Line of Sight: How Transparency in the Workplace Builds Aligned Teams – With Martin Gourdeau

Line of Sight: How Transparency in the Workplace Builds Aligned Teams – With Martin Gourdeau

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2236199/fan_mail/new] Have you ever asked a question at work and once you got the answer, wished you hadn’t? If so, you might not be the right fit on Martin Gourdeau’s team. He doesn’t do performative transparency in the workplace; it’s a true core value. Martin is the CEO of Vacation Tracker, a fully remote SaaS company with a team distributed across seven countries. He finds that being clear and candid about the status of a business is an effective method for building trust in teams, as well as driving performance. “There's a way to be transparent and not doomy-gloomy. You can be factual, keep your heads up, stay positive, and have trust and confidence in the plan.” –      Martin Gourdeau Key Takeaways: * True transparency can align people with purpose and improve outcomes. * Leaders should be able to state the consequences of not meeting a goal. * Being transparent helps organizations retain the people who are the best fit. * If you want to introduce transparency in the workplace, start small. * Invite tough questions. If you don’t know the answer, be sure to follow up. * Teams can be held accountable for performance, but anything specific to one person is off-limits. Timestamps: 00:31 Meet Martin, CEO of Vacation Tracker 01:33 Transparency & Energy Management at Vacation Tracker 03:51 Vacation Tracker’s Vacation Policy 04:55 Martin’s Intro to True Transparency at Work 11:57 Transparency Reveals Misalignment on Teams 15:23 Building & Maintaining Transparency 18:07 What Not to Share 20:26 How to Introduce More Transparency at Work 22:49 Transparency & Leadership Qualities 27:18 Getting Clear on Objectives & Priorities 28:27 How Transparency Translates Across Cultures 31:04 What’s Next for Vacation Tracker 32:52 Tacos to Share Key Topics Discussed: Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Martin Gourdeau, transparency in the workplace, company core values, building trust in teams, workplace communication Mentions: Website: https://vacationtracker.io/ LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/mgourdeau

How to Scale Remote Work Culture Without Forcing It – With Camilla Booth

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2236199/fan_mail/new] Ever had an awkward time at a poorly attended Zoom mixer? It’s practically a rite of passage in remote work culture these days.  Camilla Booth has felt your pain. Throughout her eight years as VP of People at Coder, she’s hosted everything from paint-and-sips to tarot card readers, but nothing stuck. All the while, Coder was exploding from a team of 20 to nearly 200. Camilla finally settled on an authentic startup culture driven by simplicity, Slack, and strict attention to surveys. Toss in a sprinkle of tinker, plush tacos, and an all-in CEO for a tight-knit team that somehow lives in 15 different countries. “Meeting people from all over the world has probably been one of the more rewarding parts. I've been able to learn so much from other people because of their experience and culture.” – Camilla Booth Key Takeaways: * Don’t tell people what startup culture is; let the vibe emerge organically. * Social Slack channels are more engaging than disruptive, complicated events. * Convert skeptical leaders with hard data, and audit your processes more often. * Kind messages saved from peer recognition channels soothe burns on bad days. * Engagement rises when people drive the culture, not when leaders spend more money. Timestamps: 00:15 Meet Coder, Camilla, & Their Fast-Growing Team 01: 32 Going Global & Investing in People 04:35 Organic Culture & the Power of Tinkering 08:15 Slack Channels, After Hours, & Employee Appreciation Week 12:16 The Trial & Error of Virtual Events 18:00 The Importance of Leadership Buy-In: Swaying Skeptics with Data 19:12 At Long Last, Events & Awards That Never Feel Forced 20:31 Knowing When to Pull the Plug 23:30 My Favorite Taco 24:30 Five Tacos to Share Key Topics Discussed: Amazing Teams, Una Japundza, Camilla Booth, remote work culture, startup culture, peer recognition, employee engagement Mentions: * Website: https://www.coder.com * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla3 * Mentions: https://www.coder.com/careers

