On Culture: What We Resist, We Repeat

Myste Wylde
Jul 17
5 min read

Dear Culturati Insider,

Everyone wants transformation. No one wants to go first.

That’s the paradox of leadership today: bold in ambition, cautious in action. It’s easy to talk about change, but much harder to be the one who initiates it, especially when the stakes are high and the path unclear. But modern leadership isn’t about having the perfect plan. It’s about managing contradictions: between speed and sense-making, legacy and innovation, personal mastery and necessary reinvention. If you feel pulled in opposing directions, you’re not failing. You’re doing the job.

And yet, the biggest barriers to progress aren’t external; they’re structural and psychological. Most leaders don’t squash progress outright. They never see it. Power dynamics, identity preservation, and institutional memory all influence what ideas make it through the filter. Breaking that pattern requires psychological safety, political neutrality, and trust in discomfort.

Even learning can backfire if it’s poorly designed. Research shows teams perform worse when brainstorming and reflection are crammed into the same session. Like muscles, minds need recovery between exertions. Innovation requires pacing with distinct phases of reflection, exploration, and action.

These aren’t just tactical errors but deeper reflections on how we make sense of the world. Evolution shaped us to move fast, seek the familiar, and protect our group. But those same instincts can distort our decisions, favoring what feels safe over what’s right.

That’s why leading well today requires more than instinct and strategy. It requires the ability to see what matters before it’s obvious, and to act before it’s easy. It means holding space for ambiguity and resisting the urge to close loops too quickly. The edge—the liminal space between what was and what’s coming—isn’t a place to avoid. It’s where meaningful transformation begins.

And yes, someone has to go first. Leadership always involves stepping into uncertainty before others are ready. But that’s the privilege: you get to set the terms for what comes next.

Perched on the verge,

Myste Wylde, COO

P.S.

If you're grappling with pressure, performance, or fatigue (and who isn’t?), don’t miss this week’s Culturati: LIVE with Rev. Steven Tomlinson, PhD and Dr. Greg Wallingford. It’s a masterclass in leading through high-stakes tension without burning out or checking out. Cognitive hospitality might just be one of the most underrated leadership skills today...

The Real Workplace Threat Isn't AI. It's Leadership Disconnect

Fast Company

By Kuba Trzcinski

Summary: Despite 92% of companies planning to increase AI investment, only 1% feel confident in their deployment strategy, according to McKinsey & Company. Yet the bigger issue isn’t pace—it’s people. Gallup reports global engagement has dropped to 21%, with disengaged employees 2.6 x's more likely to seek a new job. And while AI is often pitched as a tool to reduce workload, 77% of workers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia say it’s actually increased their workload, often because companies are layering AI on top of existing responsibilities without redesigning workflows or clarifying expectations (Workday). The fix isn’t just better tech adoption. It’s leaders spending time inside the day-to-day reality of their teams, observing where friction lives, and acting visibly on what they learn.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

Three Invisible Hurdles to Innovation

MIT Sloan Management Review

By Scott D. Anthony

Summary: Innovation often stalls not because of a lack of ideas, but because of three hidden barriers that leaders routinely overlook: power dynamics, status quo bias, and identity threat. First, innovation can disrupt internal hierarchies, making some teams or roles less relevant. When proposals threaten a department’s influence or survival, they often never reach leadership. To counter this, leaders must neutralize politics in resource allocation and reward ideas that serve the broader organization, even when they cause internal disruption. Second, status quo bias keeps most employees from embracing change. According to Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations, only 2.5% are true innovators and 13.5% early adopters, meaning the vast majority are naturally cautious. Without safe environments to experiment and fail, people will stick with what they know. Leaders can shift this by encouraging low-stakes experimentation and play. Third, innovation often triggers identity threat. Employees see themselves in the work they do—when a legacy function is replaced, it can feel like personal erasure. Leaders must clearly communicate what is not changing and anchor transformation in the organization’s enduring mission. When people understand that their purpose remains intact, they’re more willing to evolve how they work.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

New Research on the Link Between Learning and Innovation

Harvard Business Review

By Jean-François Harvey, Johnathan R. Cromwell, Kevin J. Johnson and Amy C. Edmondson

Summary: New research across 160+ teams shows innovation doesn't lag from lack of effort, but from poor sequencing of learning. Teams that mix exploratory activities (like brainstorming or trend scanning) with reflection or planning in the same session see performance drop. In contrast, top-performing teams create clear, predictable rhythms cycling through reflection, exploration, and refinement in deliberate phases. For example, pairing reflection with vicarious learning (drawing lessons from others) improved outcomes, while combining reflection with experimentation in the same moment led to confusion and stalled momentum. The leadership takeaway: don’t multitask learning. Create distinct time blocks, protect reflective space, and structure innovation cycles like sprints. Innovation often isn’t a flood of ideas, but a well-paced process.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

Explore the Edges that Shape Your Growth

Voltage Control

Summary: Progress breaks down when leaders skirt the edge: the threshold where tension, ambiguity, and growth converge. Voltage Control offers a practical framework called EDGE: Explore the Unknown, Disrupt Patterns, Generate Dialogue, Embrace Tension, and Steward Emergence. Based in learning science and refined through tools like Troika Consulting, it helps teams move with clarity through discomfort. The takeaway: stop blending reflection with execution. Sequence them. Make room for challenge. Let tension surface. That’s where meaningful change begins.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

The Enemy Within: Evolution’s Role in Human Conflict

Psychology Today

By Sam Goldstein, PhD

Summary: Human conflict is rooted in evolutionary wiring. Research from Buss, Shackelford, and Wrangham shows that traits like in-group loyalty, fear of outsiders, and impulsive or strategic aggression once served critical survival functions. In early environments, quick judgments and tribal protection increased the odds of survival. Today, those same instincts show up as bias, polarization, and irrational hostility. Leaders cannot wish these impulses away, but they can shape systems that push against them. Build cultures that reward empathy. Design environments that encourage cross-group collaboration. Teach people to recognize their triggers. The path forward begins with accepting who we are—and choosing better anyway.

READ ARTICLE IN FULL

In high-stakes environments, leaders often default to control, speed, or detachment—instinctive responses that can erode trust and performance. This session explored the science and practice of Cognitive Hospitality: a leadership approach that helps teams stay grounded, open, and creative under pressure. Rev. Steven Tomlinson, PhD and Dr. Gregory Wallingford shared research and real-world insights on how to shift from reactivity to reflection, creating conditions for emotional safety and clear thinking in crisis moments. Together with the audience, they unpacked the human signals of “code blue” culture, offered language to navigate ambiguity, and outlined actionable strategies to lead with presence, empathy, and steadiness, no matter the situtation.

WATCH NOW

Want the full newsletter each week in your inbox? Sign up now to save time and stay on top of trends.