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Leadership Insights

 
“To add value to others, one must first value others.”
— John Maxwell

Being Intentional About Shaping Team Norms

After working with leadership teams for years, I’ve seen firsthand how the best-performing teams don't just happen—they’re intentional about how they operate. Leaders who actively shape team norms create not only high performance but also a healthy work environment where people are engaged, accountable, and energized.

The challenge? Too many leaders assume that workplace norms—the unwritten rules that dictate how a team works together—just evolve naturally. And while that’s true to some extent, if leaders don’t actively shape these norms, they risk ending up with dysfunction, disengagement, and confusion.

Recent research by Deutchman et al. (2023) reinforces something I’ve seen in my coaching: people adjust their perceptions of what’s acceptable and expected based on the behaviors they observe around them. In other words, what’s common becomes “normal”—whether it’s helpful or harmful.

If you want a high-performing team, you can’t leave norms to chance. You have to create them with intention.

What Are Workplace Norms, and Why Do They Matter?

Workplace norms are the unspoken rules about how things get done. They show up in everyday behaviors, like:

  • How openly people share ideas (or if they hold back).

  • Whether meetings start on time or if lateness is accepted.

  • How feedback is given (constructively or avoided altogether).

  • Whether accountability is real or just a buzzword.

There are two key types of norms to pay attention to:

1. Descriptive Norms (What People Actually Do)

These are the behaviors that happen in practice. If most people in your meetings multitask instead of engaging, that’s the descriptive norm—it’s what’s normal, whether you like it or not.

2. Injunctive Norms (What People Believe They Should Do)

These reflect what people feel is expected of them. If employees believe that working late is the only way to be seen as committed, that’s an injunctive norm—even if no one explicitly says it.

Here’s the key insight from the research: People update their beliefs based on what they see. If a behavior is common, it’s more likely to be accepted as what should be done—even if it’s not productive.

That means if you want to shape how your team operates, you need to be intentional about reinforcing the right behaviors.

The Cost of Ignoring Norms

I’ve worked with leadership teams where performance struggles weren’t due to a lack of talent or effort—it was because unintended norms were working against them.

For example:

  • A leadership team wanted better cross-functional collaboration, but their meetings were full of siloed updates—so collaboration never really happened.

  • A company preached innovation, but employees rarely saw leaders take risks, so they assumed playing it safe was the real expectation.

  • A team valued accountability, but no one ever called out missed deadlines, so the real norm was letting things slide.

How to Build Intentional Norms in Your Team

1. Make the Invisible, Visible

  • Pay attention to what’s actually happening in your team. What behaviors do you see repeatedly?

  • Ask your team: What are the unspoken rules here? What do we believe is expected?

  • Call out norms that need shifting. If meetings aren’t productive, don’t just tolerate it—acknowledge it and reset expectations.

2. Model the Right Norms

  • Leaders set the tone. If you want a culture of accountability, you need to be consistent in holding yourself and others accountable.

  • If you want open communication, demonstrate it. Be transparent, admit mistakes, and encourage others to do the same.

3. Reinforce Positive Behaviors

  • Praise the right behaviors. If you want collaboration, publicly recognize when it happens.

  • Make norms explicit. Instead of assuming people know what’s expected, be clear: "In our team, we challenge ideas with respect and always assume positive intent."

4. Correct Negative Norms Before They Take Hold

  • If people consistently show up late to meetings, address it: “I’ve noticed we’re starting late. Let’s reset and commit to being on time.”

  • If you see a norm forming that isn’t aligned with high performance, interrupt it before it becomes the default.

5. Keep Norms Evolving

  • Culture isn’t “set it and forget it.” Make it a habit to check in on norms regularly.

  • As teams grow and challenges shift, revisit norms to ensure they still serve the team’s goals.


The most successful leadership teams I’ve worked with don’t just think they should have a strong culture that fosters higher performance and organizational health—they intentionally build it. They know that what they allow becomes the norm, and they take responsibility for shaping it.

If you want a team that operates at its best—where collaboration, accountability, and engagement are the norm—it starts with you.

So, what’s one small action you can take today to be more intentional about the norms in your team?

References

Deutchman, P., Kraft-Todd, G., Young, L., & McAuliffe, K. (2023). People update their injunctive norm beliefs and moral judgments after receiving descriptive norm information. Preprint.

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383.

Lindström, B., Jangard, S., Selbing, I., & Olsson, A. (2018). The role of a “common is moral” heuristic in the stability and change of moral norms. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(2), 228-242.

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Luthans, F., & Stajkovic, A. D. (1999). Reinforce for performance: The need to go beyond pay and even rewards. The Academy of Management Executive, 13(2), 49-57.

Daniel Burns