A Curious Space: Leadership, Culture and Teams

About A Curious Space: Leadership, Culture and Teams

For forward-thinking senior leaders who want to strengthen their leadership and build teams that thrive. We explore what shapes culture, how teams can think and work better together and the real challenges that show up inside organisations.

Publisher

Kate Nicholroy and Maddie Fox

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Jan 2026

Latest episode

25 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

16 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Welcome to Late Night Leadership: Why some leadership problems aren't meant to be solved

   Why some leadership problems aren't meant to be solved We're back, with a new name and a new season! If you found us before as A Curious Space, it's still the two of us, with all the research, ideas and experience you know, but Late Night Leadership is focused on leadership itself: the joys, challenges and tensions that make it so interesting, talked through the way you would late at night with a trusted friend (the thoughtful kind of late night, not the 3am panic). This launch episode introduces Season 1, The Leader in the Room, which is all about leading yourself. Some leadership problems have a clear answer, so you make the call and move on. Others are polarities, where two things are true at once and pull you in opposite directions, like short-term results and long-term strategy, control and autonomy, or caring for people and driving performance. Treat those as problems to fix and leaders can burn out and teams can stall, and there's some real relief in realising the tension was never meant to resolve. In this episode- What a polarity is, and how it differs from a problem you solve once- What over-indexing looks like, with the classic numbers person and people person example- Why the discomfort of holding a tension makes us want to jump to a resolution, and why tolerating it for a little longer can lead to a better choice- Using what's happening in your body as data, and a return to the above and below the line model from Series 1- Standing your ground without losing yourself, and why "I didn't have a choice" is worth getting curious about- What's coming this season: confidence vs vulnerability, conviction vs curiosity, standing your ground vs preserving the relationship, a deep dive into embodied leadership, and a few guest conversations along the way Try thisBefore the next episode, pick a challenge you're facing, ideally one that keeps coming back. Can you see it as a polarity? What's the opposite of the choice you keep making, and does looking at it that way give you a different perspective or a different way forward? Over to youWhat's the tension you feel most as a leader? Write and tell us at hello@latenightleadership.com, because we'd love to weave listeners' tensions into episodes as the series goes on.. Over to youWhat's the tension you feel most as a leader? Write and tell us at hello@latenightleadership.com, because we'd love to weave listeners' tensions into episodes as the series goes on. Research and resources- The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman and Kaley Warner Klemp, the source of the above and below the line model: https://conscious.is/15-commitments- From our back catalogue: Series 1, Episode 2, "How culture is shaped: leaders and founders", where we first talked about the line model: https://latenightleadership.com/episode/2-how-culture-is-shaped-leaders-founders- Further reading: Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems by Barry Johnson, the book that much of today's thinking about polarities grows from: https://www.polaritypartnerships.com/products Next episodeFriday 9 October: confidence vs vulnerability, where each helps and where it gets in the way. Enjoying the show? Follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoyed our earlier seasons, a rating or review makes a real difference to a small podcast like ours. The whole back catalogue is still in this feed and on our new website: https://latenightleadership.com About your hostsKate Nicholroy (Good Ideas Agency, https://www.goodideasagency.com) and Maddie Fox (MadFox Group, https://www.madfoxgroup.com) are coaches who work with senior leaders and their teams, and Late Night Leadership grew out of the conversations we kept having with them. Produced by Tim Fox. Music by Richard Flindell. Late Night Leadership was formerly A Curious Space.

2. 

