Category: The Big 10 Culture Killers

  • Conflict is Where God Shows Up

    Conflict is Where God Shows Up

    What if conflict isn’t a distraction from God’s work but the very place where God is working? Let’s reframe the way we see tension.    

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  • The Elephant in the Parlor

    The Elephant in the Parlor

    We all say we want healthy teams, but what happens when conflict shows up? In this episode, we name the elephant and explore why avoidance isn’t the answer.

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  • The Wisdom Gap

    The Wisdom Gap

    Idealism Without Wise Counsel: When vision floats free of reality and no one dares to tether it. Leading with ungrounded ideals, without the humility to seek wise counsel or remain teachable, narrows vision, stifles creativity and skills, and kills team spirit, limiting both the leadership team and the mission they hope to serve. One of…

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  • Voices. Vision. Practices. Community. 4: The Big 10 Culture Killers of Effective Leadership Teams, Part 2

    Why do so many leadership teams struggle to thrive even when the mission is clear? In this episode of the Imago Leadership Podcast, we unpack two silent saboteurs: The Soundproof Room and Stories That Burn. If you’ve ever felt unheard, misjudged, or stuck in a leadership echo chamber, this one’s for you. Discover how poor…

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  • The Empty Chair

    The Empty Chair

    What happens when someone doesn’t show up and no one knows why? In leadership teams, silence isn’t neutral. It’s a blank canvas for assumptions, projections, and stories that burn. In this vlog, I explore how absence—literal or emotional—can fracture trust, and how teams can respond with curiosity instead of conclusion.

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  • Feeding the Cobra

    Feeding the Cobra

    Responding Poorly to Toxic Behavior: When toxic attitudes and behaviors are rewarded and boundaries disappear. This inadvertently destroys life-giving team health through passivity, overcorrection, or disempowerment.  Although often dismissed as dreamy, doe-eyed romance novels—an attitude possibly influenced by modern portrayals in movies or the Hallmark Channel—Jane Austen’s literary classics present us with disarming social commentary.…

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  • Feedback That Builds

    Feedback That Builds

    Giving feedback doesn’t have to feel like walking on eggshells. The SBI framework—Situation, Behavior, Impact—is a simple tool that helps teams communicate clearly and compassionately. In this vlog, I share how SBI can transform difficult conversations into moments of growth and dignity.

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  • Confirmation Bias – The Invisible Saboteur

    Confirmation Bias – The Invisible Saboteur

    Your brain is brilliant…but it’s not always fair. Confirmation bias is the invisible saboteur in leadership teams: once we form a belief about someone, we start seeing only what confirms it. In this vlog, I break down how this bias shows up, how it burns trust, and what we can do to lead with curiosity…

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  • White Christmas and the Culture Killer

    White Christmas and the Culture Killer

    What do a 1954 musical and your team’s communication habits have in common? More than you think. In White Christmas, a single overheard conversation derails a relationship—and it’s a perfect example of how assumptions can fracture trust. In this vlog, I explore how miscommunication and silence fuel stories that burn—and how asking one clarifying question…

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  • The Side-Door Strategy

    The Side-Door Strategy

    End Runs and Undermining Authority: When decisions are made in whispers rather than in the room. Bypassing leadership structures or processes erodes trust and team alignment.  I want to start by sharing a story. Stories have the power to teach us empathy and compassion, which is incredibly important if we are going to take on…

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  • Voices. Vision. Practices. Community. 3: The Big 10 Culture Killers of Effective Leadership Teams

    In this episode of the Imago Leadership Podcast, Dr. Lee Carter exposes the ten hidden dynamics that quietly sabotage leadership teams from within, what he calls the “Big 10 Culture Killers of Effective Leadership Teams.” Drawing from global experience in nonprofit and faith-based organizations, Lee unpacks how poor listening, toxic narratives, unclear norms, and mismanaged…

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  • How to Lead with Hospitality

    How to Lead with Hospitality

    Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about making space for others to speak. Learn how hospitality can turn tension into trust.      

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  • Voices. Vision. Practices. Community. 3: The Big 10 Culture Killers of Effective Leadership Teams, Part 1

    In this episode of the Imago Leadership Podcast, Dr. Lee Carter exposes the ten hidden dynamics that quietly sabotage leadership teams from within, what he calls the “Big 10 Culture Killers of Effective Leadership Teams.” Drawing from global experience in nonprofit and faith-based organizations, Lee unpacks how poor listening, toxic narratives, unclear norms, and mismanaged…

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  • The Compliance Cage

    The Compliance Cage

    Unhealthy HR Practices: When the “human” in Human Resources gets lost in the paperwork. An HR function that primarily focuses on protecting the organization and adhering to policy, but lacks a people-first development approach, tends to distract managers from their goals. This unintentionally hinders the organizational mission.  Human Resources is a vital part of any…

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  • The Cure for Selective Leadership Listening

    The Cure for Selective Leadership Listening

    Want to lead with wisdom and warmth? Start by asking better questions. This vlog explores how appreciative inquiry can reshape your team’s culture from the inside out.

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  • Why You Need Disruption to Grow

    Why You Need Disruption to Grow

    Disruption isn’t the enemy of progress. It’s the birthplace of transformation. Discover why your team’s next breakthrough might come from its biggest discomfort.

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  • The Soundproof Room

    The Soundproof Room

    The Soundproof Room   What do Shakespeare’s Macbeth and modern leadership teams have in common? More than you think! And it starts with who we refuse to hear.  

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  • Lone Wolves in Shared Fields

    Lone Wolves in Shared Fields

    Power Without Community Accountability: When empowerment neglects the “we” behind the “me.” A healthy organizational culture balances individual empowerment with community discernment and decision-making. Like many others, I have been deeply affected by the story of Mars Hill Church as presented in the podcast series, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, hosted by Mike…

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  • What’s Sabotaging Your Leadership Team?

    What’s Sabotaging Your Leadership Team?

    Poor listening, toxic stories, unchecked conflict—these culture killers and more quietly sabotage leadership teams. This vlog begins a series on the Big 10 Culture Killers to watch for.

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  • The Stunted Mirror

    The Stunted Mirror

    Lack of Personal and Collective Growth: When leaders stop developing themselves, while others around them want to keep advancing, they set unspoken limits on the mission and breed resentment among their team members. In J. K. Rowling’s popular fictional series, Harry Potter is orphaned as a baby when the evil Lord Voldemort murders both of…

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