Empathy With Backbone: Leading Through Tough Conversations with Rob Volpe

What if AI could actually make us better listeners, stronger critical thinkers, and more effective problem-solvers?We hear plenty about how artificial intelligence is changing the way we work. But much of that conversation focuses on what AI can do for us. What if we started asking what AI could help us learn to do better?In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Kristine and Monica welcome John Biske, founder of Support Savvy, who spent 27 years at Fidelity Investments working across technology, risk management, and information management before discovering a new passion for agentic AI.Together with his husband, Dwayne, an adjunct professor at Northeastern University, John developed an innovative AI-powered learning tool that turns traditional case studies into interactive experiences. Instead of asking AI to complete their assignments, students interview AI-generated business executives with distinct personalities, navigate challenging conversations, practice critical thinking, and receive personalized feedback on how they can improve.It's a fascinating example of AI being used not to replace human capabilities, but to develop them.And the possibilities extend far beyond the classroom.John shares how agentic AI could transform organizational learning, decision-making, knowledge sharing, and communication. Imagine AI assistants that help employees develop new skills, identify important changes across an organization, and make sure the right people have the right information when they need it.Of course, with those opportunities come important questions about trust, oversight, privacy, and the guardrails organizations need to put in place.In this conversation, we explore:What agentic AI actually is and how it differs from traditional AI toolsHow John and Dwayne developed a learning experience that encourages students to think rather than outsource their thinkingWhy interviewing, listening, communication, and critical thinking may be more important than everHow AI-generated personas can help people practice navigating different personalities and culturesThe power of immediate feedback and personalized learningHow connected AI agents could help organizations share knowledge, improve decisions, and eliminate unnecessary workWhy organizational leaders need to think beyond individual AI tools and build the right guardrails from the beginningThis episode is about more than an exciting new technology. It's about reimagining how we teach, learn, lead, and work together.Because the real opportunity with AI may not be doing more work with fewer people. It may be helping people do better work.Join us for a thought-provoking conversation about what happens when we put human learning and development at the center of technological innovation.If you enjoy the conversation, please follow Collaborative Culture, leave us a rating, and share the episode with someone who's thinking about how AI can help people and organizations thrive.About Our GuestJohn Biske is the founder of Support Savvy, where he helps organizations build practical AI capabilities through coaching, training, and custom tools. Before launching his consulting business, John spent 27 years at Fidelity Investments in technology, operational risk management, and records and information management.Connect with John:Website: https://www.support-savvy.com/Email: [email protected] and consultation information: https://www.support-savvy.com/contactThanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if great leadership isn't about having the answers or maintaining control, but about helping other people flourish?Most organizations talk about their values, purpose, and commitment to people. But what happens when the way leaders actually behave doesn't align with those promises?In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Kristine and Monica sit down with Lara Bezerra, former global executive at Bayer and Roche, founder of WorkCoherence, and author of Coherent Leadership: Prosperity and Purpose in All Aspects of Life.Drawing on more than 30 years of leadership experience across seven countries and three continents, Lara shares a different way of thinking about leadership, one rooted in aligning our purpose, words, actions, and impact.Together, they explore why trying to control people often backfires, how a leader's everyday language shapes organizational culture, and why even the smallest acts of kindness can create meaningful change.The conversation also gets personal, exploring how to stay true to your values in difficult work environments, adapt your leadership across cultures, and navigate life's transitions without losing your sense of purpose.Because leadership isn't just about the results we achieve. It's about who we become, and who we help others become, along the way.In This EpisodeLeading without control: Why Lara learned that her greatest contribution as a leader wasn't having all the answers, but bringing people together and tapping into their collective wisdom.The story behind the story: How a leader's need for control can reveal something deeply important to them—and how curiosity can turn resistance into