Organizational culture consultant and author Rita Sever joins Big Blend Radio for a conversation on what company culture actually is — not what's printed on a poster, but how people feel walking in the door.

Watch the episode below or listen/download the audio-version on Podbean:

What Company Culture Really Means — Culture isn't the words on your website or the mission statement on the wall — it's, as Rita puts it, how your people feel on a Sunday night. It's the way things actually get done, day to day, versus what's written down.

The Three Components of a Healthy Culture — Rita breaks culture into three working parts: your Mission, Vision, and Values (where you're going, why you're going, and how you're going); how the work actually gets done (job design, leadership, teamwork, accountability); and how people are treated (standards of supervision, training, consistency). She shares the story of JFK meeting a NASA janitor who said he was "helping put a man on the moon" — a mission alive in every role, not just the ones at the top.

Culture Comes From the Top and the Bottom — Leadership sets intention, but culture is also built — or eroded — by everyone in the building. Rita talks through how unaddressed "bad apple" behavior spreads and infects a team the way a positive culture can lift one.

Onboarding, Hiring, and Keeping Culture Alive — From job postings to day-one conversations, culture should show up before someone's even hired — and get reinforced through regular, honest check-ins on what's working, what's not, and what needs to change.

When Culture Is Tested: Hard Conversations and Accountability — A strong culture makes it obvious when something's gone wrong. Rita digs into why avoiding hard conversations quietly becomes its own culture, and what it actually looks like to deal with a problem — and a person — in the moment.