• how she uses the smaller company size to personally coach every leader. 
• how she indexes company values team by team 
• her book recommendations for HR professionals

Enjoy! ☕️ 🎧 

In comes Dr. Keith Keating, author of The Trusted Learning Advisor and CLO at BDO Canada.

He covers: 
1. The most common stumbling block L&D professionals run into as they adopt a strategic mindset. 
2. How to leap over this stumbling block. 
3. The critical traits of a learning advisor.
4. What to do when you face resistance from stakeholders.  

Hope you enjoy 🤓
 

A few highlights include: 

1. How she sustains culture with "an iron fist but a velvet glove." 

2. How despite being a 600-employee company, she scales executive coaching to all of her first-line leaders. 

3. Lynn's favorite books and advice for CPOs

Enjoy! ☕️ 🛋️ 🎧 

Key topics include:

• The Aspirational Manager Program: How and why Heather and her team take an “open to all” approach to her aspiring leader program.
• Measuring Program Success: The unique way that Heather and her team measure the success of their aspiring leader program.
• Space Workforce 2030 Initiative:* An industry-wide effort led by Aerospace to significantly increase diversity within the technical space workforce by 2030.

Enjoy!

*CORRECTION: One of the goals of the Space Workforce 2030 pledge discussed in this episode was inaccurately presented. To learn more about the initiative, visit http://swf2030.org.

We then created the world’s first executive coach bot (long before Chat GPT).

And it DID NOT work.

Here’s why:

Even though the leaders liked the tool…

The BUYERS—CPOs, CHROs, CLOs—DID NOT.

The issue was this: Occasionally the bot would make a mistake. And this put the Buyers at risk.

Sure, the mistakes were small, uncommon, and not costly. But, any risk when it came to a coach was too much risk.

---

So here’s what we realized: People didn’t want a Bot coach. They wanted affordable, text-based access to a coach.

And here’s what we did to meet that need: We put together a staff of on-call, ICF-certified coaches to interact with leaders by text.

Like a call center of expert coaches.

Learners can message an expert at the exact moment they run into a challenge or a question.

That was the balance between scalability and impact that people wanted.

Key Topics Covered:

• Her scrappy approach to develop frontline leaders: Abbie designed and delivered in-house development programs and recorded them for future use. 
• Cultivating a customer-centric culture: The company uses "love letters" from customers to reinforce company values and maintain a strong mission-driven focus.
• Her innovative sabbatical initiative: Abbie gets into the company's sabbatical program which rewards tenured employees with long periods of time off. 
• First-principle thinking for CPOs: Learn how Abbie Buck leverages first-principle thinking to navigate ambiguity and align actions with the company's core values.

Tune in for an inspiring session full of actionable advice. 🔉

• How she helped Symphony scale its culture as it grew from a startup to a scale-up
• How Symphony's flat organizational structure and an open-door policy foster accessibility and trust.
• The role of people managers as "culture carriers" at Symphony.
• Leadership Development Tactics: Panik's "secret weapon" for cultivating effective leaders.
• Practical advice for aspiring CPOs. 

She covers all of the above and much more! 

Enjoy. 

In addition to reducing turnover, CHRO Shana Sweeney shares: 

• How she cultivates a unique company culture: She unveils the core values that make SugarCRM’s culture stand out, including the transformative "Yes, if" approach to problem-solving.
• How she tackles learner overwhelm: She uses special initiatives like the Manager Minute newsletter and quarterly manager panels.
• Pro tips for CPOs: Sweeney shares her experience and lessons learned as a CPO.

Tune in for a deep dive into the leadership strategies that not only retain talent but also empower them to thrive within a rapidly growing company.

One great example of “caring” in action is at One Medical, where “manager care” is a top-scoring item on their engagement survey year over year. To learn more, I had the chance to meet with CPO Christine Morehead. 

Here are three highlights from our conversation. 

1. Christine sees aspiring leader development as key to her success. 

“All too often, somebody raises their hand or they get tapped on the shoulder to lead people, and then they begin training once they’re already managers. We went upstream to proactively train our emerging leaders." 

2. Employees fittingly refer to company values as "strands of One Medical's DNA" 

The five strands are: 1) human-centered, 2) team-based, 3) intellectually curious, 4) exercises unbounded thinking, and 5) driven to excel. 

3. Her research-based approach to sustaining culture

Based on research that Christine collected at a previous company, she fosters culture by delivering a program at one of the most statistically critical moments in an employee’s tenure: the 90-day mark. 

---

As I always say, Christine covered all of the above and much more in the full interview. 

I know I've had a few MUST LISTEN episodes recently, but once again, this one has to make that list. The 90-day trick and her approach to emerging leaders are what seal the deal. 

Enjoy! 

1️⃣ 🏥

We covered how to design and deliver an aspiring leaders program with the Sr. Manager of Sales Training at OLYMPUS. 

Here are a few examples: 

• At Headspace, a mindfulness and wellness app, company culture is fostered with guided meditations, “MINDays” devoted to letting employees unplug, and peer-to-peer gratitude. 
• At Collectors, a collectible authentication company, employees are recognized with custom collectible cards that display their information, pictures, and stories. 
• At Twilio, a platform for developers, employees receive custom track jackets for coding an app on their platform. 

When I met with Chief People Officer (CPO) of NerdWallet Lynee Luque, I was pleased to have found another brilliant example. NerdWallet culture revolves around the very things that the platform is built for: “transparency, accuracy, and responsibility.” 

NerdWallet is a platform that provides financial guidance and information to consumers as well as small and medium businesses. 

