Leading Transformational Change with Tobias Sturesson

Steven Rogelberg is a leadership expert who was motivated to write his book ‘Glad We Met: The Art & Science of 1:1 Meetings’ due to the lack of strong treatment around the importance of these activities. Steven is the Chancellor's Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is also a professor of Organizational Science, Management, and Psychology and the founding Director of Organizational Science at UNC, Charlotte. Tune in as we discuss: The key elements of effective one-on-one meetings Creating a psychologically safe environment Why you should not cancel one-on-one meetings What are some of the best intentional questions and response choices? The ‘listing’ or ‘core question’ approach How to give feedback constructively and empathetically Links Mentioned: Free guide: https://heartmanagement.org/en/guide/  ‘Glad We Met’ by Steven Rogelberg HBR: Make the Most of Your One-on-One Meetings Steven’s Website Steven on LinkedIn

In this episode I switch to the role of guest and I am interviewed by my colleague, Andreas Almlöf. Today we mark the exciting release of our free guide ‘6 Vital Steps to Leading Lasting Culture Change and Making Values Matter’, which we explore in this conversation, including a proven culture change process and how to integrate your values. Tune in as we discuss: What data can be gathered to assess a company’s culture? How can leaders effectively develop and integrate better habits? The role of senior management in driving culture change How to integrate values into everyday conversations and decisions The rituals, incentives, and processes that help reinforce values Links mentioned: Free guide: https://heartmanagement.org/en/guide/  i4cp: Culture Renovation: A Blueprint for Action

To measure the ROI of culture is like measuring the ROI of air. Culture is not optional but a fundamental part of how we operate as a group.  It influences every aspect of our organization - how we make decisions, think, communicate, collaborate, and perform.  At the heart of culture are people and relationships.  While many organizations will claim that they put people first, it’s easy to fall into cultural assumptions, drives, and beliefs that are harmful to our people and, ultimately, to the organization's mission.  Some time ago, I read a fascinating article in Harvard Business Review about the dangers of a culture that glorifies busyness.  The author, Adam Waytz, is an award-winning social psychologist and associate professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He’s the author of The Power of Human: How Our Shared Humanity Can Help Us Create a Better World.  On episode 076 of the Leading Transformational Change podcast, I interviewed Adam about: What leads to dehumanization in our organizations, and what we can do to counteract it. How AI implementation impacts how we measure the ethicality of an organization Why a culture of busyness is a problem, and what we should do about it. I believe the conversation is relevant for anyone who wants more human workplaces and desires to build healthier cultures. 

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guests, Michaela Ahlberg and Anna Romberg - co-authors of The Grey Zone, on this practical and insightful episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, they discuss how to promote a healthy, ethical and values-driven culture in your organization. Michaela and Anna also talk about their Responsible Leadership Program - what they were trying to accomplish, what they learned along the way, and what results they’ve seen.Michaela Ahlberg was instrumental in developing the Ethics and Compliance functions at several large multinational companies as the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Telia Sonera, Volvo Cars, Nokia Siemens Networks and Getinge. Anna Romberg is the current Executive Vice President of Sustainability, Legal, and Compliance at Getinge. She is also co-founder of the Nordic Business Ethics Initiative. Michaela and Anna are co-authors of The Grey Zone. Duration: 48:03

What constitutes a remarkably healthy culture and a workplace people love being a part of? What about your culture might instead make people frustrated and leave your organization?  Two critical questions that every leader needs to ask.  While we face an economic downturn, the job market is still competitive, especially for highly skilled talent. And we all want to be known for building great organizational cultures.  So what can leaders do?  Charlie and Don Sull, researchers at MIT and co-founders of Culture X, have conducted the largest systematic study of corporate culture ever, analyzing 1.4 million Glassdoor reviews from more than 500 of the largest employers in the United States.  They found that toxic culture is the primary driver of resignations. And that even relatively healthy cultures can have toxic elements that must be addressed. They learned that culture can't be adequately measured using only quantitative measures - like employee engagement surveys. And that the most important elements of stand-out cultures are listening to employees and building psychological safety.  On the first episode of Season 8 of the Leading Transformational Change Podcast, we bring you a conversation with Charlie Sull.  Charlie's thought leadership has been featured in the Economist, Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and more. I hope you will find our conversation as insightful, inspiring, and thought-provoking as I did!

