The Sparchive

We hope you enjoy the thought leadership continually shared by ADVISA, including tips and insights to level up your leadership, leverage AI with great intention, and build a culture that propels your organization toward success. You can access past volumes of our monthly newsletter The Spark below.

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Where do the best ideas come from? 

• How the best ideas emerge from diverse perspectives and cross-disciplinary collaboration
• Why intergenerational teams—especially those including Gen Z—drive fresh thinking and innovation
• The impact of Gen Z’s unique upbringing on their workplace expectations (flexibility, autonomy, clarity, purpose)
• Practical ways leaders can foster a culture of psychological safety and curiosity to unlock better ideas
• The role of leader behavior and “activation from above” in creating environments where ideas can flourish
• Strategies for building a workplace culture that supports continuous learning, connection, and high performance

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Where does culture start?

• Why culture isn’t optional — it’s either a growth enabler or a barrier within an organization
• The role of leaders as culture carriers—how what leaders tolerate and celebrate becomes the norm
• The five-driver ATLAS framework for building cultural competitive advantage
• Practical first steps for culture work—including starting with one driver, using tools like the “ATLAS Navigator” five-minute check
• How to connect culture with business strategy, systems and processes—not just values posters or slogans
• The importance of leadership modelling behavior, not just declaring it, to ensure trust, alignment and sustained change

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How do you create belonging in hybrid workplaces? 

• Understanding the human need for belonging and why hybrid workplaces make this more complex (job-, manager-, team- and culture-level connections)
• Leveraging technology intentionally to replicate informal “water-cooler” moments and keep remote & in-office employees connected
• Investing in leadership development so managers can cultivate belonging (emotional intelligence, inclusive behaviours)
• Creating horizontal connection opportunities instead of purely top-down communications (e.g., peer-led sessions, rotating roles like “CEO for a day”)
• Emphasizing a human-centered future of work—purpose, values, meaningful connection matter even more when work is hybrid
• Ensuring consistency and reinforcement of culture, purpose and belonging through regular communication, recognition and alignment

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Do you know who your culture carriers are?

• The critical role of leaders as culture carriers and how leadership behavior directly shapes employee engagement
• Data showing why leadership development matters (e.g., 70% of engagement tied to the manager, 82% of new managers receive no training)
• The difference between intentional vs. unintentional culture and the costly outcomes of culture that is left unmanaged (quiet quitting, turnover, low productivity)
• How intentional culture supports growth, retention, productivity, and long-term business health
• Deming’s insight that 94% of workplace issues stem from systems, underscoring the need for organizational alignment
• ADVISA’s five drivers of successful culture
• Guidance for leaders on where to start in culture work and an invitation to use the 5-Minute Culture Check assessment
• Insights from SHRM’s All Things Work podcast on aligning culture with strategic business plans, including reboarding, people data, and leadership clarity
• Emphasis on emotional intelligence as a high-impact skill for showing up intentionally as a leader

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How to keep people in the AI loop

• The importance of keeping humans actively involved in workflows that include AI, rather than fully automating without oversight.
• Key roles humans play in the loop: judging context, verifying accuracy, ensuring ethics and compliance, providing accountability.
• The risk of rubber-stamping—when humans become passive reviewers and fail to meaningfully engage with AI outputs.
• Guidelines for structuring workflows for meaningful human oversight: clear decision-gates, roles, feedback loops, transparency in AI output.
• Advice on designing interfaces and systems where humans don’t just approve AI work but collaborate with it (prompting, refining, steering).
• Cultural and change-management aspects: making sure people understand the value of human-in-the-loop, building trust in the system, avoiding fear or overreliance.
• Future-facing considerations: how human plus AI partnerships evolve, governance and guardrails needed as AI capabilities scale.

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How connected are culture and wellness?

• The link between workplace culture and employee wellness, showing how culture shapes wellness outcomes and vice-versa
• Definition of “culture” as a system of shared beliefs and values modeled by leadership, which influences the psychological and social experience of employees
• Discussion of the five-driver framework (ATLAS) for culture
• How each of those drivers intersects with wellness — for example, leadership modeling healthy behaviors (Activation from Above) or systems that support wellness access (Systems that Support Leaders)
• The idea that wellness efforts can’t just be tactical (like a monthly yoga class) but must be aligned with intentional culture and business systems, and backed by data (Actionable People Data)
• Emphasis on leaders’ responsibility and capacity to promote wellness through culture: being intentional about how they show up, modeling boundaries, building trust and purpose
• Practical advice: choose one sphere of influence, start small, align wellness and culture efforts, make data-driven improvements (rather than ad hoc tactics)

Culture: A system of shared beliefs and values, modeled and reinforced by leadership’s communication and behavior, that shapes the social and psychological experience of employees. 

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Ever struggled to turn inspiration into real change that sticks?

• How to turn leadership inspiration into sustained behavior change, not just momentary motivation
• A behind-the-scenes look at a real leadership coaching process, guided by ADVISA coach Mike Elliott
• Practical coaching strategies for applying leadership content so new insights become real actions
• Tips for improving leader effectiveness and shaping a healthier, more intentional workplace culture
• Options to read or watch the Coaching for Culture content, making it accessible for different learning styles
• A quick “Get to know ADVISA” 60-second virtual tour, offering an overview of who ADVISA is and what they do

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Read this, then make an assessment

• Introduction to the idea that assessments help leaders gain clarity on team-dynamics, culture, fit, behaviours, and alignment
• Article: “Coaching for Culture: Three Big Benefits of Assessments” by Mike Elliott — views culture through the lens of “language” and value-expressions in leadership
• Article: “The 5 Most Powerful Assessments for Leaders and Businesses” by BJ McKay — explores how human brains filter sensory input and why assessments help uncover what leaders miss
• Invitation for consultation with ADVISA about how to use assessments strategically to achieve organizational goals
• Emphasis on leveraging behavioural, cognitive, EQ, culture, and competency assessments to proactively manage team complexity and prevent dysfunction

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How to Achieve Prioritization and Balance

• Techniques for leaders (and individuals) to prioritize tasks and goals and bring clarity to What’s Most Important
• Advice on establishing and maintaining balance between competing demands — work vs. life, strategic vs. tactical, urgent vs. important
• Identification of practical tools/frameworks for prioritization (e.g., mapping priorities, setting boundaries, deliberate scheduling)
• Emphasis on the role of intentional leadership in modelling balanced behaviour, not just prescribing it
• Guidance on aligning priority-setting and balance with organizational culture, team energy, and strategic goals
• Encouragement to use self-assessment or team workshops to evaluate current prioritization practices and balance gaps

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Catch up on our most popular insights

• A curated recap of ADVISA’s most popular insights from the past year, designed to help leadership teams get momentum for the new year
• Focus on how to align leadership development, culture building, and business strategy into actionable priorities for the upcoming year
• Emphasis on intentional culture and how reviewing best-performing content can highlight what’s working (and what isn’t) in leadership & organizational design
• Prioritizing high-leverage content, scheduling team discussions or workshops, and embedding these insights into planning cycles

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