On Culture: Stop Managing Time. Start Designing Conditions.

Myste Wylde
Jul 24
5 min read

Dear Culturati Insider,

Most teams aren’t underperforming because of laziness. They’re underperforming because the environment they’re working in wasn’t designed to help them thrive.

Leaders still clinging to industrial-era logic (measuring hours instead of outcomes, tightening control instead of expanding trust) are finding those models increasingly brittle. The smarter approach? Treat your organization like a living system. The companies making real gains today are shifting from efficiency to emergence. They’re optimizing for vitality, adaptability, and long-term value. The data speaks: Microsoft Japan’s four-day workweek lifted productivity by 40% and cut burnout dramatically. Global pilots show similar results if leaders reimagine human roles and not simply automate them.

And it’s not only about structure. Culture is created (and reinforced) in the moments most leaders overlook. New research confirms that rituals such as onboarding, retreats, and even your holiday party can boost engagement or backfire entirely, depending on how they’re designed. Connection and recognition drive results. Performative gestures don’t.

That same principle applies to vision. Strategy on paper is no problem, but execution takes a team that feels trusted, empowered, and safe to act without asking for permission. Micromanagement can kill momentum. So can relying solely on logic when your team hits resistance. Dissonance is actually a signal to pause, ask better questions, and make room for internal motivation to surface.

One final tool worth watching... Leaders are starting to augment their thinking with GenAI-powered personal boards of directors, virtual advisers modeled on iconic figures like Indra Nooyi, Steve Jobs, and Nelson Mandela. Used correctly, they don’t replace real counsel. They expand range, pressure-test decisions, and surface insights you won’t get from your usual circle. For leaders moving fast and making high-stakes calls, this kind of frictionless perspective could be a game changer.

If you want to learn how, join us on August 7th for Culturati: LIVE 'Becoming an AI-Driven Leader: Make Faster, Smarter Decisions with AI' led by best-selling author & founder of AI Leadership, Geoff Woods. You’ll get real executive use cases, a prompt framework, and hands-on time with tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Claude.

After all, performance isn’t a mystery. It’s often just permission. The question isn’t whether you, or your team, can rise. It’s whether you’ve made it possible.

Co-creating,

Myste Wylde, COO

Why Leaders Should Build Teams Less Like Machines and More Like Ecosystems

Fast Company

By Tony Martignetti and Joel Fariss

Summary: With AI acceleration, climate disruption, and record burnout, leaders can no longer afford to treat organizations like machines. Mechanical models optimize for speed and control but sacrifice adaptability and well-being. Instead, leading companies are embracing a living-systems approach by treating teams as dynamic ecosystems where creativity, trust, and resilience flourish. The data backs this up: Microsoft Japan’s four-day workweek boosted productivity by 40% while slashing energy use by 23%, and global pilots saw burnout drop by 71%. McKinsey projects that generative AI could drive a 3.4% annual productivity lift—if human roles are reimagined, not just automated. The most effective leaders are shifting from time-tracking to vitality, from silos to systems, and from output to regenerative impact. The lesson: stop managing for efficiency, start designing for emergence.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

New Research on How to Get Workplace Rituals Right

Harvard Business Review

By Junhyok Yim, Anthony C. Klotz, Trevor A. Foulk and Pauline Schilpzand

Summary: New research shows that complex workplace rituals such as onboarding events, retreats, and even holiday parties can significantly boost engagement, but only when designed with intention. When employees feel connected and recognized, they show higher motivation, collaboration, and retention. But if rituals create feelings of exclusion, inauthenticity, or personal sacrifice, the positive effects disappear. A four-country study confirms that poorly executed rituals can actually increase attrition risk. To get it right, leaders can offer meaningful perks, design inclusive formats, recognize contributions publicly, reduce logistical burdens, and avoid performative or forced participation. Rituals should be planned for impact, not optics, and as strategic moments to build trust, cohesion, and cultural vitality.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

How to Build a Team That Can Execute Your Vision

Entrepreneur

By Emily Reynolds

Summary: A bold vision means nothing without a team equipped and empowered to execute it. Research and real-world experience show that execution thrives when people feel trusted, confident, and supported, even through mistakes. Leaders can achieve this by building cultures where autonomy is expected, self-assurance is practiced, and failure is seen as part of progress. That means hiring for strengths, encouraging forward-thinking action, removing permission-seeking bottlenecks, and coaching rather than micromanaging. Employees who feel ownership don’t wait to be led—they lead from where they are. Vision becomes reality only when your team sees themselves in it and feels safe enough to act decisively.

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Logic Sometimes Isn’t Enough to Move People Forward

Psychology Today

By Brian K. Perkins, Ed.D.

Summary: When teams are stuck in dissonance—struggling to process feedback, change, or conflicting values—pushing harder with logic usually backfires. Studies show that pressure often triggers defensiveness, not alignment. Effective leaders take a different route: they draw out “change talk” through open-ended questions and reflective listening, increasing psychological safety and internal motivation. They reframe mistakes as learning moments in complex systems, helping unfreeze old assumptions without threat, and they model inquiry over certainty, asking “what are we missing?” to encourage honest dialogue.

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How I Built a Personal Board of Directors With GenAI

MIT Sloan Management Review

By Vipin Gupta

Summary: Using GenAI, leaders can now create a virtual personal board of directors modeled on iconic figures (think Nelson Mandela, Indra Nooyi, and Steve Jobs) to gain diverse, on-demand perspectives across strategy, ethics, innovation, and operations. These AI advisers offer scale, speed, and psychological safety, surfacing fresh thinking without social risk. But they don’t replace real human advisers. Instead, they complement them by amplifying clarity, challenging bias, and expanding decision-making range. The most effective leaders blend the wisdom of real relationships with the cognitive breadth of AI, creating a hybrid approach that’s adaptive, cost-effective, and built for complexity.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

Join us on Thursday, August 7 at Noon CT for an interactive workshop designed to elevate your strategic thinking with hands-on AI experience. Whether you're new or returning, you’ll explore real executive use cases, learn a practical prompt framework, and gain clarity on how to lead with AI. No prior attendance required—just bring your preferred LLM (like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Claude) and a mindset ready to experiment. If you missed Geoff’s previous session on AI as a thought leadership partner, you can watch it here.