Episode Transcript
Tim Carroll (00:00)
Welcome to Culture at Work, the podcast that explores how to maintain a strong corporate culture in a rapidly changing world. I'm your host, Tim Carroll, inviting you to learn from industry leaders on how to build an exciting culture to bring people back to the office and inspire them like never before. On today's broadcast, we're bringing together some of the most thought-provoking, inspiring, and actionable moments from this season's guests, leaders who challenge the way we think about culture, leadership.
and the future of work. Let's kick things off with Vice President at Mars North America, Ricardo Costa, and how he utilizes communication to shape culture amongst his distributed team.
Ricardo Costa (00:41)
a challenge because we've got team members located in the East Coast, West Coast, Central, even in some folks in the Netherlands. So we're working with different time zones. That creates a challenge. And so ⁓ I wouldn't necessarily ⁓ say we're driving culture as we are encouraging hyper collaboration, a lot of really good communication.
and provoking one another in a positive sense. So that's what I do is I push that logic to, for everybody to have a voice, for everyone to kind of bring forth that level of experience and communication because we have to rely on that. it's less about driving a culture than I think that we are encouraging everybody to define that culture collectively, which is really interesting.
Tim Carroll (01:35)
He shares the evolution of office design and how now more than ever, employees are expressing their desire for more collaboration and connection.
Ricardo Costa (01:44)
At one point in time, we were in cubicle farms and tall panels and work was very individualized. And ⁓ then an idea came to present itself as what if people were to collaborate more? And we started to experience ⁓ systems panels coming lower and creating a different kind of an ambiance and starting to shape up.
this idea of people could collaborate in order to work effectively better with one another. That idea and logic started to get pushed even furthermore by architectural firms and clients providing feedback to say, people want more, we want more effectiveness, we want more connection in the workplace, we want more collaboration.
Tim Carroll (02:33)
well-designed space, says Costa, can psychologically impact employees for the better.
Ricardo Costa (02:39)
You know, people take quite a bit of pride in their space, right? And it's no secret that we all spend probably the most amount of our human existence working in an office or in a workplace. ⁓ And so people take great pride in knowing that they work in a great, beautiful space that they have access to a lot of choices when they go to work. ⁓
And so, you know, the fit and finish, the quality, the appearance, that all has a psychological impact on that, on that person in work. ⁓ Maybe a person goes to work with a crummy morning, but their space is so gorgeous and so thoughtful. And it provides them such an array that it psychologically changes their day. ⁓ So there is quite a bit of research that, you know, the fit and finish, the choices, the colors, the options, the variety.
addressed into that workplace, not only walls, but also furniture and other functions and technology. It all has a play on how a person feels and that does help shape up that culture.
Tim Carroll (03:51)
bring home Costa's point of how a space can mold a person's emotions, we turn to Michelle Bolton, vice president of A &D at Kimball International, who speaks on the research behind creating spaces to belong.
Michelle Boolton (04:03)
it goes back to some of the research that we did on this creating places to belong. As an example, you know, when people feel that they belong, there is a 50 % reduction in turnover risk. So exactly that, right? There is a 75 % reduction in sick days. There's a 56 % improvement in job performance, all because people feel that they belong. Design is what unlocks that feeling, right? When you are
into the space and again it is a space that you just feel good in. It's hard to put a pin to pinpoint what it is. Is it the access to natural light? Is it the sensory environment? Is it the multiple textures that we need to sort of like stimulate our brain? Is it the furniture which is the unsung hero of any space? Right? It's the actual thing you use and yet is the thing that's often taken for granted. But all of those things
coupled together are what unlocks this feeling of belonging and this just feeling good, right? Again, it's really hard to pinpoint. Here's the thing, you know when it's not there. Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint what it is that is making you feel good, but boy, you can walk into a space to your point earlier and know within five seconds, this isn't my kind of jade.
Tim Carroll (05:23)
And while the feeling might be hard to pinpoint, the power of a space is undeniable.
Michelle Boolton (05:29)
You can read the culture of an organization without saying a word when you walk into a space. Right? It's that powerful. And so it helps. I love your word. It helps anchor an organization when there is a space that reflects the culture. You know, it is this silent steward of the mission and the values and the heart, being soul of a company when you walk in the door, right? It's the thing I love that people come sometimes to like.
