The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer

Healthcare organizations don't just have an efficiency problem—they have a culture problem. Siloed specialists, misaligned incentives, and fragmented decision-making leave patients frustrated and clinicians burned out. Jonathan Kolstad is a professor of economic analysis and policy at UC Berkeley Haas and is one of the country's leading health economists. He’s the founder and faculty director of the Center for Healthcare Marketplace Innovation (CHMI), a joint center between Haas and UC Berkeley’s College of Computing, Data Science, and Society. CHMI’s executive director is Ted Robertson, who specializes in designing and building healthcare products with the best mix of human and AI insights in decision making. On this episode of The Culture Kit, Jon and Ted join organizational culture expert and co-host Jenny Chatman, Dean of the Haas School, to explain why healthcare’s broken structure is ultimately a culture problem, and how AI—deployed in the right way—might help fix it. (Note: Co-host Sameer Srivastava was out of town for this episode.)

Culture doesn’t just shape behavior; it shapes the emotional states people value. Those values operate largely below the surface and can drive some of the most consequential decisions organizations make—who gets hired, who gets promoted, who looks like a leader, and increasingly, how we design AI. For 30 years, psychologist Jeanne Tsai, the Dunlevie Family Professor at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Culture and Emotion Lab, has been building the science of how culture shapes emotion and its implications for decision-making, health, and how people are perceived.. She joins organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava to discuss why it’s important for leaders to understand and examine this unwritten standard for how employees feel at work. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Most organizations say they want to foster creativity. But decades of research by Jack Goncalo, PhD o4, reveals they misunderstand it in fundamental ways: Leaders often implicitly reject novel ideas and penalize creative people when they’re up for leadership roles. In our Season 5 kickoff, Goncalo unpacks the science behind why—and shares some genuinely counterintuitive findings: the conditions we think suppress creativity sometimes do the opposite. And the costs of creative work? They show up in places no one is tracking—including what your employees might eat and drink after a big brainstorm. Goncalo joins organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava to discuss why the bias against creativity is worst precisely when organizations need it most, why constraints and even social rejection can actually fuel original thinking, and why asking people to be creative all day has downstream consequences leaders aren't accounting for. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Should you bring your “whole self” to work? Why does authenticity matter for organizations? And what does being “authentic” even mean? On this episode of The Culture Kit, Jenny and Sameer sit down with their colleague Erica Bailey, whose research is changing how we think about authenticity and leadership. Bailey, an assistant professor in the Management of Organizations Group at UC Berkeley Haas, talks about why she began studying authenticity, generational differences in attitudes about authenticity at work, and how we might preserve our human value in the age of AI. Learn more about The Culture Kit and find the full transcript: https://haas.berkeley.edu/culture/culture-kit-podcast/ *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

With the majority of our waking life spent at work, conversations around mental health are crucial for a healthy workplace culture. But how do you open the conversation at work? How can leaders build the trust and psychological safety needed for these conversations? On this special episode, David Ko, CEO of the sleep and meditation app Calm and author of the book Recharge, shares his leadership journey from investment banking to purpose-driven leadership. Since 2022, he’s guided Calm’s work in over 190 countries, supporting millions of people seeking to improve their wellbeing. Ko describes “the battery check,” a simple framework for starting conversations about mental health, describes how burnout happens when leaders don’t explain the “why” behind decisions, and shares some candid personal anecdotes. The conversation is hosted by Professor Sameer Srivastava and led by UC Berkeley Haas students Avanika Lal and Esa Tilija, both MBA 26. The joint Dean’s Speaker Series and Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation event took place at the Haas School of Business on September 30, 2025. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

With so many shifting rules and cultural norms, career success can feel like mastering a complex game. Jessica Lindl, Vice President of Ecosystem Growth at Unity Technologies and a Haas MBA alum, shows how a gaming mindset can be an advantage in today’s workplace. Her new book, The Career Game Loop: Learn to Earn in the New Economy, launches April 29. Jessica joins hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava in the season 3 finale of The Culture Kit to discuss the gamer mindset, strategies for job crafting, and how leaders can build game-inspired workplace cultures.

Why do some workplaces enforce strict rules while others never seem to start a meeting on time? What happens when a rule-following “Order Muppet”—think Kermit the Frog—pairs up with a “Chaos Muppet” like Cookie Monster? And what does how you load the dishwasher reveal about your cultural mindset? In this episode of The Culture Kit, hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava welcome Dr. Michele Gelfand, a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and pioneer of the “tight-loose” framework for analyzing culture. Gelfand, a cross-cultural psychologist, reveals how invisible cultural forces shape behavior across nations, organizations, and even households, offering a powerful lens to understand why some groups thrive with structure while others flourish with freedom. The conversation unpacks how companies navigate cultural challenges during crises like the pandemic, mergers, and the remote work revolution. Gelfand shares tools for leaders to identify when their organization has become too rigid or too lax, and strategies for achieving “tight-loose ambidexterity—a balance of accountability and empowerment that drives success.

How can leaders put AI to work without stifling human creativity and innovation? Berkeley Haas organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava are back for season 3 of The Culture Kit! The season kicks off with Hila Lifshitz, a Professor of Management at Warwick Business School and head of The Artificial Intelligence Innovation Network. She’s also a visiting faculty member at Harvard University’s Lab for Innovation Science (LISH). Jenny, Sameer, and Hila dive into her pioneering research on open innovation at NASA, revealing how they transitioned to an open innovation model and the significant cultural shift it required. They also discuss new research with fashion company H&M that revealed a common pitfall when implementing AI, and how to avoid it.

