Question: So, in reading this site, it seems that the shop in which I work does a lot of things wrong and some things right. How can I improve the code that I work with from my colleagues? The only thing I can think of is to lead by example - start using Boost, etc. Any other thoughts?

Answer: 
Code reviews are the best way I found to improve code quality overall. Reviewing code from different individuals helping each other increases general awareness of different techniques and help propagate best practices. Hire a person more experienced than you are is also a good tool but it is a bit more tedious to implement.
Just asking the question is a good start. 

Specifically you can:

* Admit that your code sucks
* Start asking others, preferably others with more experience, to review your code
* Implement a continuous build server - you have to be the one who uses this first
* Have courage because this can be difficult
* Be humble
* Read Code Complete
* Use a software development methodology that encourages team work. Some of the agile methodologies are really good at this
* Read development blogs
* Get involved in a user group

Change is hard and you have to be the one who changes first.

If you are working in an environment where others are happy the way it is you are going to have rough going. Be persistent about wanting to improve code quality.