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Collaborative-Culture

Collaborative-Culture

De : Kristine Gentry and Monica M. Smith
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Collaborative-Culture: Bridging Perspectives, Building Stronger Teams

Culture shapes how we live, work, and collaborate—yet it remains one of our most misunderstood and underutilized assets. Collaborative Culture explores what culture truly means in our workplaces and across societies, revealing how it powers organizational and community success.

Hosted by cultural intelligence experts Dr. Kristine Gentry (Culture Grove) and Monica Smith (Tradewind Consulting), this podcast creates a forum for transformative conversations about the intersection of culture, leadership, and human connection.

Through candid interviews with thought leaders, revealing case studies, and proven strategies, we examine:

  • Building cultures that ignite collaboration and breakthrough innovation
  • Mastering cross-generational and cross-cultural workplace dynamics
  • Navigating the fine line between cultural appreciation and appropriation
  • Developing global leadership dexterity in our interconnected world
  • Preparing for the evolving future of work and its impact on teams
  • Implementing practical techniques for cultivating inclusive environments


For business leaders, people managers, HR professionals, and culture enthusiasts, this podcast challenges conventional thinking while delivering actionable insights to help you build environments where everyone thrives.

Culture isn't just a concept—it's your competitive advantage. Join us as we explore how to create cultures that work.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Collaborative Culture Economie Management Management et direction
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    Épisodes
    • Assessments Aren’t Culture: Stop Looking for a Quick Fix

      Assessments Aren’t Culture: Stop Looking for a Quick Fix
      Feb 18 2026
      Episode overviewIn this episode of Collaborative Culture, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica Smith tackle a common misconception in workplace culture efforts: the belief that a single assessment, survey, or workshop can “fix” culture. Together, they break down why popular tools like Myers-Briggs, CliftonStrengths, DISC, Hogan, Enneagram, and Working Genius can be useful, but only as inputs, not solutions.Kristine and Monica unpack what culture really is (how work gets done), why leaders often misdiagnose culture issues as isolated “people problems,” and why real change requires understanding the lived experience of employees across roles, levels, and locations. They share practical examples, from multicultural team dynamics to frontline workflows, and make a clear case for culture work that’s collaborative, ongoing, and designed for sustained behavior change.Show notesWhat we’re unpacking todayWhy “culture work” means wildly different things to different leadersThe difference between tools that build self-awareness and work that changes cultureWhy leaders keep reaching for quick fixes, and why those fixes often failThe assessments everyone loves (and what they’re actually good for)Monica names a few common ones you’ll recognize:Myers-Briggs (MBTI)CliftonStrengthsDISCHoganEnneagramWorking GeniusKey point: These can build shared language, self-awareness, and teamwork, but they’re not culture by themselves.The core distinction: tools vs. cultureKristine defines culture clearly:Culture is how work gets doneIt’s the shared beliefs, values, and behavior patterns that drive results (or block them)So when leaders say “we have a culture problem,” they may actually mean:teamwork breakdownsengagement issuesDEI tensioncross-cultural misunderstandingsperformance or retention problemsThose may relate to culture, but they aren’t solved by a single off-the-shelf assessment.The “culture assessments” problemKristine calls out a major issue: many products labeled “culture assessments” are actually measuring something else, like:employee engagement (important, but not the whole culture)psychological fit for a role (not culture — and can encourage monoculture thinking)Bottom line: If it doesn’t meaningfully engage values, behavior, and how decisions get made, it’s not capturing culture.Monica’s “culture on demand” idea (super practical)Monica introduces “house rules” for projects — especially in global teams — like:defining what “yes” means across communication stylessetting norms for honest timeline updates (“tell me as soon as you know it’ll slip”)designing brainstorming so quieter cultures still contribute (e.g., written ideas submitted first)This is culture work that’s built for the work, not just discussion.Kristine’s reminder: observation mattersKristine shares a powerful example from nurse-shadowing research:leadership assumed nurses used in-room computers for chartingobservation showed nurses rarely used them, creating their own systems insteadleadership was shocked — and it changed what “the problem” even wasTakeaway: you can’t fix what you haven’t actually seen.The “band-aid” trapBoth land the plane here:If a company runs engagement surveys and ignores results, it can hurt trustIf values are created for leaders and stuck on a wall, nothing changesIf workshops don’t lead to new habits, you’re just paying for a moment — not outcomesThe episode takeawayAssessment tools are fine — even great — as step one.But sustainable culture change requires:diagnosis beyond surveys (data + interviews + observation)shared clarity on values and prioritiesbehavior change over timeleaders who stay accountable instead of outsourcing culture to HRThanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, PhDkgentry@culturegrove.com🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. Smithtradewindscareerconsulting@gmail.com🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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      36 min
    • A Dysfunctional Culture is a Liability Risk & an Asset Destruction Machine

