Stacey Gordon is an expert on DEI and workplace bias and the author of “Unbias - Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work”. In this conversation, she shares her personal journey, offering unique insights from the experiences that shaped her understanding and approach to DEI work.
There are many misconceptions surrounding diversity hiring, and the essence of true inclusion and we face them head on. We also talk about the transformative power of empathy and storytelling in creating a culture where everyone can thrive.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to understand the deeper layers of DEI and its impact on organizational success. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation that challenges the status quo and provides practical tips for fostering an inclusive culture.
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Work relationships can be hard. The stress of dealing with difficult people dampens our creativity and productivity, and degrades our ability to think clearly and make sound decisions.
Too often we grin and bear it as if we have no choice. But you can only endure so much —there's your sanity to consider, and your career.
This is why, we are thrilled to have Amy Gallo joining us, the best-selling author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, a how-to book about handling conflict professionally and productively.
Tune into this week’s episode, as we delve into workplace conflicts and tensions, exploring how they can be harnessed for cultural transformation and become opportunities to connect.
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
In this Deep Dive Aga and Shani delve deep into a topic that has fascinated Aga for almost a decade – what drives people to do their absolute best work. Over the years, she's posed this question to more than 3000 individuals and discovered something truly unexpected: peak performance at work is often closely linked to one surprising factor - having fun.
But not the kind of fun associated with ping-pong tables and office parties. Instead, it's all about deriving genuine enjoyment from the work itself.
Join Aga and Shani in this illuminating conversation as they explore the concept of "Deep Fun" and its profound impact on workplace performance.
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Many companies aspire to be industry disruptors and innovation leaders, but only a handful can genuinely claim those titles. What sets them apart?
We're zeroing in on PepsiCo—a company that's nailed it when it comes to creating an environment where people excel. According to their Chief Design Officer, Mauro Porcini, the secret sauce is love, empathy, kindness, and generosity.
So tune into this week's episode of the CultureLab where we dig into the nuts and bolts of innovative cultures.
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In a world where the relentless pursuit of productivity often overshadows well-being, it's easy to overlook the fundamental connection between what we eat and how our bodies and minds perform.
But what if the secret to enhanced cognitive function and overall vitality lay within the choices we make on our plates?
Our guest in this episode of the CultureLab podcast, Dana Chapman, is a leading mental health and wellness expert, specializing in the gut-brain axis.
Tune in this episode as we explore the synergies between nutrition, mind, and body and how they are all linked with creating thriving cultures.
To join CultureBrained® with a 25% discount (until November 15th) go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
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The workplace landscape has transformed dramatically over the past few decades with 5 different generations now working side by side, each bringing their unique perspectives, experiences, and workstyles to the table.
In this Deep Dive, Shani and Aga unpack generational diversity that if not handled thoughtfully, can inadvertently lead to friction.
Join us as we talk about how we create strategies that help our organization fight age-related stereotypes and create an environment where everyone unlocks their potential.
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Interview with Chip Conley on the CultureLab podcast- The New Age of Wisdom: The Rise of a Modern Elder
This month on the CultureLab podcast, we're diving deep into the intricacies of a multigenerational workforce. You know the scene: Boomers nostalgically talking about "the way we used to do things," Gen Xers serving as the bridge between old and new, Millennials demanding meaningful work, and Gen Zers, the digital natives through and through.
It's a variety of perspectives that can either invigorate or implode a workplace. How do you navigate through these differing viewpoints without losing your mind or your patience? This series of episodes aims to answer just that and we are kicking it off with an outstanding guest, Chip Conley. Chip disrupted the hospitality game not once but twice and co-founded the Modern Elder Academy. His upcoming book, "Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better With Age," aims to make the case that wisdom isn't obsolete; it's making a comeback.
We'll talk about what it means for experience to have its day in the sun again and how workplaces can be fertile grounds for both wisdom and innovation. Whether you’re a seasoned executive or a newbie just starting out, this episode is going to have something for you. Stick around; you won't want to miss this deep dive into age, work, and the many layers in between.
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In this compelling episode with Michelle MiJung Kim we explore how culture, diversity, inclusion, and equity intersect to create a thriving culture. Michelle's journey, from South Korea to LGBTQ+ activism and award-winning authorship, provides a unique perspective. We talk about valuing marginalized voices, the power of collective action, and the importance of accountability in our quest for equity. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace culture. Tune in and be inspired to drive positive change.
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Interview with Minda Harts on the CultureLab podcast- Expanding the Table
Join Aga Bajer and Shani Persson as they explore the often-daunting world of DEI in the latest Deep Dive. With curiosity and humility, Aga and Shani navigate the maze of systemic biases, the transition from diversity to true inclusion, and the challenges of measuring meaningful impact. This episode is not an interview; it's a collaborative exploration designed to help you reflect on how to address those intimidating DEI issues and elevate your workplace culture. We hope this episode will help you tackle the topics you might have hesitated to confront and elevate your approach to DEI.
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More people than we think feel like they don’t belong at work. This leads to a range of concerning consequences, such as disengagement, diminished productivity, and a stifling of individual creativity.
While the importance of DEI has gained widespread recognition in the past few years, we still have a ton of work to do to foster a truly inclusive and equitable environment at work.
This is what this conversation today revolves around. My guest is Minda Harts, the author of three best-selling books and a global expert on all things DEI.
Tune into this episode of the CultureLab podcast where we delve into actionable measures that organizations can implement to cultivate diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Interview with Ruhuni Anand on the CultureLab podcast- Leveling the Playing Field
You meet a new colleague for the first time, and… something clicks! You trust them, but you don't know why. Then, on another day, you're teamed with someone you’ve known and worked with for a while but a barrier stands in the way.
That's the enigma of trust. It isn't merely about familiarity. It’s about something more elusive - an intangible connection that either binds or separates us.
In the workplace, trust certainly isn’t a nice to have; it's vital for working relationships to thrive. It can elevate a team to excellence, speed things up, and create an environment where innovation and creativity flourish. Conversely, a lack of trust can become a stumbling block, slowing progress to a crawl, stifling ideas, and fostering a climate of doubt and uncertainty.
Given the importance of trust, we wanted to understand it better and so we invited one of the world’s leading trust experts, Rachel Botsman, a Trust Fellow at Oxford University.