Below are a couple highlights from our interview: 

1. A creative approach to feedback: live AMA's with execs

“Once a quarter, we do an open Ask Me Anything. We dedicate an hour when all the executives are on Slack, and we encourage, solicit, and ask employees to ask us anything. Then, we answer the questions in real-time. We're sitting there giving responses, regardless of the questions.”

2. Her clever low-budget approach to first-line leadership development

“We want to ensure that our managers receive the feedback they need, so twice per year we conduct an engagement survey that's anonymous and confidential.” What makes her approach so clever is that Luque and her team deliver timely manager training twice per year following the evaluation period. That way, leaders know exactly which skills and behaviors they’d like to work on during the training. 

3. How she plans to empower frontline managers to make local decisions

“We have a new organizational structure, and I'll give the headline: local decision-making. In contrast to cascading a single communication, we are pushing more toward teaching managers to understand what's going on and then make a local decision. After all, managers are the best equipped to make that decision. They are the closest to the problem or to the opportunity."

This one definitely earns the label of MUST LISTEN for its highly creative and easy-to-steal tactics. 

ENJOY! 

🤓🪪 

The authors were surprised to discover one strategy that kept surfacing: putting purpose at the core of your company strategy.

Across my thirty plus interviews with chief people officers (CPOs), Waymo serves as one of the best examples of how a strong sense of purpose can drive culture and ultimately growth strategy. In this interview with CPO Becky Bucich, she does a brilliant job of breaking down Waymo’s culture and the work her team does to foster it.

A few highlights from this conversation include: 

1. A culture built around Waymo's mission to "make roads safer." 

The self-driving car company strives to make the world safer, and this mission bleeds into everything that employees think, do, and say. 

“I still remember my first day at Waymo more than four years ago. During my orientation, we each shared why we joined Waymo, and the stories were so touching. People spoke about family members who were unable to get behind the wheel and the tragic loss of loved ones,” Becky said.

2. Becky shared three unique ways she fosters culture. 

- A monthly newsletter and live showcase of a story of a "Waymonaut" who demonstrated a core value. 
- Setting aside time to volunteer in the community. 
- Accessibility to their product. When launching in San Francisco, Waymo launched in all micro-publications around the city to reach as many segments of the population as possible. 

3. Why she leverages just-in-time learning to develop first-line managers

“We offer quite a bit of just-in-time training. For example, after conducting our employee engagement survey, we train based on the results.” Bucich and her team also hold manager circles, where newer managers can learn from another manager who has more wisdom or experience in a relevant skill."

---

She covered the above and much more in the full interview. 

Enjoy! 

🚗🤖 

In this episode, Shannon shares how she built her moat at Dave. 

Here are a few highlights: 

1. Two Ways she fosters authenticity in Dave's culture

• She injects all-hands meetings with 1) live interviews with customers, and 2) a highly transparent update (i.e., deep diving into employee engagement results). 
• Including a culture-specific OKR that's company-wide. 

2. How she reverse-engineered great leadership

When Shannon joined Dave three years ago, she was blown away by how high their manager effectiveness ratings were: 80–90% favorability on all of the questions around people’s experience with their direct manager.

Most CPOs would be content “leaving leadership be” with such strong results, but Shannon decided to capitalize on their high scores to decode great leadership at Dave.

“Some people call me a control freak. I call it intentional,” Sullivan said. “I decided to spend some time defining great leadership because that becomes the foundation of everything that we build. How we train managers, how we hire, and more.”

3. Her podcast recommednation: How I Built This with Guy Raz

“It's a podcast that interviews founders and shares their stories about building companies. It's a really good reminder that success, whether you're building a business, your career, or whatever, is often not linear. There are going to be setbacks. When I listen to the podcast, I can't help but reflect on the journey I've had here at Dave, which has not been linear and has included setbacks.”

---

We covered all of the above and much more. This one is a MUST-LISTEN! Great stuff from Shannon.  

As Josh Bersin puts it, “To change the culture, don’t start with the culture. Start with the problem that you are trying to solve, what success looks like, and why it matters to your company.”

Nowhere is this mentality more present than at Headspace, where Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief People Officer (CPO) Karan Singh fittingly operates under the mantra “less but better.”

Here are a few highlights from our interview:

1. how he creates a culture that reflects the company mission

“Culture certainly doesn't happen magically,” Singh pointed out. “You need to create it.”

Here are three ways (of many) that he does so:

- Beginning every all-hands meeting with a guided meditation

- Flexible time off for employees to catch up on life, recharge, and get away from laptops

- peer-to-peer recognition where employees express gratitude for each other’s contributions and adherence to company values

2. how a team’s engagement and workload capacity go hand-in-hand

As a dual COO and CPO, Singh shared the following unique perspective:

“Wearing my operational hat, I think a lot about capacity planning and how much a team can take on. I think those areas are directly related to employee engagement scores. As engagement decreases, so will the load that your team can handle. If you wait every six or 12 months to measure team engagement, you clearly can't plan effectively.”

3. how he develops “superhuman” leaders

A recent example of “less but better” in action:

The “Superhuman” Program—In collaboration with a team of neuroscientists and faculty members from UC Berkeley, Headspace created a program centered around this question: “How do you create a workplace that is remote-first and creates space for people to work smarter, not harder?”

Singh and his team strove to make these concepts explicit and operationalize them. Every employee at Headspace completed the program.

---

This one is a must-listen! Enjoy! 

At DocuSign, employees actively love their leaders. In fact, year after year, one of the company’s highest-scoring items on its employee engagement score is “How likely would you recommend your manager?”

