Strong Ground Building Culture Through Trust, Teams and Shared Purpose

"Trust is built in very small moments."— Brené Brown, Dare to Lead

When people talk about improving schools, conversations often begin with programs, policies or performance.

Yet after more than two decades in education, I've come to believe that culture is rarely transformed through large initiatives.

It grows through people.

More specifically, it grows through teams of people who choose, every day, to build trust, work together and create environments where everyone can thrive.

This belief was reinforced studying with work of Dr Pamela Cantor at Turnaround for Children in New York City.

Like many educators, I expected to see dramatic school reform—new programs, innovative technologies or significant structural change.

Instead, what I saw were schools where culture was intentionally built through countless small moments.

Those experiences continue to shape my understanding of leadership today.

Culture is Created in Everyday Moments

Brené Brown reminds us that:

"Trust is built in very small moments."

She describes trust as something that grows through what she calls marble jar moments—small, consistent actions that communicate reliability, generosity and care.

Schools are no different.

Culture isn't something that appears after writing a strategic plan or introducing a new initiative.

It develops through the interactions that happen every day.

The greeting at the classroom door.

The way colleagues speak to one another.

The conversations held after difficult lessons.

The willingness to ask for help.

The celebration of progress, no matter how small.

These moments accumulate.

Over time, they become culture.

Small Actions Can Transform Schools

One school that left a lasting impression on me was Chancellor Avenue School in the Bronx under the leadership of Principal Sakina Pitts.

I expected to see sweeping reforms.

Instead, I witnessed a leader who understood that changing culture often begins with changing experiences.

One initiative stood out.

Sakina introduced tap dancing classes for students.

She sourced tap shoes and created opportunities for children to participate in something many had never imagined doing.

At first glance, it seemed like a simple enrichment activity.

But it wasn't really about tap dancing.

It was about possibility.

It was about communicating to students:

"We believe in you."

"You deserve rich experiences."

"School can be a place where you discover new strengths."

Those tap shoes represented something much larger than a dance program.

They represented hope.

They represented belonging.

Most importantly, they represented a leader intentionally creating moments that built trust and connection.

Culture wasn't changing because of the tap classes alone.

It was changing because students experienced adults who consistently demonstrated that they mattered.

Culture is Built by Teams

Another experience that has stayed with me came from visiting The Great Expectations School (PS 85) in the Bronx.

One of the most memorable spaces wasn't a classroom.

It was the school's data room.

The walls were covered with anchor charts, student work, assessment information, teacher thinking and instructional ideas.

Initially, I thought I was looking at a room about data.

I soon realised I was looking at a room about collaboration.

The room represented shared thinking.

Teachers gathered there to discuss learning, examine evidence, celebrate growth and collectively plan next steps.

No one teacher carried responsibility alone.

Knowledge was visible.

Ideas were shared.

Professional learning belonged to everyone.

Walking through that room, I wasn't struck by the charts.

I was struck by the conversations.

The walls simply reflected something much deeper—a culture where improvement was everyone's work.

John Hattie describes collective teacher efficacy as one of the most significant influences on student achievement.

The Great Expectations School showed me what that looks like in practice.

It wasn't about having all the answers.

It was about building a team that believed they could find the answers together.

Psychological Safety Makes Growth Possible

Research by Amy Edmondson has consistently shown that the highest-performing teams are not those that avoid mistakes.

They are the teams where people feel safe enough to acknowledge them.

Psychological safety allows teachers to ask questions.

To admit uncertainty.

To seek feedback.

To learn together.

This doesn't happen accidentally.

It is intentionally created.

Brown argues that trust develops through reliability, openness and generosity.

These qualities allow people to contribute without fear of embarrassment or judgement.

In schools, this means teachers are more willing to innovate, collaborate and reflect honestly on practice.

Learning becomes collective rather than individual.

Whole Child Design Begins with Whole Teams

Pamela Cantor's Whole Child Design reminds us that development occurs through the interaction of relationships, environments and opportunities.

We often think about this in relation to children.

Yet the same principle applies to adults.

Teachers flourish when they experience trust.

When collaboration is expected.

When professional learning is shared.

When leadership removes unnecessary barriers and creates conditions for success.

Leadership, therefore, is less about directing people and more about designing environments where people can grow together.

Leadership is About Creating Conditions

Systems thinkers such as W. Edwards Deming and Peter Senge remind us that organisations produce the results they are designed to produce.

Schools are no different.

Student learning, staff wellbeing and organisational culture emerge from the interactions between people, structures and relationships.

This doesn't diminish individual responsibility.

Rather, it recognises that people do their best work when the conditions around them support success.

Leadership becomes the work of creating those conditions.

It means asking:

• How are we building trust?

• How are we strengthening collaboration?

• How are we making learning visible?

• How are we supporting one another to improve?

These questions shift our attention from fixing individuals to strengthening teams.

Strong Teams Create Strong Culture

Too often, when schools encounter challenges, the conversation focuses on individuals.

Which teacher needs more support?

Which student needs fixing?

Which leader made the wrong decision?

These questions may seem logical, but they often overlook something more important.

Every school is a system of relationships.

Systems thinkers such as W. Edwards Deming and Peter Senge remind us that outcomes emerge from the interactions within the system rather than from isolated individuals. Organisational culture is not something separate from people; it is created through the way people work together every day.

This doesn't remove personal responsibility.

Rather, it reminds us that leadership is about creating the conditions where people can succeed together.

As Brown writes:

"Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind." (Brown, 2018)

Strong cultures develop when expectations are clear, relationships are authentic and trust is intentionally nurtured.

Leadership as the Design of Conditions

Pamela Cantor's Whole Child Design reminds us that development occurs through the interaction of relationships, environments and opportunities.

We often apply this thinking to children.

Yet the same principle applies to adults.

Teachers thrive when they feel valued.

When collaboration is expected.

When professional learning is shared.

When leaders remove unnecessary barriers and create opportunities for people to learn together.

Leadership, therefore, is not simply about managing people.

It is about designing the conditions where trust can grow.

A Different Leadership Conversation

Looking back on my experiences in the Bronx, I rarely remember the programs.

I remember the people.

I remember Sakina Pitts handing children opportunities they never imagined possible.

I remember teachers standing together around walls of shared thinking, asking not whose students they were, but how they could move every learner forward.

These experiences reinforced something that research has long suggested.

Culture is not built through slogans.

It is not built through compliance.

It is built through trust.

Through relationships.

Through teams that believe they are stronger together than they are apart.

As Brené Brown reminds us,

"Trust is built in very small moments."

Perhaps that is the most important lesson for educational leaders.

If we want to build strong cultures, we begin by creating the conditions where people feel safe enough to trust, courageous enough to contribute and connected enough to grow together.

Because culture is never the work of one person.

It is always the work of a team.

References

Ackoff, R. L. (1999). Re-creating the corporation: A design of organisations for the 21st century. Oxford University Press.

Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts. Random House.

Cantor, P., Osher, D., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2019). Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context. Applied Developmental Science, 23(4), 307–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2017.1398649

Deming, W. E. (1986). Out of the crisis. MIT Press.

Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organisation: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.

Hattie, J. (2023). Visible learning: The sequel. Routledge.

Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organisation (Rev. ed.). Doubleday.