collaboration.What coherent culture actually looks like: Why culture shows up in everyday interactions, how people respond to mistakes, and whether leaders practice what they preach.The language of leadership: How the words leaders choose can encourage either competition and fear or collaboration and shared purpose.Leadership's ripple effect: Lara's perspective on how repeated workplace experiences can shape people's thinking, behaviors, and lives beyond work.The power of everyday kindness: Why something as simple as saying good morning can begin changing the culture around us.Leadership across cultures: What Lara learned about balancing universal human needs for dignity and belonging with different cultural expectations.Finding coherence through change: Why transitions, uncertainty, and even periods of discomfort can create opportunities to rediscover our purpose.Resources and Links MentionedConnect with Lara BezerraWorkCoherence: https://www.workcoherence.comWebsite: https://www.larabezerra.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larabezerraLara's BookCoherent Leadership: Prosperity and Purpose in All Aspects of LifeBook information: https://larabezerra.com/coherent-leadership/Available on Amazon and through Barnes & Noble.Also Mentioned in This EpisodeJim Sholler's problem-solving methodology: Monica references a previous Collaborative Culture episode featuring Jim Sholler and his structured approach to collaborative problem-solving. Listen to Stop Proving. Start Learning: A Better Way to Solve Problems for another perspective on asking better questions and solving problems without blame. Jim's book is Solved in Seven: The Power of Disciplined Problem Solving.Thanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Almost every company says its people matter. But saying you're "people first" and designing an organization around people are two very different things.In this episode, we look at three organizations that challenge conventional assumptions about how work should operate and demonstrate different ways organizations can put people-first principles into practice.Compt: Choice and AgencyTraditional employee benefits often assume the organization knows what employees need. Compt takes a different approach. Its Lifestyle Spending Accounts let employers establish budgets and categories while giving employees greater freedom to choose benefits that fit their own lives.The cultural lesson isn't simply about benefits. It's about agency. When employees have different lneeds, families, cultures, and circumstances, treating everyone "equally" doesn't necessarily mean giving everyone exactly the same thing.Buurtzorg: Trusting the People Closest to the WorkBuurtzorg (Dutch for "neighborhood care") offers a different model of home healthcare.Instead of layers of management and highly prescribed processes, Buurtzorg organizes nurses into small, self-managing teams. The professionals closest to patients have significant authority to organize their work, coordinate care, and make decisions.The lesson is simple: You can't tell employees you trust them while designing systems that require approval for every meaningful decision.Trust becomes real when it is reflected in decision rights, processes, and the structure of the work itself.Costco: Investing in People for the Long TermCostco's Code of Ethics prioritizes obeying the law, taking care of members, taking care of employees, and respecting suppliers before rewarding shareholders.That philosophy shows up in competitive pay, benefits for eligible part-time employees, employee development, and a long-term approach to its workforce.During the episode, we also wondered whether Costco employees commonly rely on public assistance, as has been documented among workers at some large retailers. We looked into it after recording.Available government data does show some Costco employees participating in programs such as Medicaid and SNAP, so it would be inaccurate to say this never happens. However, Costco appears much less prominently than several other large employers in the available data. A 2026 U.S. Government Accountability Office analysis of Washington State found 256 Costco employees among working Medicaid/SNAP beneficiaries, compared with 2,291 at Amazon, 1,328 at Walmart, 814 at McDonald's, and 641 at Dollar Tree.What These Three Companies Have in CommonCompt, Buurtzorg, and Costco operate in very different industries and contexts. But they share something important:Their commitments to people are connected to their operating decisions.They challenge assumptions that employers always know what employees need, that managers should make the important decisions, or that investing more in employees necessarily comes at the expense of financial performance.Instead, they build their beliefs into the way work actually happens.Culture isn't separate from the business. It's embedded in who has authority, where money is spent, how employees are treated, and how work gets done.Questions to consider:• How much agency do employees have over decisions that affect their work?• Are you designing programs around what employees actually need or what leadership assumes they need?