The Broken Windows Theory: A Leadership Lesson in Culture and Standards

One of my closest friends recently shared a fascinating concept from 1982, when two criminologists (James Q. Wilson and George Kelling) proposed something deceptively simple:

If a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will assume no one cares and soon, more windows will be broken.

Leave one window shattered, and before long, the whole building is in ruins.

This became known as the Broken Windows Theory and while it was born out of crime prevention, it’s one of the most important ideas in leadership, culture, and team performance.

Let me show you how 👇

The Japanese Football Team and the Empty Locker Room

After Japan’s emotional win in the group stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the cameras caught something unexpected; not on the pitch, but in the locker room.

The team had already left.

But the dressing room?

Spotless.

Not a scrap of trash. Towels folded. Floors cleaned. A handwritten note left behind:

“Thank you” in Arabic.

Nobody asked them to do it. No one would’ve noticed if they hadn’t.

But that’s the point. Culture isn’t what you do when everyone’s watching. It’s what you do when no one is.

They weren’t just cleaning a room.

They were reinforcing their identity:

That’s not a nice-to-have. That’s a competitive advantage.

Culture Is Built in the Margins

In elite teams, culture doesn’t collapse in big, dramatic moments.

It erodes slowly. One unchecked behaviour, one broken window at a time.

• A star player rolls their eyes in a team meeting. No one addresses it.

• A top performer misses a deadline. No one holds them accountable.

• A new hire shows up late. Everyone looks the other way.

Each time, a silent message is sent:

“We don’t really care about the small stuff.”

But here’s the thing: The small stuff is the culture.

The Rise and Fall of WeWork

Remember WeWork?

At its peak, it was valued at $47 billion. A few years later, it filed for bankruptcy.

Yes, there were complex financial issues and a wildly unsustainable business model, but if you peel back the layers, it’s a classic Broken Windows story.

WeWork is a masterclass in what happens when broken windows are left unfixed.

• Employees partying in the office at 10 a.m.

• Leaders burning millions on private jets and tequila fountains.

• No accountability. No standards. No consequences.

At first, it looked like eccentric startup fun. But beneath the surface, a slow rot was setting in.

By the time it unraveled, the culture had already collapsed.

From the outside, the broken windows were obvious.

Internally, they were ignored… until the whole house collapsed.

Elite leaders don’t wait for chaos to fix culture.

They operate like gardeners, not firefighters.

They tend to the environment before weeds take root.

What Elite Leaders Do Differently

Here’s what great leaders understand intuitively:

The little things aren’t little. They’re early warning signs. They’re culture indicators.

Think about one of the most successful head coaches of all time - Nick Saban at Alabama. His entire system is built around what he calls “The Process.”

Every detail matters.

How you walk into a room. How you tie your shoes. How you practice on a Wednesday.

Because if you let one thing slip, what’s next?

The scoreboard takes care of itself.

But only if you take care of the standards.

3 Tactical Plays to Protect Your Culture

If you’re building an elite team on the pitch or in the boardroom, here’s how to apply the Broken Windows principle:

1. Fix The First Window Immediately

• If you see something off (behaviour, standards, language) address it immediately.

• Silence is permission. Action is leadership.

2. Reinforce Standards Relentlessly

• Have clear standards, and repeat them until your team can say them in their sleep.

• More importantly: live them. Your example is the loudest message of all.

3. Celebrate The Right Things

• Don’t just reward results. Celebrate habits, consistency, integrity.

• Show the team what “good” really looks like, even when no one’s watching.

The Big Takeaway

The Broken Windows Theory isn’t about crime, it’s about culture.

Leave the small stuff unchecked, and you’ll wake up one day wondering why your team is slipping, your standards are gone, and your best people are leaving.

If you let one broken window slide, it’s never just one.

But fix it quickly and publicly and you will build something that can’t be broken.

Excellence is contagious. So is apathy.

As the leader, you get to choose which one spreads.

—

Want to discuss how to reinforce the right standards in your team? Hit reply. Always happy to trade notes.

MY TOP FINDS OF THE WEEK 🏆

For Your Performance

• Tim Grover (Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s trainer) on Jimmy Fallon sharing killer insights on how to become the best in your field (YouTube)

For Your Team

• A tearjerking video showing the importance of believing in your team from NBA head coach Greg Popovich (Instagram)

For Your Health

• A fascinating Swedish experiment on females that highlights the impact of sunlight on your mortality/lifespan (Instagram)