      A Dysfunctional Culture is a Liability Risk & an Asset Destruction Machine
      Feb 4 2026

      In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Kristine Gentry and Monica M. Smith sit down with Wendy Woolfork, founder of Purpose Walk, to explore what it really takes to build resilient, high-performing workplaces in a world defined by volatility, pressure, and constant change.


      Wendy shares how she helps senior leaders and teams identify the “behavioral tripping hazards” that quietly break collaboration—everything from leadership competency gaps and relationship breakdowns to culture norms that punish honesty or reward toxic high performance. Together, they unpack why culture can’t be outsourced to HR, why it’s a CEO-level responsibility, and how leaders can move from insight to sustained behavior change.


      If you’re navigating friction, retention challenges, or leadership strain, and you’re ready to treat culture like the operating system it is, this conversation is for you.


      Show Notes (with segments + takeaways)
      What We Cover

      Welcome + Introductions

      • Kristine and Monica set the stage: purpose, values, and culture as forces shaping workplace dynamics.
      • Wendy shares her “born ready” origin story—helping people spot the behavioral hazards that keep organizations from accessing their best.

      Sector-agnostic work, universal issues

      • Wendy explains why culture work translates across industries because the friction patterns are universal.

      Why clients call Wendy

      Calls typically come when culture-related hurdles become unignorable:

      • Relationship breakdowns
      • Leadership gaps
      • Mis-hires and downstream impact
      • Retention and performance disruption
      • Reputation and operational drag

      Who actually owns culture

      • A key thread: the “culture is HR’s job” idea doesn’t hold up in practice.
      • Wendy is most often engaged by senior leadership—CEOs, heads of operations, department leaders—which aligns with the core premise: culture is everyone’s job, and ultimately a leadership responsibility.

      Wendy’s approach: truth-telling, truth-hearing, and closing the gap

      • Wendy walks through her framework:
      • Current state → desired state → gap identification
      • Naming the reality requires truth-telling and truth-hearing

      A standout reframe: culture as fiduciary responsibility

      Wendy offers a compelling executive-level argument:

      • A CEO has a duty to protect and grow organizational assets.
      • Culture is the operating system that determines whether investments succeed or fail.
      • A dysfunctional culture becomes a liability risk and an “asset destruction machine.”
      • Kristine ties it to a constant leadership blind spot: treating culture like a soft skill instead of a strategic driver of business outcomes.

      From insight to action

      Monica asks the practical question: how do you convert leadership reactions into execution?

      Wendy’s answer centers on consequence:

      • Make the cost of inaction visible
      • Confirm leadership willingness to disrupt what’s not working

      • Newsletter: Build a workplace that works (shared via her LinkedIn presence)


      Thanks for Listening!

      We’d love to hear from you.


      Kristine Gentry, PhD

      kgentry@culturegrove.com

      🌐 www.culturegrove.com

      🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie Gentry


      Monica M. Smith

      tradewindscareerconsulting@gmail.com

      🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com

      🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary Smith


      If you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams.

