SUMMARY
“Culture” is everywhere: in our countries and communities, in our organizations, and in our teams. Moreover, culture is simultaneously extremely powerful and affected by those within it. To be blunt, effective leaders know how to respect culture, and also how to leverage it for team performance. INSEAD Professor Erin Meyer is an expert in business and organizational culture, and in this conversation with interviewer Jason Jaggard, she offers up valuable insights about culture, including how to work with international teams, how to hire to maximize creative culture, and how low performers can dramatically impact team culture. This is a fascinating listen for anyone leading teams.
KEY MOMENTS IN THIS EPISODE
05:53 “CONSTRUCTIVE” FEEDBACK DIFFERS ACROSS CULTURES. If your team is made up of people from multiple cultures and/or nationalities, be aware that what feels constructive in one culture may feel destructive or ineffective in another.
09:28 IF YOUR TEAM IS INTERNATIONAL, DO NOT LEAN TOO MUCH INTO EFFICIENCY. The more international your team is, the more you should invest in getting to know each other relationally.
19:55 A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF CULTURE. Culture is the personality of people groups.
22:55 A COMPENSATION STRATEGY FOR TOP PERFORMERS. In a creative endeavor (which can actually include non-profits), top performers provide an out-sized benefit, so consider hiring fewer positions, but compensate them well.
24:50 AN “INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE PROBLEM” IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL PROBLEM. Low performers—particularly those with bad attitudes—have a dramatic, negative impact on organizational culture.
29:48 STEPS TO GIVING EMPLOYEE FREEDOM. Higher talent density and candor strongly contribute to creating a culture of employee freedom. Even if you’re a long way off from that culture, you can always find one step to take.
34:00 BEWARE OF CREATING POLICIES. Policies can ultimately restrict employee freedom, so try to find other ways to respond to bad actors/actions.
38:14 Host reflection and takeaways.
RELEVANT RESOURCES / LINKS
Erin’s Website
INSEAD: The Business School for the World
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention (on Amazon.com)
The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business (on Amazon.com)
What Color Is Your Parachute?: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success (on Amazon.com)
“When Diversity Meets Feedback: How to promote candor across cultural, gender, and generational divides” (Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct 2023)
Global Leadership Network
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
Go further with this episode by discussing the following questions with your team, or engaging in some personal reflection:
How have you seen low performers impact team culture? How was the issue resolved?
Moving Forward: What could you do differently as a result of this podcast?
Jason Jaggard
Coach, Speaker, Author and Founder | Novus GlobalErin Meyer
Professor; Author and Consultant | INSEADEp 129: Recognizing and Respecting the Power of Organizational Culture with Professor Erin Meyer
TOPICS IN THIS PODCAST
Leading OrganizationsLeading Others“Culture” is everywhere: in our countries and communities, in our organizations, and in our teams. Moreover, culture is simultaneously extremely powerful and affected by those within it. To be blunt, effective leaders know how to respect culture, and also how to leverage it for team performance. INSEAD Professor Erin Meyer is an expert in business and organizational culture, and in this conversation with interviewer Jason Jaggard, she offers up valuable insights about culture, including how to work with international teams, how to hire to maximize creative culture, and how low performers can dramatically impact team culture. This is a fascinating listen for anyone leading teams.
On This Podcast
Jason Jaggard
Novus Global
Jason Jaggard is an entrepreneur, author, executive coach and speaker. His work has been translated into over 50 languages and has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, Entrepreneur and Chief Executive Magazine. He is the founder of Novus Global, an executive coaching firm working with Fortune 500 companies, professional athletes, elected officials and some of the most famous entertainers on earth. He also co-founded and is on the faculty of The Meta Performance Institute, which helps coaches create six figure practices serving high performing leaders and teams. His next book, Beyond High Performance: What Great Coaches Know about How the Best Get Better is out this May, 2023.
Erin Meyer
INSEAD
Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD in France, one of the world’s leading business schools. Her recently released book, The Culture Map, focuses on how the world’s most successful global leaders navigate the complexities of cultural differences in a multicultural environment. In 2015, Meyer won the Thinkers50 “On the Radar” award, given to the best of the new generation of thinkers most likely to shape the future of business and business thinking.
Show Notes
SUMMARY
“Culture” is everywhere: in our countries and communities, in our organizations, and in our teams. Moreover, culture is simultaneously extremely powerful and affected by those within it. To be blunt, effective leaders know how to respect culture, and also how to leverage it for team performance. INSEAD Professor Erin Meyer is an expert in business and organizational culture, and in this conversation with interviewer Jason Jaggard, she offers up valuable insights about culture, including how to work with international teams, how to hire to maximize creative culture, and how low performers can dramatically impact team culture. This is a fascinating listen for anyone leading teams.
KEY MOMENTS IN THIS EPISODE
05:53 “CONSTRUCTIVE” FEEDBACK DIFFERS ACROSS CULTURES. If your team is made up of people from multiple cultures and/or nationalities, be aware that what feels constructive in one culture may feel destructive or ineffective in another.
09:28 IF YOUR TEAM IS INTERNATIONAL, DO NOT LEAN TOO MUCH INTO EFFICIENCY. The more international your team is, the more you should invest in getting to know each other relationally.
19:55 A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF CULTURE. Culture is the personality of people groups.
22:55 A COMPENSATION STRATEGY FOR TOP PERFORMERS. In a creative endeavor (which can actually include non-profits), top performers provide an out-sized benefit, so consider hiring fewer positions, but compensate them well.
24:50 AN “INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE PROBLEM” IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL PROBLEM. Low performers—particularly those with bad attitudes—have a dramatic, negative impact on organizational culture.
29:48 STEPS TO GIVING EMPLOYEE FREEDOM. Higher talent density and candor strongly contribute to creating a culture of employee freedom. Even if you’re a long way off from that culture, you can always find one step to take.
34:00 BEWARE OF CREATING POLICIES. Policies can ultimately restrict employee freedom, so try to find other ways to respond to bad actors/actions.
38:14 Host reflection and takeaways.
RELEVANT RESOURCES / LINKS
Erin’s Website
INSEAD: The Business School for the World
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention (on Amazon.com)
The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business (on Amazon.com)
What Color Is Your Parachute?: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success (on Amazon.com)
“When Diversity Meets Feedback: How to promote candor across cultural, gender, and generational divides” (Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct 2023)
Global Leadership Network
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
Go further with this episode by discussing the following questions with your team, or engaging in some personal reflection:
How have you seen low performers impact team culture? How was the issue resolved?
Moving Forward: What could you do differently as a result of this podcast?
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