Four years into leading corporate services at the Ottawa Community Foundation, I find myself reflecting on what truly defines fulfillment at work. This isn’t a question I’m approaching for the first time. Over the past 15+ years, I’ve had the privilege of leading teams across diverse roles and organizations. But these last four years have deepened my understanding of leadership in profound ways. They’ve reinforced a truth that resonates more strongly with every passing year: lasting happiness at work is not found in occasional milestones but in the steady presence of a healthy culture and a great team.

A salary increase makes you happy once a year. A stellar performance review carries its glow for a few cycles. But a supportive culture and a cohesive team? They bring joy every single day. This isn’t just an abstract ideal; it’s something I’ve seen play out time and again. Across my career, the teams that thrived, truly thrived, did so because of the culture we built together and the shared commitment we cultivated.

At the Ottawa Community Foundation, I’ve had the opportunity to see the transformative power of these dynamics up close. This is an organization that lives its values, where relationships are grounded in mutual respect, and where people bring their full selves to work, knowing they will be seen and valued. These past four years have been a masterclass in what it means to build a workplace that prioritizes humanity alongside purpose.

Reflecting on this journey, I’ve come to appreciate how deliberate these outcomes must be. You don’t accidentally create a strong culture or a great team. It takes intentionality. It takes listening deeply to what people need, creating spaces where they feel safe to speak, and then acting on what you learn. It’s about making the invisible visible – understanding the currents of trust, collaboration, and respect that run beneath the surface and bringing them into focus.

Over my 15+ years of leading teams, I’ve learned that culture is the foundation of everything. It’s the backdrop against which all work takes place, the unseen force that determines whether people feel empowered or alienated. Without it, even the most talented individuals struggle to align. With it, ordinary efforts can produce extraordinary results.

But culture alone isn’t enough. It thrives best when paired with the right people – individuals who are not just capable but collaborative, who lift others up as they pursue their own goals, and who embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. These are the people who make a team feel less like a collection of individuals and more like a collective force.

The joy of leading such teams is hard to overstate. It’s the quiet satisfaction of watching someone step into their potential, the exhilaration of solving a complex problem together, or the simple gratitude of knowing you’re part of something meaningful. These moments don’t just enrich your work; they enrich your life.

This perspective has guided me in every leadership role I’ve held, and it’s especially resonant at the Ottawa Community Foundation. Here, the culture isn’t just an abstract concept; it’s palpable. It’s in the way colleagues approach challenges with curiosity rather than defensiveness, in the genuine support they extend during tough times, and in the collective sense of purpose that animates our work.

In my career, I’ve seen how fleeting external rewards can be. A salary increase or a glowing performance review is gratifying, but their effects are temporary. They don’t carry you through the inevitable setbacks, long days, or tough decisions. What does carry you is the knowledge that you’re part of a team and a culture that have your back.

This isn’t to diminish the importance of recognition or compensation – they truly matter. But they’re not the whole story. The rewards that truly sustain us are the ones that enrich our everyday experiences: the trust of a colleague, the energy of a shared win, or the quiet pride of knowing you’re making a difference.

For leaders, this understanding demands action. If you want to foster enduring happiness, invest in culture. Build teams where trust and respect are non-negotiable. Celebrate wins, of course, but also celebrate the values and efforts that lead to those wins. Recognize that culture and collaboration are not soft skills – they’re the bedrock of sustainable success.

For individuals, this is a call to reflect on what truly makes you happy at work. Seek out environments that align with your values and teams that amplify your strengths. And when you find them, contribute to them. Bring your full self to the table, offer your support to others, and take pride in the role you play in creating a positive culture.

The work I’ve done over these four years has only deepened my commitment to these principles. Leadership, at its best, is about creating conditions where others can thrive. It’s about aligning ambitions with humanity, fostering environments where people are inspired to bring their best, not out of fear or obligation, but because they genuinely want to.

If there’s one thing these years have taught me, it’s that true happiness at work is not a matter of occasional highs. It’s about the consistent joys of a healthy culture and a great team – joys that outlast any bonus or review cycle. This is the kind of work that sustains us, the kind that makes showing up every day not just worthwhile, but profoundly fulfilling.