Culture by Design Podcast

You can become a cultural architect no matter your position, your title, or your authority. Timothy R. Clark is joined by global experts and cultural architects to take on the big questions in leadership, diversity, equity, employee mental health, psychological safety, and team performance. You’ll learn how to build cultures of inclusion and innovation by design. Join us in influencing the world for good.

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10 Misleading Leadership Theories

Leadership is not an ethereal concept. It’s not as cinematic as you might think. It is about one simple and profoundly human thing--Influence. In this episode Tim and Junior breakdown 10 misleading leadership theories and how to avoid them.

Published
March 20, 2023

Two Leadership Failure Patterns: Paternalism and Exploitation

In this episode Tim and Junior introduce the two leadership failure patterns found in The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety™ model - paternalism and exploitation. This is a very practical episode for managers and leaders but applies to anyone working with other humans.

Published
March 13, 2023

The 5 Functions of Leadership

In this episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior explain the 5 Functions of Leadership, originally created to provide a job description for a CEO. When you're an executive leader, nothing is your job and everything is your job. Delegated authority is hard to find success in, but this episode will help you better understand how to be effective in any leadership role.

Published
March 6, 2023

Achieving Physical Safety Through Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is the key to creating a safer workplace where employees can bring up concerns and problems before they become disasters. This week Tim and Junior explore the link between psychological safety and physical safety for organizations where lives are on the line.

Published
February 27, 2023

What Psychological Safety is Not

In this episode Tim and Junior discuss the seven misconceptions surrounding psychological safety. Some organizations and some leaders dismiss psychological safety because they believe that it means a whole host of things, that it doesn't mean. So they dismiss it and they ignore it. When helping leaders understand the topic of psychological safety, defining what psychological safety is not can be just as helpful as defining what it is.

Published
February 20, 2023

How a CEO Can Create Psychological Safety in the Room

There’s a power dynamic in every room. If you’re the CEO and you’re in the room, you control that dynamic. Positional power is consolidated in your hands, and what you say and do can draw people out or make them recoil with anxiety and fear. In this weeks episode Tim and Junior discuss 10 ways CEO's can create higher levels of psychological safety in the room. 

Published
February 13, 2023

(Pt.5) How Mental Health and Wellness is Driving Demand for Psychological Safety

This episode is part five in our five part series on "What's Driving Demand for Psychological Safety". When individuals feel psychologically safe at work, they are more likely to report positive mental health outcomes such as increased job satisfaction, higher levels of well-being, and lower levels of stress and burnout.

Published
February 6, 2023

(Pt.4) The Impact of Psychological Safety on Engagement and Retention

This episode is part four in our five part series on "What's Causing Demand for Psychological Safety." Tim and Junior dive into the data behind the great resignation and the link between workplace culture and employee retention.

Published
January 30, 2023

(Pt.3) Competitiveness and Innovation

This week's episode is part three of our five part series on "What's Driving Demand for Psychological Safety". Tim and Junior discuss why the need for innovation sparking demand for psychological safety and how innovation is just as much cultural as it is technical.

Published
January 23, 2023

(Pt.2) Exclusion and Social Injustice

This weeks episode is part two in our five part series on "What's Driving Demand for Psychological Safety". Tim and Junior sit down to discuss exclusion and social injustice as a driving force for psychological safety and ask each of us to consider our own behavior patterns as it relates to fostering cultures of inclusion.

Published
January 16, 2023

What's Driving the Demand for Psychological Safety?

It's a new year and we're kicking things off with a five part series on the forces driving demand for psychological safety. Today's episode will kick off the series and give us an overview of where we've been, where we are, and introduce the key drivers. In the following episodes of this series, Tim and Junior discuss exclusion and social injustice, and innovation, engagement and retention, mental health and wellness. Each of these paths lead back to the need and the demand for higher levels of psychological safety.

Published
January 9, 2023

How to Bridge from Diversity to Inclusion

In this podcast Tim and Junior discuss the importance of bridging the gap between diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Diversity alone is not enough, and true progress comes from creating a culture of inclusion. To do that we must "cross the lines of natural affinity," or find common ground and build relationships with coworkers who may be different from ourselves.

Published
January 2, 2023

The Intersection Between Diversity, Inclusion, and Innovation

In this episode, Tim and Junior discuss the intersection between diversity, inclusion, and innovation. We need diversity but cannot unlock the benefits of our differences without inclusion. When we have a diverse and inclusive environment innovation follows. Moving from diversity to inclusion is a journey from awareness to action, and many organizations stop at awareness, believing that it will lead to behavioral change. Sustainable behavioral change requires a commitment rather than just compliance.