      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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      30 min
    • AI Anxiety at Work: How Leaders Separate Signal from Noise (and Keep Trust Intact)

      AI Anxiety at Work: How Leaders Separate Signal from Noise (and Keep Trust Intact)
      Jan 21 2026
      Everyone’s talking about AI and a lot of people are quietly panicking. In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Kristine Gentry (Culture Grove) and Monica Smith (Tradewinds Career Consulting) unpack how leaders can separate signal from noise in AI transformation without torching trust, morale, or the talent you can’t afford to lose.We get practical in three high-impact areas: (1) what the C-suite must do to align AI with purpose, values, and the real way work gets done, (2) how culture can either build momentum or become mutually destructive with transformation efforts, and (3) what employees can do right now to stay marketable and become the “best human in the loop.”Along the way: real talk on shaky ROI, training gaps, worst practices we’re seeing in the wild, and why critical thinking and “liberal arts skills” may be exactly what the AI era demands most.Show notesWhat we coverAI anxiety is real — and it’s not irrational: unclear strategy, unclear skills, unclear career paths.Signal vs. noise in 3 areas: enterprise leadership, culture as momentum (or sabotage), and employee partnership in adoption.Reality check on adoption & ROI (as cited in the episode): usage is rising, satisfaction with training is lagging, and meaningful ROI remains elusive for many initiatives.Best practices: “Speed to sustainability,” trust-building, transparency, readiness, and aligning AI to an operating model—not just tools.Worst practices: mandating innovation without upskilling, overbuilding infrastructure without pilots, punishing failure in an experiment-driven process, and cutting headcount based on assumptions instead of redesigned work.Humans in the loop: oversight, judgment, bias monitoring, risk controls, data governance, validation, and quality.Talent risk: your AI-capable people are highly recruitable—culture and opportunity determine whether they stay.Perspective reset: we’ve lived through major innovation waves (Y2K → cloud → social platforms → short-form video). AI is another wave—leaders decide whether the organization rides it or gets crushed by it.Career marketability: why critical thinking, creativity, systems thinking, communication, and self-directed learning are becoming baseline “hard skills.”Memorable moments & lines“Putting a Ferrari engine on a donkey cart” — why layering AI onto legacy systems often collapses.“Be the best human in the loop” — the episode’s North Star for employees and leaders alike.00:00–02:00 — AI anxiety + “signal vs. noise” framing (and a quick, funny opening correction)02:00–06:15 — Stats + what employees are feeling (training gaps, uncertainty, morale)06:15–12:25 — Best practices: trust, transparency, readiness, leadership communication, and “human in the loop”12:25–16:55 — Worst practices: mandates without enablement, punishing failure, one-way communication, layoffs-by-spreadsheet16:55–19:45 — Innovation waves perspective: how organizations normalize disruption24:45–28:30 — Aligning AI with purpose/values + change leadership that reduces fear and resistance28:30–35:45 — Marketability skills + education debate (STEM vs. critical thinking disciplines) + wrap/CTANames and sources mentioned in the episodeTay Bannerman — “speed to sustainability” framingLinaura Aliera (ThoughtWorks) — focus on operating model, org design, culture, and adoptionBCG & MIT (referenced in-episode for AI adoption/ROI context)Gartner innovation curve / J-curve (innovation hype cycle perspective)Jessica Kriegel & John Fresh (referenced re: education/workforce predictions)Listener takeawayIf your AI strategy is being experienced as fear + silence + headcount cuts, you’re not “innovating,” you’re training your culture to resist. Leaders who win this era treat culture as the operating system: clear purpose, honest communication, safe-to-learn experimentation, and visible investment in people who make AI usable.Call to actionMention this episode for a free 30-minute consultation with either host.Thanks for Listening!We’d love to hear from you.Kristine Gentry, PhDkgentry@culturegrove.com🌐 www.culturegrove.com🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie GentryMonica M. Smithtradewindscareerconsulting@gmail.com🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary SmithIf you enjoyed the show, please: subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who cares about building better teams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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      32 min
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