• Where could the people closest to your customers, patients, or work make better decisions if you gave them greater authority?• If someone examined your organization's systems, budgets, and decision-making authority without seeing your values statement, what would they conclude that you value?Companies mentioned in this episode:Compt BuurtzorgCostco Thanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when the management practices that once made you successful stop working across cultures, countries, and time zones?In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Dr. Kristine Gentry turns the tables and interviews co-host Monica M. Smith about her new book, Making It Real: Amplifying Global Collaboration with the Trade Winds GUIDE Framework.When experienced leaders begin managing across cultures, they may discover that the approaches that once worked no longer produce the same results. Communication styles differ. Expectations about hierarchy, deadlines, decision-making, and collaboration may remain unspoken. Leaders can find themselves working harder, stepping back into day-to-day management, and still gaining less traction.In this episode, Dr. Kristine Gentry interviews Collaborative Culture co-host Monica M. Smith about her new book, Making It Real: Amplifying Global Collaboration with the Trade Winds GUIDE Framework.Monica shares lessons from her experience leading international teams and introduces GUIDE, a framework designed to help leaders and teams strengthen their ability to collaborate across cultural differences:GenerateUnderstandImagineDiscernExecuteKristine and Monica explore how global teams can establish shared “house rules” rather than defaulting to the norms of headquarters or expecting one culture to do all the adapting. They also discuss the importance of understanding what motivates individual team members, recognizing different ways of contributing, and creating enough clarity for teams to work more autonomously.Through stories from India, China, and other international settings, Monica illustrates how leaders can prepare carefully, interpret cultural cues, remain authentic, and adjust when the situation does not unfold as expected.In this episode:Why familiar management practices may stop working in a global environmentThe “gradual dawning” that tells a leader something is not workingHow purpose, individual contribution, and cultural tendencies shape collaborationWhat team “house rules” are—and why every culture should participate in creating themHow the GUIDE framework supports global leaders and teamsWhy cultural patterns can be useful without defining every individualHow leaders can adapt their behavior without abandoning authenticityWhy a colleague’s success can expand what is possible for everyoneThe role of mutual dignity and respect in intercultural leadershipHow leaders can replenish their energy while helping teams become more autonomousEpisode highlights:1:29 — Why Monica finds leading cross-cultural teams exhilarating3:17 — Who Monica wrote the book for4:32 — Recognizing the “gradual dawning” that something is not working6:53 — What global leaders and teams may be missing7:41 — Three lenses for understanding a team12:18 — When leaders should introduce this work14:16 — Establishing shared house rules19:18 — An introduction to the GUIDE framework25:59 — Execution, adaptation, and building trust in China30:20 — Why a colleague’s success is not a threat to your own33:27 — Global collaboration in a changing geopolitical environmentResources mentioned:The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni and The Table GroupCliftonStrengthsEverything DiSCHogan AssessmentsGlobal Dexterity by Andy MolinskyForging Bonds in a Global Workforce by Andy Molinsky and Melissa HahnThe Culture Map by Erin MeyerThe Pivot by Dave SchoofThanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most leaders agree that empathy matters. Putting it into practice can be harder especially when people disagree, performance falls short, or a difficult decision needs to be made.In this episode, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica M. Smith sit down with Rob Volpe, author of Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time, to explore how empathy becomes a practical leadership skill.From the frozen vegetable aisle of a Walmart to conversations about workplace accountability, Rob shares how curiosity about people’s lives shaped his work and how leaders can bring that same curiosity to their teams.What we explore:Understanding someone’s perspective. Rob distinguishes cognitive empathy from emotional empathy and explains why perspective-taking is especially useful at work.Recognizing what gets in the way. How judgment, stereotypes, assumptions, and distraction can prevent us from hearing what someone is actually saying.Asking questions that invite conversation. Why Rob encourages open, exploratory questions and phrases such as “Tell me more about that.”Finding common ground. An ice cream exercise demonstrates how people with different preferences can work toward a shared decision.Combining empathy and accountability. How leaders can approach performance concerns and difficult departures while preserving someone’s dignity.Making empathy part of the organization. Rob’s “empathy