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Aga Bajer, on this practical and helpful episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Aga discusses culture myths, how to deal with cultural challenges as your organization grows, how to analyze the health of your culture, and why she believes fun, meaning and belonging are at the heart of a healthy culture.Agnieszka (Aga) Bajer works with leaders and teams around the globe to help them bring their vision to life. She is the host of the CultureLab podcast and the co-author of “Building and Sustaining a Coaching Culture" - a complete guide on how to embed coaching in an organisation’s DNA.Duration: 58:55

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Stephen Shedletzky, on this honest and empowering episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this episode, your host Tobias Sturesson discusses the topic of speak-up culture with Stephen Shedletzky who has helped numerous organizations think better about their leadership, purpose, and culture. Stephen Shedletzky worked with Simon Sinek as the Head of Training & Development, inspired by the vision to improve people's work experience worldwide. He is the author of a forthcoming book: Speak-Up Culture: When Leaders Truly Listen, People Step Up, launching in October. His personal story of overcoming a stutter gives a unique perspective on finding our voice in our organizations. Duration: 50:25

Welcome to episode 71 of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. Your usual host, Tobias Sturesson, switches into the role of guest and is interviewed by his colleague, Andreas Almlöf. They discuss organizational cultures in crisis, different types of unhealthy cultures, and how to rebuild trust within organizations going through challenging times. Duration: 35:10

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Dr. Deb Mashek, on this timely and informative episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Deb discusses why collaboration should matter, in what cases it becomes critical, and what it takes to foster a culture of collaboration. Dr. Deb Mashek, PhD is an experienced business advisor, professor, higher education administrator, and national nonprofit executive. Named one of the Top 35 Women in Higher Education by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, she has been featured in media outlets including MIT Sloan Management Review, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Hechinger Report, Inside Higher Ed, Fortune, Reason, Business Week, University Business Insider, and The Hill. She writes regularly for Psychology Today. Her book, "Collabor(h)ate: How to build incredible collaborative relationships at work" was released at the beginning of 2023. Duration: 52:34

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Uri Gneezy, on this insightful episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Uri discusses his work on when and why incentives in an organization can backfire and when traditional economic theories fail to explain real human behavior.   Uri Gneezy is professor of economics and strategic management at the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego. As a researcher, Gneezy's focus is on putting behavioral economics to work in the real world, where theory can meet application. Topics include incentives-based interventions to increase good habits and decrease bad ones, Pay-What-You-Want pricing, and the detrimental effects of small and large incentives. In addition to the traditional laboratory and field studies, he is working with several firms, conducting experiments in which they are using basic findings from behavioral economics to help companies achieve their traditional goals in non-traditional ways. He is the co-author of the bestseller, The Why Axis. His forthcoming book, Mixed Signals releases on March 31 2023.  Duration: 52:51

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Frank Blake, on this exciting and motivating episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Frank discusses how incentives matter and why senior leaders need to absorb complexity and deal with values dilemmas and conflicting goals. He also explains what it means to lead from an inverted triangle and how to put concepts like servant/humble leadership into practice. Frank Blake served as Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot from January 2007 through November 2014, and then as chairman through January 2015. Frank joined The Home Depot in 2002 as executive vice president, business development and corporate operations. Frank previously served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to that, he served in a variety of executive roles at General Electric, including senior vice president, Corporate Business Development. Frank serves on numerous boards including Delta Air Lines (non-executive chairman), Macy’s, and Proctor & Gamble. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a jurisprudence degree from Columbia University School of Law. Duration: 1:05:37

Happy New Year! Welcome to Season 7 of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. Your usual host, Tobias Sturesson, switches into the role of guest and is interviewed by his colleague, Andreas Almlöf. They discuss what stood out the most throughout the podcast episodes of 2022 and reflect on how to think about culture and values in a time of change and crisis. In addition, Tobias shares about his forthcoming book and why he decided to write it in the first place. Duration: 36:16

In this episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast, your host Tobias Sturesson brings back a conversation with Jennifer Chatman from December 2020. In this perceptive and relevant interview with this world-renowned researcher, teacher and consultant on leveraging organizational culture, they discuss what it takes to change and leverage culture, and her research on how narcissistic leadership impacts culture. Jennifer Chatman is the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management and a faculty member in the Management of Organizations (MORS) Group at Berkeley Haas. In her research, teaching, and consulting work, she focuses on how organizations can leverage culture for strategic success and how diverse teams can optimize performance. Duration: 51:32

In this episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast, your host Tobias Sturesson brings back a conversation that many new listeners may not have heard. In this insightful interview with ethics professor and author Ann Tenbrunsel, from almost two years ago (November 2020), they discuss whether we truly are as values-driven as we think, and why we make bad decisions even when we might have good intentions. Ann Tenbrunsel is the David E. Gallo Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame. Her research focuses on the psychology of ethical decision making and examining why we behave unethically, despite our best intentions. Ann is the author, co-author, or co-editor of six books on this topic including Blind Spots (with Max Bazerman), Behavioral Ethics: Shaping an Emerging Field (with David De Cremer), and Codes of Conduct: Behavioral Research into Business Ethics (with David Messick). Her research has been featured on NPR, Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and many other major publications. Duration: 42:04

