Building Better Cultures

Celebrating Success and Building Pride​:  We're doing some focus groups for a new client, and an attendee said, "We used to hear stories of the difference we made, and we don't hear about it anymore. It'd be nice to get that back.​" ​ Why is it important?  ​ Because it helps to celebrate your purpose – Why you exist – through the difference you make, and that's at the very core of the culture you...

On this episode of Building Better Cultures we're checking in with Kevin Empey, Managing Director of WorkMatters, who first shared thoughts about pandemic fall-out back in March 2021 (Ep 61)   Kevin details various models going forward and where the priorities must lie for leaders invested in cultivating agility as well as sustainability. The need for onsite collaboration and innovation is real, b...

Organisations of all sizes are trying to define parameters for today's new workplace cultures – whether remote, on-site or in-between. Host, Scott McInnes, invites a people management expert Andrew Bartlow, the Founder and Managing Partner at the People Leader Accelerator , to share his 25+ years of expertise. Andrew shares practical tips and tools leaders can implement when establishing healthy w...

Darren Murph is an organisational architect who specialises in and knows what works – and what doesn't. Based on 15 years at GitLab, most recently as Head of Remote, he has all kinds of concrete advice for organisations trying to figure out the correct configuration for their individually distributed workplace models.   Some C-suiters are reluctant to abandon old office-based operations, emphasizi...

Big corporate initiatives designed to transform workplace cultures are often top-down affairs, this week's guest has taken a different approach to integrate sustainability across Swiss Re, a global financial services provider. James Hartley, a global HR Leader at Swiss Re, shares with us the nuts and bolts of their CO2NetZero programme, a rallying point for climate activism that has ignited ongoin...

Are you ready to integrate a values-based component into your corporate ethos? It's a big commitment, but one with tremendous ROI at every level. On this episode of Building Better Cultures, Scott talks with Sandy Cross, CPO in the Professional Golf Association of America (PGA).     But for it to work, the effort must be for real. Without buy-in from top leadership – a deep understanding and commi...

If we didn't already know it, the pandemic laid bare the fact that, as humans, we inevitably bring our whole selves to our jobs - including a range of emotions. This episode of Building Better Cultures focuses on mental health, which has taken center stage in the workplace and softened the separation between personal and professional.  Our guest, Niamh Fitzpatrick, a psychologist who works with bu...

There's been a recent trend towards hiring for culture or values fit. It seems sensible in principle - hire people who share a similar working ethos and they should fit in and get going more quickly - but, in doing so, what might you be missing?   How can hiring people with similar value sets help to create more diverse workforces? Or create that bit of tension and challenge that often results in...

In this episode of Building Better Cultures, we hear from a top virtual-speaking specialist who sees a golden opportunity in the virtual world. Peter Hopwood, a global executive speaker coach, believes the most reticent public speakers can emerge as stronger, more engaging communicators than ever before.   There are ways to leverage your online environment and actually take pleasure in an ability...

This episode of Building Better Cultures throws a spotlight on mental health and well-being as we tentatively re-enter workplace cultures forever changed by the pandemic. Scott's guest, Donna Reilly, is an expert in the development of corporate wellness programs. She reflects on Covid19's long-term impacts on organisations and the adjustments leaders will have to make in light of employees awakene...

Not only is meaningful, sustainable cultural change possible in the workplace, but it's also something that can be mapped and measured. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, Karen Jones spells out the many elements of the gold standard diagnostic model she deploys as a Managing Director at Denison Consulting. The inquiry starts with a survey of 12 key cultural measures, but those results ar...

Our latest BBC shorts is about Creating Boundaries. The pandemic has accelerated the idea of home / remote working and it's here to stay. It's given us the flexibility to create a more blended approach to our work and home lives, like bringing the kids to school, doing a load of laundry, grabbing a coffee or going to a doctor's appointment.  BUT… We're missing the downtime commuting gave us. We ne...

