Codex Communications is nearing its 1-year anniversary, and like any good birth, it came into the world kicking and screaming, with its parent (me) looking at it thinking, “Oh god, what have I done? What do I do next?”

But just like any good parent, we pushed on.

We’ve had sleepless nights, been hungry, tired, and sometimes lonely. We’ve reached out for help, and with solid advice, we’ve watched our creation grow and give us glimpses of amazing brilliance.

Building Culture from Day One

When I started Codex, I thought: “I’m going to lead by example and through my values.” So I created the Code of Codex, a list of values born from my lessons learned. (I’ll share these next week!)

I also created a rhythm of check-ins to maintain our culture:

• Media Mornings
• Motivational Mondays
• LAPS Tuesdays (I’ll explain this gem later too)
• Follow-up Fridays
• Fortnightly Lessons Learned, where we call out our mistakes

The Power of Celebrating Mistakes
That last one? The Lessons Learned sessions? By far my favourite.

We don’t just call out our mistakes, we celebrate them. In front of everyone, we say what happened and what we learned from it.

Watching people come in and wrestle with the fact they need to call out their mistakes always brings a smile to my face. We’re honest, candid, raw, and the more you do it, the better it feels to share with each other.

A Challenge for Fellow Leaders
If you have the honour and responsibility to run a team, try this: Set the tone. Call out your mistakes first, and slowly change the culture around sharing lessons.

It’s liberating to break the shackles off and actually learn together.