When I asked Chief People Officer (CPO) of DocuSign Jennifer Christie about the success of her leadership development team, she said she attributed it to the proper preparation of emerging leaders.

In this interview, Jennifer covers:

1. How she prepares her emerging leaders.

She prepares people to lead early - Christie’s leadership development team works with aspiring leaders before they actually manage people. “If we've identified someone as being on track to become a manager, we put them through training to help them experience what it’s like."

Emerging leaders can then opt out of leadership roles - Based on their experience during training, emerging leaders then have the ability to opt in or out of leadership.

2. Her advice for CPOs: Ingrain yourself in the business

“When I first took the stage at a different company, I thought everyone expected me to be perfect and the best HR expert. I chose to focus less on being an expert in the business. If you focus on understanding the business, it will make you a better partner to your chief executive officer (CEO) and your peers.”
 
3. Jennifer's top book recs (both help drive a culture of effective feedback)

Thanks for the Feedback and Difficult Conversations. Both books were written by the Harvard Negotiation Project with Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone. 

“These are two books that everyone can benefit from. I don't care what job you have or what level you are, these kinds of conversations are difficult. Giving feedback that's going to land the right way or receiving feedback in a productive way are fundamental skills for everything we do.”

Hope you enjoy this one! 

That’s how the CPO of Box Jess Swank likes to think of them. And I think it makes a lot of sense!

Jess shared five critical ways she develops her frontline leaders

1. Monthly manager power hours on timely skills
2. A bi-weekly manager newsletter
3. A Slack channel for Q&A
4. Focused development programs and coaching
5. New manager training

She also shared that moving in 2024, she’s focusing on locally tailored training: “We're working on understanding the commonalities across locations and how we can support local managers with local issues in a customized way.”

In addition to the above, she dived into what culture looks like at Box, how they scale and sustain their culture, and her number one book recommendation.

Hope you enjoy this one

📦

To learn more, I met with CEI’s CPO Estrella Parker.

A few highlights from our conversation include: 

1. How she decoded the mindset behind great leadership at CEI 

She called the mentality "one team" and explained three main tenets: 
There are three tenets of the one team mentality:
- CEI leaders are connected on a human level.
- CEI leaders are accountable. “We pride ourselves on our projects, and we deliver. We do what we say. We do it on time and on budget,” Parker highlighted
- CEI leaders have an adaptable mindset. “Resiliency is how this company grew,” Parker explained. 

2. Her podcast recommendation for people & culture pros

Wisdom from the Top” with Guy Raz. 

“Guy interviews different leaders from different sectors to hear their stories. You learn a lot about leadership and the authentic struggles, successes, and hard lessons that people have learned.”

3. Her advice for CPOs

"Think with your heart and love with your brain."

“You're dealing with people, and people need love. But you are also a strategist for people, so you have to think with your heart. You have to be rational about how you approach the softer side of organizations, and at the same time, you must solidly ground your thinking."

Estrella offers a ton of great insights for people and culture leaders at companies in phases of rapid growth. Hope you enjoy 🤓

At Virta Health, employees operate around the value: "Evidence based." To learn more about what this looks like in action, I met with Dr. Lucia Guillory, the CPO. 

A couple highlights from this interview include: 

1. What an evidence-based culture looks like in action. 

Guillory: I'm the CPO, but I wouldn't ask anyone in the company to do something if I wasn't able to explain to them why it was important and the evidence I had that it was going to work.

2. First-line leader programs delivered by more senior leaders. 

Guillory: We went to our leaders and said "Here's where we think you have expertise. Do you agree and would you teach a course?" Then, we produced an 8-week course on essential topics, and we recorded it so we could continue to use it. 

This one has a lot great easter eggs throughout. Hope you enjoy. 

Bristlecone is no exception. When the company attrition rate grew to 27% nearly two years ago, Chief People Officer (CPO) Lisa Lesko knew she needed to take action. After designing and delivering the “High Engage” Leadership Development Program, results began to stream in:

• Attrition dropped 15%.
• The employee net promoter score doubled.
• Bristlecone’s Glassdoor rating increased from 3.7 to 4.1.

In this interview, Lisa covers: 

1. how she reduced attrition by 15% through leadership development. 

The biggest issue showing up on the employee engagement survey was that employees wanted to talk more and connect with their managers. 

So, Lisa designed the "High Engage" program, equipped managers with tools like engagement report cards, and designed a system of career pathing.

2.  5 initiatives that help sustain company culture. 
- learning month, where the org sets aside time for people to learn. The average employee spent 42 hours learning. 
- people week, to promote collaboration and networking. 
- my day friday, where employees devote the second half of Fridays to aspirational projects, self-help, and planning. 
- work from home
- Triumph, an awards event devoted to recognition. 

3. 6 ways she collects employee feedback
- town halls with exec leadership
- quarterly "let's talk" meetings instead of "Quarterly Business Reviews" 
- exec leader "up close" meetings where exec leaders meet with random groups of employees. 
- peer groups. a council of seven people who anonymously share concerns of employees. 
- code champions who champion company values and advocate for the needs of employees
- an online feedback tool that allows for anonymity

This one is packed with steal-able ideas. Give it a close listen. 

So what can a company do to ease its growing pains? One of the more creative approaches I’ve heard is at Neo4j where employees adopted a company-wide mentality of radical candor.

Two key  highlights from this interview with Kristin Thornby the CPO of Neo4j, include: 

1. 3 key ways Kristin and her team decode culture at Neo4j
- Practicing radical candor in weekly conversations
- Team feedback sessions
- Town halls that begin with the caveat "Anything you ask, we will answer." 

