Culture Shapes Everything. Great Coaches Know This.

By Alexis Halkovic, PhD Co-CEO of CultureCamp AI

I recently caught up with two former colleagues from my days at Goldman Sachs — one who hired me 25 years ago, and another I hired for our GS India team 21 years back. The conversations brought a wave of nostalgia and a reminder of just how formative those years were — not just for my career, but for my understanding of organizational culture.

When Culture Clicks

In Corporate Services in New York, under Mike DeVito’s leadership, culture was never just a buzzword. We had a social committee that organized everything from Brooklyn Cyclones games to on-site wine tastings and film screenings. Team outings to neighborhood spots like Killarney Rose were common, and we had a cross-team mentoring program that connected senior and junior employees without regard to reporting lines. These weren’t just nice perks — they helped weave a fabric of connection that extended beyond departmental silos.

As a junior employee, being able to talk with — and feel seen by — people in other departments and at senior levels gave me a stronger sense of belonging. I didn’t just feel like I worked on a team; I felt like I was part of something bigger.

When I later moved to Bangalore to help build the GS India Operations team from the ground up, that same cultural clarity made all the difference. David Simons, our CEO (may he rest in peace), had a gift for creating connection. He knew our names. He showed up — not just at all-hands meetings, but at team celebrations, late-night pizza parties, employees’ weddings.

We celebrated birthdays. We had weekend outings. We hosted a talent show where employees brought their families to perform. When I was promoted to VP, my ice cream bar celebration wasn’t enough — my team insisted on a full party at a restaurant, and nearly everyone showed up.

These weren’t just feel-good moments. They were culture in action.

They fostered trust, loyalty, and psychological safety — the kind that makes it easier to stay late to help a teammate, have hard conversations, or step up when something’s at risk. It wasn’t always perfect, but it worked because it was intentional.

Culture Isn’t Accidental — and It’s Not Always Comfortable

Too often, culture gets reduced to perks or platitudes. But real culture — the kind that shapes performance, engagement, and retention — is made of everyday interactions, relationships, and unspoken norms. It’s not just what you say your values are. It’s how people behave when the pressure’s on.

When culture is aligned, work feels purposeful. When it’s not, it can make even the most talented teams feel stuck, frustrated, or checked out.

As a coach, I often found myself trying to uncover these hidden threads of culture—the unspoken dynamics, the subtle misalignments, the role gaps that left teams stuck. That’s why we built CultureCamp: to give coaches a lens into these invisible forces, with data and AI to back up their intuition.

That’s Why We Built CultureCamp AI

Culture matters more than ever — especially in moments of disruption:

• A merger or acquisition

• A new CEO with a different vision

• Layoffs that shake team morale

• A return-to-office mandate that reopens old wounds

• A major technology implementation

  
  

As coaches and leaders, we’ve all seen how tough these moments can be. CultureCamp AI was created to make it easier. Our tool helps you see, measure, and make sense of the often-invisible dynamics shaping your team and organization.

We designed it for practitioners like you — executive coaches, team facilitators, HR partners, and leaders navigating complex change. The assessment gives you insights that spark honest conversation and targeted action — so culture isn’t just something you talk about after the fact, but something you can shape in real time.

Curious what your culture looks like today?Take our Culture Survey and reach out to explore how CultureCamp AI can support your clients or your team.

And, if you are interested in joining our wave of coaches who are guiding our software and participating in the upside of this AI business, email me at: coach@alexishalkovic.com.