Culture by Design with Kyle Mack, PhD

Culture by Design with Kyle Mack, PhD

Most organizations invest heavily in culture. Very few understand what their culture is. Kyle Mack, PhD, is an industrial and organizational psychologist who spent years inside large-scale employee listening programs, reading what employees actually experience versus what their companies say is their culture. In this conversation, Kyle talks about how culture is not what you say. It's what your systems reward. In this episode: * Why the gap between espoused and enacted culture is the default state, not the exception * How hiring, promotion, and performance management are your real culture, not your values deck * Why founder imprinting persists long after the founder is gone * A practical framework for HR leaders to start closing the gap Connect with Kyle: cultureagent.ai Follow ScienceForWork: ScienceForWork.com

Leading for Wellness with Dr. Patricia Grabarek and Dr. Katina Sawyer

In this episode of the Science for Work podcast, Matt Lampe is joined by Patricia Grabarek and Katina Sawyer to talk about the critical role of leadership in shaping workplace wellness. Patricia and Katina, co-founders of Workr Beeing and authors of Leading for Wellness, explore the journey of writing the book and their commitment to translating research into practical tools for leaders. The conversation covers authenticity and vulnerability as the foundation of trust-based leadership, flexibility and work-life balance, how leaders can create microcultures of wellness even inside difficult organizations, and the role of person-centered planning in supporting employee mental health. They also discuss where they hope organizational practice and future research go next, including the case for investing in leaders rather than programs and taking a longer view on organizational performance. Resources: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/workrbeeing/ https://workrbeeing.com/ ScienceForWork is an independent, non-profit foundation of evidence-based practitioners who want to #MakeWorkBetter. ScienceForWork.com

Leading Through Uncertainty with Joshua Steinfeldt

How do you lead well when the ground keeps moving? In this episode of the ScienceForWork podcast, host Matt Lampe talks with leadership coach Joshua Steinfeldt about what it looks like to lead through uncertainty. Drawing on positive psychology, contemplative science, and years of one-on-one work with leaders, Joshua brings together modern research and ancient wisdom in a way that's refreshingly practical for a moment that often feels anything but. Together, they explore: * Equanimity as a leadership capacity, not just a meditation concept * The role of the pause in agility and decision-making * What it means to be a secure base for the people you lead * How to hold both loss and new beginnings at the same time This episode is for leaders, coaches, and anyone feeling the weight of leading through change right now and looking for something worth carrying with them. Links: https://practicingcourage.com/ [https://practicingcourage.com/] The Courageous Life podcast (available wherever you listen) ScienceForWork is an independent, non-profit foundation of evidence-based practitioners who #MakeWorkBetter.ScienceForWork.com

Exploring People Intelligence with Cole Napper

Cole Napper returns to ScienceForWork as the newly appointed Chief People Intelligence Officer at HR Bench, and brings a provocative claim: people analytics is now a commodity, and what comes next is something he calls people intelligence. In this conversation, Cole and Matt explore: * Why the four branches of HR data — people analytics, talent intelligence, workforce planning, and behavioral science — are collapsing into a single intelligence layer * How AI is forcing a rebuild of HR from first principles, and why large enterprises may face the steepest climb * The case for "tokenomics" as the next workforce planning challenge — and why hourly token cost vs. hourly human cost is closer than most leaders think * What it means to do science when the field is changing faster than the research can keep up More from Cole: * Directionally Correct podcast: https://www.colenapper.com/podcast [https://www.colenapper.com/podcast] * People Analytics: Using Data-Driven HR and Gen AI as a Business Asset (book): https://www.colenapper.com/book [https://www.colenapper.com/book] * Cole's site & newsletter: ⁠https://www.colenapper.com⁠ [https://www.colenapper.com] * HR Bench: https://hrbench.com [https://hrbench.com] Enjoying ScienceForWork? Follow the show on Spotify and share this episode with a colleague who's thinking about the future of HR. ScienceForWork is an independent, non-profit foundation of evidence-based practitioners who #MakeWorkBetter. ScienceForWork.com

Rethinking Employee Listening Programs with Craig Starbuck, PhD

What does it actually take to turn employee listening into meaningful organizational change? In this episode of the ScienceForWork podcast, host Matt Lampe talks with Craig Starbuck, PhD — CEO and co-founder of OrgAcuity and President of the Society for People Analytics — about what it means to build listening programs that drive action. Craig makes the case that people analytics is fundamentally a change management function, and that listening programs built without that lens will rarely move the needle. Drawing on his background spanning engineering, people analytics, and organizational leadership, he shares what a smarter approach looks like — one that reflects how people actually work, not just how the org chart says they should. Together, they explore: * Why change appetite has to be assessed before any listening effort begins * How stakeholder buy-in shapes whether insights ever become action * What organizational network analysis reveals that traditional survey platforms miss * How employee listening needs to evolve alongside the way work is changing This episode is for HR leaders, people analytics practitioners, and anyone who has wondered why employee feedback so rarely leads to meaningful change. Links: https://orgacuity.com/ https://societyforpeopleanalytics.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-starbuck-phd/ ScienceForWork is an independent, non-profit foundation of evidence-based practitioners who #MakeWorkBetter. ScienceForWork.com