When the Surface Looks Calm
How One Leader Closed the Culture Gap and
Protected Her Bottom Line
A Hard Metric No Leader Can Ignore
Coming out of the pandemic, Angela did what every resilient leader does — she pushed forward. Students were returning, classrooms were open, and on the surface, everything looked steady.
But the numbers told a different story.
“The raw data told me that more than 25% of our ECE team had changed in the ‘21-’22 school year. That number stopped me in my tracks. Regardless of the ‘why,’ I wanted to stop the ‘what.’”
One in every four teachers gone.
No recruitment plan could keep up with that drain on time, money, and morale. And when turnover climbs, so do hiring costs, onboarding expenses, lost productivity, and parent dissatisfaction. It’s a drag on the balance sheet and the mission.
The deeper she looked, the clearer it became: turnover was just the surface. The real issue was culture — the hidden currents pulling good people away.
The Truth Leaders Feel but Don’t Name
Every leadership meeting circled back to the same undercurrent: hidden negativity, burnout, and quiet frustrations no one wanted to name out loud.
“We were doing more reacting to situations, people, emails, etc. than we were proactively developing ways to address and improve the culture… I knew that negativity and toxicity were brewing. I heard about it from employees and I felt it myself.”
On paper, Angela’s team had a “good culture.” But good wasn’t enough.
A New Way to See Beneath the Surface
Angela heard about the LeadCulture Framework on the LeadCulture podcast. Unlike generic morale boosters, it gave her a tangible way to measure the gap between the culture her team said they had and what people actually experienced day to day.
She explained the need with a story her team never forgot:
“When I was in Uganda, I went on a sunset boat cruise on Lake Victoria. It was stunning—until we realized our boat was taking on water. Suddenly, all that beauty was replaced with worry, because I knew what lurked beneath: crocodiles, hippos, danger. That experience became the perfect picture of culture for me. On the surface, things look calm and beautiful, but beneath, there can be toxicity, negativity, and tangled roots that cause people to want out. That reality hit me."
From Talk to Transformation
Angela didn’t go it alone. She first brought her assistant director and campus managers on board, knowing she’d need their buy-in to sustain change. Together, they rolled out the LeadCulture Framework to 70+ teachers in her program.
The process was structured and actionable:
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Core Values that reflected their reality, not empty slogans.
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Accountability language that equipped leaders for the tough conversations.
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Repeatable practices that made culture visible daily.
When her Early Childhood program finished the process, Angela presented the results to her Executive Director. The alignment was so compelling that leadership decided to scale it across all 150 staff members.
The entire organization unified around four core anchors: Christ-Centered, People-Focused, Excellence-Driven, Future-Directed.
And those weren’t just words on a wall.
They became a filter for decisions, performance conversations, and how wins were celebrated.
A Small Win with a Big ROI
Culture work often shows up in small but critical moments.
One teacher had begun arriving late consistently. The ripple effect frustrated colleagues and threatened coverage in the classrooms. In the past, Angela might have avoided the conversation.
Instead, she leaned on their Core Values:
“We’re a People-Focused school. Our actions impact our team. When you’re late, others scramble to cover for you. Let’s solve this together.”
No defensiveness. No excuses. Just clarity, accountability, and quick course correction — protecting instructional time, trust, and the organization’s mission.
What Changed: A Culture You Can Feel — and Prove
Since implementing the LeadCulture Framework:
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Staff retention is stronger and turnover has dropped.
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Performance conversations are clearer, less emotional, and more solution-focused.
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Hidden negativity no longer chips away at trust, creating a proactive, aligned culture.
Angela didn’t just solve a people problem — she protected her budget, brand, and mission.
A Clear Takeaway for Leaders
For any executive still debating if culture is worth the effort, Angela’s message is simple:
“You can’t not. If a leader won’t take the time to look at the reality of their culture and invest time and resources into it, they’re just vainly hoping that their perception is the same thing that is experienced by everyone else.”
You can listen to Angela's full LeadCulture Podcast interview with Jenni Catron here.
The Business Case for Culture
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Disengaged employees cost 34% of their salary in lost productivity. And Gallup recently reported employee engagement fell to 21% in 2024.
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Organizations with high employee engagement outperform peers by 21% (Gallup).
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Turnover, burnout, and culture gaps are silent drains on your bottom line — and your mission.
What About You?
Imagine if your organization could:
- Reduce costly turnover
- Unify your team behind shared, actionable values
- Equip leaders to address tension before it festers
- Build a culture your people choose to stay for — and customers notice
It’s possible. The LeadCulture Framework gives leaders a practical, repeatable framework to turn culture into a competitive advantage.