I call it our home, right, in Jasper, Indiana. And the most complimentary thing someone can say to me is, I wish I could work here. All because they walked in and felt the vibe. You know what I mean? Like that's pretty powerful.
Tim Carroll (06:13)
Speaking of powerful, our next guest, Lisa Marini, a brain-based performance coach and workplace mindset expert, breaks down how the brain works and what happens when we let stress take over.
Lisa Marini (06:26)
We essentially live in one of two brain states. We're either in a limbic state or in a prefrontal state. The limbic state is the fight and flight response. And these two brain states compete for resources. So it's really binary in a sense. And I know this is very grossly over simplified, but we live in one of these two states. And when we're in that limbic state, the fight and flight,
We don't have access to critical thinking, logic, strategy, kindness, compassion. We literally are defensive. And so when we're in that state, we either shut down, we are reserved, we're quiet. We see those people that just stonewall or they get really quiet. That's more of a flight response. And then we see the people that are a bit more aggressive, that they're snippy, they're sarcastic, they're passive aggressive. I tend to fall in that category. ⁓
And so, when we're in those states, your brain actually thinks it's in danger. Your brain has no discernment ability to distinguish an actual danger, the house catching on fire, versus a thought or worry.
Tim Carroll (07:32)
So what does Marini recommend to control that limbic state?
Lisa Marini (07:36)
When we go into that limbic response, we release adrenaline, we release cortisol, we go into a sympathetic arousal state. So that's what we have to address, is that arousal state. And one of the absolute best tools that you can do is shaking your body. So if you were to stand up and physically shake, every presentation I give or when I lead companies, I have the whole group stand up and everybody's shaking and they're like, what are we doing? But when they sit down,
there is a difference and you can see the difference in their face, you can see it in their body, their body just is presented different. And I ask them why they think it works. Why do you think shaking your body works? Well, the answer is that we're dealing with the stress hormones that have been released.
Tim Carroll (08:22)
And beyond the physical, she reminds us that mindset is everything.
Lisa Marini (08:27)
The number one thing people can do is to keep themselves in a good state and look at it like they have a force field around them. That no matter what my manager says, no matter what that person over there is saying and doing, you can't affect me. These are your thoughts, that's your junk, that's your anger. It can affect me. And the more that we can self-regulate and stay in our truth and stay in our good positive.
mindset that can be contagious as well. And somebody might say, gosh, you you're always, you're always in a great mood. I know you've hung around people like that where you're like, man, I've had a rough day. I'm going to go hang out with that person over there because they just seem to bring my mood up. And if we can truly stay in our own state, then we start to believe that reality, that things are good, just like the yellow car, you know, that gosh, I could sit here and be frustrated and see everything wrong in this company and why everybody's screwing up.
what we focus on grows and that's our reality. So when we can focus on the good and maintain our own positive mindset and start seeing the good things, then we see good things, right? It is only perception.
Tim Carroll (09:33)
Continuing the mindset theme is expert speaker and executive vice president of the Maxwell Leadership Entrepreneurial Solutions Group, Chris Robinson, who touches on his mantra that the I deserve mentality actually deserves you and your team.
Chris Robinson (09:50)
when you think about the word deserve, all right, because that's really what entitlement is, is I deserve. But what happens to leaders and what happens to organizations, when we begin to take on the I deserve mentality, let's just look at the word. When you deserve, you de-serve your people around your team. Now come on somebody, we'll get ready to work right here. You de-serve your customers, you de-serve your team members, you de-serve.
your employees when you have that deserve mentality. So if we can get over ourselves and just, hey, just clean the plate every single day and just say, hey, look, I'm fortunate because I know for many people out there in your organizations, most of you may be looking at your life from where you grew up and what you have now today, what you get to do. And you may start from a place of gratitude, but if you don't clean that slate every clean every day.
and you fall into that deserving mentality, you're gonna find frustration, you're gonna find yourself not aspiring to the levels that you truly want to now at this point. And so we've gotta drop this entitlement mentality. I deserve nothing, I owe the company everything.
Tim Carroll (11:02)
He also emphasizes the importance of purpose and how it is the compass that helps leaders distinguish between what's meaningful and what's noise.
