On Culture: This Should Not Be Business as Usual

Myste Wylde
Jan 30
6 min read

Dear Culturati Insider,

You cannot lead humans while pretending the human context does not exist.

I just listened to Mel Plett and Francesca Ranieri’s latest episode of Your Work Friends, and they called it... Your people are not okay, and when people are not okay, neither is your business. Beyond AI, workloads, and layoffs, we have to consider the lived reality people are carrying into work every day. That reality is shaping focus, judgment, trust, and performance whether leadership chooses to acknowledge it or not.

This month’s fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have sharpened public sentiment in a way that directly affects how people show up to work. (Underscoring a pattern of violence and fear that has long shaped life for many Americans.) Recent events have punctured a post-election quiet many institutions mistook for caution. Some leaders still believe certain events sit outside the scope of business, having learned the wrong lesson after the pendulum swing backlash of 2021. That posture cannot hold. When leaders offer no communication or context, people fill in the gaps themselves—often in ways that further weakens our relationships.

Retention, performance, and culture are converging in the daily behavior of leaders closest to the work. National data shows 57% of employees consider leaving due to distrust in leadership. This is where character comes in. So much more than a statement of values, character is proven through the choices we make under pressure. Aristotle argued that character is revealed through repeated action. Sartre said we become what our choices demonstrate. Modern research echoes this truth. And leaders who regulate their thinking create the necessary space between stimulus and response for discernment and moral clarity to surface. Over time, people experience this as steadiness which becomes credibility.

In part, this is why familiar leadership reflexes are breaking down. Research tracking leaders through prolonged disruption shows that projecting control compresses judgment and accelerates error. Leaders who perform well in volatility surface uncertainty early and treat emotion as data. They guide teams through shared interpretations of what is happening and what it means, rather than issuing finished conclusions. This is a vital process for trust.

Teams are carrying so much right now: economic pressure, social fracture…a constant stream of distressing information. None of that stops at the office door or Zoom “join” button. Leaders who recognize that heaviness and respond with awareness create critical stability. This can be done in relatively ordinary ways such as clarifying what matters this week, reducing unnecessary friction, and allowing room for people to have a human experience.

In the end, we do not need perfect language or to solve the unsolvable, but we do need to show up with courage, care, and clarity. People will remember. We can make a difference.

Accountably,

Myste Wylde, COO

The State of the Workplace 2026: Leadership Trends Shaping Performance, Culture, and Retention

The Destination Workplace

By Betsy Allen-Manning

Summary: In 2026, retention, performance, and culture converge in the daily behavior of leaders closest to the work. Benefits, flexibility, and technology continue to expand, yet turnover remains high because execution lives with leadership capability. Data from the National Workplace Trends Study shows 57% of employees consider leaving due to distrust in leadership, and 36% rank constructive feedback and recognition as top priorities. The pressure point sits in middle management, where top performers are promoted without coaching skills, clarity erodes, and momentum slows. Teams disengage when priorities shift, accountability blurs, and feedback fades. Effective leadership now demands precision: clear standards, consistent reinforcement, timely coaching, and calm accountability. When leadership capability strengthens, trust, execution, and retention stabilize. Organizations that invest here will sustain performance and grow their people through the next decade.

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Minneapolis Killings Cut Short America's Post-Election Apathy

Axios

By Zachary Basu

Summary: The killing of Alex Pretti has punctured the post-2024 détente that pushed much of corporate and cultural America into silence, forcing nonpolitical institutions back into public view. U.S. opinion seems cyclical: George Floyd’s murder in 2020 drove mass protest and corporate action, while backlash to perceived excess fueled disengagement by 2024 and was read by many leaders as permission to stand down. Immigration followed the same arc. President Trump’s mass-deportation agenda initially polled well, then support eroded as enforcement became more visible and lethal. Three weeks after another ICE shooting in Minneapolis, more than 60 Minnesota CEOs, major sports teams, and tech firms publicly called for de-escalation and accountability. Polling now shows over half of Americans have very little confidence in ICE, with Trump’s immigration approval at a low. Online outrage has spilled into apolitical spaces, and even Trump-aligned leaders like Sam Altman have drawn lines, calling ICE actions overreach. Opposition now spans business, culture, and base voters. This is no longer a partisan fight, and the reputational and cultural costs of silence are rising.

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Strength of Character: It’s All Up to You

Psychology Today

By Ragnar Purje Ph.D.

Summary: Strength of character, like physical strength, is built through repeated, self-directed action. Drawing on Aristotle and Sartre, integrity is revealed through everyday choices and that individuals are defined by what those choices demonstrate. Research in self-regulation supports this view: when people govern their thinking, they increase their capacity to pause, manage impulses, and act deliberately, which is a prerequisite for personal agency and ethical behavior. Studies show that impulse awareness enables better decision-making and behavioral control, reinforcing Viktor Frankl’s insight that freedom and growth sit between stimulus and response. The core takeaway is direct and uncomfortable: leaders are fully responsible for what they think, say, and do, including moments of inaction. Character is not abstract or situational. It is practiced daily, under pressure, through ownership of choices and their consequences.

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The Trouble With Heroic Leadership

MIT Sloan Management Review

By Janaki Gooty, Corinne Post, and Jamie Ladge

Summary: The myth of the superhero leader is breaking down under constant disruption. Research following 58 leaders during COVID shows that projecting certainty and control in crisis often backfires, leading to rushed decisions, overpromising, and eroded trust. Today’s effective leaders operate differently: they acknowledge uncertainty, treat emotion as data, and balance hard business demands with human realities. Leaders who openly name fear, anger, or grief improve decision quality under stress, supported by neuropsychology research showing emotion labeling reduces cognitive distortion. Trust grows when leaders admit limits, avoid false certainty, and involve teams in sensemaking rather than issuing polished answers. Examples from leaders at GM, Airbnb, Walmart, and New Zealand’s government show that resilience comes from transparency, emotional literacy, and shared direction, not bravado. Leadership effectiveness today is about credibility, judgment, and the ability to guide people through ambiguity without pretending to have all the answers.

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What Teams Need When Times Feel Heavy

Forbes

By Teresa Hopke

Summary: Teams are operating amid sustained economic pressure, social tension, and constant information flow, all of which shape how people show up at work. Leaders who pay attention to subtle shifts in energy, focus, and engagement create stability through simple, consistent actions. Brief check-ins, naming shared strain at a high level, and offering practical flexibility help people stay focused and connected. Research shows that employees who feel seen and supported sustain higher engagement, collaboration, and retention over time. Clear priorities, realistic timelines, and access to support protect momentum while preserving standards. In heavy periods, leadership effectiveness shows up in presence, awareness, and follow-through. Care becomes an operational input that strengthens performance and resilience across the team.

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Join us today from 1:00–2:00 p.m. CT for Culturati: LIVE, where we’ll explore how AI is reshaping work by shifting advantage from tools to judgment—what leaders automate, what they intentionally protect as human, and how clearly those choices are communicated. Drawing on new research from Cro Metrics, Gwen Hammes will examine the growing divide between tasks people readily delegate to AI and moments where human discernment, creativity, and trust remain essential, and what this means for operating models, workforce design, and culture. In conversation with Al Dea, the session will unpack how executive teams are rethinking decisions, roles, incentives, and trust signals as AI scales—highlighting the renewed value of human-verified work, in-person and relational experiences, and the ways predictive systems are beginning to shape priorities.