Lead from the Middle: Culture Isn't Just Top-Down—It's Side-to-Side

We hear it all the time: Leadership needs to do better. And yes, that’s true. Leaders set the tone. They shape priorities. Their actions ripple through teams in ways they may never see. But when we talk about workplace culture, we often forget something critical: most of us don’t spend our days with the CEO. We spend them with each other.

The culture we actually experience—the one that defines whether we feel safe, appreciated, and energized, or judged, exhausted, and left out—doesn’t come from a mission statement. It comes from the people sitting to our left and right. Culture isn’t just built from the top down. It spreads sideways. And unfortunately, so does toxicity.

Toxic culture often hides in plain sight. It shows up in eye rolls when someone shares an idea. In side glances that speak louder than words. In silent treatment disguised as “focus,” or group chats where sarcasm takes the place of support. It’s in the gossip about a vendor, the mockery of a colleague, or the cold shoulder a new hire receives on their first week. These things don’t require a leadership directive—they’re choices we make with one another. And collectively, those choices are the culture.

To be clear, this isn’t about giving weak leadership a pass. If you’re a leader reading this, your role matters immensely. But for the rest of us—whether we have a leadership title or not—this is a reminder that we’re not powerless in shaping the environment we all work in. We are part of it. Every moment. Every day.

The truth is, you can shift the room. You can include someone who’s usually left out. You can stop the negative side talk, or simply choose not to join it. You can bring joy, respect, and energy into the most ordinary meetings. That’s what it means to lead from the middle. You don’t need a title or a policy. You just need awareness, and the courage to show up differently.

This has always been the heart of the FISH! Philosophy. It was never about authority—it was about attitude. The original Pike Place fishmongers didn’t wait for permission to make work meaningful. They made the choice themselves. They decided to lift each other up, to be present with customers, to bring energy and play to their day. And in doing so, they transformed their culture—not because someone told them to, but because they realized they could.

We all have that power. You don’t have to be a manager to lead. You just have to look around and ask, “What kind of experience am I creating for the people next to me?” Because culture doesn’t live in job descriptions—it lives in behavior.

So if you’re waiting for someone to fix the culture, consider this your invitation: you don’t have to wait. You already have everything you need to make a difference. Choose kindness. Choose presence. Choose joy. Choose to lead—to the left and to the right.

You don’t need permission. You just need to start.