『A Curious Space: Leadership, Culture and Teams』のカバーアート

A Curious Space: Leadership, Culture and Teams

A Curious Space: Leadership, Culture and Teams

著者： Kate Nicholroy and Maddie Fox
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2026年5月12日まで。4か月目以降は月額1,500円で自動更新します。

概要

For forward-thinking senior leaders who want to strengthen their leadership and build teams that thrive. We explore what shapes culture, how teams can think and work better together and the real challenges that show up inside organisations.

Copyright 2025 All rights reserved. 経済学
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  • Subcultures: The Good, The Bad, And The WhatsApp Group You're Not In

    Subcultures: The Good, The Bad, And The WhatsApp Group You're Not In
    2026/04/17
    Not One Weather System: Why Your Organisation Has Many Cultures, and What to Do About It If you have ever moved between departments and felt like you had walked into a completely different organisation, this episode is for you. This week, Kate and Maddie are exploring organisational subcultures: what they are, why they form, how they can help or hinder the change you are trying to make, and why understanding power between subcultures is one of the most overlooked skills in organisational life. What we cover in this episode: Kate opens with a surprising detour into the world of bees (specifically, what they do in winter to keep the hive warm), before the conversation turns to the main event. We start by unpacking what subcultures actually are and why they emerge. Drawing on Robin Dunbar's research into the limits of human social connection, Kate and Maddie explore why organisations stop feeling like one cohesive group once they grow beyond a certain size, and what fills that space instead. We then introduce a typology from researchers Martin and Siehl, which describes three kinds of subcultures: Enhancing subcultures, which amplify and reinforce the dominant culture of the organisation. Orthogonal subcultures, which are simply different, not aligned or opposed, just doing their own thing. And countercultural subcultures, which actively push back against the dominant direction. Maddy brings in the origin story of the Skunk Works project at Lockheed Martin, one of the most famous examples of a deliberately created enhancing subculture, designed to cut through bureaucracy and drive innovation at speed. We also touch on Google's cycling culture as an example of how an orthogonal subculture can create unexpected cross-functional connections. Kate then shares a case study from researchers Ogbonna and Harris (2015), based on a Premier League football club the researchers call Regent FC. It is a forensic look at what happens when a powerful subculture is directly threatened by organisational change, and what leaders can learn from why that change did not succeed. We close with some practical things to try, including how to audit the subcultures in your own organisation, and a personal reflection prompt for anyone who has recently changed roles or been promoted. Key concepts and thinkers mentioned: Robin Dunbar and Dunbar's Number, the idea that human beings can maintain stable social relationships with roughly 150 people at most. His book is listed below. Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety and the role that team-level culture can play in providing safety even within a broader unsafe organisation. Her book is also listed below. Martin and Siehl's typology of organisational subcultures: enhancing, orthogonal, and countercultural. Ogbonna and Harris (2015), a case study on subculture, power, and failed culture change in a Premier League football club. Things to try: Do a subculture audit. Map the subcultures that exist in your organisation. Think about what each one is doing, which type it represents, and whether it is helping or creating drag on what you are trying to build. Consider what needs to be consistent across the whole organisation, and where genuine difference might actually be a strength rather than a problem. Reflect on your own position in the ecosystem. Which subcultures are you part of? Which ones have you recently left, perhaps through a change in role or level? What might that mean for how you are perceived, and for the relationships you may need to rebuild? Recommended reading: Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization Robin Dunbar, Friends: Understanding the Hidden Networks of Our Social Lives Katherine May, Wintering Next episode: Kate and Maddie turn their attention to culture change itself. How do you drive meaningful change in an organisation in a way that actually works? That one is coming soon. Get in touch: We would love to hear what you think. You can reach us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode, please rate or review on your podcast listening platform, and consider telling a colleague who would find it useful. A Curious Space is produced by Tim Fox. Music by Richard Flindell. Thank you both.
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    34 分
  • Conflict at Work: Good Fights, Bad Fights, and the Ones You're Taking Offline

    Conflict at Work: Good Fights, Bad Fights, and the Ones You're Taking Offline
    2026/04/03

    Conflict is not the problem. Avoiding it is.

    In this episode, Kate and Maddie get into one of the most misunderstood dynamics in workplace culture: conflict. Not the dramatic kind, but the everyday kind. The disagreement that goes unspoken in a meeting. The tension that surfaces as gossip rather than conversation. The team that looks cohesive on the surface but is quietly stuck.

    They explore how we are each shaped around conflict before we even walk into a room, what leaders can do to manage themselves through difficult conversations, and how to build team cultures where productive, generative conflict is actually possible.

    What we cover

    How your personal history shapes the way you show up in conflict, often without you realising it.

    The difference between task conflict (disagreeing about the work) and relational conflict (it has become about the person), and why one can tip into the other faster than you would expect.

    Why high-agreeableness teams are particularly vulnerable to conflict going underground, and what that costs them over time.

    The "above a five" rule: if a reaction is disproportionate, the issue is almost never the thing being discussed.

