The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer

Should corporate leaders speak out on social and political issues? And if they decide to do so, what’s the best approach?On this episode of The Culture Kit, hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava chat with Matt Kohut, a leadership communications expert, about his new book Speaking Out: The New Rules of Business Leadership Communications. Jenny, Sameer, and Matt dig into historical examples of corporations and politics colliding, the potential pros and cons of deciding to weigh in on social issues, and strategies for business leaders to evaluate risk and maintain accountability when deciding to speak out. This episode’s question came from Laszlo Bock, co-founder of Humu and former Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google. 3 Main Takeaways from Jenny & Sameer’s interview with Matt Kohut:Should you take a position at all? This should always be the first step before deciding what the position is or how to communicate it.Mission relevance: What are your organization’s values and how will taking a stance on an issue align with those values?Evaluate risk: How might this position potentially backfire? Hold a pre-mortem meeting to help determine risk.Show Links:Speaking Out: The New Rules of Business Leadership Communications by Matthew Kohut (October 2024)Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential by Matthew Kohut and John Neffinger“When to Talk Politics in Business: Theory and Experimental Evidence of Stakeholder Responses to CEO Political Activism.” Working paper by Tommaso Bondi, Vanessa Burbano, and Fabrizio Dell’Acqua. Cornell Tech and SC Johnson School of Management, Cornell University, New York, 2023.Full Episode Transcript Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.* Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the season two premiere of The Culture Kit, hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava tackle the complex question of how to create a culture of inclusion and belonging in the face of growing polarization in the workplace and society at large.To help answer this question, Jenny and Sameer turn to DEI expert Jarvis Sam. Jarvis is the CEO and founder of the strategy firm, Rainbow Disruption, which advises organizations on developing practical solutions that champion DEI in the workplace. Before that, Jarvis was the  Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Nike, where he spearheaded initiatives to enhance diverse representation and foster inclusive leadership. He also led organizational efforts around DEI with athletes like Serena Williams and Lebron James, as well as leagues like the WNBA and NFL. Jenny, Sameer, and Jarvis discuss what an inclusive culture really means, go over actionable steps leaders can take to create and manage a culture of inclusion and belonging, and address some of the biggest myths and misconceptions surrounding DEI. Full episode Transcript here.Show Links:Resources referenced by Jarvis Sam:The Rainbow DisruptionDEI C.R.E.D.E.N.T.I.A.L by Jarvis SamAmy C. Edmondson on psychological safetyUncovering Talent: A New Model of Inclusion, by Christie Smith and Kenji Yoshino, Deloitte, 2018.Research by Jenny Chatman on group diversity: Blurred Lines: How the Collectivism Norm Operates Through Perceived Group Diversity to Boost or Harm Group Performance in Himalayan Mountain Climbing (PDF), By Jennifer A. Chatman, Lindred L. Greer, Eliot Sherman, Bernadette Doerr, Organization Science, 2019Political Correctness and Group Composition: A Research Agenda, By Jennifer A. Chatman, Jack A. Goncalo, Jessica R. Kenndy, and Michelle M. Duguid. Research on Managing Groups and TeamsBeing distinctive versus being conspicuous: The effects of numeric status and sex-stereotyped tasks on individual performance in groups, By Jennifer A. Chatman, Alicia D. Boisnier, Sandra E. Spataro, Cameron Anderson, and Jennifer L. Berdahl. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.The Influence of Demographic Heterogeneity on the Emergence and Consequences of Cooperative Norms in Work Teams Academy of Management Journal, by Jennifer A. Chatman and Francis J. Flynn, Academy of Management Journal.Research by Sameer Srivastava on measuring culture through language using AI tools: The New Analytics of Culture, by Matthew Corritore, Amir Goldberg, and Sameer B. Srivastava, Harvard Business Review, 2020How can AI Enrich Our Understanding of Organizational Culture? By Amir Goldberg and Sameer B. Srivastava, Management and Business Review, 2022Language as a Window into Culture, by Sameer B. Srivastava and Amir Goldberg, California Management Review, 2017Related episodes of The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer:Amy Edmondson & Steve Brass on Psychological SafetyHow to Keep Remote Workers Connected to the Mission, with Hubspot CEO Yamini RanganThree main takeaways from Jenny & Sameer’s interview with Jarvis Sam:Know your “why”: Organizations need to ask, “Why are we doing this work from the very beginning? And how does that link to key actions that we may have taken previously?Comprehensive integration is key: Inclusion can’t be an add-on. It should be a key attribute in every area of the organization including talent acquisition, management, and succession planning.DEI Is not just for underrepresented communities: Inclusive cultures are ones where every team member feels that they can show up as their truest selves. Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.* Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While “psychological safety” has become somewhat of a buzzword in management circles, it’s a concept that forward-thinking leaders dismiss at their own peril. “I cannot think of a place where lower psychological safety would help you in any way,” says Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson, known for her pioneering research on the topic. “Lower psychological safety would make you take fewer risks, but not necessarily better risks. So having anxiety about what other people think of you isn't a great state for optimal performance.”In this bonus episode of The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer, Edmondson, along with WD-40 CEO Steve Brass, joins hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava to discuss how to create a culture of psychological safety—and why it matters. This session was held November 13, 2023 as part of the Culture XChange series sponsored by the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation and is being broadcast publicly for the first time. Show Links:The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. By Amy C. Edmonson. