The just-dropped episode of the Mastering Workplace Culture podcast features a deeply human conversation with Sarah Cole, founder and CEO of Cole Forums and a leader who brings ethics, vulnerability, connection, and real‑world courage into every room she creates. Sarah has spent more than 30 years advising boards, general counsel, senior executives, and CEOs—all while building high‑trust peer forums where leaders can finally speak openly about the challenges they can't discuss anywhere else.

What makes Sarah's work powerful is its simplicity:

Great leadership is first about being a good human.

Sarah explains how culture, risk, compliance, integrity, employee engagement, and innovation all trace back to humanity—the choices leaders make, the behaviors they reward, and the environments they create.

Throughout this conversation, Sarah shares how loneliness at the top inspired her to build a safe, confidential space where leaders can be vulnerable, challenge each other respectfully, and support one another without ego. She reveals why curated groups of no more than 15 people unlock deeper honesty, and how trust becomes the fuel for real growth.

Sarah also explores:

• The intersection of compliance and culture—and how "doing the right thing" is contagious

• Why vulnerability from one leader emboldens others to be braver in their own roles

• How organizations can prepare for AI by strengthening culture, not just strategy

• Why leaders must show integrity first if they expect others to follow

• How peer support can transform real‑time decision‑making

• The link between personal resilience and ethical leadership

• The role of younger generations who expect authenticity, purpose, and respect at work

• The growing importance of leader self‑awareness and emotional maturity

As Sarah puts it, culture is what leaders reward, tolerate, and ignore—not vague values written on the wall. And when leaders learn to show up with humanity, consistency, and courage, everything else in the organization changes.

⏱️ Key Moments

00:00–02:20—Sarah's background: ethics, governance, risk, and human behavior

02:20–04:30—The human core of culture and why leadership begins with humanity

04:30–06:30—Why senior leaders feel isolated—and how Cole Forums was born

06:30–08:30—Vulnerability, trust, and creating safe spaces for high‑stakes leadership

08:30–10:20—Why curated groups stay small and why every voice must be heard

10:20–12:30—Protecting community trust by refusing transactional "networking"

12:30–14:45—Building integrity‑based networks in a high‑pressure industry

14:45–17:00—Why legal and compliance roles are shifting toward business partnership

17:00–19:30—Leadership resilience and "you don't have to be brilliant, just keep showing up"

19:30–22:30—How peer conversations are changing real‑world leadership behaviors

22:30–24:00—WhatsApp groups, rapid support, and the rise of trusted peer circles

24:00–26:30—Why culture failures are tied to silence, fear, and visibility gaps

26:30–29:00—Preparing next‑gen leaders through industry‑academic partnerships

29:00–32:00—Vulnerability as a leadership tool—and why leaders must go first

32:00–34:00—Personal integrity, difficult decisions, and walking away from misalignment

34:00–39:00—Culture as risk mitigation; why doing the right thing still matters

39:00–42:00—Generational shifts: what younger leaders expect from workplaces

42:00–46:00—AI, uncertainty, and why culture is an organization's best preparation

46:00–49:00—Learning moments vs. failure; behavioral science insights

49:00–56:00—Personal stories, family, career pivots, and the humanness behind leadership

56:00–60:00—Legacy, purpose, and lifting all boats by building better leaders 


If Sarah's approach to courage, trust, and human‑centered leadership resonated with you:

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The newest episode of Mastering Workplace Culture features a rare, open conversation with Joel Anderson, CEO of Petco and longtime culture‑focused retail leader. From Toys "R" Us to Walmart to Five Below to Petco, Joel has spent three decades proving that culture—done intentionally—drives passion, discretionary effort, and performance at massive scale.

Joel shares how his "People → Passion → Performance" leadership playbook began with an hourly associate's hand‑painted mural in Lubbock, Texas, and why it has guided every team he has led since. He explains why culture cannot start with metrics, how leaders get people "on the bus," and why discretionary effort—not pressure—ultimately transforms stores, teams, and the customer experience.

He also reflects deeply on large‑scale culture transitions:

• Walmart: Reviving local store culture and connecting hourly teams back to a mission much bigger than their daily tasks.

• Five Below: Scaling from 361 to 1,600+ stores by formalizing values and behaviors for the first time—moving from "values through osmosis" to a structure that could grow nationwide.

• Petco: Rewriting the company's values from scratch and shifting a legacy organization from playing not to lose to playing to win, all anchored in pet‑focused passion and human dignity.

