On Culture: In (Sustainable) Speed We Trust

Myste Wylde
Jun 19
6 min read

Dear Culturati Insider,

Today is Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were finally informed of their freedom. We celebrate this day not only to honor Black history and resilience, but to confront the long legacy of injustice that still shapes our institutions. It is a moment to reflect on freedom, equity, and the work that remains.

This week’s frame came late yesterday afternoon, when Eugene shared what surfaced at a recent executive lunch: the need for speed is showing up everywhere. Not just in AI, but in decision-making, staffing, capital deployment, even cultural messaging. The pressure isn’t subtle. Boards expect it. Teams need it. Markets reward it. And in many cases, it’s what’s required.

This isn't a counterpoint, but a support structure. Because if we’re going to move fast, we need to protect the conditions that make it sustainable: trust, curiosity, and the courage to slow down long enough to ask the right questions. Speed can't (or shouldn't) be treated as a proxy for clarity.

On Monday I sat in on a conversation with Amy Edmondson, Stephen Covey, and Liz Wiseman on leading through uncertainty. They each named a different dimension of what effective leadership looks like under pressure. Amy reminded us that ambiguity must be made discussable. Stephen reframed trust as infrastructure. And Liz grounded it all in capability—how we restore agency without resorting to control. No one argued against urgency. Instead, they emphasized the disciplines required to lead well through it by leading out loud, embracing a "both/and" approach, and designing decisions in partnership rather than in isolation.

This echoes a call Eugene and I just had with Brooke Struck of Converge, who described courageous leadership in two distinct ways. First, as a collective act: guiding a group of leaders through real debate, surfacing conflict, finding convergence, and having the clarity to say, “This is where we’re going,” without invalidating what was left on the table. Second, as a personal choice: investing in people and change, even when predictability feels safer. Courage, in this frame, means resisting the reflex to default to what’s familiar. It means intentionally creating the conditions for dissent, not just allowing it. Brooke challenged us to consider what it takes to design rooms where complexity is engaged, not caricatured, and where diverse perspectives are not only voiced but meaningfully received.

High-stakes environments don’t reward hesitation, but they also don’t forgive thoughtlessness. Leaders who ignore tension don’t create stability; they create drift. Execution falters when discernment disappears, and without the discipline to pause, even the best teams can lose alignment.

What distinguishes sound decision-makers now is their ability to hold complexity without rushing to closure. They read context before asserting direction. They ask questions that identify risk early. And they respond to cultural strain not with avoidance, but with structured candor. Speed might move us forward. But depth informs direction—and shapes who we become along the way.

So on this Juneteenth, let us be reminded that reflection is not a slowdown. It is a source of strength. The work of justice, like the work of leadership, asks us to be deliberate about what we build, how we show up, and who we include as we continue on.

Intentionally yours,

Myste Wylde, COO

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Harnessing the power of authenticity & inspiration as a leader. LaToya Collins-Jones suggests we don’t need more rules or another corporate playbook, but that leading with clarity and audacity is the way. In this session, LaToya is calling in leaders ready to trust their gut and create cultures that reflect who they truly are. She'll explore how to build high-performance environments without burning out or selling out—and why the boldest move you can make is to lead from alignment. This conversation assumes leaders are here to shake things up—and ready to start with one powerful, unapologetic step.