   10 Jul 2026

   14. No Fear, No Filter: Building a Team That Tells You the Truth

   A Curious Space: Psychological Safety Season finale In this episode, Kate and Maddie explore psychological safety: what it actually means, why most people get it wrong, and the specific leadership behaviours that create it. Drawing on Amy Edmondson's book The Fearless Organisation, they make the case that psychological safety is not about comfort, being nice, or avoiding conflict. It is the belief that your work environment is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. And it lives at team level, which means any leader can create it, regardless of what the wider organisation is doing. What you'll hear in this episode: Why psychological safety is not the same as comfort or harmony, and why falsely harmonious teams can have very low safety. The neuroscience behind fear: what actually happens in your brain when you do not feel safe, and why even brilliant, experienced people will stay silent. How Google's Project Aristotle found psychological safety to be the single biggest factor in high-performing teams, and why Edmondson describes it as "taking the brakes off." The real cost of not having it, from the Volkswagen emissions scandal to the Pan Am disaster, and what those examples reveal about the weight of hierarchy. Edmondson's three-part framework for building psychological safety as a leader: Set the stage. Frame the work in a way that normalises failure, makes clear that input is needed, and gives people permission to speak honestly. Kate shares how reframing a feedback question from "what could Kate do better?" to "what advice do you have for Kate?" changed everything she got back. Invite participation. Ask questions you genuinely do not know the answer to. Build structures that make contribution normal, from brain trusts (Pixar) to failure-sharing lunches. Respond productively. Appreciate honesty even when the news is bad. Reward effort and learning, not just success. And yes, still hold people accountable when behaviour crosses a clear line: dealing with genuine violations actually increases safety for everyone else. Practical takeaways for leaders: Name your own part in what went wrong before asking others to do the same. Try an aspirational question in your next team meeting. Rather than asking what has gone wrong, ask: "What is stopping this being as good as we want it to be?" or "What am I not seeing here?" Use the "what's your 2%?" prompt to make shared accountability feel manageable. Everyone can admit 2%. Experiment with the pre-mortem: assume the project has failed, then explore why. It surfaces risks early, and it is a gift for natural catastrophisers. Ask directly: "What is one thing I could do to help the team feel safer taking risks?" Referenced in this episode: The Fearless Organisation by Amy Edmondson Google's Project Aristotle Pixar's Brain Trust Patrick Lencioni on vulnerability-based trust Nancy Kline's Time to Think Carol Dweck's growth mindset research Wells Fargo and the Volkswagen emissions scandal as case studies in the cost of low safety A note from Kate and Maddie: This is the last episode before a summer break. Season three launches in September and will focus entirely on leadership. If you have taken something from this series, we would love to hear from you: hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com About the Hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Produced by Tim Fox. Music by Richard Flindell. Join us next time as we enter a curious space.

3. 

   26 Jun 2026

   Culture Room 101: Four Things We're Banishing From Workplace Culture

   Culture Room 101: Four Things We're Banishing From Workplace Culture Episode Summary In this bridge episode between seasons, Kate and Maddie borrow the format from the BBC show Room 101 (itself borrowed from Orwell's 1984) to make the case for banishing pieces of organisational culture orthodoxy for good. One host argues for getting rid of something, the other plays devil's advocate, and together they decide whether it goes in the room. Up for debate this episode: the feedback sandwich, describing your organisational culture as a family, using an annual away day as a substitute for the deeper work of culture change, and the phrase "let's take this offline." In This Episode The feedback sandwich, and why cushioning developmental feedback between two positives tends to backfire in one of two directions. Describing organisational culture as a family, and the blurred boundaries and unrealistic expectations this can create. Away days used as a one-off fix, and the difference between an away day that supports ongoing culture work and one that replaces it. The phrase "let's take this offline," and how it can shut down the productive conflict a team actually needs. Key Concepts & Thinkers The feedback sandwich: examined as conflict avoidance dressed up as kindness, and the cost of treating positive feedback as separate from developmental feedback. Hellinger's systemic thinking: referenced on the flow of love in organisations, and why this doesn't require the family metaphor to exist. Away days as a sticking plaster: distinguishing genuine, sustained culture work from a single annual event expected to do all the work. Nancy Kline's Thinking Environment: referenced on writing clear questions for meeting agendas and checking back against what a meeting was actually there to do. Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team: referenced on the avoidance of productive conflict, and how "let's take this offline" can be a symptom of this. Reflection Questions When you give feedback, are you managing the other person's experience, or your own discomfort with the conversation? Does your organisation describe itself as a family? What expectations does that create, and what happens when reality doesn't match them? Think about your last away day. Was it part of an ongoing plan, or a stand-alone event hoping to fix something in a day? How often does "let's take this offline" come up in your meetings, and what is it usually protecting people from? About the Hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Get in Touch Got something you think belongs in Room 101? Or want to defend something we've banished? Email us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com or visit www.acuriousspacepodcast.com to join the conversation. Produced by Tim Fox. Music by Richard Flindell.

4. 