Joel's storytelling reveals what culture really looks like through the eyes of a CEO: Messy, human, imperfect, and deeply personal. He shares how leaders must build self‑esteem, create teams, and celebrate people—not just outcomes. And he offers practical insight for leaders at every level: Focus on strengths, understand superpowers, and build systems that help people succeed.

This is a conversation about people, purpose, and performance—and how the right culture unlocks all three.

⏱️ Key Moments

00:00–02:00 — Welcoming Joel Anderson, CEO of Petco, longtime retail leader

02:00–04:00 — His retail journey and early culture roots

04:00–07:30 — Walmart's culture: strengths, gaps, and the "people first" shift

07:30–10:00 — The "People → Passion → Performance" mural story

10:00–13:00 — Why leaders must start with people, not performance

13:00–15:00 — Changing the conversation with store leaders

15:00–18:00 — Mission boards, engagement, and activating passion locally

18:00–21:00 — Why Five Below energized him and what he saw in the founders

21:00–24:00 — Creating Wow Town: an experiential culture hub

24:00–27:00 — Building Five Below's first-ever values + behaviors

27:00–32:00 — Proving culture drives performance (the 2017 breakthrough)

32:00–36:00 — Petco: playing to win vs. playing not to lose

36:00–40:00 — Rewriting Petco's values + defining "Foster the Fun"

40:00–45:00 — Rolling out new values and behaviors across the organization

45:00–48:00 — The power of superpowers: focusing on strengths, not deficits

48:00–50:00 — Gung Ho, worthwhile work, and leading with humanity

50:00–53:00 — Life outside work: family, golf, milestones, and roots

53:00–56:00 — Joel's advice to young culture leaders

56:00–57:00 — Final reflections on values, gratitude, and team celebration

We're confident Joel's leadership insights will help you see culture through a new lens. So, please:

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The newest episode of the Mastering Workplace Culture features an honest, compelling conversation with Amber "AJ" Jordan, CEO of Desert Sage Health Centers—a rural healthcare organization that transformed culture, strengthened leadership, and rebuilt trust across multiple sites through values‑driven alignment and measurable accountability.

AJ shares how a single team conflict sparked her search for a stronger cultural foundation. What began with a book full of Post‑it notes led to a multi‑year journey grounded in transparency, data, and consistent leadership behavior. She describes the moment she realized she couldn't improve culture through isolated fixes—the entire organization, beginning with the executive team, needed shared expectations, clearer communication, and a common language.

This episode takes you inside the realities of culture change in a close-knit rural setting: Young managers learning to lead, long‑standing interpersonal history, the strain of limited staffing pools, and the unique challenges of small‑town relationships. AJ explains how data‑driven insights, leadership vulnerability, Lean foundations, and repeated Executive Team Effectiveness surveys shaped a culture where respectful behavior mattered as much as performance.

You'll hear how AJ and Desert Sage handled:

Bringing frontline providers and clinicians into values‑based leadership

Coaching high performers who struggled with interpersonal behavior

Addressing skepticism from staff convinced that nothing would change

Expanding culture work from executives → managers → staff

Moving into a brand‑new medical building while protecting team morale

Innovating an innovative drive‑through element to the clinic based on patient feedback

Creating a leadership pipeline that elevated people from entry‑level roles to major responsibilities

This is one of the clearest examples of how culture becomes a core operating system — not through slogans, but through repeated alignment, shared vulnerability, and daily accountability.

⏱️ Key Moments

00:00 Bold Leaders, No Buzzwords (Opening Narration)

00:21 Welcome + Introducing Amber "AJ" Jordan

00:45 Who AJ Is and the Reality of Rural Healthcare

02:07 The Post‑It Filled "Culture Engine" Book

03:36 Team Conflict That Sparked a Culture Journey

05:06 Why "Good" Wasn't Good Enough

06:49 Discovering Measurable Culture Tools

07:18 CEO Alignment + Building the Case for Culture

08:55 Why Site Alone Can't fix Culture

10:34 Young Managers, Small‑Town Dynamics, Healthcare Stress

12:09 Accountability: The Long‑Standing Challenge

13:51 The First Survey Results: A Painful Wake‑Up

15:44 Leadership Scores All Over the Map

17:31 Translating Clinical Strengths into Leadership Skills

19:04 Lean Foundations: Respect + Continuous Improvement

20:20 Skepticism, Naysayers, and Peer‑to‑Manager Transitions

22:42 Leaders Go First: The Multi‑Year Rollout Strategy

24:38 Beneficial Attrition + Coaching Interpersonal Outliers

27:00 The "Green‑Green" Breakthrough Moment

30:23 Culture as a Continuum: Progress Over Perfection

34:23 Applying Culture During a Massive Building Move

37:54 Innovating the Drive‑Through Clinic

41:30 Accountability: The Hardest Cultural Value

43:14 Leadership Development + Internal Promotions

45:39 AJ's Advice for CEOs: Transparency + Vulnerability

48:07 Olympic Reflections on Human Performance

52:12 Desert Sage as a Culture Success Story

54:26 Closing Narration + Call to Action


Whether you're leading culture in a small organization in a small town or a large global corporation, we're sure AJ's culture story resonated. So please support more conversations that highlight real cultural transformation:

