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 activate culture to enable strategy, 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 is critical 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, Talent, 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 virtual learning labs that focus 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 current behaviors in your organization that are blocking or bolstering your strategy.

Registration for Culture Lab 1 has been closed.

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Culture Mindset Lab #2
Leading through Symbols: The simplest, fastest, most cost-effective way to shift culture without adding another initiative

July 21 | 10 - 10:45 a.m. ET, 3 - 3:45 p.m. BST, 4 - 4:45 p.m. CET
45-minute virtual session
Limited to the first 100 registrants

New CEO? New strategy? AI transformation? Growth pressures? Performance challenges?

Whatever challenge you are facing, Symbols are your secret weapon.

The best leaders know that culture doesn't change through presentations and posters. It changes through the decisions and actions that people interpret as evidence of what really matters. We call these Symbols.

The most powerful Symbols are found in how leaders choose to spend time and money, make people decisions, run meetings, use space, and the language they use. Symbols shape beliefs about what's valued and expected, they influence priorities, and drive behavior.

The best part? They cost little, take almost no extra effort, fit naturally into the flow of work, and can have an immediate effect in your organization.

In this Culture Lab, you'll discover:

• Why Symbols have such a powerful impact on how people think and behave.

• How leaders use Symbols to accelerate culture change.

• Real-world examples of Symbols and why they worked.

• The different types of Symbols and how to apply them in the moments that matter.

Whether you're leading change, shaping culture, advising executives or supporting transformation, this session will give you practical ideas you can use immediately without adding another initiative to your already full agenda.

Registration for Culture Lab 2 has been closed.

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Culture Lab #3
The Leadership Balancing Act: Care, Performance and Accountability

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026 | 10-10:45 a.m. ET / 3-3:45 p.m. BST / 4-4:45 p.m. CET
First 100 Registrants Only

Organizations are under pressure to achieve more with less while maintaining a culture of care.

In this Culture Lab, we'll explore how leaders can create greater accountability, clarity, and ownership in complex, matrixed organizations without sacrificing performance.

Join us to learn how high-performing organizations create the conditions for both accountability and engagement, and why the strongest cultures aren't built by choosing between care and performance, but by balancing both.

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Who should attend a Culture Lab?

• HR, L&D, OD and Talent Leaders
• HRBPs supporting transformation and performance
• People leaders committed to developing healthier behavioral 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.