Tune in to learn why trust is contextual, how to nourish it in a remote environment, how to repair it and more!
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Interview with Daniel Coyle on the CultureLab podcast- The Culture Playbook
Belonging - a concept that speaks to the core of our human experience. We all yearn for acceptance, a place to belong, and the freedom to be our authentic selves. In this thought-provoking episode of the CultureLab podcast, we dive into the transformative power of true belonging with Lorne Rubis, a fervent advocate for fostering inclusion within teams.
Lorne shares invaluable insights into his Belongify System - an approach empowering leaders to create a culture of belonging in hybrid or remote teams.
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
We often leave workplace relationships to chance, hoping they’ll simply fall into place. But healthy, productive relationships require intention and work.
In this episode of CultureLab, we’re shifting the narrative with Conversations That Matter - and doing the deep dive into the tools we need to intentionally build stronger working relationships.
We spotlight three pivotal conversations, often overlooked, yet foundational in shaping our professional lives and uncover the blueprint of a truly healthy working relationship.
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The average person spends over 90,000 hours working throughout their career. That's a substantial amount of time building connections with colleagues, clients, and collaborators. What's truly fascinating is the profound impact these relationships have on our careers, company culture, and overall life satisfaction.
Despite the significant impact of these working relationships, many of us allow them to develop haphazardly, relying on chance rather than intention.
Our guest today, Michael Bungay Stanier, has a lot to say on the topic. He even wrote an entire book about taking an intentional approach to improving relationships at work.
Tune into this week’s episode to uncover valuable insights on nurturing and maximizing the potential of your professional connections.
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You can listen to the previous episode of Michael Bungay Stanier here: tinyurl.com/building-a-coaching-culture
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: www.agabajer.com/resources/
Despite the tremendous success of many companies operating in a nearly fully remote setup during the pandemic, we are now experiencing a shift, with mandates urging employees to return to the office, full-time or part-time.
Why the obsession with in-person collaboration?
Tune into this week’s Deep Dive with Shani revolving around how we can navigate this brave new world of remote and hybrid work and support teams to perform at their full potential.
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
For Bretton Putter's episode "Future-Proof Your Hybrid Culture" go to https://tinyurl.com/BrettonPutter-2
Picture our ancestors, hunters and gatherers roaming the savannah. Various anthropological studies indicate that the early homo sapiens experienced working together towards a common goal (survival of the species) as a source of fun, meaning, and belonging. However, the modern concept of work seems to have strayed from this original purpose. Closing the gap between our ancestors' experience and today's work culture is the central focus of our conversation with Teresa Clark, a recognized expert on well-being at work.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
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To listen to my interview with Jeanette Bronee, go to https://tinyurl.com/JeanetteBronee-CultureLab
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Let’s be honest - hybrid work can be great, but it can also be quite annoying.
In this episode, Bret Putter, the leading expert in hybrid work strategies and practices, discusses hybrid friction at work and how to avoid it. He also shares strategies associated with hybrid work and remote best practices to support your distributed team better.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Check out Bretton’s latest appearance on the CultureLab Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/BrettonPutter-1
This Deep Dive focuses on how we can reclaim agency over our own well-being and that of our colleagues and cultivate an environment where people can truly thrive.
We explore topics related to mental and physical health: the true sense of care at work and how it is linked to finding our purpose, tailoring solutions for well-being, engaging employees in discussions about their own well-being, including metrics that show how well we do, early signs of burnout, the relationship between belonging and well-being, the difference between being and doing, and how to address the stigma of mental health at work.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To learn more about our accreditation program, go to tinyurl.com/accreditationprogram
To listen to my interview with Jeanette Bronee, go to https://tinyurl.com/JeanetteBronee-CultureLab
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
As organizations grow, they often encounter unique challenges in building and maintaining a thriving culture. The very things that made a company successful in its early stages – its core values, startup mentality, and close-knit team – can become diluted or even lost as the company scales.
In this episode, Cameron Herold, the Founder of the COO Alliance and author of Second in Command discusses the importance of investing in employees' skills to keep up with company growth and uncovers how to bring your vision to life by using his jigsaw puzzle approach.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
The Deep Dive with Aga and Shani is your monthly episode about all things culture.
This episode focuses on rebuilding a resilient workplace culture as companies face immense challenges nowadays that can have lasting effects on their culture and relationships.
Whether you're a seasoned HR professional, a team leader, or an entrepreneur looking to build a strong and resilient culture from the ground up, this episode is for you.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To learn more about our accreditation program, go to tinyurl.com/accreditationprogram
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Rituals are a fascinating aspect of human behaviour. From ancient religions to the modern workplace, they play a significant role in shaping our culture and behaviour.
In this week’s episode, Ezra Bookman, the founder of Ritualist, shares practical strategies and real-world examples of how companies have leveraged the power of rituals to create a dynamic and thriving work environment.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
In this episode, we dive deep into the power of language and how software can help businesses create more inclusive communication and culture.
In a time when inclusivity and empathy are more important than ever before, AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) is revolutionizing the way we write and communicate.
Our guest, Kieran Snyder, the Co-Founder and CEO of Textio is an expert in NLP and she talks about how we can embrace collaborative intelligence of humans and machines to create a better workplace.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
The Deep Dive with Aga and Shani is your monthly episode about all things culture.
This episode focuses on activating company values and creating a culture where values are not just talked about but lived and breathed by every employee.
Whether you're a seasoned HR professional, a team leader, or an entrepreneur looking to build a strong culture from the ground up, our podcast has something for you.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Do you ever wonder why some teams thrive while others struggle?
According to recent studies, the secret sauce to success may lie in something unexpected - play at work.
My guest, Kristi Herold, the founder and CEO of JAM and the author of “It Pays to Play” talks about how to incorporate play into how we run our businesses.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Is it possible to make a difference and make money? Nikki Gatenby says yes!
If you are looking to make a difference in the world while still running a successful business, this episode is a must-listen. Nikki provides valuable tips and ideas on how to be profitable and purposeful and how we can contribute to creating a better world through our businesses.
Tune into this episode to learn how to pursue both success and positive impact.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
When it comes to creating a truly just workplace, many companies today seem fixated on ticking off diversity metrics. But DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) is not just about numbers - it's about creating a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
Our guest today, Trier Bryant, the President of 82VS, Alloy Therapeutics’ affiliated venture studio that builds and invests in next-generation biotech companies and the Co-Founder and CEO of Just Work, puts it perfectly: "If even your straight white men don't have a good experience at work, increasing the diversity of your workforce will not solve the problem - it will probably make it worse."