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Sandra J. Sucher, on this fascinating and timely episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Sandra discusses the foundation of a healthy organizational culture - trust, and how trust can be built, lost, and regained. Sandra J. Sucher is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and an internationally recognized trust researcher. The Power of Trust: How Companies Earn It, Lose It, Regain It, is her third book. It is based on two decades of research on global companies’ best practices and in the gray areas of business—where responsibilities to investors, customers, employees, and society pull companies and their leaders in different directions. Sandra is on the Edelman Trust Institute advisory board and has collaborated with Deloitte on TrustIQ™, a proprietary tool that measures key elements of trust in major corporations and public sector organizations. Duration: 59:52

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Maria Hemberg, on this informative and helpful episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Maria shares what it means to live one's values, how Volvo Cars think about ethics, and how they are meeting the radical shifts in the car industry. Maria Hemberg has more than 25 years of experience from practicing business law both in private practice and as in-house counsel. Before joining Volvo Car Group in 2012, Maria served as legal counsel at AB SKF with focus on M&A and was a member of the Automotive Divisions management team. Maria is heading Group Legal & Corporate Governance, a global function providing support and services to the Volvo Car Group covering the areas legal, intellectual property, compliance & ethics, as well as corporate governance. Duration: 42:40

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Dan Cable, on this inspiring episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Dan shares profound insights into how you can bring more meaning to your organization. With a focus on experimentation and purpose, Dan unpacks a remarkable example of the power of servant leadership and how redesigning your rituals can contribute to a healthier culture. Dan Cable is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. His research and teaching focus on employee engagement, change, organisational culture, leadership mindset and the linkage between brands and employee behaviors. He is the author of Exceptional, Alive at Work, and Change to Strange. His most recent research was published in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Academy of Management Journal and Administrative Science Quarterly. This research has been featured in The Economist, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The New York Times and Business Week. Dan's recent clients include Carlsberg, Coca Cola, Estée Lauder, EY, HSBC, IKEA, McDonalds, MS Amlin, Prudential, PwC, Rabobank, Roche, Sanofi, Siemens and Twitter. Duration: 57:04

As we are now taking steps into a new post-pandemic normal in many parts of the world, it seems like many organizations are struggling with how to have trusting and constructive internal conversations about how and where they do their best work. As a result, internal trust in leadership seems to be shaken. An essential foundation for a healthy culture is an organization’s ability to have hard and important conversations that can move the organization forward. Fred Dust, the author of "Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication", is passionate about designing creative conversations to solve big problems. In this engaging episode, your host Tobias and Fred discuss how our ability to have these types of conversations matters immensely. Giovanni Leoni is the Global Head of Algorithmic and AI Ethics at Inter IKEA Group. In addition, he is also an Advisory Board Member for the Ethical AI Governance Group in California, U.S.A. Giovanni's vision is a future where technology will be created and used with ethics in mind. Duration: 52:37

Many organizations struggle with a culture of silence in which critical concerns are neither welcomed nor raised, essential feedback is unshared, and vital ideas are left unsaid. But how do you measure a lack of something? How do you deal with something that isn’t there? What strategies and habits need to be implemented to deal with silence? This final episode of Season 5 is a recording of an online live Healthy Culture Initiative event with Megan Reitz and Mary Inman. Listen in on this critical conversation between your host, Tobias, and these guests as they explore how to deal with a culture of silence. Megan Reitz is a facilitator, teacher, speaker, executive coach, researcher, and author dedicated to exploring and finding ways to improve the way people interact with one another in the workplace. She is Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Ashridge Executive Education – part of Hult International Business School. She is ranked as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50 and is on the 2021 HR Most Influential List of Thinkers by HR Magazine. Megan is the co-author of "Speak Up: Say what needs to be said and hear what needs to be heard". Mary Inman is a lawyer and partner in Constantine Cannon’s London Office. She launched the firm's international whistleblower practice and specializes in representing whistleblowers worldwide under American reward programs. Mary is a recognized expert and frequent author and speaker on areas related to the application of the American whistleblower laws internationally and the use of whistleblower laws worldwide. Duration: 01:22:03

As we are now taking steps into a new post-pandemic normal in many parts of the world, it seems like many organizations are struggling with how to have trusting and constructive internal conversations about how and where they do their best work. As a result, internal trust in leadership seems to be shaken. An essential foundation for a healthy culture is an organization’s ability to have hard and important conversations that can move the organization forward. Fred Dust, the author of "Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication", is passionate about designing creative conversations to solve big problems. In this engaging episode, your host Tobias and Fred discuss how our ability to have these types of conversations matters immensely. Fred Dust is a former senior partner and global managing director at the international design firm IDEO. A leading voice and practitioner of human-centered design and networked innovation, he helps organizations in media, finance, retail, and health confront disruption stemming from shifts in consumer behavior, social trends, economic pressures, and new technology. Prior to IDEO, Dust trained as an architect and spent eight years working with independent artists and major art organizations. He chairs the board of Parsons School of Design and sits on the boards of the New School, NPR, and the Sundance Institute. He lives in New York City. Fred is the author of "Making Conversations: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication". Duration - 1:01:18