    What to do before a difficult conversation, including timing, mindset, and the "just like me" exercise from Google's Project Aristotle research.

    How to stay grounded during conflict: active listening, reflecting back, and what your body is telling you.

    Practical tools for creating a culture of productive conflict in your team, including Nancy Kline's thinking rounds, pre-mortems, de Bono's six thinking hats, and how to set ground rules before you need them.

    Resources mentioned

    No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy

    Time to Think by Nancy Kline (the thinking environment and thinking rounds)

    The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

    The Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (a tool for understanding your conflict style)

    De Bono's Six Thinking Hats

    Try this this week

    Start your next team meeting with a thinking round. Ask one question: what is going well on this project right now? Give everyone uninterrupted space to answer. Notice what it does to the room.

    Get in touch

    Got a question for our culture clinic at the end of the series? Send it to hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com

    Find us at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com

    Next episode

    Subcultures within organisations: how to influence them, whether they are helpful, and what they mean for driving change across a whole organisation.

    This episode wouldn't have been nearly as fabulous without the work of our brilliant producer, Tim Fox, and our catchy music by Richard Flindell.
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    44 分
  • Trust Falls and Other Workplace Injuries (How to build, break and repair trust at work)

    Trust Falls and Other Workplace Injuries (How to build, break and repair trust at work)
    2026/03/20
    Trust is one of those words that gets used a lot in organisations and examined rarely. In this episode, Kate and Maddie get into what trust actually means in the context of teams, why low trust is so costly, and what you can do to build and repair it in practice. They explore a framework for understanding trust not as a single thing but as a set of distinct components, and why that distinction matters enormously when something has gone wrong. What We Cover Why trust matters more than most organisations realise Low trust has a measurable cost. When people don't feel safe, they stop collaborating openly, they paper-trail decisions, and they spend energy managing the mistrust rather than doing the work. Kate shares some vivid examples from her own career. What trust actually is Trust, at its simplest, is choosing to make yourself vulnerable to another person's actions. Teammates have to get comfortable with that vulnerability in order to build real trust with one another. The different types of trust Rather than treating trust as all or nothing, Kate and Maddie explore a model that breaks it into three core components: competence trust (can you do what you say?), integrity trust (will you do what you said?), and benevolence trust (do you care about my interests?). They also discuss sincerity as a fourth dimension: do you mean what you say? How trust is built It is not built in big moments. It is stacked in small, repeated, reciprocal actions over time. Kate and Maddie talk through what that looks like in practice, and why the away day is not the answer (though it can play a supporting role when done well). Organised fun: what works and what really does not Trust falls. Compulsory group dances. Outdoor adventure days with no opt-out. Kate and Maddie have opinions. They also point to Priya Parker's work on intentional gatherings as a more considered approach. How to repair trust when it breaks The repair looks different depending on which type of trust has fractured. Kate and Maddie walk through practical approaches for each: narrowing and demonstrating competence, owning integrity gaps without justification, and listening deeply when benevolence trust has been broken. Team contracting as a foundation Setting clear, explicit agreements about how a team works together gives everyone a shared reference point. It makes calling out a breach of trust feel less personal and more like holding each other to what was agreed. Reflecting on your own pattern of trust How do you approach trust with someone you don't know yet? Are you trust-first, or do you need evidence first? Are there types of people you tend to trust more or less quickly? These questions are worth sitting with. References and Resources The Thin Book of Trust by Charles Feltman A short, practical book on trust in organisations. Explores sincerity, reliability, competence, and care as the core components of trust. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Trust is the foundational layer in Lencioni's model. The book includes practical exercises for building it. Worth reading alongside the framework discussed in this episode. An integrative model of organizational trust, Mayer, Davis & Schoorman (1995) Research on competence-based, integrity-based, and benevolence-based trust in organisational contexts. Brene Brown on trust and vulnerability Brene Brown's work on vulnerability underpins much of the conversation in this episode. Her TED Talk on vulnerability remains one of the most watched of all time. She also has specific resources on trust, including her BRAVING acronym, available at brenebrown.com. Amy Brann, Neuroscience for Coaches Referenced in relation to how low psychological safety activates threat responses in the brain, reducing the capacity for higher-order thinking and collaboration. Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering Mentioned in relation to how to bring teams together intentionally. A practical and thoughtful guide to designing gatherings, both social and organisational, that actually do what you want them to do. Practical Things to Try Identify which type of trust has broken down. When something feels off in a relationship or team, ask whether it is a competence issue, an integrity issue, or a benevolence issue. The answer shapes the conversation. Reflect on your own pattern of trust. Do you extend trust by default, or do you need evidence first? Are there patterns in who you tend to trust more or less readily? What criteria are you using? Contract with your team on ways of working. Make your expectations of one another explicit. It gives you a foundation to return to if trust is breached, without it feeling like a personal attack. In a repair conversation: own the gap, explain the reasoning, and then be boring. Acknowledge what happened, provide context without justification, and then be predictably consistent until a new track record is established. Next Episode Kate and Maddie are talking about conflict in teams. If you ...
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    42 分
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