Lindsey Harrison | Associate Director, Global Leaders | Participate Learning
In my last article, I shared how “The Three C’s” of strong team culture were created in the coaching process. Lindsey Harrison is the client who created this framework, and in this article, she shares how she integrates it into her team's day-to-day operations.
Like many leaders, I’ve searched for the thing that makes a team exceptional—where people feel valued, continuously grow, and push each other to produce their best work in service of a shared mission. I know culture is the key to performance, but translating that belief into action is another challenge altogether.
When I joined Participate Learning, an organization dedicated to preparing students for their future careers through global education, I had the opportunity to lead a phenomenal team of program managers.
My team members were incredibly talented individuals, deeply committed to our mission. Yet, despite their individual excellence, something was holding us back from reaching our full potential.
Through coaching sessions with Tim Schwarz, I came to a powerful realization: My team was functioning as a group of rockstar individual contributors rather than as a cohesive unit. They were doing great work in their own lanes, but we weren’t harnessing our collective strengths.
That’s where the three Cs came in—Candor, Collaboration, and Collective Responsibility. These three elements became the foundation for transforming our team culture.
Operationalizing the Three C’s
Recognizing the importance of these values was just the first step. The real challenge was embedding them into our daily work. Here’s how we put the three C’s into action:
1. Candor: Creating a Culture of Direct, Constructive Communication
Candor is about balancing direct communication with deep care for each other. I am explicit about the importance of candid communication and its impact on the results we can achieve as a team. To make it real:
We collaboratively developed team values and defined key behaviors to bring them to life, ensuring that our candid communication was aligned with our shared vision for our team.
We engage in weekly reflections on these values, reinforcing their role in our work.
I model candor with my team, peers, and leaders, showing that openness is a two-way street.
I celebrate candor, particularly when it's challenging to be open. Early on, one program manager set the tone by engaging in open debates and modeling healthy conflict. I frequently praised this approach, showing how it led us to the best outcomes.
2. Collaboration: Asking for Help and Learning Together
Collaboration is focused on working side-by-side with each other and actively engaging with one another’s expertise. I encourage my team to ask for help directly and, just as importantly, model this behavior myself. One of the most impactful shifts was positioning myself as a learner alongside my team. To reinforce this:
I consistently ask for help and input from my team, demonstrating that the best ideas come from collective thinking.
I consistently encourage team members to seek out each other’s insights, strengthening shared ownership of solutions.
Based on one program manager’s suggestion, we introduced regular thought partnership meetings for structured problem-solving, which continues to evolve thanks to the team’s input.
3. Collective Responsibility: Owning the Work and the Outcomes
This is, by far, where my team hears from me the most. I want them to internalize that no one owns the work alone. We will only truly succeed when we work together and own the outcomes as a team. We succeed or struggle together. To reinforce this mindset:
Team meetings are run collectively with rotating roles and a shared agenda.
We have a regular cadence of feedback meetings to observe, give feedback, and collaborate for the best outcomes.
I work with each team member to identify their unique “Zone of Genius”—the strengths they bring to our work—and they take ownership of sharing and teaching it to others.
We prioritize collective responsibility for our goals, implementing frequent team check-ins to support each other and ensure that the goals we set are the right ones.
The Results: A Team-Led Culture
By embedding these values into our daily routines, we’ve shifted from a leader-driven culture to a team-led culture. Our team is known internally for high-quality execution and innovation, responding rapidly to partner needs, and supporting educators in implementing inspiring global education initiatives.
A strong team culture isn’t built overnight, but with intentionality, it drives exceptional results. If you want to strengthen your team’s culture, start by asking: How well does my team embody candor, collaboration, and collective responsibility? The answer to that question might just be the key to unlocking your team’s full potential.
How does this fit with your experience building team culture? What questions or challenges do you have? Share in the comments below.