Tune in to this episode with Trier to learn about creating truly inclusive and equitable workplaces.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
In this episode, we dive into the importance of innovation in the modern business world. Our guest, Dan Strode, shares insights on how a corporate culture that nurtures creativity and encourages experimentation can foster innovation and give a company a unique competitive edge. He delves into the ways companies can cultivate an environment that values and prioritizes innovation, and how it ultimately leads to success in an ever-changing marketplace. Join us as we explore the role of innovation in driving growth and competitiveness for businesses today.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Drama in the workplace is a major drain on productivity, creativity, and collaboration. It manifests as emotional outbursts, unresolved disagreements, resistance to change, or misalignment with strategic priorities.
It’s not just unpleasant - it can cost billions in lost engagement and productivity, exacerbating mental health issues.
Fortunately, we can learn how to minimize or even eliminate drama in the workplace, and that’s exactly what we talk about in this episode of the CultureLab podcast with my guest, Caitlin Walker.
Tune in to hear us explore her methodology and demos of a series of “clean questions”.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Belonging is not a by-product of success - it’s a necessary condition for any team. In this episode, I am joined by one of the most distinguished experts on belonging and community building, Charles Vogl. Tune in to hear us do a deep dive into some of the foundational principles of nurturing authentic and supportive communities at work - and in life.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Jessica Zwaan has amassed quite a following among HR professionals frustrated with the old way of doing things and keen to develop an agile, evidence-based approach to serve their people and business and to drive performance. Jessica is currently the COO at Whereby, and outside of her company, she is most well known for her approach to people ops as a product.
Jessica’s latest book is called Built for People - Develop an Agile, Evidence-based Approach to HR to Drive Performance, and together we explore people ops. Tune in!
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
There’s a major positive side-effect to the pandemic - it presents us with the biggest opportunity we’ve had in the past 100 years to redesign the way we work and finally fix the stuff that's been broken since the industrial era.
In this episode, Lynda Gratton, a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School talks about how you can make hybrid work. She is one of the foremost global thought-leaders on the future of work, named by ‘Business Thinkers 50’ as one of the top fifteen business thinkers. It’s worth tuning in and learning from her!
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
For many people, fun and work don’t mix. We tend to think of work as the serious and virtuous stuff of life. Fun, on the other hand, is perceived as something frivolous, an indulgence that we can rarely afford. But fun at work turns out to be serious business; it’s one of the pillars of thriving cultures, alongside meaning and belonging.
Today my guest is an award-winning science journalist, Catherine Price who went down a similar rabbit hole when it comes to fun as I did.
Catherine’s latest book is called The Power of Fun - How to Feel Alive Again and together we explore the power of fun at work. Join us!
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Most people struggle with “constructive” feedback. It’s hard to hear it and even harder to give it. We are neurologically hard-wired to avoid feedback like the plague. And yet, we cannot grow and develop without it.
Our guest, Kim Scott, discovered that when feedback comes from a place of caring deeply and challenging directly, it can be very effective. She calls it radical candor.
If you are not familiar with radical candor, this episode is a great introduction, not just to the concept but also to its origin story. Plus, we have a really interesting conversation about recognizing and addressing bias, prejudice and bullying at work.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
“When’s the last time you had a good chat with yourself? The kind of chat where you ask yourself, “How am I in there?” - this is one of the questions Jeanette Bronée likes asking. Rethinker, Culture Strategist, Global Keynote & 2 x TEDx Speaker, Author, CEO & Founder of Path for Life®, Jeanette Bronée is rethinking self-care in the workplace as the foundation for peak performance, engagement, and a culture where people belong and work better together.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Megan Reitz, Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult International Business School talks about creating spaces for dialogue that enable employees to speak truth to power and elaborates on the skills we need to develop to successfully navigate the relatively new territory of employee activism.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Robin Dunbar is a professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University. He has spent most of his career trying to answer a deceptively simple:
How and why did humans evolve to be such a sociable species?
He is perhaps best known for the so-called Dunbar's number, the idea that there is an upper limit to the number of meaningful social relationships we can maintain. In this interview professor Dunbar talks about how we can apply the findings from his research when we design our teams and organisations, why the number 150 is so important to keep in mind when we build a business, his forecast when it comes to the return - or no return - to the office - and so much more!
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
We’ve all felt pulled in two seemingly opposite directions and faced tough dilemmas at work at times: Culture fit or culture add? Employees-first or customer-first? Innovation or efficiency? Self-managed teams or traditional hierarchy?
In this episode, Professor Wendy Smith from the University of Delaware talks about her new book Both/And Thinking; Embracing Creative Tensions and the opportunities that open up when dropping the “either/or” mindset and embracing a paradoxical one.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Have you ever felt frustrated by the fact that people tend to stick to their guns, even when presented with indisputable evidence that their beliefs are completely unfounded or plain wrong? This is the question that intrigued my guest, David McCraney, a science journalist fascinated with brains, minds, and culture. It led him on an investigative journey that resulted in a new book, How Minds Change. In this episode, David and I do a deep dive into the science of practices and methodologies that can lead to significant changes in how people think, feel and act at an individual and a collective level.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
This month we are sharing some of the best episodes from our archive and this episode with Max Mckeown is a must-listen and a great place to start when thinking of how to align culture and strategy.
We talk about how to find your next big idea, what role strategy plays in your ability to create the future you want and what scenarios could emerge if culture and strategy really sat down to have breakfast together instead of trying to cannibalize each other.