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2018.“What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team.” By Charles Duhigg, The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 25, 2016.“When feeling safe isn’t enough: Contextualizing models of safety and learning in teams.” Sanner, B., & Bunderson, J. S. (2015). Organizational Psychology Review, 5(3), 224-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041386614565145Tribe Culture: How It Shaped WD-40 Company. By Garry Ridge. Telemachus Press, 2020.Full Episode Transcript Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.* Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Patrick Collison and his brother John Collison founded digital payment company Stripe in 2010, he didn't come in with “any kind of enlightened leadership expertise or genetic muscle memory.” As the company took off and grew to a dominant platform with $1 trillion in total payment volume and millions of customers, its culture grew more intentional—and strategic. “Because Stripe's domain is really complicated and the details really matter, if we make a mistake—just one mistake—there's a very good chance that somebody's paycheck is wrong…There's a culture at Stripe of just really prizing the small details,” he says.In this bonus episode of The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer, Collison shares his leadership journey and the evolution of Stripe’s unique culture in a fireside chat with hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava. This interview took place on April 16, 2024 as part of the Dean’s Speaker Series, co-sponsored by the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. Bringing in a diverse mix of preeminent business leaders, the Dean's Speaker Series provides the Haas community with insightful perspectives on effective leadership and opportunities for thought-provoking discussions.  Learn more.Full Episode Transcript here. Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.* Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What are the benefits and challenges of running a fully remote company? What does research show about the shift to “work from anywhere”? In this bonus episode of The Culture Kit, host Sameer Srivastava interviews Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, the Lumry Family Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School, and Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer at Zapier, on how to use technology and organizational insights to create high-performing, inclusive, and engaging remote work cultures.Choudhury is one of the pioneers in research on the future of work, especially the changing geography of work. He was included in Forbes’ Future of Work 50 list last year and Time’s Charter 30 list of thinkers and innovators shaping the future of work in 2024.Sammut is a two-time chief people officer currently at Zapier, a software automation platform with an all-remote team that spans over 40 countries. He believes that remote work is the way to expand both individual opportunity and business results, drawing on his prior experience in talent acquisition, talent development, strategy, consulting, business development, and venture capital.This episode is based on a CultureXChange forum held on April 11th, 2024 by the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. Learn more.Full Episode Transcript here. Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.* Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In a fireside chat with host Jenny Chatman, best-selling author Michael Lewis shares the inside story of the strange culture Sam Bankman-Fried created at his failed crypto exchange, FTX. Lewis got to know SBF for his latest book, "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon." The story is a fascinating example of a strong organizational culture gone terribly wrong. Lewis is known for his New York Times bestselling books, including Moneyball, The Big Short, Liar’s Poker, and The Blind Side. He started his career in finance on the bond desk at Salomon Brothers, and then left the business world to become a journalist. His books tell stories about real characters and provide insights into the business world—from working on Wall Street to the 2008 financial crisis to the rise and fall of cryptocurrency. This interview was held on November 8, 2023 as part of the Dean's Speaker Series at Berkeley Haas. Bringing in a diverse mix of preeminent business leaders, the series provides the Haas community with insightful perspectives on effective leadership and opportunities for thought-provoking discussions.  Learn more.Full Episode Transcript here. Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.* Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Laszlo Bock, industry leader in people management, discusses key leadership skills for the evolving workplace with Jenny & Sameer. They cover diagnostic leadership, financial acumen, human-AI collaboration, transparency, courage in decision-making, experiments and nudges for organizational change, influencing without formal authority, and training future HR leaders for success.

Organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava discuss creating a culture that welcomes dissent, using examples from Pixar and Netflix. They emphasize the need to prioritize dissent, build systems for surfacing it, and leaders modeling admission of mistakes.

Organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava discuss creating a culture that fosters employees going above and beyond their job descriptions with Meili Hau. They highlight codification of values, encouraging collaboration, and leadership inspiring big goals.

Organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava discuss the benefits and drawbacks of having multiple subcultures within organizations. They emphasize the importance of awareness, agility, and alignment in managing subcultures effectively. The podcast provides real-world examples and tips for company leaders on creating a unified culture that prioritizes overarching cultural norms.