2026 Leadership Mindsets & Behaviors Lab Series

If culture change still feels slow, inconsistent, or overly complicated, it’s often because organizations are trying to shift outcomes without fully aligning the behaviors, signals, and systems that drive them.

At ZRG, we work with leadership teams to translate strategy into culture, through clear behaviors, visible leadership signals, and reinforcing systems. From culture diagnostics and leadership alignment to activation and sustainment, the focus is always the same: how work actually gets done.

These Culture Labs are an extension of that work.

Across three sessions, we share practical guidance from real transformation efforts focused on the moments where culture either accelerates performance or quietly creates drag:

• The difference between engagement and performance—and why it matters
• The signals leaders send (intentionally or not) that shape behavior
• How systems (performance, rewards, decision making) either enable or undermine execution

These aren’t theoretical discussions or one-way webinars.

They are interactive working sessions designed to help leaders reflect, challenge assumptions, and apply what works in practice.

If culture iscritical to delivering your strategy, these sessions will help you operationalize it; one behavior, one signal, one system at a time.

What is a Culture Lab?

Our culture labs are high-impact, 60-minute interactive virtual sessions for HR and L&D leaders who shape how their organizations think, act, and perform.

Virtual only. Limited to the first 100 registrants.

Each quarter, we host a virtual learning lab that focuses on the mindsets and behaviors most essential to organizational performance.

These sessions are designed to be fast-paced, interactive, and deeply practical, giving participants tools they can implement immediately in their teams and functions.

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Culture Lab #1
Engagement vs. Behavior: What Really Drives Performance?

May 26, 2026 | 11 a.m. – 12 noon (ET) | 60 Minutes | Virtual | First 100 Registrants Only

Engagement surveys provide valuable sentiment, but sentiment doesn’t change performance. Behavior does.

 This session gives HR and L&D leaders clear language and tools to shift leaders from“How do people feel?” to “How are people behaving?” … and why both matter.

In this Culture Lab, participants will:

• Learn the difference between engagement levers and Culture levers
• See why highly engaged teams can still under perform
• Get clear on how to measure the currentbehaviors in your organization that are blocking or bolstering your strategy.

(Culture Lab #1) link to registration
Request a behavior-based engagement consult link to contact request form

Culture Lab #2
Personal Symbols: How Everyday Leadership Behaviors Shape What People Believe

July 21 | 12 noon – 1 pm (ET) | 60 Minutes | Virtual | First 100 Registrants Only

People watch leaders closely, especially in strategy season. What leaders prioritize, ignore, repeat, praise, question, and investtime in becomes a powerful signal that shapes how others behave.

 These are "personal symbols,” the micro-behaviors that shape belief systems.

In this Culture Lab, participants will:

• Explore what personal symbols are and why they matter
• Identify the leadership behaviors employees interpret most
• Understand how unintentional signals create confusion or misalignment
• Practice codifying “signals we want to send” for their own leadership teams
• Leave with a framework to help leaders use symbols intentionally

(Culture Lab #2) link to registration
Request a leadership signaling session link to contact request form

Culture Lab #3
Performance Cycles: Are You Rewarding the Behaviors That Actually Drive Results?

Including a Practical Walk Through of the 9 High-Impact Behavior Levers

October 20 | 11 a.m. – 12 noon (ET) | 60 Minutes | Virtual | First 100 Registrants Only

During the year-end performance cycles, organizations spend most of their time rewarding outcomes without examining how they were achieved. This creates unintended norms, some helpful, others harmful.

This lab brings clarity and gives leaders tools to align recognition, rewards, and performance conversations with the behaviors that truly create value.

In this Culture Lab, participants will:

• Evaluate whether their systems reinforce or undermine desired behaviors
• Identify common “behavior blind spots” in performance decisions
• Learn the 9 high-impact levers that shift behavior at scale
• Practice applying a behavioral lens to real performance scenarios
• Leave with tools to guide leaders through end-of-year decisions

(Culture Lab #3) link to registration
Request a performance systems conversation link to contact request form

• HR, L&D, OD and Talent Leaders
• HRBPs supporting transformation and performance
• People leaders committed to developing healthierbehavioral norms

Participation Notes

• Each lab is capped at 100 participants to ensure interaction and practical application.
• We encourage openness, discussion, and real-world examples.
• Registration typically fills quickly; early sign-ups are encouraged.