2. The 3 key characteristics that create a culture of "Sweet Swedish roots and Silicon Valley growth." 

- a strong sense of alignment around building
- being highly people focused
- giving leeway to take risks

Hope you enjoy... 

At Seismic, the company’s founder-led culture revolves around caring.

So much so that many employees were former customers.

Despite rapid growth to 1600 employees, Seismic has managed to hold onto its culture of caring.

CPO Linda Ho has played a big role in that success.

Linda covered all things people & culture at Seismic, but here are a few highlights:

1. What a CEO-led culture of caring looks like in action.

The CEO handwrites anniversary cards to every employee with tidbits about his interactions with them.

2. 2 creative initiatives to scale and sustain a culture of caring.

-Push pins: When Seismic closes a deal, they celebrate everyone who came together to make it happen.

-Why we win Slack channel: Employees share big wins and tag company values that contributed to their win.

3. How going hybrid helped bring in top talent

Linda: We saw greater access to talent pools that we didn’t have access to before, and we saw improvement in our DEI, specifically in representation.

As always, the beauty is in the details, so press play and enjoy!

CPO at Denali Therapeutics, Cindy Dunkle, is exactly that.

She’s done a stunning job of scaling culture on the company’s growth path to 450 employees.

The biotech company injects science into its culture at every turn.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

1. Culture as the result of “inputs” and “outputs.”

Dunkle: What are those things to add, such as connection, opportunity, and growth? What are those things to subtract, like silos and uncertainty? What multiplies?

2. A patient connection team helps the company engage directly with patients.

Dunkle: This is about how we invest in our communities, disease awareness, and raising money. It’s also about sharing our own experiences with being impacted by the diseases we're treating.

3. Flattened hierarchy + learning on the floor.

Denali’s CEO Ryan Watts was a successful early-career neurobiologist. Stemming from his roots, the company established an environment where new ideas from anyone at any level were energizing.

Dunkle: Even our physical space is an open space concept. There are no offices regardless of level because learning takes place on the floor via informal exposure.

---

The originality at Denali is off the charts! 📈 

And the science runs deep. 👩‍🔬

Enjoy.

But how do you go about creating one?

At Alto Pharmacy, the initiatives to scale a culture of learning are uniquely creative, action-oriented, and practical. To learn more about Alto’s approach, I met with CPO Shannon Wilson.

We covered:

1. Two key cultural initiatives at Alto

• Voice of the employee: employees submit questions, concerns, and feedback on a board. Leadership responds publicly.
• Alto Spotlight: A system to ensure leaders communicate consistently with senior leaders.

2. How Shannon and her team leverage “teaching at scale” to create a culture of learning.

This is done in two main ways:

• They conduct limited amounts of formal training and focus mainly on follow-up interventions and on-the-job practice.
• Finding teachable moments (mistakes and challenges) and diving deep into them.

Shannon was full of creative ideas and approaches to impact culture at scale. Hope you enjoy.

But how can a company go about fostering recognition at scale without being disingenuous or forced?

One great example is at the company Collectors, where recognition ranges from Slack shout-outs to custom-made, collectible-style cards of the person being awarded.

To learn about how Collectors put together such a unique culture of recognition, I met with their VP of Talent and Organizational Development, Dr. Eliza Wicher.

In this interview, we covered: 

1. What it looks and feels like to have a "40-year start-up culture"

Company culture revolves around:

• deep passion for the collectible items
• trade nights and game nights
• employees who are best friends and family members

2. Why she honed in on recognition and how

• Her team's engagement survey unveiled the need
• Then they rolled out a system of authentic, relevant awards to make recognition flow with the culture (i.e. collectible cards made of the person being recognized)

3. How behavior-based leadership development sets leaders up for success

• Wicher honed in on six critical behaviors for managers
• Now, she's rolling out modular training for each behavior
• Long-term, she plans to make manager effectiveness a part of performance evaluation. 

We covered all of the above in greater detail, and much more. Enjoy! 

More often than not, this is because learning professionals aren’t using, measuring, or communicating their impact in a useful way.

One of the simplest and most effective examples of data-informed people development that I’ve seen recently is at HackerOne, where they follow a simple, data-informed process:

1. Measure engagement.
2. Determine the largest leverage point (pain point in this case).
3. Train for that leverage point.
4. Remeasure (+14 improvement).

To learn more about this HackerOne and their overall approach to company culture, I met with Chief People Officer (CPO) of HackerOne, Dawn Mitchell.

In addition to the above, we covered: 

1. how Dawn and her team solved for low trust in their senior leadership team. 
- they unearthed the problem through their employee engagement survey
- they rolled out an org health and communication program
- results: 14-point increase in trust

2. 3 initiatives Dawn and her team employ to foster culture

This includes "Hack Week" where employees set their work aside and focus on something they believe will push the needle the most. 

3. why Dawn collapsed HR business partners and L&D into one role 

It creates a virtuous cycle: Most HR business partner questions had been L&D-related, and the context as an HR business partner improves L&D's approach. 

We covered all of the above and much more! Give it a listen.  

1. Author: Mike West on his book People Analytics For Dummies
2. Case: How Penske Paves The Way To A Legendary Culture Of Learning with the VP of Talent Development Laura Heaton.

BUT, most companies don’t do so until it’s nearly too late.

Despite having just 115 employees, Syapse boasts more robust and effective leadership development offerings and cultural initiatives than many large organizations.

It’s an enviable model for companies that aim to launch leadership development efforts early on.

To learn more, I met with Chief People Officer (CPO) of Syapse, Michelle Kemling.

