Culture takes shape entirely in the way people communicate. It grows out of the tone of everyday messages, the clarity of quick updates, and how leaders explain what’s happening around them. The level of care, or carelessness, in those routine interactions tells people exactly what kind of company they’re part of.
You can see the culture forming in small, repeatable patterns; the way updates are written, how questions get answered, and the stories people tell each other about recent wins or setbacks. Each one of these exchanges adds a critical layer to how it feels to work there. Over time, communication becomes the rough draft of culture, an early version of what people fundamentally come to believe about the organization.
When communication is steady and honest, the resulting culture feels grounded and resilient. When communication is careless or immediately defensive, the culture starts to pick up that edge too. People take their cues from the messages they see most often, and those cues shape how they act when no one’s around to remind them of the core values.
Culture is built through repetition. Every single message either strengthens what you want the organization to stand for or drifts away from it. Write with intention, speak with care, and the culture you’re aiming for will start to show up naturally in how people talk about work.
Culture follows communication.
