February reveals cracks in company culture

In February, landscaping leaders learn how strong their culture actually is. Not the culture they describe in meetings or post on the wall. The real one. The one that shows up when people are tired, the weather is unpredictable, patience is thin and leadership decisions actually matter.

For companies deep in snow season, this is when long nights and constant pressure strip away any illusion of polish. For companies not plowing, February often exposes something quieter but just as telling: drift. Accountability softens, urgency fades and leaders start blaming winter for problems that existed long before it got cold.

Winter doesn’t create culture problems: It exposes them, making February a critical time for leaders to proactively recognize and address issues.

The mistake many leaders make is spending this time diagnosing what’s wrong without changing how they lead. They see frustration, disengagement or burnout and label them as motivation issues. It isn’t. Culture cracks don’t come from a lack of effort. They come from unclear expectations, inconsistent standards and leadership behaviors that shift under pressure.

If February exposes cracks in your culture, the answer isn’t a speech. It’s a reset in how leadership shows up.

The first move is uncomfortable but necessary: Stop assuming alignment and start re-establishing it. After months of shifting schedules, weather calls or seasonal downtime, people are rarely as clear as leaders think they are. Strong leaders use this moment to explicitly reset what matters now. What does “good work” look like this month? What decisions can be made independently, and which ones can’t? What standards are non-negotiable, even when everyone is tired or stretched thin? Clarity lowers frustration faster than any motivational message ever will.

Next, leaders need to confront the friction they’ve been managing around. February has a way of spotlighting the same issues year after year: communication breakdowns during storms, the same few people who carry the load, the same behaviors that quietly drain morale but never quite get addressed. When one supervisor gives clear direction during a storm while another goes silent, teams notice, and confusion fills the gap. If leaders ignore what February exposes, they’re sending a message that these problems are acceptable. Addressing them calmly and directly does more for culture than any perk or program. People don’t expect perfection. They expect fairness and follow-through.

February is also the month to get honest about leadership visibility. In strong cultures, leaders don’t disappear when conditions get complicated or inconvenient. They don’t need to micromanage, but they do need to be present, predictable and reachable. February is when teams remember who showed up, who communicated clearly and who went silent when pressure increased. Leaders who want trust later must earn it now. Demonstrating presence and consistency during tough times makes leaders feel responsible and trusted, fostering a sense of accountability and connection.

Another critical reset is replacing cheerleading with accountability. Encouragement matters, but culture erodes quickly when standards are set by stress level, tenure or favoritism. In February, leaders must demonstrate that expectations still apply even when the work is unpleasant or exhausting. Consistent accountability, delivered without drama, creates stability. Stability keeps good people engaged when motivation naturally dips.

Finally, leaders should treat February as a listening season, not just a management one. This doesn’t mean surveys or town halls. It means paying attention. Who is frustrated? Who is carrying extra weight? Where are decisions getting stuck? Culture talks constantly, but leaders often stop listening once things get busy. February offers a rare pause, or at least a shift, making patterns easier to see if leaders are willing to look.

The leaders who maximize February don’t waste it explaining away problems. They take the opportunity to tighten expectations, address known issues, model steadiness and rebuild trust before the next surge hits. They understand that culture isn’t built during kickoff meetings or peak-season wins. Culture is built in moments of pressure, fatigue and inconvenience.

Words of Wilson features a rotating panel of consultants from Wilson360, a landscape consulting firm. Sheila Matthews is Chief People Officer of Wilson 360 and founder of Culture Pro, LLC. She can be reached at shelia@wilson-360.com.