On Culture: The Courage to Stay Human

Myste Wylde
May 1
5 min read

Dear Culturati Insider,

It’s tempting, in the noise of leadership today, to believe we’re choosing sides—but what if we’re actually choosing futures? Every quiet concession, every hire made out of habit, every value softened for 'survival' shapes the world we hand down. Not just to our employees and customers, but our children. Their children. The people we may never meet, but still hold a responsibility to. This moment doesn’t call for posturing. It calls for presence—for clarity, courage, and decisions that will hold up years from now.

Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Month, and with it, a necessary shift. Burnout isn’t just personal depletion—it’s a systemic signal. Leaders shouldn't be expected to be therapists, but we are responsible for creating conditions where people can breathe, recover, and do work that matters. That begins with tending to our own energy as a requirement for sustainable impact.

Meanwhile, stakeholder trust in leadership teams is eroding—not because of mistakes, but because of misalignment and inconsistency. Stakeholders don’t expect perfection. They expect principle, clarity, and cohesion—especially when decisions are difficult. The same goes for hiring. Skills-first practices remain more aspiration than reality in most organizations, despite the data. But the business case is clear: capability beats credential when we have the courage to let go of outdated filters.

In this spirit, we’re featuring two keynotes from our recent Culturati: Summit that meet this moment head-on. In Essential Leadership: Thriving in an Era of AI, Global Shifts, and Distributed Teams, Dr. Christie Smith challenges traditional models with a human-powered approach built for complexity and change. And in Catalysts: Chaos is a Ladder, Dean Carter reminds us that across vastly different organizations, purpose and precision can unlock extraordinary results—in spite of volatility.

These are not easy times. But they are defining ones. What we do now will echo—through our teams, our culture, and the generations that follow. Let’s make it count. What should be our next courageous steps?

For the long run,

Myste Wylde, COO

The Time for Leadership Courage Is Right Now

MIT Sloan Management Review

By Andrew Winston

Summary: Today’s leaders are operating in a climate of rising scrutiny and pressure—from governments, media, and social movements alike—on issues ranging from sustainability to diversity. In this environment, many organizations have grown quiet or reversed course on values they once championed, often to protect reputational standing or government partnerships. But silence has consequences. When leaders step back from stated commitments, stakeholders—employees, customers, partners—notice. Trust fails. Research shows that teams grounded in diverse perspectives outperform homogenous ones, and companies that lead with consistency and principle earn deeper loyalty. Leadership courage isn’t about politics—it’s about clarity, conviction, and knowing when to use moral capital, not just financial capital. The call right now isn’t to escalate conflict—it’s to lead with integrity in a moment that demands it.

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Rehumanizing Work For Mental Health Month: What Every Leader Can Do Today

Forbes

By Nell Derick Debevoise

Summary: Mental Health Awareness Month arrives at a time when fatigue is high, trust is fragile, and the limits of resilience are showing. Leaders aren’t expected to be therapists—but they are responsible for shaping environments where people can breathe, contribute, and recover. The Lead in 3D model—Me, We, World—offers a clear, human-centered framework: care for your own well-being with intention, cultivate psychological safety through micro-moments of connection, and consider the broader impact of your leadership footprint. Burnout isn’t a personal failure—it’s often a systemic signal. The call this May isn’t for more hustle—it’s for more humanity. When leaders prioritize clarity, empathy, and trust, they don’t just reduce harm. They unlock capacity.

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Executive Teams Are Losing Stakeholders’ Confidence. Here’s How to Get It Back.

Harvard Business Review

By Ron Carucci

Summary: Confidence in executive teams is dwindling as stakeholders watch them navigate precedent-setting challenges—from geopolitical disruption to cultural division—without a clear playbook. It’s natural for leadership teams to stumble while finding their footing, but in today’s environment, those missteps are often public, amplifying doubt. To rebuild trust, leaders must model values-driven decisions, rapid learning, and cross-functional cohesion. Research shows trust rebounds when teams align around shared principles, communicate transparently, and foster psychological safety internally—while presenting clarity and unity externally. High-performing teams aren’t mistake-free; they’re principled in uncertainty and consistent in how they lead through it.

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Skills-First Hiring: How to Turn Good Intentions into Real Action

Indeed/Lead

By Indeed Editorial Team

Summary: Despite growing support for skills-first hiring, only 13% of employers have removed degree requirements from job listings, and just 17% have trained teams on how to screen for skills—highlighting a persistent gap between intent and implementation. Data from Indeed and Harvard Business School show that although job postings without degree requirements have quadrupled since 2014, actual hiring of non-degreed candidates has barely moved (+3.5%). Yet the business case is clear: companies adopting skills-first practices find qualified candidates twice as easily, with higher motivation and retention. Experts recommend piloting the approach with hard-to-fill roles, investing in tools like interview rubrics, and training hiring managers on how to assess—and value—real capabilities over credentials. Skills-first hiring offers a scalable path to stronger teams and smarter workforce investments.

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I Used to Think Time Was the Problem. Here's Why Managing My Energy Was the Real Fix

Entrepreneur

By Greg Smith

Summary: Many leaders treat time as their most precious resource, but what truly drives sustained performance is energy. Burnout, now costing U.S. employers an estimated $136 billion annually, stems not from long hours alone, but from unmanaged drains—conflict, unclear decisions, and lack of recovery. Research and experience show that leaders who identify personal energy boosters and model replenishing behaviors—like breaks, flow-state work, and relationship building—cultivate more productive, loyal, and motivated teams. Managing energy isn't indulgent; it's foundational. The best-performing leaders protect stamina as fiercely as they manage strategy—because without it, execution fails.

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