  The Building Better Cultures podcast starts out the new year with a lively conversation featuring Ray Walsh, a communications and internal localization consultant whose professional background and years of living in various European markets have given him unique insights into the power and nuance behind effective messaging. The author of "Localizing Employee Communications: A Handbook" shares th...

It's the end of the year and a time to think about what we've achieved this year and perhaps start to think about what lies ahead. But taking time to reflect on achievements isn't something I've ever been very good at, and I don't think others are either.  But it is really important to take stock and celebrate our achievements.  If we don't it can often be the case that no-one else will either  So...

The world is no longer linear, and yet old command-and-control management structures persist. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, international management consultant Gill Kernick shares powerful insights about why it is that C-Suite executives sometimes lack the leadership skills necessary to support healthy workplace cultures. Internal communications, policies and best intentions go only...

Peter Senge, the American systems scientist and author said, "People don't resist change; they resist being changed."  And we've all heard the McKinsey '70% of change programmes fail' stat hundreds of times (largely because of a lack of buy-in from people and leaders). Most corporate 'big change' is agreed by CEOs and senior teams and then pushed down through the organisation from the top, often w...

  Host Scott McInnes' guest on this episode of Building Better Cultures exemplifies the passion she prescribes for strong leadership. Zana Goic Petricevic, founder and managing director of Bold Leadership Culture, brings a uniquely compelling brand of coaching and transformational approach to empowering workplace cultures. Her new book, "Bold Reinvented: Leading with Courage, Consciousness and Con...

It sometimes feels like Employee Engagement has been superseded by the new, best thing in leadership thinking - purpose, values, leading in a hybrid world etc.  But, for me, it's about getting the fundamentals of work right so that workplaces are the best they can be to allow people to be the best they can be David Macleod and Nita Clarke published Engage for Success in 2010 and the four enablers...

While it may seem counter-intuitive at first, there is wisdom in the concept of leading from behind. This episode of Building Better Cultures deconstructs team dynamics and the long-term impact of providing individuals the space to contribute. Host Scott McInnes invites Peter Docker, the popular motivational speaker and author of multiple books, to share his unique take on human collaboration and...

Startups are known for being fluid, nimble and open to experimentation. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, Host Scott McInnes' guest is someone uniquely positioned to explain the mindset and best practices under which these ventures thrive. Chief Marketing Officer for MUSH, a Chicago-based food company that has experienced phenomenal growth, Jo shares not only her from-the-front observat...

EPISODE SUMMARY Culture in the workplace is often assumed to be human-to-human contact in the office environment, so the concept of culture in a solely remote business, on the surface, seems irrelevant. On this episode of Building Better Cultures, Scott discusses the importance of culture within a remote-only business framework with Camilla Boyer, an experienced speaker and Head of Internal Commun...

In this episode, Scott talks about why recognition, why it's important and some ways to do it in a way that's authentic and builds price among your people   Key takeaways:   ➡️ Recognition is an important leadership skill that improves employee engagement. ➡️ A simple 'Thank you' is often enough - but let people know why you're thanking them so they know what they've done ➡️ Recognition goes super...

The culture and structure of military service is completely unique, and yet on some levels there are commonalities with commercial organizations of any type. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, Scott welcomes two front-line officers whose experience shaping the Irish Defence Forces offers lessons applicable within any workplace environment. Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, recently retired Chie...

In this episode, Scott talks about why podcasting isn't just an entertainment medium for millions of people around the world.    Organisations - American Airlines, Tata Steel, Deloitte, Permanent TSB and more - are starting to realise that using podcasting internally for staff and harnessing the human voice brings a new level of authenticity, empathy and understanding to communications.   Key take...

There is a reason that storytelling has been a primal means of communication dating back to our earliest tribal traditions. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, Scott McInnes's guest, Eoghan Tomás McDermott explains why – and how – people across the spectrum of business, sports and public service arenas can benefit from deploying the power of narrative. All it takes is awareness, guidance...