Connected Culture

"Connected Culture blends solid organizational research with clear, actionable steps, showing leaders how to strengthen trust, clarity, and collaboration in their teams." -- DAN HEATH - New York Times Bestselling Author of RESET and Co-Author of UPSTREAM and SWITCH

Most leaders can tell when a culture is breaking down. Meetings stay polite while the real conversations happen afterward. Capable people retreat, engagement scores drop, and culture initiatives come and go without addressing the underlying problem.

Connected Culture gives executives a way to measure what is happening inside their teams and decide where to focus first.

After more than 25 years working with CEOs and leadership teams, organizational psychologist and executive coach Jamie Shapiro developed the 5Cs Model of Team Cohesion and Thriving Organizational Culture. Created in partnership with Principles, the culture company founded by Ray Dalio, the model breaks culture into five measurable components:

1) Connection - Trust and well-being
2) Candid Communication - Psychological safety, healthy conflict and feedback, idea meritocracy and transparency
3) Clarity - Defined roles and responsibilities, processes, and shared goals
4) Collaboration - Team support, accountability, and collective excellence
5) Contribution - Purpose, values, and meaningful impact at work

Research behind the model found that these five factors account for nearly 80 percent of employees' satisfaction with their organization's culture and roughly half of overall job satisfaction.

Drawing from executive coaching work, case studies, and organizational research, the book shows how the 5Cs appear inside leadership teams, where problems tend to surface, and which areas need attention first.