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This episode of Mastering Workplace Culture features a powerful and personal conversation with global executive Kris Malkoski, whose track record includes transforming brands, rebuilding cultures, leading global turnarounds, and proving that respect‑driven leadership produces extraordinary business results.

Kris shares the story behind revitalizing World Kitchen, ARC International, and Newell Brands—each with unique challenges, legacy issues, and leadership dynamics. From dysfunctional boards and cultural resistance to siloed teams and disengaged workforces, Kris explains how a clear vision, cross‑functional alignment, and accountability created measurable transformation.

Her "win as one team" mindset, paired with consistent values‑based leadership, increased engagement, improved profitability, strengthened trust, and built award‑winning workplaces worldwide.

This conversation highlights the reality of culture work: cCourageous decisions, transparency, the discipline to model values, and the willingness to lovingly let misaligned high performers go. Kris brings heart, wisdom, and honesty to every story—from tripling profitability at ARC in 18 months to turning siloed teams at Newell into collaborative innovators—and even the joy of becoming a grandmother.

For anyone who cares about leadership, culture, or the power of aligning the "what" with the "how," this episode offers a masterclass in transformation from someone who has lived it at scale.

⏱️ Key Moments

00:00 – 02:30 — Welcome + Kris's global leadership background

02:30 – 05:15 — World Kitchen: dysfunctional boards, private equity pressure, and cultural decline

05:15 – 06:30 — Creating a unified vision and the link between culture + business performance

06:30 – 08:15 — Resistance: leaders who feared culture change or viewed it as a "waste"

08:15 – 10:40 — Training global leaders, dissolving fiefdoms, and establishing shared expectations

10:40 – 12:00 — Accelerating engagement and building momentum across 3,000 employees

12:00 – 16:00 — Acquisition insights: high‑performing subcultures and cross‑pollinating excellence

16:00 – 18:28 — Sustaining a culture transformation across global sites

18:28 – 22:30 — ARC International: lack of community, Kaizen events, and tripling profit in 18 months

22:30 – 23:48 — "Better Together": a unified identity that lifted pride and belonging

23:48 – 26:00 — Personalized leadership: walking the floor, elevating dignity, transforming relationships

26:00 – 29:10 — Respect as daily practice: leadership modeling and contagious behavior shifts

29:10 – 31:40 — Newell Brands: silos, trust rebuilding, rewriting values, and lifting performance

31:40 – 34:40 — Reducing regretted departures + rebuilding internal talent pathways

34:40 – 38:00 — Letting go of misaligned high performers and protecting culture standards

38:00 – 40:15 — Graco success story: share gains through unified culture

40:15 – 43:00 — Kris's personal leadership evolution, biases she overcame, and early career lessons

43:00 – 45:20 — Diversity, respect, and building teams that reflect broader perspectives

45:20 – 47:00 — Sustaining a culture: accountability, calibration sessions, and values‑based ratings

47:00 – 48:56 — Why more executives struggle with culture—and how Kris guides them

48:56 – 50:30 — Culture legacy: leaders Kris developed and where they are today

50:30 – 53:20 — Joys of grandparenthood + closing reflections 


If Kris's leadership journey inspired you, help us spread these lessons to leaders who need them:

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In this powerful Mastering Workplace Culture conversation, David Mollitor Jr. shares the remarkable journey of transforming Consolidated Electrical Contractors (CEC) from a traditionally hard‑driving construction company into a people‑first, values‑anchored organization. This episode highlights a rare behind‑the‑scenes look at a blue‑collar business choosing respect, clarity, and cultural consistency over outdated pressure tactics that once dominated the industry.

David walks us through saving 15 jobs in the mid‑90s, navigating explosive growth followed by a devastating recession, and rebuilding a company where 200 employee‑owners now contribute to a shared legacy. You'll hear how a call to Ken Blanchard reshaped the company's direction, why CEC committed to cultural accountability, and how one leader known for intensity became one of the company's strongest culture champions.

You'll also experience vulnerable reflections on leadership, organizational rebirth, employee ownership, and the deeply personal shift that led David to redefine success—not through volume or status, but through meaningful impact on people's lives. The episode closes with a heartwarming look at his newest role: becoming a grandfather and watching the next generation grow.

