how their role moves the mission forward, it builds pride and intrinsic motivation.
We talk early and often. One of our core beliefs is that clarity is kindness. We don’t wait for performance reviews to give feedback or praise. We normalize real-time conversations about what’s working and what’s not - without attaching it to shame or hierarchy.
We celebrate the full human, not just the productivity. We acknowledge when someone is in a hard personal season. We cheer on their outside-of-work wins. We take work seriously, but we also remember we’re building this with people, not just through them.
When people feel seen, trusted, and part of something meaningful - they want to give their best. Not out of pressure, but out of alignment.”
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Talk soon,
Steven
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