ecosystem” connects mission and values, leadership behavior, communication, systems and processes, and relationships with the wider community.Keeping human development in view. We discuss the role of relationships, intentional connection in remote teams, and our concerns about relying on AI to replace developmental conversations.Rob’s Five Steps to EmpathyDismantle judgment: Notice the assumptions and biases shaping your response.Ask good questions: Invite people to explain their experience in their own words.Actively listen: Be present and recognize when distraction gets in the way.Integrate into understanding: Make room for perspectives different from your own.Use solution imagination: Apply what you’ve learned to move the conversation toward a constructive outcome.Rob explains that these steps are a practice to develop, rather than a rigid sequence. Different situations reveal different barriers.Episode chapters00:01 — Welcome and introducing Rob Volpe02:09 — What consumer research taught Rob about empathy06:41 — Why “empathy activist”?12:03 — Cognitive and emotional empathy explained17:14 — The Five Steps to Empathy19:42 — The ice cream game: Finding common ground23:35 — Modeling empathy and establishing team ground rules27:38 — Difficult feedback, accountability, and dignity30:23 — Developing people in a workplace shaped by AI36:05 — Building an organizational empathy ecosystem39:20 — What gets in the way of connection?44:16 — How do you want to be remembered as a leader?46:07 — Rob’s book and where to connectAbout our guestRob Volpe is an empathy activist, speaker, trainer, and coach who helps people and organizations strengthen connection and understanding. He founded the insights firm Ignite 360.Connect with Rob and explore his workRob Volpe’s websiteTell Me More About That — book information and purchasing optionsRob’s guide to the Five Steps to EmpathyWhat Does It Mean to Be Human? — the concluding episode of Rob and Maria Ross’s series on The Empathy EdgeIf this conversation brought someone to mind, send them the episode. Follow Collaborative Culture and leave a rating or review to help more people find practical conversations about culture, leadership, and collaboration.Thanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the biggest obstacle to solving a problem isn’t the problem itself but the way we approach it?In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Kristine and Monica sit down with Jim Sholler, author of Solved in Seven: The Power of Disciplined Problem Solving, to explore a deceptively simple idea: before we rush to fix something, we need to make sure we understand what’s actually wrong.Drawing on decades of experience leading teams and tackling complex challenges, Jim shares the disciplined problem-solving framework that earned him a reputation as “the fixer.” But this conversation goes well beyond process. It’s about culture: how curiosity, humility, inclusion, and a willingness to challenge assumptions can help teams move from blame and workarounds to learning and lasting solutions.Because great problem-solving isn’t about having the smartest person in the room. It’s about creating the conditions for the right knowledge to emerge.In this conversation, Jim walks Kristine and Monica through the thinking behind his framework and explains why effective problem-solving is as much about organizational culture as it is about process.One of the most powerful shifts? Moving from a culture of trying to “prove what’s wrong” to one committed to “learning what’s wrong.”We explore:Why teams often spend enormous amounts of time solving the wrong problemThe difference between an observation and a true problem statementWhy facts should be treated as “proposed facts” until they can actually be verifiedHow assumptions and long-held beliefs can quietly derail problem-solvingWhy blame has never solved a problemWhen workarounds are necessary and when they become dangerousHow bringing different perspectives into the room creates what Jim calls a “coincidence of knowledge”Why the person with the answer may not be the person you expectedHow leaders can engage quieter voices and create ownership across a teamWhy finding the root cause doesn’t matter if the organization isn’t willing to fix itHow disciplined problem-solving can spread from individual teams into the broader organizational cultureWhy this same methodology can be useful far beyond the workplaceJim also shares several real-world stories where seemingly complicated problems became remarkably simple once teams slowed down, questioned what they thought they knew, and examined the facts together.The takeaway is one we come back to again and again on Collaborative Culture: culture shapes how work gets done.When people feel empowered to ask questions, challenge assumptions, contribute what they know, and focus on learning rather than blame, teams don’t just solve problems better. They build an entirely different way of working together.About Jim Sholler: Jim Sholler spent 27 years at Fidelity Investments in leadership roles across IT, operations, project management, and transformation before developing his disciplined approach to root-cause problem-solving. He is the author of Solved in Seven: The