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Blogs & insights
You can now find our library of culture tools & session playbacks inside the
Explore our latest blogs and articles using the categories below:
Simplifying Culture
Move culture from fuzzy to focused with tools to simplify.
Hear how people feel (HABIT step 1)
Learn how to evaluate your culture & win stakeholder support.
Integrate it daily (HABIT step 4)
Pinpoint moments & skills to ensure leaders & managers bring culture to life.
Culture Stories
Insights & inspiration from workplaces around the world.
Align on the future (HABIT step 2)
Pick the best direction to fuel sustainable growth for your culture & business.
Trust & evolve
(HABIT step 5)
Culture is never done! Tools to help measure & improve your culture.
Culture Habits
Small practices with BIG impact. Pick-up & use habits to nudge towards growth.
Build the behaviours (HABIT step 3)
Clearly define and turn desired behaviours into everyday reality.
Culture Skills
Resources and practices to keep your culture skills sharp!
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Culture is a team sport: how HR, Leaders and Managers create a system for growth
Image by Roddy Corona, via Canva Watch a high-performing rowing crew and, from the riverbank, it can look almost effortless. Eight people move as one. Every stroke is timed. The boat gathers speed. No single rower appears to be working independently, yet each person is making a distinct contribution. Look more closely, however, and you see the system behind the performance. There is a coach building capability and creating the conditions for success. A cox helps the crew navi
Sarah McLellan
Aug 314 min read
What Happens When Five Organisations Become One? Lessons in Building Culture Through Change
Image by Alan Aprilio via Unsplash Mergers and acquisitions are usually measured through financial performance, operational integration and the delivery of commercial targets. Yet, long after systems have been combined and structures redesigned, one question often determines whether integration succeeds: Do people trust the organisation they're now part of? That question sat at the centre of our recent Coffee & Culture conversation with Jonny Friedman, SVP People & Talent
Make It Human
Jul 144 min read
Watch Back: Make Growth a HABIT and start shaping a Growth Culture where you are
Almost every leader we speak to believes culture matters. They know it holds the key to engagement, performance, innovation, retention and wellbeing. So why does it still feel so difficult to improve? That was the question at the heart of our recent Make Growth a HABIT webinar, where more than 250 leaders registered to explore a simpler, more practical way to shape culture. The challenge isn't usually a lack of motivation. It's a lack of clarity. Culture feels hug
Make It Human
Jul 32 min read
From Fuzzy to Fuel: Launching the HABIT System for shaping culture
Culture has become one of the most talked-about topics in business. And yet, for many leaders, managers and HR teams, it still feels frustratingly hard to actually shape. They know culture matters. They care deeply about creating better workplaces. But when it comes to turning good intentions into everyday reality, many get stuck. That’s exactly why we created the HABIT System. Through conversations with leaders — and analysis of 4,000+ employee experiences across som
Make It Human
May 24 min read
See the Real Impact of Your Culture — with the Culture Cost Calculator (Premium Content)
Image of Make It Human Culture Cost Calculator + Guide Every leader knows culture matters. But when budgets are tight and priorities compete, it’s hard to prove its impact, illustrate the need for change, or win support for investment. That’s why we created the Make It Human Culture Cost Calculator — a simple, research-backed tool that quantifies how your culture is influencing performance today, and the value you could unlock by improving it. What is it? A practical to
Make It Human
Nov 26, 20252 min read
Capture Your Culture on a Page: Download Guide to Completing the Growth Culture Canvas
Image: Extracts from MIH Capture Your Culture on a Page Guide & Growth Culture Canvas Turn your culture from something you feel into something you can see, shape, and strengthen. Culture can often feel fuzzy — invisible, complex, and hard to get a grip on. But when you make it visible, you can start to lead it. That’s exactly what the Growth Culture Canvas helps you do. Grounded in the proven Make It Human Growth Culture model, this simple, practical framework helps you
Make It Human
Nov 6, 20252 min read
Download Growth Culture Starter Kit (Premium Members)
Shaping a thriving culture isn’t about grand gestures — it’s about building the everyday conditions where people and performance can grow, together. This Starter Kit gives you the core Make It Human models and practical tools to: Understand what a Growth Culture looks like in action Spot cracks and opportunities early Spark meaningful conversations about culture Take simple, targeted actions that make a real difference Think of it as your launchpad — small steps that le
Make It Human
Oct 15, 20251 min read
What is a Growth Culture? (And do you have one? Find out below...)
