163. Tiny Culture Change - Kill 1 Stupid Rule - with Prina Shah
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RSS Feed In this short episode of Ways to Change Your Workplace, Prina Shah explores a simple but powerful leadership action: removing one pointless rule from your organisation.
Every workplace has them - outdated policies, unnecessary approvals, or processes that exist simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” While they may seem harmless, these rules quietly send a dangerous message: that bureaucracy matters more than common sense.
Prina explains how eliminating even one unnecessary rule can spark trust, ownership, and initiative within teams. Culture doesn’t change through posters or slogans - it changes when leaders actively remove barriers that make work harder than it needs to be.
If you’re serious about improving culture, start small. Start practical. Start by killing one stupid rule.
In This Episode
Prina explores:
- Why every organisation has at least one pointless rule
- How unnecessary processes slowly kill initiative
- The hidden message bureaucracy sends to employees
- Why culture change happens through action, not posters
- A simple leadership exercise to identify and remove one rule
- How removing friction builds trust and momentum
A Simple Leadership Challenge
Ask your team one question this week:
“If you could kill one rule or process that makes your job harder for no reason — what would it be?”
Then:
- Choose one genuinely low-risk rule
- Remove it
- Tell your team what you removed and why
- Invite the next suggestion
Small actions like this build cultures of trust, ownership, and common sense.
Key Insight
Culture isn’t changed by statements on the wall.
It changes when leaders remove the small, unnecessary things that make work harder than it needs to be.
Reflection Question
What is one rule or process in your workplace that everyone rolls their eyes at — but nobody has challenged?
Send Prina a text to let her know how you'd change the workplace
If you are seeking professional advice or would like to change your company culture through training, consulting, speaking and coaching, get in touch, email me.
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This podcast is for people who know that the workplace can and should be better and are ready to do something about it. You will learn practical ways to change organizational cultures and human behaviour without buzzwords, without box ticking, without performative leadership. I am the boss of Preena Shah Consulting, working with executives, leaders and teams to create work cultures and environments that actually work for people. I am Preena Shah. I specialise in organizational culture change and human behaviour change. I am all about making work better with people who give a damn. So if you think I can help, contact me via LinkedIn. I am here to help you to find decent ways to change the workplace. Let's do this.
SPEAKER_00Today's tiny culture change is to kill one stupid rule. Every organization has at least one stupid rule that everybody rolls their eyes at. You know the one. It slows people down, it adds no value, and it exists purely because someone once said so. Here's the problem with that. Every stupid rule teaches people that common sense is optional and that bureaucracy wins. That kills any initiative. So your move this week is simple. Ask your team if you could kill one rule or process that makes your job harder for no reason, what would it be? Pick one that is genuinely low risk and remove it. Then tell your people what you killed, why you killed it, and how you're gonna pick the next one. Culture isn't changed by posters, it is changed when people like you see silly things that they remove.
SPEAKER_02If you like this episode, check out the show notes and sign up to my newsletter. That will help your workplace to be less shitty. It's full of novel ideas, good food for thought. And if you like this episode, pass it on to at least two people who will benefit. That's your good deed done for the day. Also, remember to subscribe to the Ways to Change Your Workplace Podcast via your podcast provider. I will see you in the next episode.