How to fix a toxic culture. [Group Discussion Guide]

Personal-Application & Group-Discussion Guide

This guide helps you process the story of OC Tanner's transformation from a compliance-driven, fear-based culture to an empowered, people-first organization. You'll explore Gary's transformation as a leader and what that might mean for you in your own work, and you'll consider implications for your team as you process how Gary's teams applied an outward mindset to drive lasting change.

An Inherited Culture of Fear

"To the extent that you're focused on yourself and your image, it becomes really difficult to engage outwardly."

Gary stepped into a culture marked by silence and fear. People were disengaged, ownership was absent, and leadership operated from control, not connection. Not surprisingly, the fear prevented contribution. When people feel like cogs, they stop acting like creators.

Questions:

• What parallels might employees in your team see between the culture in your organization and the culture that Gary inherited at OC Tanner?

• What are the current "unspoken rules" in your culture?

• Do any of these rules invite or reinforce an inward mindset? If so, how are these unspoken rules affecting people's ability to contribute?

Seeing People as the Solution

"You're touching every piece...you own it all."

Change began when Gary and his teams stopped trying to force accountability and started building it through trust, ownership, and visibility. The best ideas come from the people closest to the work. When they're seen as people, they become problem-solvers, not just performers.

Questions:

• Are the people closest to the work in your organization also the ones driving improvement?

• If not, what might be preventing that? (Fear? Lack of clarity? Control?)

• How are you currently inviting or stifling their ideas?

Empowerment in Action

"They’re not just throwing ideas into the void… they put things into motion themselves."

OC Tanner didn’t just say they valued input—they built systems (idea cards and team-led implementation) that made individual empowerment and contribution part of daily work. Empowerment without systems is just encouragement. Real empowerment requires structure, data, and shared decision-making.

Questions:

• How are ideas currently surfaced and acted on in your team?

• What structure would make it easier for team members to be empowered to contribute and track their impact?

The Role of Leadership

"Mary is the team lead… but the team doesn’t wait on her."

Gary redefined leadership—not as control, but as coaching. Managers became mentors. Team leads, like Mary, led by listening. Leadership isn’t about solving every problem—it’s about building a team that can solve problems together.

Questions:

• How do you define the role of a leader?

• What would shift if your main responsibility was to help develop others to be more capable, not just deliver individual results?

Coaching Conversations

"You’re a pretty decent person… and oh, you see how smart I am."

Gary’s comment captures the magic of humanizing conversations—where status fades and connection grows. The biggest culture shift came from these one-on-one coaching conversations. Not performance reviews—but five minutes of real, regular connection between managers and team members. Seeing people as people is easiest when we actually spend time with them.

Questions:

• What might change in your organization if every manager met with every team member for 20–30 minutes every other week?

• What’s stopping you from doing this? How can you remove that barrier?

Momentum & Mistakes

"The only way out was to make myself more vulnerable."

This moment—when Gary admits fault publicly—is the turning point that unlocks collective ownership. Change didn’t happen all at once. Gary focused on the willing, not the resistant. Mistakes weren’t punished—they were fuel for growth. Culture doesn’t change because everyone gets on board. It changes because a few people do—and others are invited in.

Questions:

• Are you spending more time trying to convince the resistant than empowering the willing?

• What mistakes in your team during the last month could become opportunities to learn instead of opportunities to blame if you regrouped to process what occurred with an outward mindset?

Real Ownership

"Problems are not seen as failures, but as essential feedback loops in an ownership culture."

At OC Tanner, there’s no blaming others. Everyone—from the floor to the VP—owns the results and the relationships that drive them. Ownership happens when people feel trusted and supported—not blamed or bypassed.

Questions:

• What issue keeps resurfacing, even though you’ve already ‘solved’ it?

• Where do you find yourself regularly stepping in or micromanaging, or an area where you’d feel anxious letting go of control?

• What’s something you’ve been trying to drive alone that others might be capable of contributing to? Who might those others be and what would it mean to them to be given greater ownership?

The Power of Vulnerability

"Turns out, Gary doesn’t know what he’s doing."

Gary’s most impactful leadership moment came when he admitted: I don’t know what I’m doing. That moment sparked the team’s full ownership. Vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s what makes room for collective intelligence.

Questions:

• What’s something you’ve been scared to admit as a leader?

• What could shift if you named it—not to abdicate responsibility, but to invite others into solving it with you?

Sustaining an Outward Culture

"We don't spend hardly any time on interpersonal struggles on our factory floor now."

Outward cultures sustain when leaders consistently prioritize people over processes. To that end, every manager tracks how much time they spend with team members. Coaching isn't extra—it’s essential.

Reflection:

• What part of your current "to-do list" doesn't align with your strengths?

• What would it look like to redefine your role based on your unique contributions and the people you serve?

Personal Reflection & Commitment

Invite each person to complete this sentence:
"I commit to seeing ______________________________________ as a person by ______________________________________."

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