This story is a reminder that culture is not a slogan—it is a daily commitment, a leadership discipline, and a long‑term investment in human potential.

⏱️ Key Moments

00:00–02:30 — Introductions + David's early career

02:30–06:00 — Saving 15 employees and restarting an aging company

06:00–09:00 — Confronting entrenched construction‑industry behavior

09:00–14:00 — Rapid growth, hard lessons, and the recession crash

14:00–17:00 — The "do‑over" mindset and discovering Gung Ho!

17:00–19:00 — The pivotal call to Ken Blanchard

19:00–24:00 — Acknowledging the need for cultural reconstruction

24:00–29:00 — Managing skepticism and blue‑collar resistance

29:00–34:00 — Aligning the executive team with values and behaviors

34:00–39:00 — A major leadership transformation inside CEC

39:00–42:00 — Training breakthroughs and real‑time behavior practice

42:00–48:00 — Why culture requires intentional professional guidance

48:00–53:00 — Leadership legacy and redefining personal success

53:00–57:00 — The emotional impact of a people‑centered company

57:00–59:00 — David welcomes a new chapter as a grandfather



If this conversation expanded your perspective on leadership and culture, help more leaders discover this message:

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Culture change isn't quick… but the work is a solid investment.

Tim Steinbeck, CEO of GRE HERC Services, joins the Mastering Workplace Culture podcast for a raw, grounded conversation about what change really looks like when moving a blue‑collar workplace from siloed habits to a culture built on "STEAM" values: Safety, Trust, Accountability, Ethics, and Mutual Respect.

From shift‑to‑shift friction and accountability battles… to longtime employees leaving because "you can't pay me enough to be nice to these people"… this talk pulls back the curtain on what real culture transformation feels like inside a 24/7 operational environment.

If you lead people — especially on the plant floor, in facilities, or in field‑based work — you'll hear your world in this conversation.

⏱️ This Episode's Chapter Guide

00:00 – Intro

What Mastering Workplace Culture is all about — real talk, zero jargon.

00:31 – Meet Tim Steinbeck

46 years in energy, leading a major operational takeover in Minneapolis.

02:00 – Why the Culture Wasn't Working

COVID isolation, expectations drifting, communication slipping.

03:45 – Finding "Good Comes First"

The moment the culture reboot started making sense.

04:25 – Building STEAM (Safety, Trust, Accountability, Ethics, Mutual Respect) values

Creating values the plant team could actually use.

05:55 – The First Signs of Change

Frontline reactions, peer feedback, and slow, uneven progress.

07:47 – Leadership Buy‑In ("Are you crazy, Tim?")

How senior leaders responded when culture alignment became a priority.

09:00 – When Values Reveal Who Won't Stay

Some employees chose to leave — and why that mattered.

11:20 – Old Habits vs. New Expectations

Breaking behaviors built over decades.

14:00 – What's Working — And What Still Isn't

New hires, legacy teams, and continued pushback.

17:30 – Respect & Accountability

The issues leadership keeps running into.

20:20 – Post‑Pandemic Realities

Four siloed teams, weak handoffs, and baked‑in independence.

22:30 – Did They Ever Hit Pause?

How the team stayed committed even when things got tough.

24:00 – Frontline Frustrations

Why operators say they're not being heard.

26:00 – The Middle‑Manager Squeeze

Supervisors caught between pressure and values.

28:00 – Are People Enjoying Work More?

Tim's honest take on the culture shift so far.

30:40 – Big Leadership Transitions

New faces, new roles, and keeping momentum going.

39:00 – CEO Drop‑In Chats

Tim's plan to meet operators where they are.

41:50 – Lessons Tim Wishes He'd Known

Vulnerability, consistency, and starting sooner.

48:00 – What He'd Do Differently

More conversations, fewer gaps.

51:40 – Cabin Life!

Ice fishing, Minnesota summers, and family time.

54:30 – Final Thoughts

Safety, warmth, and staying connected.

If this conversation resonated, don't forget to:

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Comment with your biggest takeaway (or what you're struggling with in your own culture)

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In this episode of Mastering Workplace Culture, Katelyn Taylor, Director of Marketing Communications at Boise State University, reveals the hard decisions and practical steps she took to rebuild a toxic team culture. From spotting the waving red flags to hiring for respect and results, this conversation provides leaders a roadmap for transforming any workplace—no matter how tough the starting point.

👉 If you're serious about building a healthier, higher‑performing team, hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and drop a comment sharing your biggest culture challenge!

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