Just a note: This episode is a rerun and was recorded a while ago. There are some references that may seem a little out of date but the content is more relevant than ever.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
What would happen if you got rid of traditional HR? Listen to this episode where Heiko Fischer, the CEO of Resourceful Humans, talks about how he moved from noodling over this question to actually giving it a go at Crytek, one of Europe’s biggest video gaming companies. Learn how Crytek transitioned from a traditional hierarchy to a network of self-managed teams that are fueled by 100% entrepreneurship and 0% bureaucracy - and how you can implement some of these practices at your company.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
How do you avoid joining a company with a toxic culture—or build a healthy one when you are already a part of the organization? These are just a couple of questions addressed in this episode of Adam Grant’s WorkLife that we are grilled to bring you as part of our new collab with TED Audio Collective. In this episode, Adam Grant explores how to recognize the four deadly sins of work culture when you’re on the outside looking in, and shares strategies that can help shape a thriving workplace from the inside.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
As a society, we've certainly made some progress in honoring the contribution of the LGBTQ workforce. But, there are still minds, hearts, teams, and companies that do not engage and where people, irrespective of what group they identify with, do not experience psychological safety. And so we thought that during the Pride Month, it would be more relevant than ever to release the interview with the mother of psychological safety, Amy Edmondson.
Amy is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School with a long standing academic career. She’s the author of The Fearless Organization and in this podcast, we explore why the fear of taking interpersonal risks will destroy your culture and any DEI efforts you might have undertaken.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
How do you know that it’s time to update your views on what’s best for your team and your business? Our guest, Mark Rickmeier, the CEO of TXI, believes that the best time to rethink comes when you first sense that the way you work no longer serves your team. In this interview, Mark shares his personal journey of challenging his personal beliefs evolving the culture at TXI, and of the three major shifts that tested his open-mindedness and ultimately helped his company to thrive in this brave new world of remote and hybrid work.
To join CultureBrained® go to tinyurl.com/culturebrained
To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
Storytelling is the very stuff of culture. It’s also the language of the mind. Stories bridge the gap between the past and the future, create shared identities, provide us with meaning, and shape the culture within our communities. But there is more to storytelling than just telling stories. Influencing, changing minds and inspiring action is ultimately about shaping the stories people choose to believe in. And in this interview, Jamie Dixon, the author of the upcoming book “The Story Habit – How Leaders Shape Stories that Drive Action” shares his methodology for doing just that.
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What on Earth is frontalis? And why is it the most important part of human anatomy when it comes to forging authentic connections in the remote work environment? How can a corny catchphrase help a team accomplish more? What’s a better alternative to brutal honesty when we want to speak the truth at work? What can leaders learn from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy? And how can we harness the power of deep fun to improve our workplaces?
These are just some of the topics we discuss in this episode with Dan Coyle, the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code, and the upcoming title, The Culture Playbook. Tune in and enjoy.
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This month we are sharing some of the best episodes from our archive and this one is very special as our guest is none other than the honorary godfather of our show, Seth Godin! Seth is the author of 19 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He’s also the founder of altMBA and The Marketing Seminar, online workshops that have transformed the work of thousands of people.
He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership, and most of all, changing everything - including culture!
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This month we will be sharing some of the best episodes from our archive and we are starting with one of our biggest blockbusters - an interview with Frances Frei and Anne Morriss. When Google, Uber, WeWork, Riot Games or other high-growth companies need help with their culture and leadership, they call Frances Anne. Frances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School and her wife, Anne Morriss, is the Executive Founder of The Leadership Consortium. They supported a growing list of companies with culture change and wrote a wonderful book on leadership called Unleashed, The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You.
Just a note: This episode is a rerun and was recorded in January 2021. There are some references that may seem a little out of date but the content is more relevant than ever.
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In many companies, the approach to shaping culture can be quite superficial. Our guest, LaTonya Wilkins, suggests it's time to go "below the surface" and embrace a radically inclusive leadership style. This interview explores her signature REAL leadership system which creates psychologically safe relationships across differences, empowers underrepresented employees to feel valued, heard, and engaged - and creates cultures of belonging in the workplace.
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A bit like the operating system on their PCs, culture is something most leaders rarely think about - until it starts causing them problems. When culture slows their teams down and makes work more difficult than it should be, people often start panicking and finally give it the attention it deserves. But even then, it's often with the mindset of "Let's fix it asap and get back to work!"
But what if culture was the work, especially for leaders? What if it was their primary responsibility to create an environment where people can do their best work?
And what would happen if leaders took a more intentional approach to culture?
This is what Dr. Donte Vaughn and I talk about in this episode of the CultureLab podcast.
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From neurons to social networks, Jay Van Bavel’s research investigates the psychology and neuroscience of implicit bias, group identity, team performance, decision-making, and public health. In this conversation, we talk about how we can put the science of social identity into practice so that we can increase performance, improve company culture and create more of a sense of belonging for our people.
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Rodney Evans is a pioneer in adaptive organization design and the future of work. She has taught new, better ways of working in dozens of complex environments—including Airbnb, Macy’s, GE, Cooper Hewitt Museum, Intuit, and Johnson & Johnson—to slay bureaucracy, unleash talent, and modernize traditional workplaces and practices.
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In this episode, Rohini Anand draws on her experience as the former Chief DEI Officer at Sodexo and shares insights from her book, Leading Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations. We focus on how you can level the playing field so that anyone can do their best work in your organization, irrespective of their identity and background.
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Leandro Herrero is the pioneer of Viral Change™ - a methodology that delivers large-scale behavioural and cultural change in organizations. In this episode, we explore how to create viral change within an organization by following five vital principles for change.
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Charlie Sull developed a groundbreaking AI tool to understand and assess organizational culture through the use of big-data processing. The tool mines “digital traces” of culture in electronic communications, such as emails, Slack messages, or Glassdoor reviews. By studying the language employees use in these communications, AI can gauge what the current culture is and how it influences people's thoughts and behavior at work.
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Timothy Clark is an expert on psychological safety in the workplace. He is recognized as a global authority in the fields of senior executive development, strategy acceleration, and organizational change. He is also the author of five books, including The Four Stages of Psychological Safety, a wonderful, hands-on guide that shows us how we can build psychological safety in our teams and organizations. Tune in for actionable insight on how to build the foundations for a healthy culture.
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Kevin Oakes is CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), the world’s leading human capital research firm focusing on people practices that drive high performance. In this episode, he shares his research into company culture and what he's learned about culture change.
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Pim De Morree, co-founder of Corporate Rebels talks about what he and his partner, Joost Minaar discovered traveling the world and researching innovative organizations. He shares the 8 shifts that the pioneering organizations embrace as they move towards a more engaging and meaningful work experience.
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Tom Chi is one of the founding members of Google X who served as head of product experience at developing technology such as Google Glass and Google's self-driving cars. In this episode, we dive into the topic of cultivating an innovative culture and the role leaders play in enabling their teams to develop radical new technologies to solve some of the world’s hardest problems.
