The Post-It Note Test for team culture

A Post-It note on your desk can give you a daily read on your team's culture between formal check-ins. Drew Mayhills, Chief Learning and Innovation Officer at AIM WA and one of the HR Influence Awards 2026 Top 12 ANZ, proved it with a deceptively simple exercise: mark the note every time someone on your team volunteers an idea without being asked. Then wait.

Key insights from this article:

• The Post-It Note Test is a free, daily diagnostic for team culture health – track how often people volunteer unsolicited ideas.
• Drew Mayhills' Churchill Fellowship research found that AI can accelerate content production, but cannot speed up the rate at which trust and relationships are built.
• The gap between people using AI at work and people disclosing their AI use reveals a culture problem, not a technology problem.
• Hiring for capability without cultural alignment does more damage than a skills gap ever will.
• The platinum rule – treat people how they wish to be treated – requires leaders to actually know each person on their team.

A blank Post-It is a culture signal

I sat down with Drew for the HR Influence Awards, and he shared his practical approach to culture. A Post-It note.

He got the idea from Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill, who suggested it as a diagnostic. Mayhills tried it at AIM WA. Weeks went by. The note stayed blank.

"It's not because people in my team don't have great ideas," he told me. "It's all the assumed stuff. Drew's too busy. I suggested an idea last time, it didn't really happen, why would I bother?"

That blank Post-It wasn't a reflection of his team's capability. It was a reflection of his team's culture. And he was honest enough to own that.

For anyone leading a team, this is worth trying. It costs nothing and takes no time, yet it gives you a daily spot check on whether people feel safe enough to speak up.

It's the kind of informal signal that sits nicely alongside structured engagement measurement – a quick pulse between the deeper data that shows you if your teams are setup for idea generation in the first place.

What a Churchill Fellow learned about AI and trust

Mayhills is a 2023 Churchill Fellow. His research focused on AI for teacher effectiveness and equity in remote communities. You might expect someone with that background to be all-in on automation. He's not.

"We might be able to 10X the rate at which we produce lessons or mark papers," he said. "What we can't 10X is the rate at which relationships are built, the rate at which trust is built."

That distinction matters for anyone thinking about where AI fits in their organisation. Mayhills uses AI daily – he calls it "a partner in thinking" – but he's clear about what it can and can't do. It freed him up to spend more time with his team, to listen more carefully, to reflect more deeply. The efficiency gain wasn't about producing more. It was about being more present.

His Churchill Fellowship research also surfaced something uncomfortable. There's a gap between the number of people using AI at work and the number willing to admit it. People stay quiet because they fear being seen as lazy, incompetent, or worse – making colleagues feel threatened.

"People are worried they'd be complicit in making themselves redundant," he said.

That's not a technology problem. That's a culture problem. And it's one that lands on leaders to fix.

The hire that changed what he looks for

Mayhills was also candid about a hiring mistake. He brought in someone exceptionally talented. No question about their capability. But the way they operated damaged the team.

"I hired for capability when I should have hired for cultural alignment," he said.

It's a lesson plenty of leaders learn the hard way. Skills on a CV tell you what someone can do. They tell you nothing about how they'll do it alongside your existing team. Mayhills now puts openness to feedback and self-awareness at the top of what he hires for. Capability without cultural alignment, in his experience, does more harm than a skills gap.

The platinum rule

One idea from Drew's interview (and we heard from other winners too): the platinum rule.

Most of us were raised on the golden rule – treat others as you'd want to be treated. Mayhills reckons that's incomplete. His version: treat others how they wish to be treated.

The difference sounds subtle. The work underneath it is anything but. It means actually knowing each person. When he started at AIM WA, he ran one-to-ones with his team of twenty, asking each person: tell me about you beyond work, what should I absolutely not change here, what's one thing you'd want me to improve, and how do you like to work?

Those conversations produced individual stories but also patterns. Quick wins emerged. Problems surfaced that nobody had raised before. It's a simple framework any new leader can use on day one.

Read the full story

There's a lot more in Drew's interview – his squiggly line career from touring musician to Churchill Fellow, the Beediyar program accelerating First Nations leaders into senior roles, why conflict avoided is conflict multiplied, and the advice he'd give his younger self.

Read or watch the full feature on the HR Influence Awards site.

Want to understand your team's culture before the next hire?

The Post-It Note Test works because it gives you a daily perspective on whether people feel safe enough to contribute openly. If you want to go deeper and measure culture fit during the hiring process itself, Compono can help.

See how Compono Engage works – culture and engagement insights that turn daily observations into lasting change.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Post-It Note Test for team culture?

The Post-It Note Test is a simple leadership diagnostic where you keep a Post-It note on your desk and mark it every time a team member volunteers an idea without being asked. Over days and weeks, the frequency of marks tells you whether your culture is making it safe for people to speak up. Drew Mayhills, a 2023 Churchill Fellow and Chief Learning and Innovation Officer at AIM WA, uses this technique to track the health of his team's culture in real time.

Why do people hide their AI use at work?

According to Drew Mayhills, there's a gap between the number of people using AI at work and those who disclose it. People stay quiet because they fear being seen as lazy, incompetent, or as making colleagues look bad. Some worry they'd be "complicit in making themselves redundant." Mayhills argues this is a culture and leadership challenge, not a technology one – leaders need to make it safe for people to explore AI openly.

What is the platinum rule in leadership?

The platinum rule is a leadership philosophy that says you should treat others how they wish to be treated, rather than how you'd want to be treated yourself. Drew Mayhills applies this by running structured one-to-one conversations with every team member, learning their preferences, dispositions and context before making changes. It requires leaders to actually know each person individually rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.

Drew Mayhills is Chief Learning and Innovation Officer at the Australian Institute of Management, Western Australia. He is a 2026 HR Influence Awards Top 12 ANZ, a 2023 Churchill Fellow, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management (FAIM), Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, FAPSTC board member, and Curtin University HR/OB Advisory Panel member. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

The HR Influence Awards recognise the individuals shaping the future of people and culture across Australia and New Zealand. Presented by Compono.