The five Elements in Growth Culture by Make It Human. Sketch by Kacy Maxwell In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, fostering a growth culture is no longer a “nice-to-have”, it’s essential. Leaders, HR professionals, and managers are realising that the future of high-performing, healthy teams lies not just in strategy or tools, but in cultivating the right mindset and environment. But what does a growth culture really mean, and how can we intentionally create one? From Grow
Make It Human
Apr 30, 20253 min read
Culture Wins Long Before Kick-Off
Photo by Kris Han, via Canva Millions of us have spent the last few weeks watching the World Cup. Most conversations afterwards have been about tactics, substitutions and moments of brilliance. But as I watched the tournament unfold, I found myself asking a different question. Why did some teams seem to grow stronger under pressure while others gradually fell apart? Not because they lacked talented players. Not because they suddenly forgot how to play football. Something el
Sarah McLellan
Aug 314 min read
Culture Stories: Why connection doesn't happen by accident – shaping a Growth Culture at MoveUp Media
Working remotely, image by Wix When Fleur Vialatte joined MoveUp Media as Head of People, she wasn't just helping to shape a growing organisation, she was helping to answer a question that many organisations are still grappling with today. How do you create a genuine sense of connection when your people may never share the same office? MoveUp Media had grown rapidly in just a few years to a team of around 160 people spread across multiple countries. It was fast-moving, ambiti
Make It Human
Jul 105 min read
Are We Making It Human? Reflections 3 years on (inspired by Toy Story 5)
Images from Pexels, via Canva Last weekend we went to watch the latest Toy Story film. I remember the first one arriving when I was a teenager. Now I'm watching the stories all over again with my own daughter. Pixar has always mastered the art of telling stories that children and adults experience differently. The kids laugh at the toys. The parents recognise themselves somewhere between the nostalgia and the emotion. But this time I left feeling more reflective than en
Sarah McLellan
Jul 36 min read
3 Ways to Lead the Emotional Side of Change
Photo from Wix Images We often treat change as a rational process: plans, milestones, communications. But the reality is far messier — and far more human. In recent research shared by Paul Emberlin, one theme stood out clearly: leaders aren’t just managing change — they’re absorbing it. As Paul described, many feel like “emotional sponges,” carrying the weight of uncertainty, resistance, and pressure from all directions. At the same time, many organisations unintentionall
Make It Human
May 43 min read
Where do you even start with culture?
Image of Grand Prix race by Thierry Carpico from Pexels If we’re honest, this is where most people get stuck. You know culture matters. You can see the impact it has on performance, energy, and retention. You’ve likely invested time and effort into trying to improve it. And yet, when it comes to shaping it in a deliberate way, it can feel too big, too abstract, and too complex to really get your arms around. So, despite the best intentions, very little actually shifts.
Make It Human
Mar 233 min read
When Success Becomes the Ceiling: Understanding the Optimised Culture
Image of a team working by Yan Krukau from Pexels Some cultures don’t struggle. They succeed. Performance is steady. Teams collaborate smoothly. There’s capability, pride and a clear identity. People can articulate what the organisation stands for and success stories are regularly shared. If you walked in or joined a call, you’d instantly get a sense of, “we know what we’re doing here.” And yet, there’s something missing… The confidence in how we work and sharing of
Sarah McLellan
Mar 235 min read
The Hidden Cost of a “Nice” Culture
Photo by Mikhail Nilov via Pexels A leadership team invited me in because, whilst on paper, everything looked strong, they knew something wasn’t right. Engagement scores were healthy. Attrition wasn’t concerning. People described the culture as supportive, collaborative, kind. “It’s a nice place to work,” they said. And it was. There was no toxicity. No ego battles. No fear. In meetings, people built on each other’s ideas. They genuinely wanted colleagues to succeed.
Sarah McLellan
Feb 234 min read
What your fridge can teach you about culture
Photo by Lucie Liz via Pexels Open your fridge. At first glance, everything looks fine. Milk? There. Salad? There. Leftovers? Tucked neatly at the back. All good. Until you start rummaging. You lift the bag of spinach and discover it’s quietly liquefying in the salad drawer. The milk smells… suspicious. The “fresh” hummus expired three days ago. From the outside, it looked healthy. Under the surface? Something’s turning. Culture is exactly the same. Most leaders
Make It Human
Feb 233 min read
How to Restore Momentum in a Permission-Based Culture
Image from Canva The second most common culture archetype emerging from the Growth Cultures Insight Report is "Permission-Based". When workplaces get stuck in permission loops. This pattern showed up repeatedly across 4,000+ employee reviews from top-rated UK organisations — particularly in highly regulated, hierarchical and service-led environments On the surface, these organisations look healthy. They’re professional. Measured. Respectful. Clear about roles and stand
Make It Human
Feb 134 min read
The Insights Are Clear. What You Do Next Is What Matters.
Image from Wix Images Over the past few weeks, many of you have explored the Growth Cultures Insight Report and joined the conversation in our webinar. What emerged from analysing 4,000+ real employee experiences wasn’t just a list of challenges — it was a clear contrast. Across workplaces today many are experiencing: Rising workload and pressure Slower decisions and blurred ownership Creeping confusion around priorities and fairness But the best workplaces stand out be
Make It Human
Feb 61 min read
How to Tackle the Overwhelm Crisis (Before It Stalls Growth)
Image from Vitaly Gariev, Pixels Overwhelm isn’t a personal resilience issue on the side of “real work”. It’s probably the biggest threat today to business performance. This emerged as one of the clearest signals in the Growth Cultures Insight Report , built from analysis of 4,000+ employee experiences across top-rated workplaces. Even in organisations doing many things right, overwork and lack of clarity repeatedly surfaced as the cracks that quietly undermine results, ene
Make It Human
Feb 23 min read
Why the Best Workplaces Don’t Treat People as Resources
Image by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash One of the clearest messages from the Growth Cultures Insight Report is this: The best workplaces don’t treat people as resources to be optimised. They intentionally design and nurture the conditions for human growth. As the world we work in and how work gets done continues to increase in complexity and ambiguity, many organisations are reaching for familiar, more ‘certain’ levers for growth. We measure what’s easy to count — utilisation
Sarah McLellan
Jan 294 min read
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