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Tom Chi is one of the founding members of Google X who served as head of product experience at developing technology such as Google Glass and Google's self-driving cars. In this episode, we dive into the topic of cultivating an innovative culture and the role leaders play in enabling their teams to develop radical new technologies to solve some of the world’s hardest problems.
To join the CultureBrained Community, go to: tinyurl.com/culturebrained
Community and social belonging are fundamental human needs, hardwired into our DNA. Gina Bianchini, the founder and CEO of Mighty Networks has had a front-row seat to hundreds of thousands of successful communities. She has also seen an equal number of communities fail. In this conversation, she shares what she learned about what sets successful communities apart and how you can apply her insights to create community and social belonging in your company.
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To access our free resources and materials on cultivating thriving cultures, click here: https://www.agabajer.com/resources/
With hybrid and remote work, building diverse teams that collaborate well together is more challenging than ever. So, how do you go about creating an environment that drives innovation, performance, and impact and where people can create products that customers love and the business needs?
My guest today, Yvette Pasqua, shares her experience on the topic.
Yvette is the CTO of EXOS where she leads the product and engineering teams with a focus on continuous improvement, iteration, and using data to launch software that helps their members become healthier and achieve their wellness and professional goals.
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Spotify's CHRO, Katarina Berg, knows how to maintain a thriving culture while scaling from a successful startup to a global giant. She shares some of her secrets around unlocking human potential and turning the company culture into the grease that helps it keep rolling at top speed. She also discusses the importance of clarity about who you are and what you stand for and finding effective ways to operationalize your Culture Playbook. She shares how Spotify helps people connect meaningfully while they are working remotely and why people tend to have fun working for the company.
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People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers. So here is a radical idea: What if we got rid of managers altogether? What if we could do it without decreasing the power of traditional hierarchy but by increasing the power of everyone else? This week Aga is joined by Brian Robertson, the father of holacracy to explore these questions and more.
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Giff Constable is a product leader, entrepreneur, and author who has sold three companies and helped build many others. In this wide-ranging interview, we cover a lot of ground: from developing great products, leadership, cognitive biases, designing an HR function that actually works for the business, creating psychological safety, taking on creative pursuits that scare us, and much more.
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Bretton Putter is the CEO of CultureGene and he helps companies build and develop strong, functional company cultures. He recently published his second book, Own Your Culture, and in this episode, we talk about what to think about and what to do (asap!) to create a thriving culture in the world of remote or hybrid work. Brett shares plenty of actionable insights and examples of practices you can implement to adapt to this new way of working.
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The world’s top leadership and culture whisperers - Frances Frei and Anne Morris joined me for a fun, wide-ranging, and insightful conversation about how you can unleash your team’s potential. Frances and Anne talk about redefining leadership, the relationship of culture and strategy, love and trust in the workplace, their experience working with Uber, WeWork and Riot Games, and much more.
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Growth. We all crave it. Both in our personal lives and in business. But what we often forget is that the biggest growth spurts inevitably come with growing pains. Suddenly we are in this weird place in the middle - no longer a child but still not an adult. Adolescence: something’s emerging, everything is changing and it’s really, really messy. Turns out that startups go through a very similar stage. And this is exactly what my guest today and I talk about in this episode of the CultureLab podcast.
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My guest today, Dorie Clark, suggests we need to make things easier for ourselves in 2021 and embrace the lowercase "r" reinvention: small, subtle changes that, over time, compound and often produce major transformations. But to achieve such impressive results over time, we need to develop a "reinvention habit."
And this is exactly what we talk about in this episode of the CultureLab podcast. I can't think of a better way to ease ourselves into 2021.
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"I hate this company,” I said to myself, sitting in the office in San Francisco. “I can’t believe I created this.”
This is how my guest today, Darius Mirshahzadeh, opens his book, The Core Value Equation.
Darius had been successful by any external measure. He was the founder and CEO of a company that would soon hit the $10,000,000 revenue mark. He had 150 employees and a seventeen-thousand-square-foot modern tech office space in the heart of San Francisco’s SOMA district.
And yet, he had serious regrets as a founder. He realized that the company he created was not the one he intended to. Somehow, while trying to build a successful business, he lost track of what he now considers one of the most important factors to achieve success and grow with minimum growing pains - the core values.
And core values are what we are focusing on in this episode.
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What does a successful startup founder look like?
You probably have a vivid picture in your head – two supercharged recent college graduates bursting out of the gate with a fresh new idea that hits them like a lightning bolt, gets massive funding, and leads to a product launch that is an astounding success.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
My guest today is Ethan Mollick, an award-winning researcher at Wharton and the author of a new book, THE UNICORN’S SHADOW: Combating the Dangerous Myths that Hold Back Startups, Founders, and Investors.
His mission is to democratize entrepreneurship.
In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about what's a myth and what is true in the world of startups.
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Today, my guest is the co-founder and CEO of X4 Group, Peter Rabey.
Peter and his team managed to scale and grow their business through extremely challenging times. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, X4 Group has realigned the entire business strategy to avoid layoffs. The reboot went so well that their business - and headcount - grew by over 50% since June.
Tune in to this wide-ranging conversation about scaling through the pandemic, hiring, onboarding, cultivating a healthy culture, and more!
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Wendy Smith is an associate professor of organizational behavior at the Alfred Lerner School of Business at the University of Delaware. She earned her PhD in organizational behavior at Harvard Business School, and she researches a really interesting area - strategic paradoxes. For the interview with Professor Smith, click here. To be the first to receive the new audio postcards, please click here.
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To say that 2020 has been a challenging year would be an understatement. But there are many ways to look at our struggles and Bobby Herrera, the founder and CEO of Populus Group, suggests that we choose to see them as a gift. In this wide-ranging conversation, Bobby and I talk about his entrepreneurial journey and the culture he is committed to cultivating in his company.
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Dr Max McKeown is a visionary, and influential presenter who reveals insider knowledge, gleaned from twenty-five years’ experience consulting for Pfizer, Topshop and Sony, amongst many other major global brands. In this conversation, we talk about how to find your next big idea, what role strategy plays in your ability to create the future you want and what scenarios could emerge if culture and strategy really sat down to have breakfast together instead of trying to cannibalize each other.