   12 Jun 2026

   Culture Clinic: The One Person You Can't Afford to Lose

   In this episode of A Curious Space, Kate and Maddy open up the Culture Clinic for the first time, responding to a letter from a listener we are calling Rowan. Rowan runs a business where two years of deliberate culture-building is being undermined by one person: a commercial director who brings in more revenue than anyone else and makes working life harder for almost everyone around them. The question Rowan is sitting with is one that will be familiar to many leaders: can I afford to lose this person? Kate and Maddy turn that question around. Have you properly costed what it is to keep them? What we cover in this episode The tension between visible and invisible costs in organisations, and why the financial impact of difficult behaviour rarely makes it onto a balance sheet. Research by Pearson and Porath (2005) on workplace incivility, including findings that 50% of people lose significant work time managing around a difficult colleague, 70% vent outside the organisation, and one in eight eventually leave. Why tolerating behaviour sends a louder signal than any values statement. How to approach a genuinely different kind of conversation with a high performer whose behaviour is causing damage, one that is curious about what is driving it rather than just addressing the symptom. The role of reward structures and performance expectations in either reinforcing or shifting the problem. What support for this kind of conversation can look like, including for the leader having it. Research referenced Pearson, C. and Porath, C. (2005). On the nature, consequences and remedies of workplace incivility: No time for "nice"? Think again. Academy of Management Perspectives, 19(1), 7-18. About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Listen and connect Find all episodes of A Curious Space at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com. Get in touch with a cultural conundrum, a question, or to find out how Kate and Maddy can support your organisation: hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com. Credits A Curious Space is produced by Tim Fox with music by Richard Flindell.

5. 

   29 May 2026

   Time to Think: How to help your team do deeper, better thinking

   Throughout season one of A Curious Space, one name kept coming up: Nancy Kline. Whether we were talking about culture, trust, conflict or storytelling, her framework, the Thinking Environment, kept appearing in the background. So in this post-season deep dive, we decided to give it the conversation it has always deserved. This episode is a proper exploration of Kline's work: where it comes from, what the ten principles actually are, and how both of us use them in our day-to-day work with teams and individuals. What is the Thinking Environment? The Thinking Environment is built on a simple but powerful premise: the quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first. And the quality of our thinking depends on the way we treat each other while we are thinking. Kline identified ten principles that, when present, create the conditions for people to think at their best. We walk through all ten in this episode: Attention: genuinely focused, uninterrupted listening Equality: every person's thinking is welcome and valued Ease: creating the internal spaciousness to think rather than react Encouragement: keeping thinking moving, even when it is uncomfortable Appreciation: acknowledging the thinking, not just the outcome Feelings: making space for emotion as part of the thinking process Information: ensuring people have what they need to think clearly Diversity: actively seeking different perspectives as a source of richness Place: recognising that physical environment shapes thinking Incisive questions: questions that remove the assumptions blocking deeper thought What we talk about We discuss why interruption is so costly (people are interrupted on average every eleven seconds, and the anticipation of it alone changes how we think), how equality in a meeting is not just about who speaks but about the conditions given to each person to think, and why ease is a performance consideration, not a wellbeing one. We also get into the two techniques we both reach for most: thinking rounds and thinking pairs. Rounds give every voice in the room the same quality of space, with no interruption and no right of reply, surfacing perspectives that rarely make it into open discussion. Thinking pairs offer uninterrupted time to think out loud with someone whose entire job is to hold attention. The only follow-up question available is: what more do you think, feel or want to say? Maddy shares her experience of working with a regular thinking partner over the past year, and what that quality of listening has made possible. We also talk practically: how to use rounds to open and close team sessions, why starting with a question about what is going well changes the quality of what follows, and the single simplest change you can make to your next team meeting today: rewrite your agenda headings as questions. Recommended reading Nancy Kline, Time to Think (1999) Nancy Kline, More Time to Think (2009) Kline narrates the audiobook of More Time to Think herself, and having trained with her, Maddy particularly recommends this as a way into the work. About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Get in touch Questions, reflections, or things you would like us to explore further? We would love to hear from you. Write to us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com or visit www.acuriousspacepodcast.com Thank you as always to our producer Tim Fox and to Richard Flindell for the music.

6. 

