The Culture Delusion Everyone Regrets - Jessica Kriegel

In this insightful episode, Charles sits down with Jessica Kriegel, culture strategist, author, and former Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture at Culture Amp, to explore how values, leadership, and intentional culture drive sustainable performance in modern organizations. Jessica unpacks what workplace culture really is, challenging the idea that it’s about perks or slogans, and revealing how shared behaviors and belief systems shape everything from engagement to execution.

From helping companies navigate rapid growth and change to decoding why culture breaks down during moments of pressure, Jessica shares what it takes to build environments where people actually thrive. She explains how leaders can translate values into daily actions, create trust at scale, and align teams around a clear sense of purpose, without sacrificing accountability or results.

Together, they dive into the future of work, why culture must evolve alongside technology, how transparency and feedback fuel high-performing teams, and why leadership today is less about control and more about connection. This conversation reframes culture as a strategic advantage, not a “soft” concept, and shows how the strongest organizations are built from the inside out.

This isn’t just a conversation about company culture. It’s a blueprint for building workplaces people believe in, contribute to, and choose to stay part of.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
-How Jessica Kriegel became a leading culture strategist by turning data, behavior, and psychology into actionable workplace insights
-Why company culture isn’t about perks or slogans—but about consistent behaviors and shared beliefs
-How leaders unintentionally break culture during periods of growth, pressure, or change
-Why values only matter when they show up in daily decisions and actions

Head over to provenpodcast.com to download your exclusive companion guide, designed to guide you step-by-step in implementing the strategies revealed in this episode.

KEY POINTS:
01:10 – What culture really means:
Jessica challenges the idea that culture is about perks and slogans, while Charles reframes culture as the invisible system driving behavior, trust, and results.
04:55 – How leaders unintentionally break culture:
Jessica explains how growth, pressure, and misaligned incentives erode culture, while Charles reflects on why leadership behavior sets the tone more than any mission statement.
09:42 – Values vs. behaviors:
Jessica breaks down why values only matter when they show up in daily actions, while Charles emphasizes the gap between what companies say and what they actually reward.
14:28 – Culture as a strategic advantage:
Jessica reveals how strong culture directly impacts performance and retention, while Charles explores why culture should be treated like any other core business system.
19:36 – Trust, transparency, and feedback:
Jessica explains how open communication fuels engagement, while Charles highlights why feedback loops are essential for high-performing teams.
24:51 – Leadership in the modern workplace:
Jessica discusses the shift from control to connection, while Charles ties this evolution to empathy, accountability, and clarity.
30:14 – Navigating change without losing alignment:
Jessica shares how organizations can scale without cultural breakdown, while Charles reflects on the importance of consistency during uncertainty.