Today, on the CultureLab podcast, we welcome Aaron Dignan - the author of one of my favorite business books of the past few years - Brave New Work and the founder of the Ready
If you feel like the way we work hasn’t worked for a while and if you are curious about what new ways of working we could adopt, you’ll enjoy this conversation.
In this interview, Aaron and I talk about why scale and bureaucracy that once made companies strong have become huge liabilities. Today, it’s the companies that operate with transparency, autonomy, decentralization, and empowerment that are better positioned to navigate disruptive changes.
Our conversation was set in the context of the current events, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. And while there's a lot of tragedy happening right now, Aaron believes that there's a lot of promise in this moment as well. He says that the current disruption has challenged a lot of assumptions that we hold about trust, remote work and empowerment. It looks like we have been presented with a unique opportunity to rethink the way we work and renegotiate our social contracts. Now it’s up to us to take advantage of this opportunity.
It's in times like these that our values and ethical standards are put to the test. COVID-19 emergency and its aftermath will call for empathy, compassion, and generosity. If business leaders don't rise to the occasion, they'll put their companies at risk. In this audio postcard, crisis expert, Melissa Agnes, encourages us to put ourselves in our stakeholders' shoes and ask: how can we serve them to the best of our capabilities?
When people don't speak up, the organization's ability to innovate and grow is at great risk. A culture of silence is a dangerous culture. A culture of openness and candor, on the other hand, offers immense benefits for creativity, learning, and innovation. But for people to speak up, they need to experience psychological safety and this is what Amy Edmondson, my guest today, has studied for more than 25 years.
It looks like we might be in a pretty long tunnel. And while there's certainly light at the end of it, why wait? We can create some light right now by building human connections through the means we have available. Here's Thimon De Jong speaking on this topic.
We have a new postcard - this time from Ron Carucci. Ron says that we are currently in an odd, liminal space, in between chapters. And while it's undoubtedly a difficult season, things will resume eventually. So how can we prepare for our new normal? Listen in!
We have created the Audio Postcards series to help you tackle the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic in a calmer and wiser way. This week, the postcard comes from Aga Bajer and she shares three questions to explore with your team to regain a sense of control and purpose in these crazy times.
As time goes by, we all realize that the Coronavirus outbreak is, first and foremost, a human tragedy. But it has also become increasingly clear that COVID-19 is having a growing impact on the global economy, causing many businesses to switch to full-on survival mode. While taking short-term measures to mitigate the effects of the current disruption, many leaders ask themselves:
How do you deal with the current issues without losing sight of the long-term goals? And how do you embrace an infinite mindset in times of a crisis of such vast proportions?
Simon Sinek shares his thoughts on the subject.
We have created the Audio Postcards series to help us tackle the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic in a calmer and wiser way.
This week we have a postcard from Toronto, from my dear friend Liane Davey who speaks about how not to let a good crisis go to waste.
If you want to be on our postcard mailing list, sign up here: http://tiny.cc/5utvnz
The quality of the relationship with your boss has a major impact on your career, satisfaction and even your overall wellness and health. And yet, it’s much easier to find advice and guidance on how to be a good boss than on how to manage a relationship with one. In this episode, Mary Abbajay, the author of the best-selling Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss. shares how you can take control of your career by managing up.
Episode Highlights
Here are some of the themes that we explore in this conversation:
- Why so many people still have terrible bosses
- The unique nature of the relationship between a boss and a team member
- What’s at stake when you are not managing the relationship with your boss
- The boss spectrum: from the unicorn boss to the toxic boss
- The three choices we have when faced with a difficult situation
- Why people tend to spend 30% more time working for toxic bosses than for good bosses
- Key principles to managing your boss really effectively
- How to avoid being delusional about who we are and who our boss is
- How to give feedback to a boss that has a negative impact on the team’s culture
- How to deal with a micromanager
We have created the Audio Postcards series to help us tackle the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic in a calmer and wiser way.
The tricky thing with being a leader or an entrepreneur in times like these is that while we have no clear answers, our team, our family, and our friends are looking to us for guidance.
And so it's important that we learn how to walk the line between the light and the dark. Here's a message on this topic from Michael Bungay Stanier.
We have created the Audio Postcards series to help us tackle the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic in a calmer and wiser way.
This postcard is second in the series and comes from Cy Wakeman.
Cy challenges us to let ourselves and our teams be impacted by the current crisis and approach it with curiosity, using this "time-out" to grow, develop and perhaps even transform the way we think, feel and act.
In difficult times, we all need some guidance, some inspiration and... an occasional kick in the butt.
To help leaders, entrepreneurs and soloists navigate the unchartered waters of the Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our lives, our team started producing audio postcards.
They contain powerful messages from the world's leading thinkers, leaders, movers, and shakers.
This message comes from Seth Godin.
Our guest today is Nikki Gatenby. Nikki is a business consultant and best selling author, specializing in the field of culture and engagement at work, having been featured in The Guardian, The Times, Management Today, Chamber of Commerce and Corporate Rebels.
Over the last 10 years as MD and co-owner of Propellernet, Nikki transformed the Brighton based SEO agency into a global marketing organization and SAAS technology provider, serving the PR, content and search world with coveragebook.com and answerthepublic.com. This, hand in hand with Propellernet, being one of the top 15 Best Places to work in the UK, for 8 years running.
Episode Highlights
In this episode, Nikki and I talk about how to create and maintain a company culture that drives performance, boosts enthusiasm, increases engagement levels, and…makes life better at the same time.
Here are some of the themes that we explore in this conversation:
- How a mix of curiosity, frustration and a belief that there’s a better way can lead you to an idea for a successful business
- Why putting wellbeing at the heart of your business boosts creativity and innovation
- Ways of bringing your company’s purpose to life, with concrete examples from Propellernet, including one simple question that you can use when making decisions
- What it means to have a people-first culture
- How Propellernet achieved 90% engagement rate
- The role that self-induced constraints can play in stimulating innovation and growth in your company
- Why you should rip up job descriptions and hire for the real (current and future) needs of your organization instead
- The pitfalls to be mindful of when building a people-first culture
- Reaching a perfect balance between profitability and people-focus
- The importance of language in cultivating a culture
- How your employees’ dreams and side-hustles might become a part of your company’s business plan
- The difference between being engaged and… superengaged
- The power of questions and helping employees become more curious and more inquisitive
Our guest today is Siobhan McHale, a culture change specialist, EGM People, Culture & Change at DuluxGroup and the author of The Insider’s Guide to Culture Change.
