It’s been a full year now since I took the role of Workforce Development Director here at the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce. In many ways, it’s been a big learning curve, but there is one area that holds true no matter where I am in my career. Culture matters.

Culture can be looked at from a couple different angles, so I’m going to talk about that here. On one side of the coin, culture might be thought of as fun and games and extra special benefits that other places of work don’t have. And I think that is a piece of it. Those things do make a difference. It’s just not all of it. You can’t buy your employees pizza for lunch and then nitpick everything they do and consider that a good culture. Building someone up just to punch them back down doesn’t work. And the idea that one person can ruin “it” (a benefit maybe) for everyone… that doesn’t make sense to me. We need to support people where they are individually. We need leadership teams who we can trust. We need a balance between work and life that fits the work and life of each person. And we need to understand that this balance will not look the same for everyone.

One of the first things I got to really lean into when I started last summer was the Chamber’s Leadership Marshalltown program. Leadership Marshalltown is a 9-month leadership course that utilizes curriculum from the Kansas Leadership Center and combines it with local employer connections, company tours and panels that talk about specific industry concerns, aspirations, and the gap that lies between the two. I got to be a part of last year’s class, which was a great experience that also showed me a new realm where culture lives.

In Leadership Marshalltown, we try to build a class relationship around the idea that you can speak up and say what’s on your mind without judgment. This starts with our awesome teaching team. They explain to the class why we do this, and they also speak up from time to time to add to the conversation. This to me became the culture of the class. You don’t have to speak up, but when you do, it shows others that it’s ok for them to also say what’s on their mind.

Here at the Chamber, the office environment has a unique culture of its own. Another way I look at that is my “life at work.” After all, we spend quite a bit of our lives at work. If I had to describe what life at work was like, I’d say it’s often like a revolving door – literally and figuratively. We operate in a fast-paced environment, coming and going throughout the day, meeting with people, building relationships, and supporting our community in as many ways as we know how + always striving to learn more. New challenges and projects can arise with the snap of a finger. We aren’t bound to a clock, and we aren’t micromanaged. Each of our departments overlap in a way that lets us work independently, but also together. We can lean on each other, we might even make fun of each other from time to time (all in good fun), but at the end of the day, we all know we are here for the same reason, and that is to make Marshall County one of the best places to live, learn, work and play.

This year, I’m also co-chairing the Marshalltown Area United Way’s Annual Campaign with my friend, Kyley Leger. It has really opened my eyes to the culture of our town. The United Way supports 27 agencies and 30 programs. One donation can make a difference to more than just one person, and that’s exactly what happens. Your donation is just one of many that ends up positively impacting over 12,000 people. That shows the culture of Marshalltown; people stepping up and doing what they can to help those in need. Our goal this year is big, and that’s because the need is big. I’m excited to see how our culture of giving back shows up!

It’s been a fast year. I have been engaged in many different areas from human resources, company tours, leadership development, the childcare industry, the education system, and more. I’ve learned a lot, and I know I will continue to learn even more. I’m thankful I get to see a positive culture in so many places. It’s a true reflection of our community!

With a long weekend coming up, and maybe with a little extra time on your hands, here are some questions you could ask yourself (or even some of the people you work with). What does the culture at your workplace feel like? Are you meeting your employees where they are? What are you doing to make sure that each person can show up as their best self, ready to give their best at work? Does your team feel like they can talk to you? This might sound strange… but are people laughing? It feels good to laugh, and some say it helps reduce stress. I believe laughter is medicine!

The culture that people value in a work environment, a small class, or a community is going to be much different now than it was 20+ years ago. Time flies and life is constantly changing. We need to adapt to keep growing. We need to keep up!

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Kate Bowermaster is the workforce development director for the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce.