The CultureING Podcast
You're part of a movement to revitalize the way we work. There's never been a time in history where having a world-class, full-of-life workplace environment has been more important. At the CultureING Podcast, we believe healthy company culture is the untapped fuel to growth in your organization. By taking action today on building an amazing atmosphere at work, you’re setting yourself up for an unstoppable, thriving future that will put you on the map and propel you to prosperity.
What a 30 Year Career At Disney Taught Duncan Wardle about Innovation
March 12, 2020 • 41 MIN
Duncan Wardle, Former Head of Innovation & Creativity for Disney spent 30 years with the organization and is now invested in helping businesses like yours wildly improve their innovation capabilities.
The Culture of a Kickass Global Beauty Brand with Neige & Pippa Blair
January 27, 2020 • 43 MIN
Co-Founders of Routine, Neige & Pippa Blair make a stellar team. As the innovator, Neige has always been bringing brilliant formulas for natural products to her friends. With the help of Pippa's business mind, they brought Routine to life! At the heart of their success is a commitment to relationships & caring for one another, and the insights on building company culture are therefore quite compelling!WATCH THE FULL VIDEO INTERVIEWSome questions I ask: What are the ways you've found best suit how you work together as a team?How do you take ideas from R&D, bring them to the team and then decide if they go to market or not?What are some of the myths surrounding natural products?How did you begin to be taken seriously as a brand?What have you found to be the bedrock of your company culture?Is Routine Wine coming anytime soon?!GET INSTACART TODAY: THE BEST WAY TO ORDER YOUR GROCERIESIn this episode, you will learn:  The original story of Routine DeodorantWhy Niege & Pippa don’t often use the word entrepreneurHow to thrive within family (and best friend) business. How it became natural. Bottom line: it’s critical to find a role for everyone that suits their personality.The whole idea of making a place where people want to be, the culture will take care of itself How most of the beauty & skincare industry is marketing... not necessity.Culture: You can define it, or it can just happen. If you create the space, a place where people want to be, that’s the first step. Neige & Pippa believe that if everything’s fed for their employees (their soul, their bodies), then the culture holds itself together quite well.Stay tuned for Routine Wine :PConnect with Neige & Pippa: WebsiteInstagramFacebookAlso mentioned on this show: Credo. Leader in clean, green beauty.*I am a proud Instacart affiliate and will, therefore, make a commission for anyone who signs up using the link above!
Why Diversity & Inclusion Is The Best Thing for Your Business with Cicely Belle Blain
January 7, 2020 • 27 MIN
Cicely Belle Blain is a diversity and inclusion consultant, activist and writer; they are one of Vancouver’s fifty most influential people of 2018, as awarded by Vancouver Magazine, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter - Vancouver, one of CBC’s 150 Black Womxn Making Change in Canada and BC Business 30 Under 30 2019 and has served as a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation to the United Nations. Their work is informed by their professional and academic background at the University of British Columbia and their lived experience as a Black, queer artist, a community builder, an intersectional feminist and a Black liberation activist. Cicely Belle’s first book debuts in 2020 with VS Books & Arsenal Pulp Press.Some questions Tynan asks:When people say, “we want to hire women, but we also need to hire the best people and fit,” how should we think about this?What are leaders that are hiring more inclusively doing?What is anti-oppression?Please help us understand the relationship between equality and equity.What does it look like for conversations amongst those who are biased, instead of always a black person standing up for black rights for example?Thoughts on D&I Councils.What you will learn:When we think about diversity and inclusion, we must first think about what an individual adds and brings to your organization. Having all the qualifications isn’t as trustworthy as we think, especially when people may bring the same skills but have shown it over their lives in different ways.Even if someone’s role doesn’t have to directly do with it, we should be screening for an acknowledgment of diversity and inclusion in every hire.The decisions to fight for D&I will often bring a lot of upheaval in an organization, especially before they bring joy.When an organization is just looking for a short-term engagement to increase D&I, such as a couple of workshops, it’s unlikely there will be much change long-term.Anti-oppression is based on the fact that for many people groups, things are simply not fair. There are people alive today who were born on slave plantations for example, and obviously dealing with the repercussions of that, and for their families affects everything including career.Equality speaks to the idea that everybody should get the same thing because everybody’s the same. Equity is that everybody should get what they need to thrive, e.g. specific support or initiatives to help people get to the same end result as others. For people who experience privilege, it’s so important for people within those communities to hold each other accountable. Of note, it's not helpful to have a “cancel culture” wherein if someone says the wrong thing they are chastised for it immediately without taking the time to educate them; we need to allow people to learn and grow, calling people in through compassionate conversations. Making D&I Councils meaningful comes from a commitment from leadership. Often they are nice to have, but not given financial resources or any decision-making authority to actually bring projects or initiatives to life. See Episode 4 with Tayo Rockson for more insights on D&I councils.Connect with Cicely:WebsiteInstagramLinkedInTwitter
Canada's Fastest-Growing Company: How To Build a Better Culture with Caroline Schein, VP People & Culture
December 4, 2019 • 37 MIN
Caroline Schein recently joined Article, the company that has grown over 24,182% during the past 5 years as the VP People & Culture. As Canada’s Fastest-Growing Company, the executive team has its work cut out from them. Specifically, Caroline is responsible for building Article’s people and culture practices across North America. With more than 20 years of senior leadership experience in the hospitality and retail industry with brands such as Best Buy, a multinational consumer electronics retailer, and Boston Pizza, a North American restaurant chain, Caroline has an MBA specializing in leadership from Royal Roads University, and a MA & PhD in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University. She shares wonderful insights about the future of work & how to build a better company culture.BONUS FROM ARTICLE: Get $50 off your purchase of $100 or moreSome questions I ask:What is it going to look like for Article to be taken to the next level?As a new executive, how do you approach your first season at the company (e.g. your first 100 days)?How do you ensure the culture stays consistent as you onboard so many people?What is Article’s onboarding process?What does it look like to “own” the culture internally? Is it the role of the VP People & Culture or is it a shared responsibility across the entire executive team?How do we ensure we live & breathe our culture moonshot & values? Many leaders shout from the rooftops about having a great place to work, yet it doesn’t look like that internally.How do we ensure our organizations have two-way feedback, not just the lower-level employees receiving feedback, but also for managers from those they lead.What do you believe the future of HR is? What are you expecting from the HR professionals you will be hiring in the future? What is the HR skillset of the future?How do ensure there is a harmonious culture between the office environment of Article as well as your manufacturing facilities?What is your advice to job seekers? Beyond the online application, what should qualified candidates be doing differently to get a job at Article, or just to any organization?In this episode, you will learn: The culture now is not broken, it truly has been remarkable what the team has accomplished. Article’s has 5 core values - be good, be direct, be better, be adventurous, & be genuine - which ground everything Article does from their strategy to their operations. When addressing culture, in their case, it was more a matter of how to build from where Article is at now, and then becoming open and honest about what is it going to take, where do we need to be and how do we get there. When joining a new organization as an executive, how can you make the transition as successful as possible & learn from the organization about what needs to happen. Here’s a hint, it’s all about starting from a place of listening and learning while beginning to understand the business well.The best people & culture systems that can be put in place to ensure that culture stays strong during intense periods of scale.What success looks like when it comes to building a killer workplace environment where people (or Particles!) thrive.How onboard makes a big deal out of a new Particle joining the team. Onboarding is very serious to them and they do it well!The key to being customer-obsessed, and sharing that heart for customers across the entire company, especially the executive team.How Article is still refining its performance manageme
Technical Team Culture: What NOT To Do
November 27, 2019 • 20 MIN
Today’s episode captures an extended version of Tynan’s recent talk at DisruptHR: Technical Team Culture: What NOT To Do.You’ll learn:Knowing a lot about company culture only gets you so far. When you work on specialized teams, or different departments, the cultural dynamics can shift significantly.How Tynan has been failing and learning about technical employees (e.g. coders, developers & product managers).Why learning from people who’ve gone before you working with technical teams pro’s like Patty McCord and the Founders of Basecamp, Jason Fried How to check your assumptions of developers and why its still important to treat everyone like a human being first, regardless of their job title.Partner with Tynan to help him continue to produce new content on The CultureING Podcast on Patreon NOW.Stay connected with the CultureING Podcast:WebsiteInstagramEARLY BONUS: Get $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more at Article.com HEREResources mentioned:Great article by Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix | "Stop Hiring for Culture Fit" from HBR Patty McCord’s book. Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility.Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson’s books | Co-Founders of BasecampIt Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy At WorkREWORKStay tuned for our episode next week with Canada’s Fastest-Growing Company: Article and their VP, People & Culture Caroline Schein. 
"I don't believe in reference checks" | Building a People-First Culture with Michel Falcon
November 13, 2019 • 40 MIN
Michel Falcon is an entrepreneur, international keynote speaker and author who leverages his People-First Culture™ philosophy to create customer experience, employee engagement and company culture strategies to grow businesses. He is the author of the best-selling book, “People-First Culture: Build a Lasting Business by Shifting Your Focus From Profits to People” and the creator of the Team Operating System online course. Michel also operates a portfolio of restaurants and venues in downtown Toronto. His venues have grown to earn tens of millions of dollars in revenue with more than one hundred and fifty employees in less than two years by using the same strategies he’s going to share with us today. He has been hired to advise companies like Subway, Verizon Wireless, Alfa Romeo, Electronic Arts, and many others globally recognized brands.Click for Michel’s Online Course | Promo code: “cultureing” for 20% off – 6 module course, all templates and strategies you can plug and play into your business.Some Questions Tynan asks:What has been a triggering moment in your career that lead you to develop a passion for company culture?What are some of the tools leaders and organizations can use to understand and create a better culture?What will be the shift in how we hire based on trends and changes we are seeing in employee behavior and expectation?How do we change our hiring practices to find the most aligned candidates? What you will learn:How Michel started his career working at McDonald’s.What to do with the Gen Z workers coming into the workforce and why he thinks they are open and like the idea of entrepreneurship.How to stop hiring toxic employees.How to understand and create a better culture – the interview process, have the corporate courage to not hire the great candidate that doesn’t fit the culture.The importance of our parents in our careers – Your parents gave you the DNA to be the leader.He does a lot but it comes back to company culture, employee experience, customer experience.Why Michel Falcon doesn't like calling his team "staff", or like it when they call him "boss".What leaders who have side-hustles should do to build a productive team… and how they can work with their team members who also have side-hustles.Give a second look at reference checks. Recognize that you are relying on other people’s judge of character. You may benefit from trusting your own gut than someone else’s.Connect with Michel:Grab Michel’s Team Operating System course with a 20% discount using the promo code “cultureing”His new blog post: How to stop hiring toxic employeesLinkedInBuy Michel’s Book | People first culture: Build a Lasting Company By Shifting Your Focus From Profits to People
How To Be Fearless & Have Bold Conversations With Your Leaders at Work with Julian Rosen
October 29, 2019 • 47 MIN
As Founder of The Fearless Life Project, Julian Rosen is an unstoppable force dedicated to serving others & seeing them rise to their full potential.Some questions I ask:How can we avoid living life on autopilot? If someone isn’t happy with how they’re showing up at work, how do they build their self-awareness and fulfill their potential? What can we do to avoid & conquer distractions in the crazy? How can people advocate for their own personal health & needs at work? How do we stand up for ourselves in a way that allows us to thrive? How do we avoid letting fear sabotage us from asking for what we want at work (e.g. a promotion)? How do we understand how to be lead by our hearts? Is it normal to have mental health challenges? What can we do to get a handle on our mental health? In this episode, you will learn: At some level, we aren’t happy when we sell ourselves short. When we let the internal negative dialogue win, we know we can be better. The crystal of BS = our worries about the future, what we think people think of us, what our boss might be thinking when we say something, etc. We need to take a breath and take inventory on where we are selling ourselves short. Its incredible how we can’t take 25 minutes at the beginning of our day for ourselves… to get to know ourselves better. Avoid, at all costs, reacting and using your phone. Take stock of your time. How are you truly spending your time all day? Taking stock of your time is crucial to know where it is being wasted, and where you can rearrange to ensure you are more present and free. It’s rare that the “Hollywood drama” comes true that we’ve played out in our minds when it comes to having a “difficult” conversation about something like a side-hustle, or outside passion. Often, your manager will be more supportive than you could ever imagine. If you can begin to understand that certain conversations have the potential to change your life (e.g. asking your boss for a promotion), you will begin to make bolder moves… but you also must become self-aware enough that will enable you to recognize the natural stressors & feelings that will come up. If the reactive part of us is constantly in the driver's seat (e.g. always checking your email… always!), then we will burn our selves out. Duh, take a break folks, set boundaries and be stern with your boss if you’ve allowed them to believe you are available 24/7. You deserve better! Connect with Julian Rosen:InstagramJulian’s FREE TrainingAlso mentioned on this show:The Illusion of Money - Kyle CeaseThe Biology of Belief - Dr. Bruce Lipton
What Can Men do to Support Women in the Workplace?
October 18, 2019 • 14 MIN
The work of so many organizations such as Lean In from Sheryl Sandberg and Melinda Gates' $1 Billion pledge to support women's equality is incredible. Notably Leanin.org partnered with McKinsey & Co to produce their 5th Women in the Workplace Study which I celebrate in today's podcast.We have work to do to create gender parity and as a man, I'm raising my hand to say, "I'm here... How can I help?"Hoping to create more and more opportunities for dialogue around how to take this from fancy reports from McKinsey and allow on-the-ground change to occur.
The Future of Leadership Development & Creating Psychological Safety with Ashley Mielke
October 10, 2019 • 31 MIN
Ashley Mielke, Registered Psychologist and Organizational Health and Culture Strategist, works with leaders at all levels to cultivate high-trust, high-performance Conscious Cultures, helping them to inspire, motivate, and engage their people for sustainable success and long-term profitability. A highly sought-after strategic consultant and trainer, Ashley has led workshops and training courses for multi-million-dollar corporations, non-profits, the City of Edmonton, the Government of Canada, and numerous small businesses. Ashley found her own ‘Why’ early in life following a difficult childhood punctuated by her father’s substance abuse and eventual suicide. From this, the darkest and most painful period of her life, she uncovered a deep and passionate desire to serve others and a natural ability to create a safe space in which to explore life’s most challenging questions—a skill that has been immeasurably valuable in her career both as a psychologist and trainer.  Get your tickets today for the upcoming Conscious Culture Workshop: The Secret to a Happier, More Productive, and More Profitable BusinessSome questions I ask:It's almost taboo to encroach on people’s “personal lives,” so how do leaders go about knowing what their needs are without crossing a boundary? What’s the psychological effect of somebody not being understood at their company? What does the future of leadership development look like? What is a "conscious culture"? In this episode, you will learn: We are hardwired for connection. If we can learn how to motivate, inspire and drive people from an intrinsic level, then we can release untapped potential in our people. We need a secure attachment with our leaders. This means providing emotional availability and responsivity to our people. Unlike what we often think, people bring their full selves to work; they don’t just turn off their human side when they walk in the front doors to our offices. We have a responsibility to set the emotional tone of our companies. At the foundation of a high-trust culture are people being heard, seen and valued. When we provide flexibility to our employees, they in-turn provide our companies with high-performance of their own choice, even going above-and-beyond during non-work-hours because they care. Relationship challenges at work are a direct reflection of a need not being met by the other person in the workplace. Enquiring of that need is crucial in resolving conflicts & maintaining healthy workplace relationships. Leaders have a responsibility to their own cleanup work. You can start by doing the following: Recognizing the clean up emotional roadblocks Recognizing the pain & loss that is getting in the way of us truly showing up for others in an authentic way If we want others to do the work on themselves to improve & grow, we have to do do the work ourselves as leaders A conscious culture is a high-performance culture grounded in trust, psychological safety, and belonging. At the center of a conscious culture are secure attachments;  the leader creating a space for people to take healthy risks, to speak up, to make mistakes, to put their best foot forward, to go the extra mile for their teammates, and to know that they belong and that they matter. Leaders can benefit greatly by considering how they show up for their teams, how they light up for them and the energy they bring to space/work environment. When leaders step back and think, “what is the most generous assumption I can make about my employees,” the workplace environment totally shifts. 
A Masterclass on Employee Recognition with Tom Short, Chief Customer Officer of Kudos
September 26, 2019 • 38 MIN
Over the course of 25 years, Tom has used his passion for entrepreneurship and marketing to launch numerous, highly successful companies. At each organization Tom has built, employee experience has been the cornerstone to building effective teams. His expertise and learnings resulted in the development of Kudos as a solution and system to promote and enhance corporate culture, motivate individuals and create great employee recognition & experiences.Attend LIFTOFF: The Workplace Culture Symposium with 25% off using promo code "CULTUREING"Some questions I ask: What causes leaders to not “get it” when it comes to investing in recognition? How can leaders know it’s time NOW to invest in recognition? What would an employee (not a leader) do if they aren’t feeling recognized? People want to be recognized in different ways. How do we identify what way our colleagues want to be recognized? How can recognition be a compliment to people’s compensation? Try out the scheduling software that changed my life: Acuity SchedulingIn this episode, you will learn:  Often leaders are doing things that are fleeting and immaterial when it comes to recognition. Without a system and a purchased tool, good and bad managers alike will continue to recognize their people poorly. It costs approximately $5000 just to hire and train a minimum wage employee. For the same price, you could provide a recognition system for your entire organization and drastically reduce turnover. Tips to know when to invest in recognition: If you’ve started a business… it’s now! Go to the parking lot at 4:30pm. If it’s empty, you need it. Walk up to a conversation of your employees. If they stop talking, there’s an issue with your culture. Management and team players have an "us vs. them” dynamic. Just ask, “what can we do better?” or “where can we improve employee engagement.” The #1 thing that comes back is that people don’t feel appreciated. Even if you’re in the office, there’s a 300 ft rule. If you’re about that distance from a fellow employee, you may as well live on the other side of the planet. ASK your colleagues how they want to be recognized. SIMPLE! People seldom leave because of compensation, it won’t come up nearly as much in exit interviews as feeling unrecognized or under-valued. Also mentioned on this show: First, Break All The Rules - Gallup OrganizationThe Making of a Manager - Julie ZhuoDavid Zinger - "The Godfather of Employee Engagement"Corporate Culture & Performance - John Kotter & James HeskettHow Zapier builds its 100% remote teamGallup “State of the American Workplace” on flexibility being a major priority for employeesConnect with Tom: LinkedInKudos Website
Building Culture on a Startup Budget with Kaleah Baker
September 18, 2019 • 38 MIN
Kaleah Baker, COO and Co-founder of BridesMade - Canada's only bridesmaid dress rental service! After growing up in small town Saskatchewan, Kaleah completed her BBA in Marketing & Management at Bishop's University, and her MBA at Wilfrid Laurier. Both schools are known for their tight-knit communities, so it's no wonder that a collaborative culture would be a must within her own business. From startup to standout success story, Kaleah loves telling her entrepreneurship story. Looking to convert more of your website visitors? Wanting to get a return on the investment you’re making in paid ads & marketing…. Check out Unbounce.Get 20% off your first 3 months of this best-in-class landing page builder!Some questions I ask:How do you build a team of millennials leading millennials? If everyone isn’t full time, how do you motivate them? Your team is a well-travelled startup having gone through multiple incubators & accelerators. How have these experiences changed your company and what elements of their cultures have you adopted into yours over time? As a female-only team, how do those dynamics affect your team and what is your plan for the future to grow your team? What are your tips, from experience, for navigating fast-growth? In this episode, you will learn: Finding people who have previous experience with high-level performance such as in sport or music is an excellent way to build a team that can perform at the high level required in a fast-growth startup. Ensuring there are elements of fun in people’s lives is profoundly important. In a monthly All Hands Meeting, allowing for people to ask the leaders ANYTHING can be incredibly helpful in preventing conflict or issues down the road Within the incubator setting, such as at Communitech, there’s a concept of “accessible help.” Kaleah’s advice comes with a caveat however, you can book time with her or anyone whenever it’s needed… but it’s your responsibility to know what you want to talk to about and clarify that the meeting is between the correct people. At Communitech, she mentions that when people ask for your time, you typically give it to them with undivided attention… as long as it is with the right person to be respectful! In a bridesmaid dress company, women TEND to be a bit more passionate… so that extra 5% of passion does go a long way to hiring females. It is complex in a female-focused brand to integrate that first man onto your team. The plan for now is to see at a point of exponential growth (~50 people), men will certainly be part of the hiring plan. Ask your people what they want and avoid assuming or telling them what they do. Connect with Kaleah:LinkedInEmailInstagramFacebookAlso mentioned on this show:Get your 10% off of BridesMade Dress Rentals by entering promo code “cultureing"Communitech
Chief People Officer of WE, Victoria MacDonald | How To Build a High-Performing Company of World-Changing Millennials
September 4, 2019 • 30 MIN
One Canadian organization that has made one of the greatest global impacts is WE. We have the honour of hearing from Victoria MacDonald, their Chief People Officer today for a brilliant discussion of millennials, translating values into actions & leading a team in a hyper-growth mode! Victoria is a 20-year veteran HR professional who is known for building cultures of alignment, accountability and high levels of engagement without pool tables, beer fridges or free food. Convert more of your website traffic with Unbounce, The #1 Landing Page Builder. Get 20% off your first 3 months.Some questions I ask:How do you come into a company as a new executive to bring change in a well-established, already world-class company culture? WE has an incredibly diverse set of roles in their 1000+ person organization. How do you hire so that across the organization, in the variety of roles & the types of people each require, to still hire aligned to your values?How do leaders, many of whom are struggling with this, translate their values into behaviours people know how to demonstrate at school?Are there tools & technology to help reinforce core values? What are some key learnings you’ve found that millennials need to thrive in the workplace? “Working with a purpose” is incredible, WE may even have it more easy than most, sometimes work still gets monotonous… how do you keep your workplace invigorated? In this episode, you will learn: Heading into a major growth-period that involves maturing as a company is highly complex. Adding a more diverse workforce (in WE’s case, adding more tenured employees bringing the average age from 24 to 30 years old). Most elements of your people programs much change including your offer letters, performance management processes, the way you set goals, even your career development conversations. WE sets out to always continuously improve, Co-Founders Marc & Craig Kielburger never let themselves think they’re “done." WE doesn’t see their quarterly employee engagement surveys as a way to figure out whether people are “happy at work.” Rather, they use their surveys to find out: what is working, so they can do better at those what needs to be tweaked or changed > create plans against these things When Victoria created her detailed HR Roadmap, every item on this plan is directly related to something that has come out of their surveys. Hiring for core values such as “we move for purpose & positivity,” guide their interviews. 3 Day Orientation is also integral to having people understanding how to display values at work, this achieves cultural cohesion. Because this occurs in all offices around the world, there’s a similar employee experience across-the-board. What’s rarely discussed is that millennials go to work everyday to create a sense of community and to be with their friends. Nurturing that and giving people the opportunity to work with their friends is really important. Connect with Victoria:LinkedInMore about WE.org:WE is a family of organizations spanning from charities to social enterprises. One of their most famous events, WE Day is the greatest celebration of social good on earth. A multi-million dollar event where you can’t buy a ticket… you only get in through service & volunteering. World-leaders, celebrities & outstandingly brave people gather with and youth activists arena events to inspire the next generati
Listening to Your People in a Fast-Growth Company with Tia Fomenoff
August 28, 2019 • 39 MIN
Tia Fomenoff has always loved helping others solve their problems—whether she’s placing people in their dream jobs, working with customers to make more money, guiding small businesses on the uses of social media or even recommending great restaurants to acquaintances. In today's podcast, Tia shares in-detail how she and the leadership team have listened well to their employees, even adapted accordingly to the extent of giving a $2000 mental health spending limit for every employee! Her unconventional career-path began in northern British Columbia in the non-profit and tourism industries, then shifted to focus on digital marketing and customer success at high-growth tech companies Unbounce and Buffer. Tia is now the Director of People and Culture at Thinkific, where they build software that enables entrepreneurs to create, market, sell, and deliver their own online courses.Get your exclusive offer today! 1 month FREE of Thinkific plus $500 Bonus MaterialSome questions I ask:What are company leaders today realizing is the most important thing for their businesses when it comes to culture? What is the difference between culture fit and culture add… and is "values fit" something you look for when hiring? How do we build cultures where people speak up? How do we properly survey our employees? What mistakes have you made in your hiring over time? In this episode, you will learn: How to transition from a different area of business (e.g. in Tia’s case, she was in marketing) to People & CultureDiversity is very challenging to obtain when looking for culture fit. When you look for a values fit however, you will be rewarded in the beautiful diversity you have in your organization. Set up a channel for communication of new ideas to leadership! Having a flat structure internally allows for people to bring ideas forward to their people leader, even one level above without much feeling they are stepping out of place. Structuring your employee engagement surveys with (1) evidence-based questions, (2) net-promoter score (e.g. How likely are you to recommend working at Thinkific to a family or friend) and (3) free and open-ended questions (e.g. What’re your favourite things about working here? What are some things we can do better?). Connect with Tia Fomenoff:LinkedInEXCLUSIVE OFFER | 1 month FREE with Thinkific plus $500 in Bonuses https://partners.thinkific.com/cultureing/Also mentioned on this show:Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR)Blankslate PartnersApplicant tracking systems options comeetgreenhouse
Make Mastery Commonplace in Your Culture with Darcy Tuer
August 21, 2019 • 46 MIN
Darcy Tuer is the co-founder and CEO of ZayZoon. And doesn’t mess around. His company recently raised $15 million to increase employee financial wellness. As an experienced founder & personal growth geek, he offers a lot of wisdom to other culture builders out there!Previously to ZayZoon, Darcy was co-founder and president of Spira Data Corp. for 11 years. In his tenure at Spira, Darcy and his team took the company from concept to processing over$3B annually in revenue and payroll data. Spira currently has offices in Calgary, Denver and Houston. Lastly, Darcy serves as Chairman of the board of the Missing Children’s Society of Canada and has been a Director since 2011.Some questions I ask: How can providing advances on workers’ paycheques affect the workplace? What is a great way to integrate people into their culture? How can you encourage your employees towards mastery? What happens when someone isn’t living up to your core values? As your company grows, how do leaders stay involved in building the culture of accountability? What’s your mindset when dealing with conflict? How can you responsibly use and strategize how to use large sums of capital & financing? What’s the one thing that you would encourage (maybe beg) new founders to do when building their culture? In this episode, you will learn:  Most of your employees experience financial stress which can affect their performance, their ability to work collaboratively and how they show up at work. The importance of onboarding and integration, also spending a lot of time with a new hire even before their first day. How a standard daily 15 min scrum is critical > takes process & discipline. Encouraging employees to have internal side-gigs becomes a crucial part of helping people build mastery and encourage innovative thinking. Daily scrums are also essential for accountability to align with the organization's core values. Navigating the growth of your team and why it may be wise to bring on an additional, even third, co-founder to ensure you have all the skills needed to thrive as an organization. Conflict is best entered into if you put your ego aside. Navigating decision making with 2 doors, from Jeff Bezos. Essentially, if you can make a decision (e.g. walk through a door), and still come out of it easily (e.g. walk back through the door), you should do that swiftly to try. If you can’t walk out, spend a significant amount of time deliberating on the decision. How do you build high-performing people and sustain this type of environment? As you grow, jobs of your team are quite wide with multiple competencies, as opposed to when you grow, you may need someone who has deep competency in just, for example, enterprise sales. Maintain a high-performing environment by keeping them intimately connected to your customers, the people you serve and the impact you’re making. “Why are we doing this?” Only possible if you share across departments who don’t interact with customers as well. "Predict out of the gates, before you raise the capital, to show investors that you can within 80% of said prediction. That will engender a tremendous amount of confidence from the investor community; they’re looking for a great story, they’re looking for a great team, they’re looking for execution. Can you set a realistic plan where you can achieve certain milestones with the capital available to you, and progress by de-risking the business." "If I’ve ever seen a common denominator with the successful founders I’ve seen is a grit and determination, along with the team you surround yourself with." 
Spirituality at Work with Mike Maeshiro
August 14, 2019 • 44 MIN
In today’s workplace where diversity and inclusion are paramount to a business’ success, we must consider all the ways to make an inclusive environment possible for our employees. What is often missed is their spirituality, a notoriously taboo subject at work, yet incredibly important to billions of people worldwide. But why? If we all agree that we are body, soul AND spirit, shouldn’t we explore a bit of what it could look like to start to include the 33% of our employees that we faithfully ignore?  Our guest today is Mike Maeshiro, an expert in spiritual intelligence, an entrepreneur, business leader, and a pastor. Most likely you’ll listen and be taken aback at the way Mike approaches certain leadership situations, how he motivates his team and how he assesses the environment at his workplace and how you can too! Some questions I ask: How can we define spiritual intelligence? How can leaders ensure that their employees feel safe during difficult What is the cost of NOT beginning to incorporate elements of spirituality into your day-to-day at work? What should our posture be towards are employees... are they human “resources” or our greatest “asset”? Is there a better way to look at our team members? In this episode, you will learn:  How agreeing with things brings them into our environments. When our employees agree with shame, they leak that into the work environment and it affects our productivity and the company atmosphere.  Ways to discern the spiritual climate at your workplace. > 1) Looking at your team and what each member’s “normal” is, and adjusting your environment so they can truly show up their best at work. 2) Paying attention to your physical body and emotions, checking-in regarding what might be “off." The primary way to deal with difficult or “hard-to-have” conversations is to approach it with love at the center… come in very proposing, invitational and asking a lot of questions How to stay consistently kind and helpful as a leader and build an impressive level of trust. Also mentioned on this show: Mike’s Discerning Spirits CourseGoogle employees dedicating 20% of their time for play & experimentationPatty McCord’s thoughts on retention being a potentially unhelpful measurementConnect with Mike Maeshiro: WebsiteInstagramTwitter
How To Integrate Virtual Assistants Into Your Company Culture with Bobbie Racette
August 7, 2019 • 36 MIN
Today’s episode is all about Virtual Assistants, Remote Workers & how all this fits within your current company cultures. We are proud to feature Virtual Gurus, once a little remote working agency with a team of 10 people, now a team of 150 people, considered the largest freelancing platform in Canada. Today we’re uncovering some of the secrets surrounding the mysterious world of remote work and virtual assistants, so tune in now! Connect with Bobbie Racette and her team: Hire a Virtual Guru using promo code “CultureING” for 15% off for the first 4 months of your Monthly Subscription (virturalgurus.com) LinkedInSome questions I ask: How can companies looking to hire a VA get over their hesitancy to this new way of building your team?  Do we not all do more remote work than we think? How do you work with VAs to ensure they’re supported, especially since they work by the minute and not on salary? What does it look like for a virtual assistant to get up-to-speed to best perform the tasks required by the hiring company? How can a virtual assistant or team member actually integrate within someone's company culture? What can a Virtual Assistant DO and NOT DO? What are some examples of how VAs have concretely built businesses & fostered growth? If I’m a client of a Virtual Assistant company and now my VA is doing a significant amount of work, what does it look like to incorporate your VA into your team and company culture? What does a company that organizes and leads a cohort of VAs look like? What is your vision for a company that works with one of your assistants?    In this episode, you will learn:  The need for your VA to be in a community of collaboration and accountability with other VAs. The importance of complete transparency with your assistant when you hire a virtual team member, time-based (to-the-minute) tracking and productivity, a major differentiator in today’s age of a distracted workforce Helpful tips on “showing up and staying productive” when working from home. The professionalism of VAs is paramount, not only to it being a worthwhile investment but also for the VAs to do quality work & enjoy the process. Virtual Assistants can support businesses in growth from managing emails and calendars, to website support, development and social media. What a typical process of working with a VA company looks like and how to slowly & patiently offload tasks that you’re not strong in or enjoy doing to your VA(s) and you can go back to running your business, doing what you’re best at. Virtual Assistant services Also mentioned on this show: The need for social connection in the workplace amidst the increase of technological advances
Tackling the Touchy Subject of Masculinity in the Workplace with The Kings of Hearts
July 30, 2019 • 45 MIN
If you want vulnerable... you've come to the right place. If you want to listen to people who do not have it all figured out, are most definitely in process and are seeking to understand & learn... that's here too.This week's episode features two of the co-founders of Kings of Hearts, Nuke Kombian and Andy Nguyen, whose mission is to create safe spaces for men, develop self-awareness & character skills while embracing vulnerability to live a life rooted in love & service. BOOM!Without question, we are living in a world today where masculinity is almost a dirty word. It's met with backlash, confusion and often a lot of hurt. And rightly so. And yet we are provoked to believe that we can change the narrative. This is a conversation about men being sometimes misunderstood, ways we can change & improve, and ways to switch the conversation from being all about gender to about humanity.Some questions I ask: What caused you to start the journey of The Kings of Hearts? How do we shift our conversation from men vs. women to humanity united? What does masculinity in the workplace look like in 2019? When people have more privilege in the workplace, what can they do to speak up or change the status quo? Is building community in the workplace vs. showing up for a paycheck really the way to go? What is great about a goal-focused culture and perhaps how can we make them better (e.g. Lululemon)? After years of ignoring people’s mental health, what does it look like to create a mental wellness strategy? If people are not having conversations about mental health & gender roles in the workplace, how can they start? In this episode, you will learn:  Insights on men in the workplace making room for women. The importance of prefacing your conversations about diversity and inclusion with the need to “not always be right,” directing people to listen & seek to understand. Trends of meta-cognition…. an increase in people challenging their thoughts & beliefs. How to speak up when you feel misunderstood. The power of admitting you don’t know everything! Our need in the corporate world to deconstruct the masculinity that perpetually positions men as ones who only gain respect or can rise in the corporate world if they have all the answers and are always confident. Respect is now built much more commonly through vulnerability. The concept of clearing: Leaving your challenges, issues, stresses on your mind at the door and making space to do great work at work. Setting goals is fantastic, but the destination is less important than focusing on enjoying the process & the people that you are on the journey with. Facilitating a workshop on mental health is a great place to start using outside support & facilitators.  How to ask your team what they need to better their mental health, involve them and allow your employees to guide the way to creating a mental health strategy Also mentioned on this show: Matthew 16:26 "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" Canadian Mental Health Association factsBrené Brown’s Incredible Work Guide to her books
Turning Your Culture Around & Getting Out of the Way with Matt Diteljan
July 3, 2019 • 35 MIN
On this week's episode of the CultureING Podcast, we are joined by Matt Diteljan!As the Founder & Futurist of Glacier GenZ Advertising and Cascade Influencer Marketing, he gets to see things from a bird's eye view and focus on the future. Matt first grew Glacier from his dorm room in University to an international multi-million dollar company with hundreds of clients, 50+ employees, and a well-respected name in the Higher Ed. marketing sector. When he’s not at the Cascade office, Matthew is very active on several boards including the Entrepreneur’s Organization and the EO Accelerator Program, or you can likely find him sending it down a mountain on his mountain bike.Some questions I ask: How to start being proactive about helping people with their career plan, especially in an organization that is primarily of the same age demographic (e.g. millennials). How do you let your culture mature enough to authentically dictate your values, mission, vision & cultural framework? How can you funnel back to your organization the futuristic, lofty plans & ideas? What does a leader need to do to maintain open-handedness around control over all decision making, growth and ideas? What is the leaders preferred way to receive constructive feedback from a “lower level” employee? In this episode, you will learn:  How to take your culture from fear-based culture to a world-class culture What it looks like to recognize you are standing in the way of the company’s growth How to transition from CEO to Futurist & Chairman How do you create a leadership vacuum that continually calls people higher and leads to internal promotions & increasing levels of leadership What it looks like to take a financial hit on the journey to fighting for your values How to manage the dynamic of a futuristic leader working alongside a day-to-day CEO How to bring your whole team into the future idea and have them begin thinking of how their role will need to change to fit into the strategic direction moving forward Futuristic thinking about whether or not we really have to fire people Also mentioned on this show: Glacier Gen Z AdvertisingCascade Influencer MarketingMichelle Berg | Elevated HRConnect with Matt Diteljan: LinkedIn
Going Deep on Diversity & Inclusion with Tayo Rockson
May 29, 2019 • 38 MIN
Tayo Rockson is a writer, speaker, consultant, and media personality who runs UYD Management - a strategic leadership and consulting firm that helps organizations incorporate sustainable diversity and inclusion practices. As someone who has lived on 4 continents, he is an authority in communicating effectively across cultures. In addition to that, he's been named a "Top 40 Millennial Influencer" by New Theory magazine. He hosts the popular As Told By Nomads podcast and his book Use Your Difference To Make A Difference which is based on how to connect and communicate in a cross-cultural world is scheduled to come out on September 4, 2019.Some questions I ask:Where can leaders start when it comes to improving diversity and inclusion in their organizations?How can companies start to take the values on the wall and actually put them into action?What even is a diversity council?What is out there that can help with diversity hiring? What are the best practices?How do we go about truly including & listening to one another… avoiding the “check off the box” approach to diversity?What should leaders be looking out for when hiring and therefore including people from other countries?How do we open up for discussion a problem with D&I? How do we call people out in a nice way?What are the biggest takeaways from [Tayo’s] new book for leaders?In this episode, you will learn: How to start by checking your biases as a leader and clarifying values for your company in order to make headway in building a diverse and inclusive workplace.Building out a grading system for living out your values… what is good, great and bad!How to set up a highly effective diversity council for your businessHow important it is to run after people’s fear of being fired for speaking up.Ways for people to bring their cultures into the workplace to allow others to further understand where their colleagues come from.What are micro-aggressions and how do they arise in the workplace… and why they need to be challenged! Examples include assumptions about someone who’s from another country speaking with a clear english accent or having a dress-code that may be difficult for people with varying body types.The key to finding allies in the workplace who can support you as you speak up or bring diversity matters to the surface.Best way to connect cross culturally are 1) educate, 2) don’t perpetuate and 3) communicate.A mini-education in cultural intelligence (CQ)!Also mentioned on this show:Pre-order Tayo’s New BookTayo’s PodcastConnect with Tayo:LinkedInWebsiteInstagram
Company Culture is Everyone's Responsibility with Thane Marcus
May 3, 2019 • 45 MIN
Thane Marcus brings such spice to life and is a wizard when it comes to personal and professional development. As we continually examine the wonderful world of company culture, it’s always important to remember how much culture is influenced by each individual in our organizations. So is building an amazing culture the responsibility of the leadership team? Nope. It is shared. We all have a part to play. So this episode can help anyone from a CEO to a new grad, become an incredible individual contributor to a company culture you can be proud of. Some questions I ask: What does it look like to build a “teachable” culture in our organizations? Is there a way for both employees and leaders to learn from one another. What might be some examples of personal systems that people can use to become a more high performing and effective at their jobs, especially when there are predefined systems in the workplace that may, or may not, be conducive to our personal growth? Why do we need to be healthy? If leaders are doing something that is actually compromising employees' health, are we actually shooting ourselves in the foot from having high-performing teams? What does it cost our businesses when we don’t make room for people to show up as their full selves at work: Body, soul & spirit?! What are millennial wanting to see in the workplace of the future that they’re not seeing right now? In this episode, you will learn:  Thane discusses that in a recent blog that self-employment is most certainly not for everyone. It can be extremely beneficial to begin to train ourselves in leading up the chain of command. In a way of honour and respect, we can gain influence and empowerment when we learn this skill, benefiting both parties. Our performance is tied to sleep, recovery, and self-care. Contrary to popular belief, sleeping less, eating terribly, avoiding exercise will not get us ahead, but rather, hold us back. Leaders have a responsibility to steward their roles well specifically by learning what makes millennial tick and helping them to use those traits as their advantage. Creating an atmosphere that leverages who millennial are, and how they’ve grown up is key. We can use who they are to better support who they can become as professionals in our organizations. Also mentioned on this show: Thane’s blog post: An Honest Evaluation of Self-EmploymentCheck out Thane’s podcast: The Up & Comers ShowJacko Willink’s Book: Extreme OwnershipThane’s Book: From Here To There | A Quarter-Life Perspective on the Path to MasteryChristopher Heuertz | The Sacred EnneagramLuke 16:10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with muchExample article: Healthy employees are more productiveConnect with Thane Marcus: WebsiteInstagramLinkedIn
A Day-in-the-life of a Culture Specialist with Talia Benson
May 3, 2019 • 35 MIN
From varsity swimmer to one of Canada’s fastest growing companies, Talia Benson knows what it’s like to thrive in the fast lane. As the People & Culture Specialist at Inliv & Wello, two companies dedicated to pioneering a new frontier of healthcare, Talia has a lot to share with us about building a strong workplace culture. We take an inside look at the day-in-the-life of a person whose sole job is to focus on the culture of an organization… you may be surprised how much is on her plate and how pivotal her role is in the growth of her companies! Some questions I ask: Contentious issue… should there be a difference between HR and the People/Culture function within your organization? What does the day-in-the-life of a culture specialist look like? How would you measure the success of a launch to a new performance management/development system? How can you bring innovative culture technology & ideas to the table with limited resources & budget? Why should employees and companies place a focus on healthy living? How do we effectively navigate transformation to our employee wellness programs? What are the major differences you’ve seen in your experience working in an established business versus a startup? In this episode, you will learn:  There is a difference between HR and People/Culture. We see the administrative role being critical and necessary from HR, but with People/Culture, there is a dynamic that is also needed, projects focused on culture-specific elements of the business. Tips for how to begin building out your People & Culture team. What it looks like to redesign your internal performance development programs. An industry “secret" predictor of high-potential hires. How to connect vision, mission & values to truly enhance your wellness program. The way to ensure your employees are living out the values of your company besides just putting them up on the wall. Also mentioned on this show: Learn more about Wello, a virtual health-care platformLearn more about InlivConnect with Talia Benson: LinkedIn
Creating A Culture That Sparkles with Rachel Mielke
May 3, 2019 • 27 MIN
Have you ever wondered what happens to those businesses you see on Dragon’s Den or Shark Tank? Well, today’s guest is one of those who has skyrocketed in growth, building a strong international reputation. Rachel Mielke, Hillberg & Berk's fearless leader is my guest today on The CultureING Podcast. Starting a jewellery empire from a prairie city in Canada of only 230k people is no small feat. From 2 commissioned pieces for Queen Elizabeth II and being featured on the red carpet at the Oscars, while becoming a staple jewellery brand for ladies all around the world. On this episode, we get the inside scoop on how Rachel built this wonderful organization, but more specifically, how she built a thriving company culture amidst the rapidly impressive growth! I’m just so impressed at Rachel’s character, helping women find their confidence and flourish, from the inside out. Some questions I ask: What was the moment when you realized company culture had to be top of mind? How do you know if people can rise to the challenge of being brave at work? How do deal with letting someone go? What does it look like for executives and leaders to invest in culture and keep a temperature check on their organizations? What other companies’ cultures have influenced the Hillberg & Berk culture? In this episode, you will learn:  How to get to the heart of people in an interview. What it looks like to effectively stay up-to-date on the culture of your organization. How to make the decision to create a centralized HQ versus having multiple locations… and how to incorporate remote workers too! The importance of marrying points from your employee surveys with those from 1-to-1 conversations to understand the pain points in your organization that you need to address swiftly. The complicated task of integrating remote workers into your culture and setting them up for success. How it's important to take the best practices and culture inspiration from other companies with a grain of salt and distinctly create your own unique culture. Connect with Rachel Mielke: InstagramLinkedInMake sure to check out Hillberg & Berk’s Latest Collection! 
Preview | You're Part of the Movement To Revitalize Our Company Cultures
March 29, 2019 • 19 MIN
Introducing The CultureING Podcast | A Preview Mini-EpisodeYou are part of a company culture movement, to revitalize our workplaces & continually challenge the status quo.You deserve to thrive at work, to contribute our thousands of waking hours to an organization that can fully embrace & celebrate us. Your situation is entirely different than mine. Your company has it's own unique values, mission, vision & cultural frameworks.But we can all agree that no company is perfect. We will always have something to develop, build or improve when it comes to company culture.This podcast exists to be a part of the movement of leaders around the globe moving the needle in the People & Culture space. We are a place where pioneers learn from one another, where we discover that the untapped fuel to growth in our organizations is our people. We get to journey together to radically improve the employee experience & company culture of our organizations!In this episode you'll hear from:Rachel Mielke | Founder & CEO of Hillberg & BerkTalia Benson | People & Culture Specialist at Inliv & WelloThane Marcus Ringler | Author of "From Here To There" & Host of The Up & Comers ShowMatt Ditlejan | Founder & Futurist of Glacier Marketing & Cascade Influencers: Gen Z Micro Influencer Marketing Agency*For more information & to SUBSCRIBE to be notified when all of these episodes are released, head to www.cultureing.com.