A Curious Space: Leadership, Culture and Teams

Time to Think: How to help your team do deeper, better thinking

Throughout season one of A Curious Space, one name kept coming up: Nancy Kline. Whether we were talking about culture, trust, conflict or storytelling, her framework, the Thinking Environment, kept appearing in the background. So in this post-season deep dive, we decided to give it the conversation it has always deserved. This episode is a proper exploration of Kline's work: where it comes from, what the ten principles actually are, and how both of us use them in our day-to-day work with teams and individuals. What is the Thinking Environment? The Thinking Environment is built on a simple but powerful premise: the quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first. And the quality of our thinking depends on the way we treat each other while we are thinking. Kline identified ten principles that, when present, create the conditions for people to think at their best. We walk through all ten in this episode: 1. Attention: genuinely focused, uninterrupted listening 2. Equality: every person's thinking is welcome and valued 3. Ease: creating the internal spaciousness to think rather than react 4. Encouragement: keeping thinking moving, even when it is uncomfortable 5. Appreciation: acknowledging the thinking, not just the outcome 6. Feelings: making space for emotion as part of the thinking process 7. Information: ensuring people have what they need to think clearly 8. Diversity: actively seeking different perspectives as a source of richness 9. Place: recognising that physical environment shapes thinking 10. Incisive questions: questions that remove the assumptions blocking deeper thought What we talk about We discuss why interruption is so costly (people are interrupted on average every eleven seconds, and the anticipation of it alone changes how we think), how equality in a meeting is not just about who speaks but about the conditions given to each person to think, and why ease is a performance consideration, not a wellbeing one. We also get into the two techniques we both reach for most: thinking rounds and thinking pairs. Rounds give every voice in the room the same quality of space, with no interruption and no right of reply, surfacing perspectives that rarely make it into open discussion. Thinking pairs offer uninterrupted time to think out loud with someone whose entire job is to hold attention. The only follow-up question available is: what more do you think, feel or want to say? Maddy shares her experience of working with a regular thinking partner over the past year, and what that quality of listening has made possible. We also talk practically: how to use rounds to open and close team sessions, why starting with a question about what is going well changes the quality of what follows, and the single simplest change you can make to your next team meeting today: rewrite your agenda headings as questions. Recommended reading Nancy Kline, Time to Think (1999) Nancy Kline, More Time to Think (2009) Kline narrates the audiobook of More Time to Think herself, and having trained with her, Maddy particularly recommends this as a way into the work.   About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com [http://www.goodideasagency.com]) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com [http://www.madfoxgroup.com]). Get in touch Questions, reflections, or things you would like us to explore further? We would love to hear from you. Write to us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com [hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com] or visit www.acuriousspacepodcast.com [http://www.acuriousspacepodcast.com] Thank you as always to our producer Tim Fox and to Richard Flindell for the music.

Culture Under Pressure

Season one comes to a close with perhaps the most timely question we have explored this series: what actually happens to organisations when the pressure is on? In this episode, Kate Nicholroy and Maddie Fox look at the research behind threat rigidity, a well-documented pattern where individuals and systems under stress narrow their thinking, restrict communication, and default to familiar behaviour at precisely the moment when more expansive responses are needed. It is predictable, it is biological, and it is entirely possible to prepare for. Drawing on real examples from the COVID era and beyond, including the better.com mass layoffs, the Marriott response, the Wells Fargo accounts scandal, and the LEGO turnaround, Kate and Maddy explore the difference between organisations that come through sustained and acute pressure with their culture intact and those that don't. The answer is rarely strategy alone. It is almost always the quality of the humanity that leaders choose to maintain under pressure, and the degree to which open, curious, above-the-line practices have been built into organisational life before the crisis arrives. In this episode: Threat rigidity: what it is, where it comes from, and how it shows up in individuals and organisations Why pressure narrows thinking at the neurological level, and what that means for leadership teams The contrast between the better.com Zoom layoffs and Arne Sorenson's Marriott response Wells Fargo, rule beating, and why removing people from a broken system does not fix the system Lego's early 2000s turnaround and the practice of leading at eye level Practical tools: naming what is happening in the room, somatic awareness, above-the-line practice, and the seventh generation question Resources mentioned: Staw, Sandelands and Dutton on threat rigidity Arne Sorenson's March 2020 video to Marriott staff (available publicly online) better.com CEO Zoom call, December 2021 (available publicly online) Donella Meadows on rule beating and systems traps "If You Aspire to Be a Great Leader, Be Present," Harvard Business Review Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Embodied Leadership (available on Audible via Sounds True) About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com [http://www.goodideasagency.com]) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com [http://www.madfoxgroup.com]). Connect with us: We would love to know what has landed for you across season one, and what you would like us to explore in season two. Email us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com [hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com] or find us at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com [http://www.acuriousspacepodcast.com] Many thanks to Tim Fox for producing the show, and to Richard Flindell for the music throughout.

Why You Can't Install Culture

Kate Nicholroy and Maddie Fox dig into one of the most persistent frustrations in organisational life: why culture change programmes so often fail to deliver, and what leaders can do differently.   They explore the gap between change as an event and transition as an internal process, why the leadership team is always further ahead than the people hearing the news, and why culture does not live in the big moments. It lives in what happens every day in between.   * Why 70% of organisational transformations fail, and why the announcement is rarely the problem * The Bridges Transition Model: change versus transition, and the three stages of endings, neutral zone, and new beginnings * Why the change team is always ahead of everyone else in the room, and how to account for that gap * The elephant and the rider: why logical business cases are not enough to shift behaviour * What leaders signal through what they measure, and how those signals shape culture more than any values statement * Why acknowledging what came before is not sentiment. It is a structural requirement for change that sticks * Culture change as a daily leadership practice rather than a project with a launch date     Models and thinkers mentioned * The Bridges Transition Model, William Bridges (1991) * The Elephant and the Rider, Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis (2006) * Family Constellations and systemic principles, Bert Hellinger * Appreciative Inquiry (mentioned briefly; worth exploring further)     Reflection questions from this episode Take these into your week:   * What am I measuring as a leader, and what does that signal to my people about what I actually value? * When did I last ask someone what they would be sad to lose in any change we are making? * What is one thing I can do differently in the ordinary spaces between the big moments?   For the next seven days, try noticing one moment each day where culture happens in the margins rather than in a staged event or formal communication. What do you notice, and what does it tell you about where your team really is?   About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com [http://www.goodideasagency.com]) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com [http://www.madfoxgroup.com]). Get in touch We would love to hear from you. If you have been part of a culture change programme that genuinely worked, we want to know about it. Reach us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com.   Find all episodes and resources at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com.     Coming up next Episode 10: Purpose and Values Under Pressure. How do you hold yourself to the culture you want when things get hard? That is when it gets crunchy, and we cannot wait to get into it.     With thanks to Tim Fox for producing A Curious Space and to Richard Flindell for the music.

Subcultures: The Good, The Bad, And The WhatsApp Group You're Not In

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. About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com [http://www.goodideasagency.com]) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com [http://www.madfoxgroup.com]). Get in touch: We would love to hear what you think. You can reach us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com [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.

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

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. About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com [http://www.goodideasagency.com]) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com [http://www.madfoxgroup.com]). Get in touch Got a question for our culture clinic at the end of the series? Send it to hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com [hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com] Find us at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com [http://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.