Sixty days ago, I stepped into a new position carrying equal measures of hope and apprehension.
Like many organisations, the company spoke publicly about its values, its culture and the importance of its people. I wanted to believe those words, but experience had taught me to be cautious. Values displayed on a wall or promoted through recruitment campaigns do not always reflect what employees experience once they walk through the door.
When you have been let down and hurt in a previous role, starting again can be daunting.
I had watched an environment that was once great become poorly led and mismanaged. The goalposts changed. Trust deteriorated. An “us and them” culture emerged, and the team I had invested so much in building began to fall apart.
Experiences like that follow you.
You enter your next workplace hoping for the best, but wondering what it will really be like. You know what great leadership can look like because you have experienced glimpses of it. You desperately want the new opportunity to be great. More than that, you need it to be great.
Sixty days later, I can honestly say that it is.
Culture must be lived
There is a significant difference between promoted culture and lived culture.
Promoted culture is what appears on websites, office walls and corporate documents. Lived culture is what happens during difficult conversations, under pressure and when nobody is watching.
It is reflected in how leaders respond when someone challenges an idea. It is demonstrated in whether people are genuinely heard, whether mistakes become opportunities to learn and whether employees at every level are trusted to contribute.
In my first 60 days, I have seen an organisation that lives its values from the bottom up. The values are not merely communicated; they are demonstrated through everyday decisions, interactions and opportunities.
That distinction matters.
Simon Sinek writes that leadership “isn’t a rank or a position; it’s a choice.” Leadership is revealed through the choice to protect people, build trust and create an environment in which others can do their best work. When people feel safe within an organisation, they become more resilient, collaborative and willing to contribute their ideas. Simon Sinek, The Circle of Safety
That is what lived culture feels like. It does not need to constantly announce itself because it is visible in the behaviour of the people within it.
What it means to be heard
The work I am doing now is meaningful, and, honestly, I feel like I am home.
My years of experience, training, study and personal development have not been overlooked. They are being recognised and put to use. I am heard. I am trusted to lead. I have been allowed to help build something great and make a genuine difference.
Being heard does not mean that every idea is automatically accepted. It means knowing that your voice is welcome, your experience is respected and your contribution is taken seriously.
This is closely connected to Amy Edmondson’s work on psychological safety. As she explains:
“When people have psychological safety at work, they feel comfortable sharing concerns and mistakes without fear of embarrassment or retribution.”
Psychological safety does not mean avoiding accountability or difficult conversations. It means being able to speak honestly, ask questions, admit uncertainty, challenge respectfully and learn together. Those conditions support creativity, innovation and effective teamwork. American Psychological Association
A healthy workplace does not require people to remain silent to protect themselves. It invites them to participate.
Attitude changes when the environment changes
I now travel one hour and twenty minutes each way to get to work. On paper, that sounds exhausting—and some days it certainly can be. Yet it does not feel like the chore my previous commute became.
The distance has not changed the way I feel about the work because purpose changes how we experience effort.
When people feel appreciated and believe their work matters, inconvenience becomes commitment. When they feel ignored, undermined or disconnected from the organisation’s purpose, even simple responsibilities can become draining.
Attitude is important, but workplace culture has a profound influence on attitude. Employees still have a responsibility for how they show up, but leaders are responsible for creating an environment worth showing up for.
Great cultures do not remove every challenge. They give people a meaningful reason to work through those challenges together.
To those still experiencing poor leadership
To my former colleagues and to anyone currently navigating mismanagement, changing expectations or an “us and them” culture I want to say this: the journey can make you stronger.
It teaches you what leadership should look like by showing you what it should not become. It sharpens your understanding of trust, communication and accountability. It helps you recognise the warning signs of a deteriorating culture and appreciate the difference when you eventually experience a healthy one.
The experience may shape you, but it does not need to define what comes next.
Carry forward the lessons, not the bitterness.
Choose to become the leader you needed during that season. Listen when others were not listened to. Communicate clearly where expectations were once constantly changing. Protect the people you lead rather than viewing them as expendable resources.
The danger of short-term leadership
Too often in Australia, members of the C-suite can forget what they learned on the way up.
Under pressure to produce immediate results, leaders can surrender to a short-term vision of success one measured through quarterly numbers, reduced costs and personal advancement. In doing so, they risk overlooking the people responsible for creating sustainable value.
Dan Davies describes how organisations can develop systems that allow responsibility to disappear into what he calls “accountability sinks”. In these environments, decisions are presented as unavoidable consequences of policy, process or financial necessity rather than choices made by accountable leaders. As Davies explains, “things that are decisions can be presented as necessities.” Financial Times interview with Dan Davies
Processes are necessary, but they should never become substitutes for leadership.
Long-term organisational growth depends on valuing people and protecting the intellectual property they develop. It requires giving employees at every level the opportunity to contribute what they know.
When experienced people leave, an organisation loses far more than a name on an organisational chart. It loses knowledge, relationships, trust, context and capability assets that may have taken years to build.
Sixty days later
Sixty days may not sound like much, but it can be enough time to rediscover what work is capable of being.
It can be enough time to see whether values are simply promoted or genuinely lived. Enough time to feel heard again. Enough time to remember that leadership can be human, work can be meaningful, and culture can bring out the best in people.
These first 60 days have reminded me that the right environment does not merely change how you feel about your job. It can restore your confidence in what you have to offer.
I hoped I was joining a company that was true to its word.
Sixty days later, it has ticked all the boxes.
I feel heard. I feel trusted. I feel able to lead, contribute and make a difference.
Most importantly, I feel like I am home.