In an increasingly turbulent and competitive world, organizations are constantly working to improve. Many organizations look to one of many continuous process improvement methodologies available today. Leaders who have been able to reap the benefits of continuous improvement behave in very specific ways. Their behaviors are centered on imbedding specific values, assumptions and beliefs that support continuous improvement into the way their organization executes the processes necessary to produce goods and services. To improve, leaders must first understand what culture is and how it impacts everything the organization does. We describe the key values, assumptions, beliefs and leadership behaviors we've found to be effective in organizations working to constantly improve the way work is done.