CultureLab with Aga Bajer

The Deep Dive with Aga and Shani is your monthly episode about all things culture. This episode focuses on rebuilding a resilient workplace culture as companies face immense challenges nowadays that can have lasting effects on their culture and relationships. Whether you're a seasoned HR professional, a team leader, or an entrepreneur looking to build a strong and resilient culture from the ground...

Rituals are a fascinating aspect of human behaviour. From ancient religions to the modern workplace, they play a significant role in shaping our culture and behaviour. In this week's episode, Ezra Bookman , the founder of Ritualist, shares practical strategies and real-world examples of how companies have leveraged the power of rituals to create a dynamic and thriving work environment. To join  Cu...

In this episode, we dive deep into the power of language and how software can help businesses create more inclusive communication and culture. In a time when inclusivity and empathy are more important than ever before, AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) is revolutionizing the way we write and communicate. Our guest, Kieran Snyder, the Co-Founder and CEO of Textio is an expert in NLP and...

The Deep Dive with Aga and Shani is your monthly episode about all things culture. This episode focuses on activating company values and creating a culture where values are not just talked about but lived and breathed by every employee. Whether you're a seasoned HR professional, a team leader, or an entrepreneur looking to build a strong culture from the ground up, our podcast has something for yo...

Do you ever wonder why some teams thrive while others struggle? According to recent studies, the secret sauce to success may lie in something unexpected - play at work. My guest, Kristi Herold, the founder and CEO of JAM and the author of "It Pays to Play" talks about how to incorporate play into how we run our businesses. To join  CultureBrained®  go to  tinyurl.com/culturebrained To access our f...

Is it possible to make a difference and make money? Nikki Gatenby says yes! If you are looking to make a difference in the world while still running a successful business, this episode is a must-listen. Nikki provides valuable tips and ideas on how to be profitable and purposeful and how we can contribute to creating a better world through our businesses. Tune into this episode to learn how to pur...

When it comes to creating a truly just workplace, many companies today seem fixated on ticking off diversity metrics. But DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) is not just about numbers - it's about creating a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. Our guest today, Trier Bryant, the President of 82VS, Alloy Therapeutics' affiliated venture studio that builds and invests...

In this episode, we dive into the importance of innovation in the modern business world. Our guest, Dan Strode, shares insights on how a corporate culture that nurtures creativity and encourages experimentation can foster innovation and give a company a unique competitive edge. He delves into the ways companies can cultivate an environment that values and prioritizes innovation, and how it ultimat...

Drama in the workplace is a major drain on productivity, creativity, and collaboration. It manifests as emotional outbursts, unresolved disagreements, resistance to change, or misalignment with strategic priorities. It's not just unpleasant - it can cost billions in lost engagement and productivity, exacerbating mental health issues. Fortunately, we can learn how to minimize or even eliminate dram...

Belonging is not a by-product of success - it's a necessary condition for any team. In this episode, I am joined by one of the most distinguished experts on belonging and community building, Charles Vogl. Tune in to hear us do a deep dive into some of the foundational principles of nurturing authentic and supportive communities at work - and in life. To join  CultureBrained®  go to  tinyurl.com/cu...

Jessica Zwaan has amassed quite a following among HR professionals frustrated with the old way of doing things and keen to develop an agile, evidence-based approach to serve their people and business and to drive performance. Jessica is currently the COO at Whereby , and outside of her company, she is most well known for her approach to people ops as a product. Jessica's latest book is called Buil...

There's a major positive side-effect to the pandemic - it presents us with the biggest opportunity we've had in the past 100 years to redesign the way we work and finally fix the stuff that's been broken since the industrial era. In this episode, Lynda Gratton, a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School talks about how you can make hybrid work. She is one of the foremost global t...

For many people, fun and work don't mix. We tend to think of work as the serious and virtuous stuff of life. Fun, on the other hand, is perceived as something frivolous, an indulgence that we can rarely afford. But fun at work turns out to be serious business; it's one of the pillars of thriving cultures, alongside meaning and belonging. Today my guest is an award-winning science journalist, Cathe...