Chris Robinson (11:11)
Yeah, when you talk about purpose, I love this phrase and I heard this is probably one of the very first speaking events I ever spoke at and Gary Gunderson was the speaker that day and I was a speaker behind him. But he said this and stuck with me since 2009. He said, without clarity in your purpose, you cannot tell an opportunity from a distraction. Without clarity in your purpose, you cannot tell an opportunity from a distraction. So your purpose is critical.
And so that's why, you know, when I talk with people about efficiency and getting things done, you know, I asked them, said, you know, what are your goals or your aspirations that you're trying to write those out on one side of the page? And then what I want you to do is go back and look at your to-do list from the last two, three, four or five days. And chances are your to-do list looks crazy in comparison to what you say your purpose and your goals are. And so what I try to do on a daily basis is look at.
is what I'm doing today line up with where I ultimately want to go. And if it does not line up with where I'm trying to go, then I don't need that activity on my list.
Tim Carroll (12:23)
And without growth, says Robinson, we come to a place of seeming success.
Chris Robinson (12:27)
I feel, ask the average individual, you know, how long have you been in an industry? How long have you been in an industry? And they'll tell you, well, I've got 10 years experience, or I've got five years experience, 15 years experience. And all I can show you, they probably got one year experience repeated five times, 10 times, 15 times, because they came to this place of complacency. Now, this is where personal growth kicks in, because complacency is not a place of laziness, okay?
complacency is not laziness whatsoever. Complacency is a secret place of seemingly success. It's a secret place of seeming success. Now, if you think about that, and I mean, I'm guilty as this just as anyone is the fact that we do so many, we do some things over and over again to where we get good enough to not think about it. And deep down inside, we know that we can be better.
But because we're good and the average person can't do it, we fall into complacency and there's this secret place inside of us that's satisfying. It's a secret place of satisfactory success. I've been thinking about that. And so I do have a book coming out in July of next year called Overcoming Complacency is the working title, how to turn what you know into what you do. But that secret place of success.
is truly what personal growth helps you overcome. And so if you can find yourself working and developing, ask yourself, when was the last time you did something for the first time to get better in your current role? When was the last time you did something for the first time to get better in your current role? Is the question that can keep you on your toes to make sure that you don't fall into that secret place of seeming success.
Tim Carroll (14:18)
While Robinson touches on how we ourselves can drive our own personal growth, Vicki McGuire, Vice President of Client Experience at Working Spaces, tells us how leaders can aid in that growth.
Vicki McGuire (14:30)
really take the time as a leader to understand and recognize each individual team member, what their strongest skill is, because everybody has the term superpower now, it's out there. Everybody has a superpower. And I make sure that everybody else on the team knows their superpower. And we work to that skill and we share that skill across the team so everybody can learn and grow from that. That's kind of the first step of growth and development within the team.
From there, we have monthly soft skill trainings. We might do anything from how to build confidence. We might do something on how to write an email professionally, how to use AI. Like we keep doing all of these different skills so that each team member not only can work on a specific skill for furniture, they're learning and developing professionally and personally as well through different classes.
We've also partnered with Solomon and Coyle in the past for our project managers and they've done these very extensive project management training programs, which have been great for the development of those team members. And they bring it back to the team and are excited and energized. And then everybody on the team wants to, course, get to do that fun project management training that is highly coveted. So those are some of the ways we foster growth and it's a part of our culture.
We're going to be better tomorrow than we are today.
Tim Carroll (16:02)
And to add to that, McGuire says that failure is only part of the journey.
Vicki McGuire (16:07)
First, it gives them confidence. Confidence to make mistakes, to take risks, to try new things, to be creative, because they know our end goal is grow. And you can't grow unless you fail. So there's a lot of trying new things and working and working through things. And well, that didn't work exactly like we liked. And six months later now, we've got this whole new idea and we're doing something.
Collectively as a team because of our weekly team meetings, we talk about those things. We share what worked this week, what didn't work, lessons learned, all that stuff, and no one on the team is scared or afraid to share when they failed. It's actually kind of fun now. We like to talk about, you won't believe what happened on this one. Never will happen again because here's what I did to fix it and here's what you can do in the future to prevent it. Those are the kind of conversations we have.
Tim Carroll (17:04)
Next up, have Paul Holland, Managing Principal at Solomon Coil, and his advice on how organizations can curate their culture.
