You Don’t Need a Title

Anyone can change the culture

Recently, a friend told me about a new hire at her company. Mid-level role, no direct reports. The kind of position that doesn’t usually come with much recognition or buzz. But within a few months, things started to shift.

Meetings ran smoother. Feedback became more candid. People started thanking each other more. It turned out that the new hire was actually the one who’d made that shift possible.

My friend realized her new colleague had been acting like the company already had the kind of culture she wished it had. I thought that was so fascinating. And a wonderful example of how one person can make a big difference.

There’s this myth we’re sold: that change must come from the top.

We often think that in order to influence culture, you need a fancy title, a mandate, or a re-org. But if you’ve ever worked on a team, any kind of team, you know that’s not really how it works. Culture isn’t a memo. It’s what we normalize in the everyday.

Culture lives in the side comments. The way meetings begin and end. How people handle mistakes. Whether credit flows or bottlenecks. It's in the energy that enters the room when someone speaks. The pauses. The eye contact. The choice to stay curious rather than get defensive.

And the truth is, anyone can shift that. You can.

You can model the behaviors you wish were standard. You can ask the question no one else wants to. You can thank someone publicly. You can be the first to admit you got it wrong. You can invite someone in. You can say, "Hey, that joke wasn’t funny."

You can change the room just by how you show up in it.

This isn’t about overextending yourself or doing emotional labor on behalf of broken systems. You shouldn’t feel responsible for that. It’s about claiming your agency in a culture you’re co-creating, whether or not you signed up for it. Because every team, every workplace, is a web of small agreements. What we tolerate. What we reward. What we ignore.

Change one of those threads, and the web shifts.

But it's worth noting: a problematic culture doesn't just feel bad. It corrodes. It breeds fear, avoidance, and resentment. It stifles innovation and erodes trust. Common red flags? People talking about each other instead of to each other. Silence in meetings. Passive-aggressive emails. Burnout disguised as high performance. If you're walking on eggshells more than you’re able to focus on the work that matters, that's not a high-performing team.

That's a warning sign.

Not every environment will make this easy. In some industries, like healthcare, hospitality, education, or manufacturing, hierarchies and norms can be rigid. If you're working on the floor, in the field, or under pressure, it might feel like you have little room to influence anything. But even in these places, culture still shows up. It shows up in the way people cover each other’s shifts, how teams talk during breaks, how new hires are treated. You might not control the policies, but you can definitely shape the way you show up.

So if you're waiting for permission to lead, stop. Culture isn’t owned. It’s influenced. And you don’t need a title for that.

You just need to care enough to start.

And if you’re wondering where to start, here are some ideas:

• Begin conversations with a genuine check-in. Ask, “How is everything going?” and actually listen.

• Normalize asking, “Is there anything I could have done better?” while being receptive to feedback. Especially after tension.

• If someone’s idea gets ignored, bring the topic back up: “I want to go back to what Charlie said earlier.”

• Share credit without being prompted: “This only worked because Morgan stepped in.”

• Pause before reacting. Especially when you're tired or frustrated.

• Use plain language. Jargon creates distance. Clarity builds trust.

• Stop gossip in its tracks. Say, “That sounds important. Have you told them?”

These are small things. But culture is built on small things. And you don’t need a title to begin doing them today.

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