Published
December 19, 2022

Agile Doesn't Work Without Psychological Safety

On this week’s episode of the Culture by Design podcast, Tim and Junior break down one of Tim’s recent articles entitled Agile Doesn’t Work Without Psychological Safety. They explain why the failure patterns in Agile are inherently cultural, and how to fix them.

Published
December 12, 2022

Why Some Leaders Are Afraid of Psychological Safety

During this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior dissect the two kinds of leaders who shy away from psychological safety: those who feed on title and status, and those who try to hide their incompetence. They encourage healthy introspection as a tool to avoid becoming one of those leaders yourself. Are you a business leader looking to introduce psychological safety into your organization? Crack yourself open with this enlightening episode.

Published
December 5, 2022

Hiring, Firing & Promotion with Psychological Safety

As an HR leader you have to make a lot of the tough calls. We don’t envy you, but we’re here to help. In this episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior recap LeaderFactor's latest webinar. Can you really know who will help or hurt your company culture from just an interview? Is psychological safety a big enough deal to cause someone to lose their job? And why should cultural impact be considered in the promotion process? Listen and find out.

Published
November 28, 2022

Where Great Culture Starts

On this week's episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior explain the theory behind the name of the podcast. Their claim? Culture is inevitable, and whether yours is a bad one or a good one is up to you. 

Published
November 21, 2022

Navigating Vulnerability at Work

This week's episode is a team favorite, and is definitely worth the listen. Tim and Junior talk about why the workplace is a vulnerable place, what vulnerability is, and why actively rewarding vulnerability matters. Whether you're motivated by making others around you feel comfortable at work, or you want to improve team performance, you should model and reward acts of vulnerability across The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety.

Published
November 14, 2022

How to Create a Deeply Inclusive Culture

Back by popular demand, this week's episode of Culture by Design comes from a webinar published in May 2021. Tim and Junior discuss some of the hard questions, like: Why do humans exclude each other? How do humans justify excluding each other? What is a junk theory of superiority? How do we create a deeply inclusive culture through psychological safety?

Published
October 31, 2022

What is Psychological Safety?

In this week's episode Tim and Junior take a step back from the four-part series on The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety to give listeners a broad overview of psychological safety as a concept, from the history, to the framework, to the patterns and norms of culture as a whole. The content for this episode is based on the debut of The Complete Guide to Psychological Safety, LeaderFactor's newest ebook available now.

Published
October 24, 2022

Stage Four: Challenger Safety

It's the end of our four-part series on The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety, and this week Tim and Junior are talking about the fourth and final stage: challenger safety. What does it take to innovate on dynamic teams? At the end of the day, a lack of innovation is a culture issue, and knowing that is a game-changer. A culture-changer, if you will. Our hosts share their practical tips on how to do just that, and more, in this value-packed series finale.

Published
October 17, 2022

Stage Three: Contributor Safety

On this week's episode of the Culture by Design podcast, Tim and Junior continue the series with Stage 3: Contributor Safety. Why do we hate being micromanaged? And what does that have to do with psychological safety? This episode is full of moments of introspection where you can ask yourself, do I allow others to create value?

Published
October 10, 2022

Stage Two: Learner Safety

Stage 2 Learner Safety is is part two in our four part series based on Timothy R. Clark’s book The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation. In this episode Timothy R. Clark and Junior Clark answer key questions around how to create a culture where there is both encouragement to learn and engagement in the learning process.

Published
October 2, 2022

Stage One: Inclusion Safety

In this week on the Culture by Design podcast, Tim and Junior introduce the first episode of a four-part series on The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety. This week's topic? Stage One: Inclusion Safety. In this value-packed, hour-long conversation, Tim and Junior dive deep into questions like: How does inclusion relate to diversity and equity? Is interaction the same thing as connection? And what can we do to foster inclusion safety in our cultural spheres?

Published
September 26, 2022

Invest in Your Well-Being with Melody Wilding

In this week’s episode of the Culture by Design podcast, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Melody Wilding, author of Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work. As an executive coach, professor of Human Behavior, licensed social worker, and Harvard Business Review contributor, Melody has lots to say about how burnout, ambition, sensitivity and empathy.

