The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer

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 Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 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 UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. It is produced by University FM.*

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. Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 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 UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. It is produced by University FM.*

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. Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 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 UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. It is produced by University FM.*

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. Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 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 UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. It is produced by University FM.*

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.

Experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava help HubSpot CEO Yamini Rangan tackle how to keep hybrid workers connected to the mission. They discuss engaging employees through shared experiences, expanding networks within the organization, and experimenting with new ways of creating connections. The podcast delves into the challenges of hybrid work arrangements, incorporating art in the workplace, enhancing connections through leisure activities, and the role of technology in facilitating workplace rituals and coordination.

Experts Jenny and Samir delve into the intricacies of workplace culture, discussing the importance of shared beliefs and the balance between agreement and intensity. They touch on the dark side of too strong a culture and offer insights on maintaining and measuring culture in organizations like Southwest Airlines and Genentech. Key takeaways include Netflix's unique talent management approach and strategies for strengthening company culture.