Michelle broke down:

1. Her robust approach to leadership development.

It includes:

• A months-long leadership development program.
• Coaching for ALL leaders
• Mentoring
• Informal opportunities to lead groups
• A “neighborhoods” program where employees lead regions

2. 3 cultural initiatives she uses to foster and sustain culture

• “Innovation staycations” - Employees devote time on the job to innovation.
• “Neighborhoods” - Regional groups of remote employees.
• “Recharge days” - Employees all get off at the same time two Fridays every month.

3. How they decode culture at Syapse

The key is a blend of:

• Q&A with upvotes
• CEO meetings
• Engagement surveys that they take clear and quick action on

We covered all of the above and much more in the full interview! Hope you enjoy.

By the way, curious to hear what you all think of this leadership development program. How does it stack up to yours?

But, it’s a strategy to approach with caution.

A weak values system is arguably worse than no system at all.

To dive deep into an example of a rapid-growth startup that built out a highly effective values

system, I met with the Chief People Officer of National Resilience, Mara Strandlund.

Mara broke down her and her company’s approach at National Resilience:

1. The 7 “Phenotypes” of Resilience Culture

Resilience refers to their values as “Phenotypes.” Examples include: velocity, service orientation, and the builder mentality.

2. A “Freedom in a Framework” Approach to Performance Reviews

Employees and managers co-own the performance process within a provided framework of prompts.

3. Leadership Development that Focuses on On-the-Job Application

The approach is simple: 30-minute sessions with no more than 3 takeaways followed by:

• 1-hour manager sessions to talk and learn from each other
• Tools to apply learning on the job
• eLearning

Tune in for more detail on all of the above and much more! 

Christy Lake, the Chief People Officer at Twilio, takes us behind the scenes, revealing how Twilio has doubled in size without losing its entrepreneurial spirit, thanks in no small part to her insightful leadership.

Key Topics Covered:

Founder-Led Culture at Scale:
- Understand the unique vibe of a growing, aging startup that retains its founder-led culture.
- Unpack the four core values and how the company came up with them: We're builders, We're owners, We're curious, We're positrons.

The “Positrons” Value:
- The origin and impact of Twilio’s unique value of being “positrons.”

Track Jacket Program:
- The symbolism of the coveted Twilio track jacket and a deep dive into this unique ritual that reinforces Twilio’s developer-centric origins.

Leadership Development:
- The systematic approach to measuring and enhancing manager effectiveness.
- Scaling coaching and learning to boost leadership quality.

Key Topics Covered:

Growing Talent Density:

• The philosophy and application of Reed Hasting's "Talent Density" concept at Zapier.
• Strategies for enabling and activating talent density among existing employees.

Intensive Onboarding Program:

• How Zapier’s robust onboarding process fosters culture from day one.
• The role of “default transparency” in aligning employees with the company’s remote-first culture.

Measuring Engagement:

• The integration of manager effectiveness data to fine-tune leadership development strategies.

Leadership Development:

• The commitment to providing growth opportunities for both managers and individual contributors.

Sammut’s Wisdom for CPOs:

• The power and confidence in admitting “I don’t know” and navigating the learning curve.

Recommended Reading:

• Why “Atomic Habits” by James Clear is a must-read for HR professionals looking to transform anxiety into actionable, impactful behaviors.

The conversation includes: 

• Founder’s Impact: Analyzing how the active involvement of founders in cultural development enhances authenticity and creativity.
• Values in Action: Unraveling the methods Omada employs to ensure that values are living entities within the organization, influencing every aspect of work.
• Leadership Development: Evaluating Omada’s unique approach to nurturing leaders, focusing on behavioral change and practical application of learned skills.
• HR Strategies: Vitale’s perspective on key behaviors for HR professionals and the role of strategic vision and impact focus in organizational development.

• People-First Paradigm: Uncover how UiPath balances its tech innovation with a strong human-centric approach, rooting its mission in human achievement.
• The Four Core Values: Dive deep into UiPath’s foundational beliefs - Be Humble, Be Bold, Be Fast, and Be Immersed - and understand how these guide and shape behaviors across the organization.
• Culture Champions: Learn about UiPath’s unique approach to scaling and nurturing culture with a dedicated culture team and a group of champions who embody and foster the company's core values.
• Leadership Expectations: Unravel how behaviors are tied to values and discover the strategic approach to cascading and measuring leadership expectations to foster a harmonious and productive work environment.
• Podcast Recommendation: Get a glimpse of McInnis-Day’s learning palette as she shares her favorite podcast, offering insights that extend beyond the professional realm and touch on the journey of women in various life stages.

Key Takeaways:

• Chaos as a Catalyst: How embracing chaos is not just a byproduct of rapid growth, but a fundamental piece of Rivian's innovative culture.
• Verb-ifying Values: Russell's unique perspective on how making company values actionable, or turning them into "verbs," can lead to deeper cultural integration.
• Culture from Day One: Rivian's distinctive strategies for instilling culture during the hiring and onboarding process, from CEO interactions to "Recharge Meetings."
• Feedback & Humility: The two most crucial behaviors at Rivian, and why Russell believes the key to effective feedback is focusing on the receiver rather than the giver.
• Nurturing Creativity: Helen’s recommended Ted Talk, “Schools Kill Creativity” by Sir Ken Robinson, explores how conventional systems can inhibit true innovative thinking and how this can translate into the corporate realm.

Dr. Reichanadter’s unique blend of clinical psychology and HR expertise provides a fascinating lens into how Databricks reverse-engineered employee behaviors to develop their core cultural principles. We explore the role of leadership development in amplifying culture, how Databricks learns about and measures employee engagement, and the mindsets crucial to navigating the rapidly-evolving tech landscape.