Power of Disciplined Problem Solving and now consults and teaches organizations how to build stronger problem-management cultures.Connect with JimEmail: [email protected]: Solved in Seven: The Power of Disciplined Problem SolvingThanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Collaborative Culture is back for Season 2 with a new theme: Good People Doing Great Things.In this season premiere, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica Smith reconnect after the summer and share what listeners can expect from the podcast’s next chapter. Through a mix of candid co-host conversations and interviews with guests from around the world and around the corner, Season 2 will spotlight the people, practices, and ideas helping create better workplaces.Kristine and Monica introduce the idea of “culture building blocks”—practical ways people at every level of an organization can strengthen communication, collaboration, trust, inclusion, and problem-solving. Because culture is not built only through sweeping initiatives from the top. It is shaped every day, one interaction, decision, and team practice at a time.They also preview some of the questions they will explore this season: What makes in-person work genuinely valuable? How is AI changing the way teams learn and collaborate? How can organizations navigate continuous change without losing trust? And what can each of us do to make our corner of the workplace better?Welcome back to Collaborative Culture and to a season dedicated to good people doing great things.Show notesIn this episodeDr. Kristine Gentry and Monica Smith kick off Season 2 of Collaborative Culture and introduce the season’s new theme: Good People Doing Great Things.They share what they have been working on during the podcast break, preview the conversations ahead, and explore why building a healthy workplace culture does not have to begin with a large, top-down transformation. Every person can influence culture by improving the way their team communicates, collaborates, solves problems, and includes different perspectives.What you’ll hearWhat “Good People Doing Great Things” means for Season 2The new alternating format featuring co-host conversations and guest interviewsWhy everyone—not only executives and managers—can demonstrate cultural leadershipHow small “culture building blocks” can create meaningful workplace changeWhy constant technological, political, and economic change makes culture more important than everThe difference between purposeful in-person collaboration and simply commuting to take virtual meetingsHow AI can help people practice and strengthen workplace skillsA preview of upcoming discussions about AI, return-to-office strategies, culture metrics, problem-solving, inclusion, and global collaborationWhat Kristine and Monica are building and learning in their own workKey takeawayCulture is not something an organization announces once and then maintains automatically. It is continually built, and sometimes rebuilt, through the everyday behaviors, conversations, tools, and decisions of people throughout the workplace.You may not control the entire culture, but you can make your corner of it better.Join the conversationWhat practices, tools, or approaches have helped your team communicate, collaborate, or solve problems more effectively?Kristine and Monica would love to hear your examples, particularly stories and perspectives from listeners outside the United States. Your idea could inspire a future episode of Collaborative Culture.Connect with the hostsDr. Kristine GentryFounder and CEO, Culture GroveWebsite: culturegrove.comLinkedIn: Dr. Kristine McKenzie GentryInstagram: @kristinegentryMonica M. SmithFounder and CEO, TradeWinds Career ConsultingWebsite: tradewindscareerconsulting.comLinkedIn: Monica M. SmithNew episodes of Collaborative Culture are released every other week. Follow or subscribe, share the show with a colleague, and join us for a new season of conversations about building workplaces where more people can do their best work.Thanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode DescriptionWhat does it actually take to build an intentional culture, especially inside a large organization navigating transformation, new technology, shifting customer expectations, and constant change?In this replay episode of Collaborative Culture, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica M. Smith revisit their conversation with longtime financial services executive Ron Thalheimer. Drawing on more than 40 years of leadership experience, including more than two decades at Fidelity Investments, Ron shares how he built highly collaborative, service-focused teams without separating culture from performance.The conversation explores why culture starts with clear expectations but becomes real through consistent behavior. Ron explains how leaders build trust by staying visible, developing genuine relationships, addressing behavior that contradicts the desired culture, and helping employees understand how their work contributes to a larger goal.He also shares a powerful example of leading a major service transformation despite internal resistance—and how customer feedback eventually helped turn skeptics into supporters.This