Years ago, I stepped into the CEO role of a nonprofit that had been struggling for a long time. I walked into a divided team. The previous executive director hired her friends. She was placed in the position of running a business, answering to a board, and managing people who took advantage of the lack of structure.
The team came to work, but they were not working together. They formed small groups. They whispered. They shared information only with the people they trusted. They pushed tasks onto each other. They avoided accountability.
And when I started making changes, they tried to get me fired.
It was one of the hardest seasons of my leadership journey. I was young. I was doing my best. I wanted that organization to succeed. I could see what the team could become if they had the right structure, support, and expectations. But I also had to face the truth. The culture was broken. A broken culture will always resist change, even when the change is needed.
The turning point came when I stopped trying to fix everything at once. I shifted from reacting to planning. I slowed down. I asked myself a simple question.
What does this team need to function with trust and clarity?
The answer was not new software. It was not new policies. It was not more meetings.
The answer was culture.
A strong culture is not a slogan. It is how people show up for each other. It is the behaviors they choose. It is the agreements they keep. It is the clarity they rely on. It is the safety they feel.
If you want a strong 2026, this is the moment to strengthen your team culture. Do it before the year starts. Do it while December gives you space to breathe. Do it now so your team can enter January with focus, alignment, and trust.
Here is how to begin.
Run a thirty minute culture check.
A culture check gives you a clear picture of what is working and what needs attention. You can do it alone or with your team. You only need three questions.
What helped you do your best work this year.
What made work harder than it needed to be.
What is one behavior that would improve how we work together.
These questions give you insight without judgment. They also reveal patterns you can address with intention. When I walked through this process as CEO, I learned that the team did not hate me. They hated confusion. They hated unclear expectations. They hated being left out of decisions. They hated past experiences that shaped how they saw leadership.
The culture check created a doorway for honest change.
Reset expectations for communication.
Communication is the foundation of every team. When expectations are unclear, people fill the gaps. Assumptions grow. Tension rises. Trust breaks. You can reset this with a simple structure.
Define how you want your team to share information.
Set limits on last minute messages.
Create clear email and meeting standards.
Choose one channel for urgent needs.
Your goal is to reduce noise. Clear communication reduces conflict. It gives everyone the same starting point. It also lowers anxiety, which strengthens performance.
Use micro feedback loops.
Teams improve faster when feedback is small, consistent, and kind. You do not need a new system. You need a rhythm your team can follow. Micro feedback loops help you catch issues early. They help people adjust without shame. They create transparency.
Each week ask one question.
What is one thing that helped your work this week?
Or
What is one small change that would improve our workflow?
Short, simple questions build trust. They also keep your culture healthy.
Name the behavior your team needs more of in 2026.
Every strong culture is built on one core behavior. It might be truth telling. It might be accountability. It might be collaboration. It might be calm communication. Choose one. Just one.
When I took over that nonprofit, the behavior we needed most was honesty. Not harsh honesty. Clear honesty. The ability to say what was not working. The ability to name concerns. The ability to bring problems forward before they grew.
Choosing one behavior keeps your team focused. It gives you something to reinforce. It becomes part of your identity.
Build a simple meeting rhythm.
Meetings are often the first place where culture breaks. They run long. They lack purpose. They drain energy. You can reset your meeting rhythm so it supports your team.
Use these steps.
Set a clear purpose for each meeting.
Limit time.
End with action steps.
Review last week’s progress in five minutes or less.
Give space for people to raise barriers.
A strong meeting rhythm builds structure. Structure builds trust.
Check your leadership presence.
Teams reflect their leaders. When I was fighting through the behavior issues in that nonprofit, I had to look at myself. I had to ask hard questions.
Was I clear.
Was I consistent.
Was I modeling the culture I wanted.
Was I listening.
Was I reacting out of fear or leading out of purpose.
Strong culture starts with honest leadership. If you want your team to collaborate, you must collaborate. If you want your team to stay calm, you must stay steady. If you want your team to communicate clearly, you must model clarity.
Review your own habits.
Your presence is one of your strongest culture tools.
Give your team one tool they can use now.
Culture grows through shared habits. You can introduce one tool in December to help your team reset.
Use a weekly clarity check.
Have each team member answer three short prompts every Friday.
What I completed.
What blocked me.
What I need next week.
This tool reduces confusion. It improves communication. It brings accountability into a calm rhythm. It also gives you insight into team needs without pressure.
Clarify roles for the new year.
Role confusion destroys culture. Teams need to know who owns what. They need to know where to go with questions. They need to know the limits of their responsibility.
Review each team member’s role.
Clarify tasks.
Remove hidden duties.
Shift responsibilities that belong elsewhere.
Close gaps that hold projects back.
Clear roles build confidence. They also prevent the resentment that grows when people feel overworked or under seen.
Celebrate small wins.
Culture improves when people feel valued. Research shows that recognition increases engagement and lowers turnover. You do not need a big celebration. You only need honest acknowledgment.
Call out one team win each week.
A project completed.
A problem solved.
A moment of collaboration.
A behavior that reflects your culture.
Small recognition creates strong momentum.
Prepare your team for January with a calm transition.
Do not wait until the new year to set expectations. December is the time to prepare your transition. Give people a simple document that outlines your priorities, rhythms, and processes for 2026. Review it together. Make space for questions. Make space for concerns. Make space for clarity.
Teams thrive when they know what is coming.
The culture in that nonprofit did not change overnight. It changed slowly. It changed through consistent expectations, clear communication, and steady leadership. Over time the whispering stopped. The side groups broke apart. People started showing up with purpose. They began to trust each other. And they began to trust me.
Culture is not magic. Culture is daily behavior shaped by clarity, consistency, and care.
You can shift your team culture before January hits. You can give your team the stability they need. You can set the tone for a strong 2026. Start with one small step. Your team will feel the difference.