From Taco Trophies to Culture Clubs: Building Teams That Thrive

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2236199/fan_mail/new] What does it actually take to make people feel seen at work — and keep it going? In this episode, Una from HeyTaco sits down with Sheena, a longtime culture builder and HeyTaco admin, to share what actually moved the needle for her team. Not theory. Real tactics, real stories, real results. They walk through four pillars of building culture with peer recognition — Connection, Visibility, Engagement, and Culture — and for each one, they dig into the symptoms to watch for and the specific things you can do about them. You'll hear how Sheena used core value hashtags to make company values something people actually did (and how she discovered two of their five values were never showing up), why bringing Taco Shoutouts into all-company meetings changed the whole energy in the room, and how a rotating Culture Club helped her keep recognition fresh for years. If you've ever wondered how to get peer recognition off the ground — or how to make it feel meaningful again after the novelty wears off — this one's for you. 🌮

Taco Bytes: 10 Lessons for 10 Years of Building HeyTaco

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2236199/fan_mail/new] To celebrate HeyTaco’s 10th birthday, Una sits down with HeyTaco founder Doug Dosberg for a heartfelt and hilarious trip down memory lane. In this special Taco Bytes episode, Doug shares 10 powerful lessons from a decade of building a gratitude-powered business—complete with taco costumes, customer stories, and Beyoncé GIFs. If you’re a startup founder, team builder, or taco enthusiast, this one’s for you. Highlights from the Episode * The Big 1-0: Doug reflects on what it feels like to hit the 10-year mark and why it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. * Behind the List: How he went from “I don’t have any lessons” to “I have too many lessons.” * Lesson Threads: The top 10 takeaways cover everything from building a bootstrapped SaaS to designing human-centered recognition. Doug’s 10 Lessons for 10 Years 1. Building a business is hard — It takes time, patience, and the courage not to quit when things get tough. 2. Don’t do it for the money — Solving a real problem beats chasing revenue any day. 3. Work on a problem you actually feel — Doug built HeyTaco because he knew what it felt like to do meaningful work and feel invisible. 4. Your customers are the best investors you’ll ever have — He bootstrapped HeyTaco from day one, and never took outside funding. 5. Tools don’t create culture. People do. — A moving story about a team using tacos to lift up a teammate shows that culture lives in moments, not mechanics. 6. Customer service is the product — Doug still checks the support inbox. Listening to users fuels innovation. 7. Recognition works best when it’s imperfect — Typos, emojis, and awkward phrasing are features, not bugs. 8. Recognition is a leading indicator — Tacos often spike before major milestones (like a little ChatGPT launch 👀). 9. Recognition reveals what actually matters — Teams can reverse-engineer their real values by looking at what teammates thank each other for. 10. HeyTaco is just a vehicle — The mission is bigger: help people treat each other better and feel appreciated at work. Also in This Episode * Doug’s taco costume makes a triumphant return * Una compares the HeyTaco dashboard to a football stadium noise meter (she’s not wrong) * A spicy debate about AI vs. human support Favorite Quote > “HeyTaco is just a vehicle. The real work is helping people treat each other better and feel appreciated.”

TacoBytes: Inside the HeyTaco Hall of Fame

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2236199/fan_mail/new] In this episode of Taco Bytes, Doug and Una dive into what truly makes workplace cultures thrive: givers. Together, they explore why the most impactful people on teams are often the quiet, consistent supporters—the ones who notice effort, celebrate progress, and lift others up without expecting anything in return. The conversation centers on the HeyTaco Hall of Fame, an annual recognition honoring individuals (not teams!) who embody the spirit of gratitude day in and day out. Doug and Una share what inspired the Hall of Fame, what makes someone worthy of induction, and stories from recent inductees who show that meaningful culture isn’t built by the loudest voices—but by those who show up with generosity, empathy, and consistency. Along the way, they touch on how recognition works best when it’s frequent and sincere, why small gestures matter more than we think, and how playful elements like TacoTars help gamify gratitude without losing its heart. Whether you’re a leader, a teammate, or just someone who wants to make work a little better for the people around you, this episode is a reminder that giving credit freely can change someone’s entire day—and sometimes, an entire team. 🌮 Key Takeaways * Great workplace cultures are built by givers, not takers * Recognition is most powerful when it’s consistent and freely given * The HeyTaco Hall of Fame celebrates individuals, not teams * Inductees are honored for quality and consistency, not one-off moments * Being a giver means noticing and celebrating even the small wins * TacoTars add a fun, gamified layer to recognition * Hall of Fame inductees get to design their own taco avatar 🌮 * Members earn serious bragging rights (the best kind) * Finding positivity—even in tough moments—matters * Small acts of recognition can have an outsized impact on someone’s day