Lead Culture with Jenni Catron

Today, we’re going to talk to you about a topic that we often see get overlooked or avoided.  As leaders, we want to attract great team members. We want to build inspiring teams and yet, sometimes we avoid the very things that produce the greatest cultures. Often, those things are simple, but they are extraordinarily hard.  The simple but challenging topic we’re going to tackle today is: feedback....

How does your team behave?  Kind of an odd question, isn’t it. Think for a minute about the behaviors of your team. What do they do that you love? What do they do that frustrates you? What do you wish they did differently? How would you describe them? This analysis of how your team behaves gives you clues as to whether the culture you’re hoping to create as a leader is really being lived out by yo...

What happens when you bring three amazing culture thought leaders together for the podcast? A great discussion about the challenges we’re seeing for leaders and teams right now, the dynamics of 5 generations in the workplace, how to think differently about empowering younger leaders, and so much more! This episode of the Lead Culture podcast features all three partners from the Culture Conference:...

What if the solution to feeling overwhelmed and disconnected was as simple as giving less advice and asking more questions? Today’s guest, Michael Bungay Stanier believes that staying curious and creating a habit of coaching can resolve many of the leadership challenges we face - while also giving us freedom as we work less but make a bigger impact. Michael has written books that have sold about a...

While today’s topic is practical and necessary, it’s a leadership skill that we see some organizations struggle with: accountability. What if your structure or system problem is really a lack of accountability? How do you create a balance of healthy accountability that helps every person contribute at their best level, without micromanaging? In this episode, Jenni shares 4 principles for creating...

I recently heard Marshall Goldsmith say that “leaders are better than ever, yet the feedback about leaders is worse than ever. The expectations for leaders have changed.” This immediately resonated with me, and I wanted to find out what leadership expert and author, Tim Arnold, had to say about it.  In this episode, Tim shares the challenges he’s hearing from leaders, the transformational power of...

In this episode, Jenni interviews JuneAn Lanigan, the CIO and Chief Data Officer at FTC Solar. FTC Solar is a fast-growing global provider of solar tracking systems, technology, software and engineering services.  JuneAn is a brilliant leader with a heart for leading others, understanding how to get the best out of others and how to motivate people to do good work. JuneAn tells the story of three...

The problem with culture: it’s an outcome To really influence culture we have to be purposeful about what we’re putting into it. We have to ask ourselves, “What inputs will lead to the outcomes we hope for?”  The key to embedding our values into our culture in a way that leads to true behavior change is in creating rhythms that reinforce our aspirational culture at every stage of a team member’s j...

On this week's podcast, Jenni is joined by one of our Women in Leadership alumni, Angela Buckland. Angela is the Discipleship Director for Bethlehem Church in Bethlehem, GA. Jenni just spent a day with their team talking about all things organizational culture. What she loves about this team is that they asked her to come and talk with them about culture to help them proactively think about t...

There is a similar theme that permeates church leadership culture: We’re all terrified of finding ourselves in the same place and yet we keep doing the same thing expecting different results – and we know what that really is – INSANITY! So what differentiates leaders who flame out from those who lead well for the long haul?  PRIORITIES Priorities are the filters that help us succeed in all aspects...

“People are my greatest challenge.” Whether coaching a pastor or a business executive, we repeatedly hear this phrase muttered in exhaustion. Different leaders... different environments, but the concern is nearly always the same. Leaders underestimate the challenge of leading others.   In Jenni’s work with hundreds of leaders, she has grown convinced that emotional intelligence (or lack thereof) i...

“Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.” ― Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable This week, Jenni interviews Shannon Litton, President & CEO of 5by5 in a discussion on team health & culture, the challenges and surprising benefits of running a...

There is a significant distinction between the leader who is able to compel people to join them in the pursuit of the vision, and the leader who struggles to keep a unified team: it’s the discipline of the leader, not the capability of the followers.   We often hear from leaders that their team “just can’t keep up,” “they don’t know how to lead others,” “they don’t get it,” etc.  Leaders find them...

In our last episode, we talked about the exponential pressure on leaders right now, especially those who are in the mid-level roles of leadership. This week, Jenni chats more about this topic with Milan Ford. Milan is the Executive Director of Operations at Turning Point Church, located in McDonough, Georgia. With over two decades of ministry leadership experience, Ford has served alongside some o...

82% of young adults say, “society is facing a crisis of leadership because there are not enough good leaders right now.” (Barna) At 4Sight, we are deeply convicted that leadership is sacred work. We get the privilege of investing in the lives of others. This isn’t a right. It’s a responsibility, and the best leaders approach leadership with a sober mentality. This week, Jenni shares some sobering...

Have you ever been asked, “What is it like to be a woman leader?” Does it make you feel like being a woman is like having a third eye or some other science-fiction abnormality?  We are leaders who happen to be women. That’s all. Gender shouldn’t define our opportunities or limitations. It shouldn’t dictate whether we’re a good leader or a bad one. It shouldn’t be the thing that holds us back from...

Simple things consistently done over time shape a culture.  Consistent appreciation of your team over time produces a culture where team members feel valued and know that their contributions are making a difference. Lack of appreciation of your team over time produces a culture where team members doubt or question their value and are unsure of their purpose within the organization.  This week, Jen...

Do you ever feel like: Someone may be holding back your team Someone or something is  impeding your growth Something is frustrating and demotivating your staff   Well friends, today we’ll talk about how that someone might be you. Most leaders intend to be good leaders. You value the importance of leadership, and you recognize the tremendous stewardship opportunity to pour into others, develop them...

Trust. The elusive relational equity everyone longs for but struggles to know how to build. We take it for granted when we have it, and we are often surprised once we realize we’ve lost it. The foundational element for every team is trust. Yet time after time when working with leaders on their culture, one of the first issues they cite is lack of trust. They are quick to request a trust-building w...

Why do leadership and culture go together? Leaders shape culture and cultures shape leaders. This is the power of culture. And in a season where finding staff is challenging and keeping staff is critical for continuity, creating a culture that enables employees to enjoy their work is a game changer. If you want a great culture, you have to lead to that culture. If you need to change your culture,...

Every year presents its surprises. As much as we try to plan and anticipate what the year ahead will hold, part of leadership is being able to anticipate the possibilities and respond to the realities.  We wholeheartedly believe that your organizational culture should be at the top of your priority list every year, but each year different factors may affect when and how your culture will be impact...

As we’ve mentioned recently, data is telling us that purpose is becoming core to employee engagement. In this week’s episode, Jenni continues this conversation with a look at what passion and purpose mean to the next generation of leaders as she interviews Hannah Gronowski Barnett, CEO and Founder of Generation Distinct. Since founding the organization in 2018, Hannah has scaled the organization t...

The number #1 Culture Trend for this year (from O.C. Tanner 5 Culture Trends for 2023 ) is that employees want more from their work. “More than a high salary or unique perks and benefits, they want the sense of fulfillment that comes from doing work that has a purpose and feeling that they belong to their workplace community.” The problem for many team members is that they feel disconnected from t...

As we start the new year, perhaps the biggest question that should be at the top of our minds is: how to build a great team. Your team is the lynch pin between your purpose and your strategy. You can have the greatest purpose in the world, and you can have devised the greatest strategy to achieve it, but without a team to make it happen, it’s just a dream.  In Matthew Kelly’s book, Culture Solutio...

During the Covid pandemic, 150 million people were pushed back into global poverty and 20 million girls left the classroom, many to never return again. For companies like Noonday Collection and Sseko Designs, continuing to provide economic opportunities for the communities they have been supporting for over a decade became even more critical - and the best way to do it was by doing it together. In...