Influence
Conflict Management
Culture
October 7, 2025

Ep 188: David Ashcraft on How to Create, Steer and Correct Culture

Contributor
Whitney Putnam
Whitney Putnam
Vice President of Marketing
|
Global Leadership Network
David Ashcraft
David Ashcraft
President and CEO
|
Global Leadership Network

There are few things more powerful than the culture of an organization. Culture has the power to enhance a leader’s vision, or it can be a powerful roadblock. The good news is that leaders have a strong influence on organizational culture, and in this episode GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft shares what he has learned about why culture matters and a few ways that leaders can begin to establish, maintain or correct their own team cultures.

IN THIS EPISODE:

0:00 Intro

2:10 How David adjusted from the culture of Texas to that of Pennsylvania.  

5:00 How baking cookies built a culture of hospitality.  

9:00 Some ways that David has practically established boundaries of organizational culture.

9:50 What process did David use to learn to establish culture?  

11:30 What actions should a newer leader focus on?  

16:00 What did David observe in GLN culture that he felt needed to shift?  

19:30 The tension between a culture of candor and a culture of safety.  

22:15 Outro

LISTEN

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS

  • Culture is partially built by the things you do, repeatedly, and partly by the things you do not do, or say “no” to.
  • The leader’s role is to say what’s important and then model that for the organization.  
  • In 2 ½ to 3 years, an organization will begin to assume the personality of its leader.  
  • At some point, instead of talking about what your culture is, you should just start doing it. (Or, depending on the situation, you should STOP doing it.)  
  • People in an organization are always watching the leader.  

LINKS MENTIONED

Communication
,
Collaboration
,
Influence
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November 18, 2025

Ep 192: Creating Spaces Where Productivity, Creativity and Well-being Soar (with Bradley Rapier)

Bradley is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated choreographer with over three decades of experience in dance, production and leading teams and talent from Hollywood to Broadway. Whether dance and choreography is your thing or not, what Bradley teaches in this conversation with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft is what happens when people feel engaged and connected, and how we as leaders can facilitate that engagement.

Leading Others
Communication
,
Collaboration
,
Team Building
,
October 28, 2025

Ep 190 - New Communication Tools for the Digital Era, with Erica Dhawan

Today, we listen in on a conversation between David Ashcraft and digital body language expert Erica Dhawan. Together they explore how communication has changed, particularly over the past 5 years, and what leaders can do right now to communicate effectively with their teams to maximize collaboration and effectiveness.

Leading Others
Communication
,
Collaboration
,
Influence
,
September 30, 2025

Ep 187: Gabriel Salguero on Bridge-Building Leadership

Gabriel Salguero is a pastor and the founder and CEO of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. Recently he sat down with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft, and together they had a vital and honest conversation about how leaders can learn to build bridges with those they lead.

Leading Organizations
Leading Others

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