Most people struggle with "constructive" feedback. It's hard to hear it and even harder to give it. We are neurologically hard-wired to avoid feedback like the plague. And yet, we cannot grow and develop without it. Our guest, Kim Scott , discovered that when feedback comes from a place of caring deeply and challenging directly, it can be very effective. She calls it radical candor. If you are not...

"When's the last time you had a good chat with yourself? The kind of chat where you ask yourself, "How am I in there?" - this is one of the questions Jeanette Bronée likes asking. Rethinker, Culture Strategist, Global Keynote & 2 x TEDx Speaker, Author, CEO & Founder of Path for Life®, Jeanette Bronée is rethinking self-care in the workplace as the foundation for peak performance, engagement, and...

Megan Reitz , Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult International Business School talks about creating spaces for dialogue that enable employees to speak truth to power and elaborates on the skills we need to develop to successfully navigate the relatively new territory of employee activism. To join  CultureBrained®  go to  tinyurl.com/culturebrained To access our free resources and materia...

Robin Dunbar is a professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University. He has spent most of his career trying to answer a deceptively simple: How and why did humans evolve to be such a sociable species? He is perhaps best known for the so-called Dunbar's number, the idea that there is an upper limit to the number of meaningful social relationships we can maintain. In this interview professor...

We've all felt pulled in two seemingly opposite directions and faced tough dilemmas at work at times: Culture fit or culture add? Employees-first or customer-first? Innovation or efficiency? Self-managed teams or traditional hierarchy? In this episode, Professor Wendy Smith from the University of Delaware talks about her new book Both/And Thinking; Embracing Creative Tensions and the opportunities...

Have you ever felt frustrated by the fact that people tend to stick to their guns, even when presented with indisputable evidence that their beliefs are completely unfounded or plain wrong? This is the question that intrigued my guest, David McCraney , a science journalist fascinated with brains, minds, and culture. It led him on an investigative journey that resulted in a new book, How Minds Chan...

This month we are sharing some of the best episodes from our archive and this episode with Max Mckeown is a must-listen and a great place to start when thinking of how to align culture and strategy. We talk about how to find your next big idea, what role strategy plays in your ability to create the future you want and what scenarios could emerge if culture and strategy really sat down to have brea...

What would happen if you got rid of traditional HR? Listen to this episode where Heiko Fischer, the CEO of Resourceful Humans, talks about how he moved from noodling over this question to actually giving it a go at Crytek, one of Europe's biggest video gaming companies. Learn how Crytek transitioned from a traditional hierarchy to a network of self-managed teams that are fueled by 100% entrepreneu...

How do you avoid joining a company with a toxic culture—or build a healthy one when you are already a part of the organization? These are just a couple of questions addressed in this episode of Adam Grant's WorkLife that we are grilled to bring you as part of our new collab with TED Audio Collective. In this episode, Adam Grant explores how to recognize the four deadly sins of work culture when yo...

As a society, we've certainly made some progress in honoring the contribution of the LGBTQ workforce. But, there are still minds, hearts, teams, and companies that do not engage and where people, irrespective of what group they identify with, do not experience psychological safety. And so we thought that during the Pride Month, it would be more relevant than ever to release the interview with the...

How do you know that it's time to update your views on what's best for your team and your business? Our guest, Mark Rickmeier , the CEO of  TXI , believes that the best time to rethink comes when you first sense that the way you work no longer serves your team. In this interview, Mark shares his personal journey of challenging his personal beliefs evolving the culture at TXI , and of the three maj...

Storytelling is the very stuff of culture. It's also the language of the mind. Stories bridge the gap between the past and the future, create shared identities, provide us with meaning, and shape the culture within our communities. But there is more to storytelling than just telling stories. Influencing, changing minds and inspiring action is ultimately about shaping the stories people choose to b...