Key Topics of Conversation:

• Behavior is the Blueprint: How understanding employee behaviors helped Databricks craft a strong set of cultural principles.
• Leadership’s Role: Dive deep into Databricks’ leadership development framework and training, which Reichanadter says drives their culture.
• Engagement as a Two-Way Street: From impressive 90% response rates on the annual engagement survey to weekly AMAs with the CEO, discover how Databricks keeps communication channels open and feedback loops tight.
• Mindsets for the Future: As the world of tech transforms, what are the core mindsets Reichanadter believes are essential for staying ahead? The answer might surprise you.
• Reading Corner: Reichanadter shares her book recommendation for understanding team dynamics in fast-growing companies.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The risks of oversimplifying culture: Why catchy phrases can be limiting.
• How a "warts and all" approach to recruitment can empower candidates to self-select.
• The importance of feedback and how 10x Genomics has institutionalized it.
• The one mindset Dr. Port aims to foster at 10x.
• Book recommendation for HR enthusiasts: "Big Potential" by Shawn Achor on networks of happiness. 

Katya has been instrumental in guiding 1Password's unique leadership development journey, all while preserving the company’s core values.

Topics Covered Include:

• The art of codifying culture without falling into the 'corporate speak' trap.
• How 1Password is spearheading DEIB initiatives that truly make a difference.
• Going beyond data: How to unearth the real story behind employee engagement data.
• Leadership at 1Password: Monthly manager meetups, scaled coaching, custom in-house programs, and more.
• The essential skill for today's workforce: The art of 'connecting the dots' for a holistic view.
• A must-read book recommendation.
• 1Password's vision for a passwordless future.

We chat with the dynamic duo from ForgeRock: Fran Rosch, the CEO, and Tschudy Smith, the CPO. From rock and roll attitudes to a multi-million dollar identity and access management software company, hear how they fostered a unique, winning culture amidst rapid growth.

Key Topics Covered include:

• The pitfalls of overformalizing company culture and how ForgeRock sidestepped these pitfalls.
• The transformational power of recognition and trust in shaping a company’s culture.
• The three cornerstones of ForgeRock's thriving culture.
• The "Froscars," a unique cultural celebration that recognizes and rewards in style.
• The importance of vulnerability in creating a collaborative and trusting workplace.
• The future of digital identity: A glimpse into a world without passwords.

To find out, we speak with Gianna Driver, the dynamic Chief Human Resources Officer of Exabeam. Situated in the heart of the cyber security space, Exabeam not only champions security solutions but also champions a fearless and joy-filled work culture.

• The Magic of Exabeam's Culture: Experience the magnetic culture at Exabeam where unity and creativity combine to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions.
• Infusing Fun into Corporate DNA: Explore Exabeam's ingenious strategies, from Mix and Mingle sessions to “Thank You Days”, aimed at emphasizing employee well-being and team cohesion.
• ERGs at Exabeam: A dive into how Exabeam's seven Employee Resource Groups help in celebrating diversity and fostering inclusivity.
• Monitoring Employee Sentiment: Navigate Exabeam's multifaceted approach to gauge employee engagement, from comprehensive surveys to innovative crowdsourcing tools.
• No Fear of Failure: Gianna reveals her most coveted employee trait – the audacity to work without the looming dread of mistakes.
• Inspiring Reads: Discover the book that Gianna Driver believes every HR professional should delve into.

In the first half, Author Dr. David Burkus speaks about his book "Best Team Ever." 

And in the second half, our case spotlight is on Ultragenyx. The VP of Culture and Org Strategy , Bria Martin, speaks about how she put together hi-potential and first-line leadership development programs. She also breaks down her personal leadership philosophy -- balancing the duality of "action" and "connection."

• Pillars of Culture at HealthEdge: Continuous learning, constant improvement, and tech-innovative solutions.
• Senior Leadership’s Role: The influence and benchmark set by HealthEdge leadership emphasizes continuous learning and development.
• Elevating Managers: The transformative journey of shifting from traditional performance reviews to mid-year check-ins, all under HealthEdge’s banner year: "The Year of the Manager."
• Feedback and Its Nuances: How HealthEdge trains managers to convert feedback from a conflict to a conversation, driving transparency and effectiveness.
• Measuring Impact: A glimpse into the success metrics of HealthEdge’s initiatives and the drive for consistent improvement.
• Navigating Remote Challenges: The importance of fostering connections in an increasingly remote and digital workspace.
• Book Insights: Ellis's personal reflection on the book "11 Secrets Successful People Know About Goal Setting" and its profound impact on her career vision.

Step inside the dynamic world of Turo with Lorie Boyd, the Chief People Officer at the largest peer-to-peer car-sharing platform. From unique cars for weekend getaways to ensuring a stellar workplace culture, Boyd sheds light on Turo’s rapid evolution and growth.

• Turo’s culture: From grounded and expressive to bold and driven. 
• Cultivating leadership: For leaders at Turo, growing their people is the primary job responsibility.
• Feedback loops: How Turo effectively gauges employee sentiment and follows up with actionable solutions.
• The pivotal role of self-care: A peek into the company’s culture initiative, Positive Intelligence, and an emphasis on holistic self-growth.
• Book insights: How "The Art of Gathering" inspired Turo’s approach to in-person gatherings in a post-remote work world.
• Growth and the future: Turo’s ambition to stay nimble and its determination to uphold its cherished company culture amidst rapid scaling.