Published
September 19, 2022

Don't Let Hierarchy Stifle Innovation

Today Tim and Junior sit down to discuss Tim’s recent Harvard Business Review article titled “Don’t Let Hierarchy Stifle Innovation.” There are a lot of concepts that Tim wasn’t able to include in his article that are discussed today, including how to improve our interactions, how to unleash bottom-up innovation and the role that hierarchy plays in innovation and execution.

Published
September 11, 2022

Employee Engagement or Psychological Safety: Which Comes First?

Back by popular demand is another special episode talking about engagement and psychological safety. Tim and Junior talk about which is a lead measure, which is a lag measure, and which is a consequence of the other. This episode comes from a previous webinar recorded in 2021. Give it a listen:

Published
September 5, 2022

Leaning into Self-Awareness with Caroline von Koenig

In this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Caroline von Koenig, Fidelity International’s global Wellbeing Lead. They discuss how self-awareness, resilience, and understanding can create cultures that are healthy, inclusive and safe for all types of people. Caroline’s interests in neurodiversity and cultural identity made for a great conversation. Give it a listen:

Published
August 29, 2022

Be a Human Leader with Lindsay Kaplan

In this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Lindsay Kaplan, head of People Development at Clif Bar joins Timothy R. Clark to talk about anxiety, vulnerability, and what it takes to be a human leader. She advocates for authenticity, empathy, and adaptability as the main characteristics of good leaders and encourages listeners to chase a growth mindset.

Published
August 22, 2022

Meeting People Where They Are with Bobbye Sweat

In this episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Bobbye Sweat, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for First Command Financial Services in Forth Worth, Texas. Bobbye shares her experiences in seven different industries as she has worked to meet people where they are. She explains that if you really care, you’ll be authentic. That foundation of inclusion makes all the difference.

Published
August 15, 2022

The Ladder of Vulnerability Panel Discussion

In this episode, we recap our live virtual event where Timothy R. Clark was joined by panelists Rafael Ramos from Coca-Cola FEMSA, Chantal le Roux from Amazon Web Services, Zaineb Haider from Cigna, and Tracey Walker from RSM. Together they discuss their own personal ladders of vulnerability based on the LeaderFactor vulnerability self-assessment.

Published
August 8, 2022

Own Your Story with Wenche Fredriksen

On this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Wenche Fredriksen, Senior Vice President Head of Diversity & Inclusion at DNB, Norway’s largest bank with over 10,000 employees. Wenche wears her heart on her sleeve as she tells Tim her story and explains how she found success in failing, being average, and being human. She encourages listeners to bring their full selves to work and advocate for psychological safety in their workplaces.

Published
August 1, 2022

Surfing the Boundaries of Order and Chaos with James Evans

This week on Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by James Evans, Director of Knowledge Lab at the University of Chicago. They talk about how to activate diversity, how to harness collective intelligence, and the paradoxical interplay between innovation and execution.

Published
July 18, 2022

Your Difference is Your Greatest Strength with Nelson Derry

In this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Nelson Derry, Global Head of Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Aesop. Nelson’s inspiring upbringing and the depth of his career experience have shaped his worldview and taught him valuable lessons. He and Tim explore his story and discuss what it really takes to intentionally change organizational culture. Hint: it involves shedding bias and harnessing divergent perspectives.

Published
July 11, 2022

Polishing Our People with Jeri Larsen

In this episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Jeri Larsen. They talk about how to meet the individual needs of team members, what it means to be a self-directed learner, and tackle some of the hardest elements of organizational culture. The main question at play: How can we make sure that our people are the happiest?

Published
June 27, 2022

Inclusion is Core Business with Chantal Le Roux

In this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Chantal le Roux, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Program Manager at Amazon Web Services joins Timothy R. Clark to talk about how to embed inclusive strategy into workplace culture. It’s core business, something that people need to take ownership of in order to create spaces that are truly psychologically safe.

Published
June 20, 2022

We’re All a Work in Progress with Suhail Al Kharsah

In this episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Suhail Al Kharsah, Enterprise Agile Coach with the Central Transformation Office for Pharma International at Roche. Suhail shares the gems that he has learned from his many diverse professional and cultural experiences. Together they discuss the fluidity of connection, the need to overcome perfectionism mindsets, and how to set expectations that allow for experimentation.

