How to Build a Culture That Drives Speed, Impact, and Excellence: Insights from Matt Mayberry's Keynote at Service Management World

This morning at Service Management World, Matt Mayberry delivered an inspiring keynote, "Culture is the Way: How Leaders at Every Level Build an Organization for Speed, Impact, and Excellence," providing a roadmap to create a culture that empowers teams to achieve their best.

Mayberry's message was clear: everyone wants to belong to a culture that brings out the best in them. He emphasized that leadership is not just about managing tasks but inspiring people to care more deeply.

What Makes a Winning Culture

Mayberry drew lessons from the greatest football coaches, distilling their wisdom into three actionable principles:

1. Foster a Burning Desire to Improve Culture: Building a great culture is not a one-time initiative but a continuous effort. Leaders must be relentless in driving improvement.
2. Don't Just Manage People, Coach Them: Employees crave guidance, mentorship, and opportunities to grow both professionally and personally.
3. Generate Positive Energy Daily: Leaders set the tone. Bringing positivity and energy to the workplace inspires teams to do the same.

Why Culture Matters

The stakes for organizations are high. Mayberry shared sobering statistics:

• $8.9 trillion is lost annually in global GDP due to low employee engagement.
• 62% of employees report being disengaged.
• 57% are actively seeking new opportunities.

These figures underscore a pressing truth: disengaged employees hurt productivity, innovation, and morale. The antidote? A culture that connects employees to a greater purpose and values their development.

People don't want to feel like cogs in a machine. They want:

• A sense of purpose in their work
• A leader who walks alongside them as a coach
• Conversations that focus on strengths rather than weaknesses

Debunking Cultural Myths

Mayberry addressed common misconceptions about culture, clarifying what it's not:

• It's not about offering flexibility or casual dress codes
• It's not reciting mission statements
• It's not about making everyone happy

Culture is deeper. It's about what we believe, how we behave, and the experience we create.

The Five Steps to Building a World-Class Culture

Mayberry outlined a practical, five-step framework to help organizations build thriving cultures:

1. Define - Alignment starts with clarity. Leaders must design the environment they want, articulate it clearly, and write a Cultural Purpose Statement (CPS)—a guiding mantra.
2. Discover - Great cultures are built on trust and psychological safety. Seek feedback from your team: What's working? What needs improvement? Listening is key, but action is where the magic happens. Transformative change begins when employees feel safe to voice opinions without fear of judgment.
3. Launch - Culture isn't built overnight. Leaders must cascade and embed the vision, consistently communicating it to the team. Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint.
4. Impact - Culture isn't a standalone initiative; it's the foundation for every initiative. Leaders must remain fanatical about long-term impact and resist treating culture as a checkbox.
5. Lead - The ultimate differentiator is leadership. Great leaders don't just set expectations—they embody them. Their actions shape the behavior of their teams, creating alignment and driving execution.

Shaping the Future Through Culture

Mayberry's final takeaway was profound: culture is behavior at scale. It's how teams execute behind closed doors, align hearts and minds, and bring their best selves to work.

A thriving culture is not a luxury—it's a necessity for organizations aiming to compete and excel. For leaders willing to invest in their people and prioritize purpose, the rewards are immeasurable: higher engagement, better retention, and a team that's energized to deliver exceptional results.

In the words of Mayberry: "The ultimate differentiator is leadership."

It's time to step up, lead the way, and build a culture that drives speed, impact, and excellence.