Despite efforts to eliminate gender bias at work, women still face barriers their male colleagues don’t. How can companies today identify whether gender bias has crept into their organization and create cultures that are supportive of women? On this episode of The Culture Kit, hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava are joined by Laura Kray, a professor at Berkeley Haas and the faculty director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership. Laura has been studying the psychological barriers that hold women back at work for decades. Her work sheds light on the hidden biases that persist today. Jenny, Sameer, and Laura chat about the perceived differences between male and female leaders in terms of power versus status, as well as how age plays into how women are perceived. Laura discusses her research debunking the notion that pay disparities between men and women come from differences in negotiation skills and shares strategies for business leaders to uncover and correct inequities.

Should corporate leaders speak out on social and political issues? And if they decide to do so, what’s the best approach? On this episode of The Culture Kit, hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava chat with Matt Kohut, a leadership communications expert, about his new book Speaking Out: The New Rules of Business Leadership Communications. Jenny, Sameer, and Matt dig into historical examples of corporations and politics colliding, the potential pros and cons of deciding to weigh in on social issues, and strategies for business leaders to evaluate risk and maintain accountability when deciding to speak out. This episode’s question came from Laszlo Bock, co-founder of Humu and former Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google.

While “psychological safety” has become somewhat of a buzzword in management circles, it’s a concept that forward-thinking leaders dismiss at their own peril. “I cannot think of a place where lower psychological safety would help you in any way,” says Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson, known for her pioneering research on the topic. “Lower psychological safety would make you take fewer risks, but not necessarily better risks. So having anxiety about what other people think of you isn't a great state for optimal performance.” In this bonus episode of The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer, Edmondson, along with WD-40 CEO Steve Brass, joins hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava to discuss how to create a culture of psychological safety—and why it matters. This session was held November 13, 2023 as part of the Culture XChange series sponsored by the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation and is being broadcast publicly for the first time. Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” You can learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at https://haas.berkeley.edu/culture/culture-kit-podcast/. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

What are the benefits and challenges of running a fully remote company? What does research show about the shift to “work from anywhere”? In this bonus episode of The Culture Kit, host Sameer Srivastava interviews Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, the Lumry Family Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School, and Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer at Zapier, on how to use technology and organizational insights to create high-performing, inclusive, and engaging remote work cultures. Choudhury is one of the pioneers in research on the future of work, especially the changing geography of work. He was included in Forbes’ Future of Work 50 list last year and Time’s Charter 30 list of thinkers and innovators shaping the future of work in 2024. Sammut is a two-time chief people officer currently at Zapier, a software automation platform with an all-remote team that spans over 40 countries. He believes that remote work is the way to expand both individual opportunity and business results, drawing on his prior experience in talent acquisition, talent development, strategy, consulting, business development, and venture capital. This episode is based on a CultureXChange forum held on April 11th, 2024 by the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. Learn more.

With the world of work constantly evolving and the introduction of new technologies like AI, how can leaders prepare themselves to successfully lead their companies into the new frontier? On the season finale of The Culture Kit, Haas School of Business professors and organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava are joined by a special guest. Laszlo Bock, one of the leading industry voices on people management, was the Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google, served as the CEO of Humu, and then co-founded Gretel AI. He's also the author of The New York Times’ bestseller, Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead. Jenny, Sameer, and Laszlo answer a question from Melissa Wernick, the Global Chief People Officer for Kraft Heinz, on what key skills leaders will need to be successful in the evolving workplace. Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” You can learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit. *The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.* Jenny & Sameer’s 3 Main Takeaways: The best leaders are diagnostic and deliberate. They look at things on a situation-by-situation basis and ask themselves: How can I add value here? And they plan for that. Cultivate a broad and flexible set of leadership styles. Situations are varied and vast, so have a broad and flexible leadership portfolio that you can draw from depending on what the circumstances are. The best leaders recognize that they're never actually done learning. Leadership development is a lifelong pursuit, so keep working on it and be a student always (as we say at Haas). Show Links: Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead by Laszlo Bock Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality [Harvard Business School] Getting to Diversity: What Works and What Doesn’t by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy Edmondson Creativity from Constraint? How the Political Correctness Norm Influences Creativity in Mixed-sex Work Groups [Administrative Science Quarterly] Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner CEO Fires 90 Percent of Support Staff, Saying AI Outperforms Them [Futurism] How Google Sold Its Engineers on Management [Harvard Business Review] Chatman, Jennifer A., Sameer Srivastava, and David Rochlin, “How Lyft’s Strategy Informed their Return to Work Approach.” University of California, Berkeley Haas Case Series, 2024. forthcoming. Maersk: Driving Culture Change at a Century-Old Company to Achieve Measurable Results [Berkeley Haas Case Series] Kaiser Permanente: The Electronic Health Record Journey [Kaiser Permanente International] The Next Normal: Let’s Rewrite the Rules Together [Mars] Vodafone: Managing Advanced Technologies and Artificial Intelligence [Harvard Business Publishing] The Berkeley Transformative CHRO Leadership Program co-led by Laszlo Bock [Berkeley Exec Ed]