Paul Holland (17:12)
says, well, culture trumps strategy and it actually does. Right. So how do we curate it? I think it starts with really coming to consensus and agreement about what we value, right? What we value as people, whether that's, doesn't matter where you take that. It's like, we value our people. We value our community. We value what are our values. And I think that's really where it begins, where we come into agreement about what we value, what we're going to stand for.
What's our purpose? And then finally, what's our non-negotiable? What is, in another way of saying it, how do we defend against those people that would try to tear down a culture or dismantle or disrupt a culture?
Tim Carroll (17:59)
He then adds how culture, when done right, can align the right people to an organization.
Paul Holland (18:05)
The way I would think about it is if culture is done right, we are going to eliminate or we are going to move away from those who don't align to that culture. And as we continue to curate and mature our culture, we begin to attract people that align to our culture, which makes that less of a heavy lift, right? I think it's really an interesting notion where people talk about this.
And really what they're talking about, sometimes it's role. Yeah, what the role is they do, do they fit it well as their competency skill sets and passions wrap into that. But I think it's more of a cultural fit. And I think when done well, it will begin to create this gravitational pull of people that align to our culture. And that's super exciting. You know it when you've got everybody going the same direction, same heartbeat, same sense of purpose. That's the X factor in PIS.
Tim Carroll (19:01)
⁓
And when your culture is aligned internally, your clients can feel it too.
Paul Holland (19:05)
If we can think about putting the customer in the middle of our conversations, of our plans, of our execution and things like that, which to me is a direct connected tissue to culture, like we value our clients, right? And there's no question that they can feel it. You don't even have to talk about it. You don't even have to get in their face with it or anything like that. You're exactly right. I totally agree with that.
I believe that they can actually feel it in the way you work together. And the fascinating thing about that is by putting the client in the middle of what we're talking about here, you know what? end up in the lift or the heaviness of doing complex work and things like that really gets much lighter. We become more efficient, effective, more profitable.
And you know what, that's not a bad thing either because we have a responsibility to be profitable, to be there for them next year kind of thing, right? So all of the upside is there and the client feels it. And guess what? They vote again with their wallet and their trust. And I think it's just a beautiful thing when people really think about that and really think about, know what, it's
If we put the client in the middle of what we're thinking about, and frankly, that's what Amazon and other companies have done, right? Where do we get the friction out? And people feel it.
Tim Carroll (20:33)
But of course, you can't define your work culture without knowing your company's true purpose. For that, we turn to master storyteller and creative director at BrandMinded, Ren Scott.
Ren Scott (20:44)
it's reduce it to the irreducible minimum. You need to sit down and take a good hard look at what it is you do and are you articulating that in an effective way. So interesting story. You introduced me to somebody recently who asked for my advice on a campaign and I can't talk much about it other than the fact that it was something where all the marketing to date had been focusing on the technology that makes this work.
Nobody was talking about the fact that this technology is going to make your life so much better. So I, as a consumer, I'm not sitting here going, what kind of ship is making this machine work? I'm thinking, oh my God, my life is going to be better because I don't have to do A, B, and C. In one 10 minute conversation, the whole direction of that company changed. And something that I said...
in the first five minutes is now the headline on their website because they were missing the mark. know, people, people consume things through emotion. They want to feel good about it. know, nobody really needs to know what's inside the box. It's just what's the box going to do for you and how is it going to make your life better?
Tim Carroll (22:05)
And when it comes to messaging, the wrong one, even if well executed, won't make a difference.
Ren Scott (22:11)
If you start with the wrong message, if you start with the wrong understanding of what you really are doing, what you mean to people, what's the value of your business, and why does anybody need you? If you share, if you have the wrong message to begin with, then it doesn't matter how well you execute it, you're going to miss the mark. So I think it's very important to sit down and really identify your culture, your purpose, why you started this company in the first place.
Tim Carroll (22:41)
so many incredible insights this season. I want to thank all of our season two guests for taking the time to share their stories, perspectives, and best practices on building a better workplace. And of course, thank you for listening. We're already looking ahead to season three with fresh voices, new ideas, and deeper conversations on what it really takes to create a culture that lasts. Until then, I'm Tim Carroll, and this is Culture at Work.