Siobhan has worked across four continents, helping thousands of leaders to create more agile and productive workplaces. She has been on the “inside”, as the executive in charge of change in a series of large, multinational organizations. One of these inside jobs was a radical seven-year change initiative at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) that transformed it from the lowest-performing bank in the country into one of the highest-performing and most admired banks in the world.
Professor John Kotter used her work with ANZ as a Harvard Business School case study designed to teach MBA students about managing change.
Episode Highlights
In this episode, Siobhan and I talk about how to disrupt dysfunctional patterns of behavior in a company. Here are some of the topics we cover:
- Culture as patterns of relatedness and behavior between the parts of the wider organizational system
- The challenges of seeing patterns clearly in our own environment
- Why focusing on behavior change is not enough
- The power of reframing roles
- How our mental maps drive our behaviors
- Supporting people in stepping into a reframed role to drive culture change
- What can lead to a tipping point when it comes to culture change
- How to track culture change progress
- The dangers of linear thinking
Our guest today is Kirsty Bashforth, the founder and CEO of QuayFive Ltd.
Her new book on managing organizational culture (Culture Shift) was published by Bloomsbury in July 2019.
In this episode, Kirsty and I talk about shifting culture so that it serves the business, its employees and the wider ecosystem.
Jitske Kramer is a Dutch anthropologist. She travels the world to learn from traditional healers, leaders, surprising innovators, and random passersby. She looks at the world and at organizations through the eyes of an anthropologist, and what she sees is fascinating. In this interview, we talk about what's involved in the making of a corporate tribe.
Episode Highlights
Here are some of the things that we discussed:
- The lessons Jitske learned when doing research in Uganda
- The two opposites that attract us: harmony and disruption
- What is anthropology and how it’s relevant to organizational life
- Nature and nurture debate in the context of culture
- The elements that shape culture: purpose, definition power, and the cultural narrative
- One of the biggest misunderstandings about self-organized teams
- The importance of reflecting on what leadership means in your organization
- Why boundaries are important and how to set them in a way that supports rather than constrains
- Two forces present in every tribe: power and love and how they play out in modern organizations
- What to do to set foundations for a healthy culture in a start-up or a new team
- How to effectively deal with diversity in a team and create true inclusivity
- The three stages of change and the different types of leadership required for each of the stages
- The nature and importance of rituals
- The three questions you need to ask every day to cultivate an inclusive and healthy culture
Our guest today is Mike Ganino. He is a storytelling and communication expert who helps executives, teams, and thought leaders communicate, connect, and engage. Mike is also the author of Company Culture for Dummies and has been named a Top 30 Culture Speaker by Global Guru. Mike is also the executive producer of TEDx Cambridge and the head performance coach at Heroic Public Speaking, where he helps people connect in authentic and engaging ways with audiences.
I first met Mike when he was facilitating a workshop in HPS, and I was blown away by his ability to craft a compelling story.
Why is storytelling important when it comes to cultivating a healthy culture?
Because a great story engages and moves people. It makes them feel invested in the outcome; it helps them make meaning out of what surrounds them and it changes the way they think, feel, and act.
We humans have been using the power of story for millennia to pass on knowledge, instill common values, and influence each other. The success or failure of our ideas often hinges on our ability to tell the right story.
Episode Highlights
In this episode, Mike and I talk about the stories that shape culture. Here are some of the things that we discussed:
- Mike’s early cultural influences and how they shaped him as a person
- Mike’s book, Company Culture for Dummies, and which parts are most relevant to founders and leaders who want to change their culture but only have one hour to read
- Global and local culture and what the value of local rockets of culture can be
- How to craft a compelling story that can change the way people feel, think, and act
- What are “anti-value” stories and why they can be a powerful tool in embedding cultural values
- How to engage people in bringing a vision to life
- Sourcing stories that support your cultural messages
- A mindset shift that can help anyone focus more on culture and less on blaming others or circumstances
Our guest today is Melissa Agnes. Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection.
Melissa’s area of expertise is something that most of us don’t enjoy thinking about. She works with organizations to explore questions such as: What will happen if things go off the rails and we find our business in a major crisis situation? Are we ready for the worst? Do we have what it takes to handle a crisis in an effective manner? Can our brand and our reputation survive a major crisis? And most importantly: Is there a way to prevent what’s preventable?
After a recent crop of scandals—including Uber, Volkswagen, Wells Fargo, and Boeing, just to name a few—companies and boards have started to emphasize shaping a healthy culture as a way to reduce risk.
If you and your company want to create an invincible brand, make sure you don’t miss this conversation.
Episode Highlights
In this interview, Melissa and I discuss:
- Melissa’s early cultural influences
- How she found her calling and where she found the strength to pursue it
- What helped Melissa persists through the most challenging stages of building her business
- How she defines crisis and the key differences between an issue and a crisis
- What is crisis readiness and why you can throw your crisis management plan away
- How to identify your high-risk scenarios
- What were the first telltale signs of Uber’s culture crisis
- Examples of a crisis well managed and how to emerge from a crisis stronger than before
Our guest today is Cy Wakeman. Cy is a drama researcher, global thought-leader, and New York Times best-selling author who is recognized for cultivating a counter-intuitive, reality-based approach to leadership.
Backed by 20 years of unparalleled experience, Cy’s philosophy offers a new lens through which employees and executives alike, can shift their attention inward, sharpen their focus on personal accountability, and uncover their natural state of resourcefulness simply by ditching the drama.
Cy and I had a wide-ranging conversation exploring what can happen when we ditch drama, take accountability and stop blaming culture and our environment for why we can’t do things. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed interviewing Cy.