episode is a reminder that intentional culture is not a separate initiative owned by HR. It is built through the decisions leaders make, the behaviors they reward or allow, and the way they help people navigate change together.Show NotesWhy we’re replaying this episodeAs organizations continue navigating AI adoption, hybrid work, restructuring, and ongoing transformation, the ideas in this conversation feel especially relevant.Leaders can announce a new strategy, introduce new technology, or define a set of values. But none of those things becomes part of the culture until people understand what needs to change and see leaders consistently model and reinforce the behaviors required to get there.Meet Ron ThalheimerRon Thalheimer is a financial services executive and transformation leader with more than 40 years of experience across banking, insurance, investment services, operations, and client service.His career includes leadership roles with Continental Bank, First National Bank of Chicago, and more than two decades at Fidelity Investments. Throughout his career, Ron led large teams, managed complex transformations, worked across international markets, and built service cultures that strengthened both employee and customer relationships.Leading across cultures and geographiesDrawing on his experience working in London and leading teams across the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, Ron emphasizes the importance of flexibility, curiosity, and awareness.Global collaboration requires more than expecting others to accommodate US schedules, communication preferences, and workplace norms.Key TakeawaysCulture is built through behavior, not announcements.Employees notice what leaders tolerate as much as what they promote.Culture cannot be outsourced to HR or assigned to one “culture person.”Leaders build trust by knowing employees as people, not simply as resources.Organizational transformation requires behavioral change—not only new technology or processes.Resistance does not always mean the strategy is wrong; sometimes people need evidence, experience, and credible voices before they are willing to believe in the change.A strong culture helps organizations move from reactive problem-solving to proactive partnership.Intentional culture and strong business performance are not competing priorities. Culture is part of how performance is achieved.Thanks for ListeningNew episodes return after our summer break, but the culture conversation continues all summer.If you enjoyed this episode:Subscribe to Collaborative CultureLeave a reviewShare the episode with a leader or colleagueRevisit the other conversations in our summer replay seriesThanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode DescriptionWhat if the problem with your people data is not that it is wrong, but that it was built for a completely different purpose?In this replay episode of Collaborative Culture, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica M. Smith revisit a powerful conversation with Dr. Nicole Eisdorfer, organizational psychologist and founder of Truer Words. Nicole brings both a research and practitioner lens to one of the biggest challenges facing HR and culture leaders: how to make sense of workplace data that often looks precise but misses the truth.Together, Kristine, Monica, and Nicole explore why many HR systems were designed to record transactions, not capture meaning. They discuss how performance ratings, engagement surveys, templates, dashboards, and inherited HR practices can create a false sense of clarity while masking what is actually happening inside an organization.This episode is especially timely for leaders who want to build trust, improve culture, retain talent, and make better decisions in a workplace shaped by rapid change, AI, employee skepticism, and growing demands for more human-centered leadership.The key message: metrics matter, but only when they are connected to reality. If the data does not tell the truth about people’s experience, it will not help leaders build a healthier culture.In This Episode, We Talk AboutWhy HR data is often built to document activity, not reveal meaningHow inherited HR systems can quietly distort cultureWhy “beautiful dashboards” do not always tell the truthWhy acknowledging flawed metrics can actually build trustHow templates and “best practices” can create values driftWhy HR needs to step into the human side of business strategyHow AI may amplify flawed assumptions if leaders are not carefulKey TakeawaysOne of Nicole’s most important points is that HR data is not always bad because it is inaccurate. It is often limited because it was built for compliance and transaction tracking, then later repurposed for strategy, culture, and decision-making.Kristine and Monica also explore how this connects to trust. When employees know a system is flawed, and leaders pretend the data is perfect, cynicism grows. But when leaders acknowledge the limitations of the data and commit to understanding what is really happening, they create more room for honesty.Why We’re Replaying This Episode NowWe are re-sharing this episode because the conversation about people metrics, AI, trust, and culture has only become more