Published
June 13, 2022

Curiosity is Today’s Superpower with Garry Browne

On this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark is joined by Garry Browne, Head of Learning and Development at Nestle UK and Ireland. They discuss all things reflection, passion, and introspection.If intrinsic motivation and self-awareness are your jam, if you’re curious about the interplay between leadership and inclusivity, or if you want to learn how to harness your interests into work that you’re passionate about, press play.

Published
June 6, 2022

Bring Yourself to the Doorstep of Change with Tony Daloisio

Why is change so difficult to maintain? How can reaching beyond quantitative data improve problem solving? In this week's episode of Culture By Design, Tony Daloisio joins Timothy R. Clark to discuss the recipe for lasting change and the possibilities of influence and intuition in leadership and business thinking.

Published
May 30, 2022

Infusing Agility Into the DNA of Your Culture with Marcelino Sanchez

Rarely do organizations reward leaders for the things they stop doing. We should be excited at the prospect of simplifying processes and getting operational clarity. Clarity in creates speed. How do you create clarity and eliminate the "resistance" to organizational change? In this week’s episode of Culture by Design, Timothy R. Clark interviews Marcelino Sanchez, Managing Principal at Agilityze on how you can infuse agility into the DNA of your culture.

Published
May 23, 2022

Be Brave at Work with Ed Evarts

What does it mean to be brave at work? Do you look at bravery as a skill that you can develop? This week Ed Evarts joins Timothy R. Clark to discuss what that looks like for leaders and individual contributors to be brave at work.

Published
May 2, 2022

Experiential Learning: Leveling-up L&D with Paul Phelan

What happens when you treat your people as the number one asset in the building? There are positive consequences that ripple throughout the organization. This week, Paul Phelan, Head of Leadership Development at Jardine Motors Group shares his story and unique experiences with leadership training. Enjoy this episode of Culture by Design.

Published
April 25, 2022

Empathy, the HR Superpower with Brandon Springle

How do you put people in the best positions to be successful? How do you draw stories and insights from data to shape your employe engagement experience? The answer is empathy and an absolute focus on helping people. This episode features our conversation with Brandon Springle, Director of Human Resources for Shaw Industries.

Published
April 18, 2022

Becoming an Authentic Leader with Zoe Mitchell

What does it mean to be an authentic and inclusive leader? Voted “Most Supportive Leader” by her employees and colleagues, Zoe Mitchell shares her story and her advice for becoming an authentic and inclusive leader with host Timothy R. Clark.

Published
April 11, 2022

Leading Through Connection with Kenny Luck

"If you're not doing relationships right, you're not doing life right" this week Timothy R. Clark interviews Kenny Luck founder of Every Man Ministries and ECPA platinum award winning author of 24 books. Together they discuss connecting in a post-pandemic virtual world and the importance of getting your relationships right.

Published
April 4, 2022

Creating Shared Meaning with Dr. Reggie Crane

What if everyone in your organization approached their role and understood its direct impact on the core mission and values of the organization? How do you create shared meaning. In this episode Timothy R. Clark interviews Dr. Reggie Crane on how to approach shared meaning.

Published
March 28, 2022

A Culture of Design Thinking with Mark Polson

Timothy R Clark invites Mark Polson to discuss design thinking and how to create a climate where creativity and innovation thrive. Mark is former VP of Creativity and Business Innovation at Estée Lauder, Principal and Founder of Polson & Associates and Professor for the MPS Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing Management Program.

Published
March 21, 2022

Inside an Olympic Team Culture with Dan Collins

Timothy R Clark invites olympic medalist, speaker, trainer and consultant Dan Collins to discuss team culture and becoming our best selves. Dan shares insights on how to make a bigger contribution and discover your strengths.

Published
March 14, 2022

Delighting in Diversity with Love Odih Kumuyi

Timothy R. Clark invites Love Odih Kumuyi founder of Unsiloed to discuss how organizations can design more inclusive environments and get unsiloed. Love offers practical tools for making lasting change while also sharing pitfalls to avoid when navigating cultural transformation.

Published
March 7, 2022

Navigating Workplace Bullying with Nicki Eyre

Dr. Timothy R. Clark invites Nicki Eyre to discuss navigating workplace bullying from both the individual and organizational level, why encouraging a speak-up culture is not enough, and how to have both performance and cultural accountability for individual contributors and leaders.

Published
March 1, 2022

Introduction to Culture by Design

Welcome to “Culture by Design” a LeaderFactor Podcast. We’ll bring together expertise from around the globe to discuss the unique challenges facing leaders working in highly dynamic environments. To help you create a culture by design not by default.

Published
January 21, 2022