Episode Highlights
In this interview, Cy and I discuss:
- Cy’s early cultural influences
- The influence of Rumi’s poetry on Cy’s personal philosophy and her work
- Changing our experience by changing the lens we view the world through
- How Cy defines drama and what the effects of drama in the workplace are
- The dangers of believing everything that we think
- The magic of editing the stories that we are telling ourselves down to undeniable facts
- What a portable culture is and how to we can experiment with an idea that we can co-create culture by bringing what’s missing into it
- Three top competencies we need to thrive in the times of constant and exponential change
- Why Cy believes that it might be a good idea to ditch leadership books for a while and start exploring the work of great spiritual teachers instead
- The importance of language and self-reflection in cultivating a healthy culture
In the early days of the CultureLab, I approached Seth Godin and invited him to come on the show. He told me, “Sure, I’d love to. I’ll be your 50th guest.” This is what Seth does. He finds ingenious ways to help us keep going, do the work that matters, and persist in the face of adversity and our own resistance. He shows us how to hone our craft and show up with integrity every single day.
Seth is also an incredible source of practical wisdom on how to shape cultures around us so that we can make a dent in the world and bend history in the right direction.
It was such a privilege to pick his brain and learn from him, and it is such a joy to bring this conversation to the audience of CultureLab!
If you care about the place where you are and the impact you want to make, this interview is for you.
Meet Ron Carucci, the co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, who works with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organizations.
I came across Ron’s work in the Harvard Business Review. His writing on leading change, navigating conflict, and understanding corporate values and lies, as well as many other topics, has always challenged my thinking and offered valuable insights.
Ron is someone deeply invested in helping leaders thrive by impacting the lives of those they lead.
I was fascinated to learn that Ron keeps a collection of antique door knobs, door knockers, and skeleton keys so that he gets a reminder that life is about finding and pursuing the open doors in front of us and making sure those doors open for others.
Episode Highlights
In this interview, Ron and I discuss:
- Being an introvert and the superpowers that come with it
- What helps Ron be grateful for all those in his life who’ve been part of his story
- How artifacts impact our behavior
- Ron’s research on why people lie or withhold the truth at work
- How companies inadvertently institutionalize duplicity and trigger dishonesty among their employees
- Enabling the culture of honesty in an organization
- The dangers of using values without living them
- Conditions that need to be present to prevent the misuse of corporate values
- How to know when training is the answer (and when it is NOT) when it comes to behavior change
More About Ron Carucci
Ron has a thirty-year track record helping some of the world’s most influential executives tackle the challenges of strategy, organization, and leadership. From start-ups to Fortune 10s, turnarounds to new markets and strategies, overhauling leadership and culture to redesigning for growth, he has worked in more than 25 countries on 4 continents. In addition to being a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and Forbes, he has been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Inc, Business Week, Smart Business, and Thought Leaders.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
Free ebook, Leading Transformation: Owner’s Manual
Ron Carucci, and Mike Roberts, Leadership Divided
Ron Carucci, Relationships That Enable Enterprise
Ron Carucci and Eric C. Hansen, Rising to Power: The Journey of Exceptional Executives
Ray Dalio, Principles: Life and Work
David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
John Kotter, Corporate Culture and Performance
Tasha Eurich, Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think
When leaders want the culture to change or to be a certain way, they often try to convince their teams to adopt a new way of being and behaving. Often, their communication style resembles a pitch rather than a conversation or dialogue. Our guest this week, Chris Westfall, says that it’s time to stop pitching and start connecting.
Chris Westfall is the author of Leadership Language: Using Authentic Communication to Drive Results and a consultant to financial leaders and Fortune 100 companies. He’s helped entrepreneurs launch a broad array of businesses and successfully rebranded products and services around the globe. Working with thousands of business leaders, he's helped launch over 50 companies, while raising over $100 million – and counting – in investment capital.
He’s coached teams to victory in the Intel Global Capital Conference, the Harvard Executive MBA Pitch Competition, and the Rice Business Plan Competition 2016 (the largest and most lucrative pitch competition in the world).
Episode Highlights
In this interview, Chris and I discuss:
- What a truly effective pitch looks like
- The role our assumptions and beliefs play in our ability to lead change
- How to deal with our internal dialogue
- How to challenge collective assumptions and beliefs
- The importance of creating an environment of psychological safety to enable people to engage in new behaviors
- How creativity fuels results and engagement
- Characteristics of an environment that supports innovation
- An exercise that can help you and your team view things from the perspective of someone who will be impacted by your decisions
- Authenticity and the role it plays in leading others
- The importance of “listening to discover” in creating a culture of performance
Meet Jim Lawless, a leading authority on what he calls AQ: developing organizational AdaptAbility skills to deliver bold, fast change.
Jim works with senior leaders to build cultures that can adapt and deliver. He has contributed to bold, fast change in global organizations, government, Olympic teams, and business schools for two decades. He has inspired and educated over half a million people on five continents through his mind-set shifting keynotes and even more through his bestselling book, Taming Tigers.
What’s fascinating about Jim is that he tested and developed the AQ skills personally. He became a televised jockey within a year of starting to ride and became Britain’s deepest freediver after just eight months of training. Both done alongside his day job – a key element of AdaptAbility.
Episode Highlights
In this interview, Jim and I discuss:
- His definition of the fear algorithm and the role it plays in organizational change
- The importance of creating a safe environment for people to embrace change
- How leaders inadvertently prevent their team members from moving away from the old patterns of behavior
- CEO’s and other leaders’ role in evolving a culture
- The importance of giving people the “permission” to change
- The reasons why behavioral changes need to be linked to the goals people care about
- The roots of resistance to change in our teams and the value of testing the data we have available
- The most effective ways of managing our self-limiting internal dialogue
- Making space on our calendars for change to take place
Meet Jos De Blok, the founder and CEO of Buurtzorg. Buurtzorg Nederland was founded in 2006 by Jos and a small team of professional nurses who were dissatisfied with the delivery of health care by traditional home care organizations in the Netherlands. Together, they decided to create a new model of patient-centered care focused on facilitating and maintaining independence and autonomy for the individual for as long as possible.
Episode Highlights
In this interview, Jos and I discuss:
- How Buurzorg grew from a team of 4 to 14,000+ with a simple and flat structure, no departmentalization, minimal back-office functions, and minimal employee monitoring and controlling functions
- Buurzorg’s experience with independent, autonomous, self-managing teams with no team leaders and under no line-managerial direction or control
- Scaling company culture through a collection of loosely connected teams, unified by a common purpose
- The role technology played in Buurzorg’s success
- The critical importance of creating a positive social impact for businesses today
- The key success factors and key obstacles that Jos experienced while building the company
