What Great Leaders Know About Team Climate and Results

Bringing together some of the key learnings from Elev-8 Performance’s new book ‘Dropping the C-Bomb: Why Team Climate Crushes Culture’, Rob Clarke explains what team climate is, why it is easier to influence than culture, and what happens to performance when leaders get it right.

Team Climate Is the Mood of the Organization

Rob Clarke

For years, organizations have poured millions into fixing culture…. Rebrands, new values, pizza Fridays, and more! But how much has really changed for those on the frontlines? It’s hard to fathom.

That’s because culture isn’t what people experience day-to-day. Team climate is!

Culture is the personality of the organization. Team climate is the mood.

It’s how people actually feel on a Sunday evening when they think “I’ve got work tomorrow”. Or when the queue’s building, a customer’s frustrated, and your best advisor calls in sick.

Culture lives on posters. Climate lives in conversations!

Culture and Climate Both Matter – But One Is Easier to Move

Culture and climate are deeply connected. Both drive performance, engagement, and customer experience.

The difference is that culture is slow to shift, while team climate can be influenced every day.
It’s the most powerful lever leaders have because it lives in the ‘micro moments’ of how people feel supported, trusted, and valued in their team right now.

Why Do Culture Programmes Often Stall?

You absolutely need to work on culture, but it’s important to remember that culture doesn’t change through words; it changes through experience.

And that experience is created by the climate in each team, every single day.

Most “culture change” efforts fail because they start at the wrong altitude. They focus on the macro – systems, slogans, and values statements. But culture doesn’t shift through words. It shifts through experience.

Quite frankly, change doesn’t start in the boardroom. It starts at the team table!

Across top-performing organizations, one truth holds: there are always brilliant teams and struggling ones side by side. The difference isn’t the culture, it’s the climate the leader creates.

For advice on creating a great culture in your organization, read our article: 9 Ways to Create a Thriving Contact Centre Culture

What Underpins a Great Team Climate?

Every great climate is built on three things:

Mindset, Capability, and Friction.

Leaders must shift how people think, develop what they can do, and remove what gets in their way.

Just like this:

1. Make Meaning

People want to feel that their work matters. Great leaders make meaning by connecting everyday tasks to purpose. They help teams see the “why” behind the “what”.

When people know why they are doing something, they care more about how they do it.

Try this: Ask, “How does what we do today make a difference for our customers?” This question reframes effort into impact.

2. Create Accountable Freedom

High-performing teams don’t wait for permission. They know their boundaries and own their outcomes. That’s accountable freedom: trust people to make decisions and expect them to take responsibility.

Micromanagement kills ownership, clarity builds it.

Try this: Ask yourself, “What decisions could my team make without me?” – then hand one over!

If you want to find out more, watch the video below where Call Centre Helper’s Megan Jones discusses practical levers for boosting performance with Miranda Cain, Managing Director at Elev-8 Performance:

3. Illuminate Awesome

In a world obsessed with what’s broken, great leaders shine a light on what’s brilliant. They illuminate awesome by making strengths visible and contagious.

Celebrating what’s right doesn’t mean ignoring what’s wrong. It means amplifying what works so others follow.

Try this: Each week, ask your team to share one thing that went brilliantly and why.
Then replay those stories proudly.

4. Build Psychological Safety

The foundation of every great climate is trust. When people feel safe to speak up, question, or admit mistakes, they grow faster, and so does the team.

Try this: When someone raises a problem, start with, “Thank you for sharing that.” That phrase builds permission for honesty.

You can learn more about psychological safety in this article: How to Develop Psychological Safety in the Contact Centre

5. Build Trust

Trust isn’t built in grand gestures. It’s built in moments. Follow through. Listen actively. Show your team that what matters to them matters to you.

When trust is high, communication is open and teams can take risks without fear.

Try this: Ask your team, “When have I made it hard for you to trust me?” Then listen to what they have to say!

6. Reduce Friction

Even the best teams struggle if the environment works against them. Friction hides in process, policy, and silence… Anything that slows people down.

Your role as a leader is to clear the path. Remove the noise, clutter, and blockers so people can do their best work.

Try this: Ask your team, “What one thing is making your job harder than it should be?” Then fix it quickly.

If you want to find out more, watch the video below where Call Centre Helper’s Megan Jones discusses how to stop friction being a hidden performance killer with Sean Spurgin, Learning Director at Elev-8 Performance:

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Climate Starts With Leaders!

Culture and climate both drive performance, but they work at different speeds. Culture changes when climate changes … And climate starts with leaders!

So, if you want your culture to shift, start with your climate. That’s the heart of Dropping the C Bomb: Why Team Climate Crushes Culture.

Want to get started? Try this tomorrow: