Your relationships are built on single acts. Your organization’s culture is one conversation at a time.

It’s about the cumulative effect of many comments and actions. Each on its own may not feel that important by itself, but impressions are made by the totality.

That said, we all remember actions and discussions which had an immediate and lasting impact. I remember the time I told my boss that I would rather quit my job than do what he was requesting. That was nearly thirty years ago.

The message here? Be intentional, and be consistent. Take every opportunity to reinforce what’s important.

That said, I don’t want to have it feel like the weight of the world is on every word you utter. Because, after all, people do make mistakes and they change over time. That’s why “be intentional” is also an important part of today’s message.

If you’re convinced that the right team culture is based on treating everyone equally and fairly, then look at what all your big and little actions convey. Perhaps a hierarchical org chart isn’t the best way to describe who you are, and job titles aren’t used all that much. Maybe your monthly report of results concentrates and highlights team results more than individuals.

Maybe you’ll always be asking, “who else should contribute to this decision?”

There’s truth in the statement that you should be repeating the important messages until you yourself get sick and tired of them. But don’t forget that this includes all those little actions and conversations too.