016:Culture Is a Drama: What Is Your Clinic Performing?

In this episode of The Veterinary Culture Lab, Andi and Josh explore a powerful idea: every veterinary clinic is performing a play—whether it realizes it or not. The stage is your hospital. The cast is your team. The script? That is your culture.Grounded in the evidence-based framework from Organizational Culture in Action by Gerald Driskill and Julian Mirivel, this episode unpacks how workplace culture is co-created through everyday communication, rituals, stories, symbols, and leadership behaviors. Rather than treating culture as something abstract or mysterious, this conversation makes it visible, measurable, and—most importantly—adjustable.Through real-world veterinary examples, graduate-level insight translated into practical application, and just enough theatrical metaphor to keep it interesting, this episode helps teams examine the gap between what they say they value and what they actually reward in daily practice.You’ll hear:Why culture is more than a mission statement on the wallThe difference between espoused values and enacted values—and why the gap mattersHow stories, rituals, and symbols quietly shape team behaviorWhy leaders are meaning-makers, not just decision-makersA simple 15-minute “story circle” exercise to uncover cultural strengths and pain pointsPractical ways to run small experiments that move your clinic toward alignmentWhether you are a practice owner, manager, technician, or veterinarian, this episode offers a clear, science-backed way to understand your current culture and begin renovating it—one intentional shift at a time.Because thriving in veterinary medicine is not accidental. It is directed.Resources: Episode Textbook:Title: Organizational Culture in Action: A Cultural Analysis Workbook (4th edition)Authors: Gerald W.C. Driskill and Julien C. MirivelAmazon Link to purchase: HEREFlourish Academy - Certificate in Applied Veterinary ResilienceFlorida Man This Week - Banana What Do You Think? Reach out to us and let us know at [email protected] Your Hosts: Andi Davison LVT, CAPP, APPC Josh Vaisman MAPPCP, CCFP At Flourish Veterinary Consulting we renovate veterinary cultures. We diagnose what’s working, blueprint what’s next, and train every team member - blending positive psychology with real-world experience - so thriving becomes the norm, not the myth. Timestamps:00:00 Introductions and Names00:45 Passover Charo-set Story02:02 Black Friday Smoothies03:20 Culture as Drama05:26 Wicked and What It's About06:45 Webs of Significance08:04 Organizational Culture Workbook09:57 Applying OCA in Practice13:59 Espoused vs Enacted Values16:40 Wellbeing Value Gap18:20 Culture in Stories and Rituals20:36 Holiday Party Culture Tale21:35 Hospital Party Ritual23:31 Reading Culture Daily25:01 Leaders Shape Meaning26:41 Culture Renovation Compass28:30 15 Minute Story Circle31:34 Psychological Safety Tips34:37 Culture Detective Walkthrough35:58 Make Values Observable38:14 Small Experiment Ripple41:14 Key Takeaways And Offer42:26 Florida Man Banana43:54 Thanks And Farewell