Christine Deputy, the Chief People Officer at Pinterest, pulls back the curtain to reveal the secret ingredients of Pinterest's flourishing culture. With nearly 4,000 employees globally, discover what keeps this innovative platform inspired and buzzing.

Christine covers: 

• The tradition of "Knit Con" a unique company ritual that brings the virtual Pinterest experience to life.
• Leadership development: How Pinterest nurtures its managers and high-potential leaders with highly original initiatives like "CNEXT."
• The innovation-driving initiative "Makeathon:" How it brings out creative solutions from the team.
• Essential book recommendations from Deputy for HR pros.
• The "PinFlex Program:" Pinterest's post-Covid return-to-work strategy and its positive outcomes.
• The essence of "Earning the Commute" and the keys to ensuring a flexible work model thrives.

Tune in to get inspired by Pinterest’s unique approach to fostering a work culture where creativity, individuality, and inspiration reign supreme.

Join us as we chat with Michelle Labbe, the Chief People Officer at Toptal. A company designed to connect businesses with the world’s top talents, Toptal has become the gold standard for remote work. Since its inception in 2010, the company has never owned an office, yet it has fostered a rich, thriving culture. 

Labbe covered: 

• The Remote Advantage: Discover the roots of Toptal's remote-first philosophy and how they've made it their superpower, continuously attracting top talent from around the world.
• Decoding Toptal’s Culture: Direct, collaborative, helpful, and challenging. Dive deep into these cornerstones of Toptal's cultural DNA that not only attract the best but ensure they thrive in this unique work environment.
• Hiring for Culture: Explore the rigorous process Toptal employs, ensuring every recruit is in alignment with its core values and ethos.
• Empowering Leaders: Delve into Toptal’s comprehensive leadership development programs, from introductory paths for the curious to excellence tracks for seasoned leaders.
• A Pulse on Engagement: Learn about Toptal’s innovative methods for gauging employee happiness and feedback. From quick Slack surveys to in-depth biannual reviews, Toptal leaves no stone unturned.
• Ownership and Growth: Michelle highlights the importance of proactive ownership in one's career journey, advocating for a mindset that seeks challenges and growth.
• Bridging Cultural Gaps: Labbe recommends "The Culture Map" by Erin Meyer - a must-read for anyone in the HR world, especially for companies as globally diverse as Toptal.

Meet Vivian Welsh, the Chief People Officer of Veeva Systems, a company renowned for its ground-breaking software, data, and services designed to revolutionize the pharmaceutical landscape.

Key Topics Covered:

• The Essence of Veeva’s Culture: Journey into the heart of Veeva’s values, which revolve around doing the right thing, customer success, employee success, and most notably - speed.
• Molding Leaders: Delve into Veeva's "Manager Boot Camp", a fundamental step in shaping leaders who can drive a consistent and engaging culture across the organization.
• Peer-Powered Growth: Discover the unique approach of Veeva’s managers’ communities, fostering cross-functional learning and mentorship.
• Feedback Reinvented: Learn about Veeva's transformation from annual reviews to their authentic check-in process, designed to catalyze open dialogue and empower employees.
• Slowing Down to Speed Up: Understand the paradox Welsh highlights about the need for systematic thinking amidst a fast-paced environment.
• Reading for Success: Welsh recommends "The Ideal Team Player" - a book that encapsulates the traits Veeva looks for in its team members and leaders.
• Veeva's Exciting Trajectory: Get a sneak peek into the company's future, with plans to expand their team from 7k to a whopping 10k by 2025.

Step into the fast-paced world of Veeva Systems and discover how a culture of speed, innovation, and people-centric values paves the way for industry success.

Key Topics Covered:

• The Essence of HubSpot's Culture: Learn about the HEART acronym (Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, Transparent) and the driving force of "solving for the customer."
• Investing in Culture: Discover the three primary ways HubSpot nourishes its culture, from their 125-page Culture Code slide deck to measuring engagement and key cultural activation events.
• Customer Feedback in Real-Time: Understand the significance of direct interactions with customers and how their insights help shape the company's direction.
• Celebrating Company Values: Delve into "HEART Week," an annual week devoted to HubSpot values.
• The Week of Rest: Discover how HubSpot emphasizes the well-being of its employees by designating an annual week for relaxation and recharge.
• Connect4 Initiative: Explore how this newly launched initiative bridges the virtual gap, ensuring HubSpotters stay connected regardless of location.
• Developing First-Line Leaders: Get a glimpse of HubSpot’s comprehensive approach to nurturing its new managers and promoting talent into leadership positions.
• The Power of Radical Candor: Unearth the importance of clear, empathetic feedback in fostering a high-performing culture.

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I was part of the OLD WAY of doing leadership development:

• build out binders of content (competencies, lists, models, and steps)
• deliver 5-day workshops
• schedule classes
• generate enrollment
• measure attendance and completion

The old way was all about content. Content curation and content delivery.

But, I became MUCH better at leadership development when I shifted my focus.

I shifted my focus from the old way to the NEW WAY:

• devote 70% of your TIME to behavior change
• devote 70% of your BUDGET to behavior change
• play the role of a Behavior Change GUIDE, not Content Curator
• help leaders integrate knowledge and build habits
• measure behavior change

I directed every ounce of focus toward the ultimate outcome: BEHAVIOR CHANGE.

And the results streamed in.

Building habits > Knowledge dumping

*By the way, when I shifted my perspective, I built LEADx in response. At LEADx, we combine live virtual training and coaching with micro-learning, highly personalized nudges, and micro-exercises. It’s a system designed to change behavior.

This episode details how to nail the selection process.