   15 May 2026

   Culture Under Pressure

   Season one comes to a close with perhaps the most timely question we have explored this series: what actually happens to organisations when the pressure is on? In this episode, Kate Nicholroy and Maddie Fox look at the research behind threat rigidity, a well-documented pattern where individuals and systems under stress narrow their thinking, restrict communication, and default to familiar behaviour at precisely the moment when more expansive responses are needed. It is predictable, it is biological, and it is entirely possible to prepare for. Drawing on real examples from the COVID era and beyond, including the better.com mass layoffs, the Marriott response, the Wells Fargo accounts scandal, and the LEGO turnaround, Kate and Maddy explore the difference between organisations that come through sustained and acute pressure with their culture intact and those that don't. The answer is rarely strategy alone. It is almost always the quality of the humanity that leaders choose to maintain under pressure, and the degree to which open, curious, above-the-line practices have been built into organisational life before the crisis arrives. In this episode: Threat rigidity: what it is, where it comes from, and how it shows up in individuals and organisations Why pressure narrows thinking at the neurological level, and what that means for leadership teams The contrast between the better.com Zoom layoffs and Arne Sorenson's Marriott response Wells Fargo, rule beating, and why removing people from a broken system does not fix the system Lego's early 2000s turnaround and the practice of leading at eye level Practical tools: naming what is happening in the room, somatic awareness, above-the-line practice, and the seventh generation question Resources mentioned: Staw, Sandelands and Dutton on threat rigidity Arne Sorenson's March 2020 video to Marriott staff (available publicly online) better.com CEO Zoom call, December 2021 (available publicly online) Donella Meadows on rule beating and systems traps "If You Aspire to Be a Great Leader, Be Present," Harvard Business Review Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Embodied Leadership (available on Audible via Sounds True) About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Connect with us: We would love to know what has landed for you across season one, and what you would like us to explore in season two. Email us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com or find us at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com Many thanks to Tim Fox for producing the show, and to Richard Flindell for the music throughout.

7. 

   1 May 2026

   Why You Can't Install Culture

   Kate Nicholroy and Maddie Fox dig into one of the most persistent frustrations in organisational life: why culture change programmes so often fail to deliver, and what leaders can do differently. They explore the gap between change as an event and transition as an internal process, why the leadership team is always further ahead than the people hearing the news, and why culture does not live in the big moments. It lives in what happens every day in between. Why 70% of organisational transformations fail, and why the announcement is rarely the problem The Bridges Transition Model: change versus transition, and the three stages of endings, neutral zone, and new beginnings Why the change team is always ahead of everyone else in the room, and how to account for that gap The elephant and the rider: why logical business cases are not enough to shift behaviour What leaders signal through what they measure, and how those signals shape culture more than any values statement Why acknowledging what came before is not sentiment. It is a structural requirement for change that sticks Culture change as a daily leadership practice rather than a project with a launch date Models and thinkers mentioned The Bridges Transition Model, William Bridges (1991) The Elephant and the Rider, Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis (2006) Family Constellations and systemic principles, Bert Hellinger Appreciative Inquiry (mentioned briefly; worth exploring further) Reflection questions from this episode Take these into your week: What am I measuring as a leader, and what does that signal to my people about what I actually value? When did I last ask someone what they would be sad to lose in any change we are making? What is one thing I can do differently in the ordinary spaces between the big moments? For the next seven days, try noticing one moment each day where culture happens in the margins rather than in a staged event or formal communication. What do you notice, and what does it tell you about where your team really is? About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Get in touch We would love to hear from you. If you have been part of a culture change programme that genuinely worked, we want to know about it. Reach us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com. Find all episodes and resources at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com. Coming up next Episode 10: Purpose and Values Under Pressure. How do you hold yourself to the culture you want when things get hard? That is when it gets crunchy, and we cannot wait to get into it. With thanks to Tim Fox for producing A Curious Space and to Richard Flindell for the music.

8. 

