Don’t Be a D.I.C.K: How to Build Better Managers and Stronger Cultures

We say it all the time at Value Addy:

Your culture isn’t what you put in your handbook. It’s what your managers say at 4:37 p.m. when someone asks, “Can I talk to you about something?”

And if that conversation leads to a sigh, an eye roll, or worse... silence.... you’ve got a culture problem masquerading as a “people problem.”

You don’t lose team morale overnight. You lose it through every moment a manager unintentionally (or intentionally) dismisses, isolates, clings to bias, or avoids accountability.

Which is why we created the acronym:

🧠 D.I.C.K.

• Dismiss

• Isolate

• Cling to Bias

• Kick the Can

  
  

Harsh? Maybe. Memorable? Definitely. Useful? Absolutely.

Because culture lives or dies in the middle, not just at the executive table or the front lines. And it’s often your managers, the messengers of your culture, who have the greatest power to build trust—or break it.

🚨 Let’s break it down

❌ D is for Dismiss

When managers downplay concerns, brush off feedback, or give the ol’ “we’ve already tried that,” they’re sending a clear message: your voice doesn’t matter here.

🧠 Stat check: 74% of employees say they’re more effective when they feel heard. But only 30% say their manager is good at listening.(Harvard Business Review, 2023)

❌ I is for Isolate

Cliques. Silent treatment. Only looping in the "favorites." Whether it's subtle or blatant, isolation destroys collaboration and safety.

Managers might not even know they’re doing it. But when your team avoids asking questions or declines to speak in meetings, isolation is already at work.

❌ C is for Clinging to Bias

We all have bias. But when managers hold on to outdated ideas like:

• “She’s too quiet for leadership”

• “He’s not really a ‘culture fit’”

• “They need to toughen up”

…it’s not just bias, it’s bad management. And bad management spreads.

❌ K is for Kicking the Can

Avoiding hard conversations. Delaying 1:1s. Pushing performance issues off to HR. This kind of leadership-by-deferral hurts everyone.

The longer a manager avoids action, the more they build resentment while eroding trust with zero accountability to show for it.

✨ So, What’s the Solution?

Managers are not villains. They’re often undertrained, overstretched, and stuck between strategy and survival.

Instead of calling them out, let’s build them up.

Here’s how to create systems that empower managers to reinforce your culture instead of ruin it.

✅ 1. Give Them a Playbook (Not Just a Title)

Stop assuming new managers “just know” how to lead. Even your best manager can crash when promoted without support.

🧠 Teach them:

• How to give meaningful, equitable feedback

• How to set and enforce culture expectations

• How to recognize bias, emotional triggers, and conflict dynamics

  
  

🎯 Stat check: 60% of new managers underperform in their first 2 years because they lack proper training.(Gartner)

👉 Solution: Make “How to Manage Here” part of your onboarding and learning library. Update it regularly.

✅ 2. Build in Reflection as a Requirement

Make space for managers to ask:

• “Did I lead that conversation well?”

• “Did I center fairness or familiarity?”

• “Am I practicing the culture I preach?”

Don’t make it optional. Bake it into weekly check-ins, review cycles, and leadership development.

🧠 Managers can’t model a learning culture if they’re not learning, too.

✅ 3. Give Feedback Loops in All Directions

Yes, managers give feedback. But do they get it? And does it go somewhere?

🎯 Solution:

• Launch upward feedback forms after big projects

• Normalize team-led retrospectives

• Train teams on how to give respectful, honest feedback to leadership

  
  

💡 Stat check: Companies with strong feedback cultures see 14.9% lower turnover and 21% higher profitability.(Gallup)

Feedback shouldn’t be a one-way street. Managers who can’t hear hard truths can’t grow, and neither can your culture.

🏗️ The Real Job of a Manager

It’s not just about hitting KPIs or tracking performance. A great manager:

• Protects the values of the organization

• Reinforces psychological safety

• Drives clarity while welcoming dissent

• Learns, leads, and listens at the same time

  
  

Leadership without accountability is just authority. And culture without courageous managers is just a poster in the break room.

💥 Final Thought: Don’t Be a D.I.C.K. Be the Culture Keeper

If your culture is starting to slip, don’t blame your team.

Look at your middle. Look at your managers. Look at what you’re empowering them to model, protect, and deliver.

The culture you want doesn’t scale unless your managers can carry it, reinforce it, and evolve with it.

Train them. Equip them. Reflect with them.

Because you don’t need more rules, you need better role models.