You have to stop:
- Overthinking and overcomplicating your selection process
- Dumping money and resources into SELECTION
- Weeding out enthusiastic applicants

And you have to start:
- Selecting based on self-selection + manager approval
- Dumping money into TRAINING
- Enabling and encouraging enthusiastic talent

Shift your mindset away from exclusivity and toward potential. A strong emerging leaders program is a huge competitive advantage. It helps you build a pipeline of diverse talent and then cultivate that talent. So don't put too much money and time into limiting your pipeline.

In this episode, we first sit down with Dr. Richard Winters, who is both a practicing ER Physician and the esteemed Director of Leadership Development at Mayo Clinic. He unveils key insights from his book, "You’re the Leader. Now What? Leadership Lessons from Mayo Clinic." Discover how one of the world's top healthcare institutions fosters leadership excellence and how these lessons can transcend the medical field.

In the second half of the show, we interview Darin Bond, Director of Learning & Development at Duck Creek Technologies. Dive deep into a compelling case study on how Duck Creek, a frontrunner in insurance software solutions, scales and sustains its leadership development initiatives in a rapidly-evolving tech landscape. 

Whether you're a seasoned leader or just starting your journey, this episode is packed with actionable wisdom you won't want to miss.

• Quizlet's Culture of Learning: Learn about the passionate and inclusive environment where every team is celebrated, and the mantra "I can't wait to learn from you" resonates.
• Leadership Development: How does Quizlet nurture its leaders to grow its culture? Find out how real, on-the-job challenges, DEI education, and monthly meetings forge strong leaders.
• Decoding Employee Experience: From formal surveys to informal Slack channels, get a look into how Quizlet listens to its employees and acts on feedback.
• DEI Initiatives: Discover how Quizlet has set a strong foundation in diversity, equity, and inclusion, especially in hiring and promotions.
• Reading Recommendations from Douglass: If you're in HR or just love a good read, don't miss the three books Stephanie swears by.
• The Humility Quotient: At Quizlet, humility is a strength. But Stephanie wishes there was just a tad more "bragging" about the meaningful work being done.
• The Future of Quizlet: With AI-powered tools that democratize education, find out what makes Stephanie most excited about Quizlet's future.

Tune in to this enlightening conversation and step into a world where learning is not just a product but a deeply ingrained culture.

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Tune in to get inspired and understand how a tech giant harnesses its core values to empower its workforce and revolutionize the modern way of working.

Don't forget to subscribe to stay updated with our latest conversations with industry leaders!

We are also joined by author Heather Younger. She delves deep into the nuances of her book, "The Art of Active Listening." Discover the power of truly hearing others and how this can transform relationships, both in the personal sphere and in the workplace. 

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in enhancing their leadership skills, fostering a culture of active listening, and understanding the innovative strategies top-tier companies employ to develop their leaders. 

Enter Manuela Montagnana, the Chief People Officer of Criteo, a tech company connecting consumers with relevant advertisements across the globe. With teams spread from Tokyo to Paris and New York, Montagnana has the mammoth task of maintaining a unified culture. And in this episode, she shares her strategies.

Montagnana discusses the core values that make Criteo special: being open, working together, and making an impact. Listen to her insights on how Criteo's "fully flexible" work approach makes them stand out and why continuous feedback is critical in maintaining employee morale and performance. Montagnana also delves into the importance of developing first-line leaders, the power of cross-functional mentoring, and why employee well-being is at the top of her list.

Whether you're a leader looking to enhance your organization's culture, an HR professional seeking strategies for global teams, or just curious about what makes successful companies tick, this episode promises a wealth of knowledge. Dive into the world of Criteo and explore the key ideas Montagnana offers to enrich your organization's culture.

But fear not, for there's a fresh perspective on the horizon: the 3-to-1 learning model. This approach is all about actionable learning – for every formal learning event, it introduces three on-the-job application exercises. Want to understand its power and simplicity? Join us as we break down its components, compare it to the 70-20-10, and discuss the shift from mere knowledge transfer to real behavior change.

Whether you're an L&D professional or someone passionate about effective learning methodologies, this episode is for you. Tune in and let's reimagine the future of corporate learning together!

• Susan Page, Head of Employee Experience, shares her expert insights on curating an 'enviable culture.' Discover how she strategically spearheaded cultural growth and maintained its core values even as her company's size doubled.
• Brandon Carson, the Head of Learning at Starbucks, takes us on a journey through his latest book, "L&D’s Playbook." Learn about the transformative strategies from his book that can help you harness technology to build world-class training. And hear from Brandon about his work as the head of learning at the world's most renowned coffee chain.

In today's episode, we delve deep into the vibrant culture of Revinate, a renowned software-as-a-service company known for its innovative guest-to-data platform in the hospitality sector. With over 400 "Revinators" spread across global offices, how does Revinate keep its core values intact and its culture thriving?

Kelly Buchanan, Chief People Officer at Revinate, joins host Kevin Kruse to unpack the DNA of their company's culture. They touch on:

• Revinate's culture: Community, fun, and positive energy
• CEO Marc Heyneker's people-first approach
• The 'Top Banana' initiative that boosts daily morale
• Monthly meetups and brainstorming sessions that fuel creativity and belonging
• Innovative feedback mechanisms, from pulse surveys to intimate CEO chats
• Shifting leadership training to accomodate the digital age
• The must-read book for CPOs: "Gamestorming"
• The power of a learning mindset in tackling challenges

Whether you're a culture enthusiast, HR professional, or just curious about what makes a remote-first organization tick, this episode promises a wealth of insights. Join us and discover the actionable ideas that you can bring to your organization.