urgent.Organizations are collecting more data than ever, but more data does not automatically mean better insight. In fact, as AI becomes more embedded in HR, leadership, and decision-making, flawed assumptions can be repeated and scaled even faster.This episode is a reminder that leaders cannot outsource judgment to dashboards, templates, or AI-generated summaries. They still need context. They still need critical thinking. They still need to listen to employees. And they still need to ask whether the systems and processes they rely on are actually keeping the promises they make.For HR leaders, executives, culture consultants, and people managers, this conversation offers a practical and thoughtful lens for moving beyond surface-level measurement toward metrics that better reflect trust, alignment, accountability, and lived experience.Referenced in the EpisodeNicole Eisdorfer’s “Making HR Data Truer” worksheetGuest BioNicole Eisdorfer is an organizational psychologist and founder of Truer Words. She helps leaders see what is really driving their culture beneath the surface by blending research, storytelling, and systems thinking. Her work focuses on helping organizations turn good intentions into structures that actually keep their promises.About Collaborative CultureNew episodes return August 5. Until then, we are revisiting foundational conversations from Season One that continue to feel timely, practical, and relevant for leaders today.Thanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode DescriptionAI is still moving fast, and many leaders are still asking the same question: how do we bring AI into the organization without creating fear, confusion, or a culture of replacement?That is why we are re-sharing this episode of Collaborative Culture (originally Episode 8).In this conversation, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica M. Smith talk about AI adoption as a culture issue, not just a technology decision. They explore how smart leaders can use AI as a moment to build trust, invite innovation, engage employees, and strengthen the organization for long-term growth.The key message: AI does not have to be a layoff story. It can be a growth story, but only if leaders are intentional about how they introduce it, communicate about it, and involve people in shaping what comes next.Kristine and Monica discuss why fear-based AI adoption can damage trust, why employees need to be treated as co-creators rather than obstacles, and how leaders can avoid “spreadsheet-style” decision-making that cuts people out of the very innovation they need.This episode is especially timely for executives, HR leaders, people managers, entrepreneurs, and culture leaders who are thinking about how to use AI well, not just quickly.Key TakeawaysAI adoption is not just about efficiency. It is about how work changes, how people feel about those changes, and whether employees trust leadership enough to engage with the transformation.Leaders who want AI to succeed need to do more than announce a new tool or mandate new workflows. They need to explain the purpose, invite participation, recognize existing expertise, and create a culture where people can learn, experiment, and ask honest questions.The strongest AI strategies are not built around fear. They are built around growth, clarity, trust, and shared ownership.Why We’re Replaying This Episode NowWe are re-sharing this episode because the AI conversation has only become more urgent.More companies are experimenting with AI, but the organizations using it well are not just focused on speed or automation. They are asking better questions: How does this align with our values? How will this change the employee experience? What capabilities do we need to build? How do we protect trust while we innovate?This episode offers a practical, culture-first lens for leaders who want to move forward with AI without losing the human intelligence, creativity, and collaboration that make their organizations strong.Questions to Consider While ListeningIs your organization talking about AI as a threat, a tool, or a growth opportunity?Have employees been invited into the conversation, or are they simply being told what will change?Are leaders clear about how AI connects to the company’s purpose and long-term strategy?What fears, assumptions, or unanswered questions might be shaping how people respond?How can you recognize and reward the human expertise that makes AI adoption successful?Referenced in the EpisodeRanjay Gulati on deep purposeCharles O’Reilly on innovation culture (on MIT Sloan Management Review podcast)Chevron’s Hess acquisition and the role of culture in performanceAbout Collaborative CultureNew episodes return August 5. Until then, we are revisiting foundational conversations from Season One that continue to feel timely, practical, and relevant for leaders today.SubscribeFollow Collaborative Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. If the episode resonates with you, please leave a review to help more people find the show.Thanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, [email protected]🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. [email protected]🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.