   17 Apr 2026

   Subcultures: The Good, The Bad, And The WhatsApp Group You're Not In

   Not One Weather System: Why Your Organisation Has Many Cultures, and What to Do About It If you have ever moved between departments and felt like you had walked into a completely different organisation, this episode is for you. This week, Kate and Maddie are exploring organisational subcultures: what they are, why they form, how they can help or hinder the change you are trying to make, and why understanding power between subcultures is one of the most overlooked skills in organisational life. What we cover in this episode: Kate opens with a surprising detour into the world of bees (specifically, what they do in winter to keep the hive warm), before the conversation turns to the main event. We start by unpacking what subcultures actually are and why they emerge. Drawing on Robin Dunbar's research into the limits of human social connection, Kate and Maddie explore why organisations stop feeling like one cohesive group once they grow beyond a certain size, and what fills that space instead. We then introduce a typology from researchers Martin and Siehl, which describes three kinds of subcultures: Enhancing subcultures, which amplify and reinforce the dominant culture of the organisation. Orthogonal subcultures, which are simply different, not aligned or opposed, just doing their own thing. And countercultural subcultures, which actively push back against the dominant direction. Maddy brings in the origin story of the Skunk Works project at Lockheed Martin, one of the most famous examples of a deliberately created enhancing subculture, designed to cut through bureaucracy and drive innovation at speed. We also touch on Google's cycling culture as an example of how an orthogonal subculture can create unexpected cross-functional connections. Kate then shares a case study from researchers Ogbonna and Harris (2015), based on a Premier League football club the researchers call Regent FC. It is a forensic look at what happens when a powerful subculture is directly threatened by organisational change, and what leaders can learn from why that change did not succeed. We close with some practical things to try, including how to audit the subcultures in your own organisation, and a personal reflection prompt for anyone who has recently changed roles or been promoted. Key concepts and thinkers mentioned: Robin Dunbar and Dunbar's Number, the idea that human beings can maintain stable social relationships with roughly 150 people at most. His book is listed below. Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety and the role that team-level culture can play in providing safety even within a broader unsafe organisation. Her book is also listed below. Martin and Siehl's typology of organisational subcultures: enhancing, orthogonal, and countercultural. Ogbonna and Harris (2015), a case study on subculture, power, and failed culture change in a Premier League football club. Things to try: Do a subculture audit. Map the subcultures that exist in your organisation. Think about what each one is doing, which type it represents, and whether it is helping or creating drag on what you are trying to build. Consider what needs to be consistent across the whole organisation, and where genuine difference might actually be a strength rather than a problem. Reflect on your own position in the ecosystem. Which subcultures are you part of? Which ones have you recently left, perhaps through a change in role or level? What might that mean for how you are perceived, and for the relationships you may need to rebuild? Recommended reading: Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization Robin Dunbar, Friends: Understanding the Hidden Networks of Our Social Lives Katherine May, Wintering Next episode: Kate and Maddie turn their attention to culture change itself. How do you drive meaningful change in an organisation in a way that actually works? That one is coming soon. About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior lea

9. 

   3 Apr 2026

   Conflict at Work: Good Fights, Bad Fights, and the Ones You're Taking Offline

   Conflict is not the problem. Avoiding it is. In this episode, Kate and Maddie get into one of the most misunderstood dynamics in workplace culture: conflict. Not the dramatic kind, but the everyday kind. The disagreement that goes unspoken in a meeting. The tension that surfaces as gossip rather than conversation. The team that looks cohesive on the surface but is quietly stuck. They explore how we are each shaped around conflict before we even walk into a room, what leaders can do to manage themselves through difficult conversations, and how to build team cultures where productive, generative conflict is actually possible. What we cover How your personal history shapes the way you show up in conflict, often without you realising it. The difference between task conflict (disagreeing about the work) and relational conflict (it has become about the person), and why one can tip into the other faster than you would expect. Why high-agreeableness teams are particularly vulnerable to conflict going underground, and what that costs them over time. The "above a five" rule: if a reaction is disproportionate, the issue is almost never the thing being discussed. What to do before a difficult conversation, including timing, mindset, and the "just like me" exercise from Google's Project Aristotle research. How to stay grounded during conflict: active listening, reflecting back, and what your body is telling you. Practical tools for creating a culture of productive conflict in your team, including Nancy Kline's thinking rounds, pre-mortems, de Bono's six thinking hats, and how to set ground rules before you need them. Resources mentioned No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy Time to Think by Nancy Kline (the thinking environment and thinking rounds) The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni The Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (a tool for understanding your conflict style) De Bono's Six Thinking Hats Try this this week Start your next team meeting with a thinking round. Ask one question: what is going well on this project right now? Give everyone uninterrupted space to answer. Notice what it does to the room. About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Get in touch Got a question for our culture clinic at the end of the series? Send it to hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com Find us at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com Next episode Subcultures within organisations: how to influence them, whether they are helpful, and what they mean for driving change across a whole organisation. This episode wouldn't have been nearly as fabulous without the work of our brilliant producer, Tim Fox, and our catchy music by Richard Flindell.

10. 

    20 Mar 2026

    Trust Falls and Other Workplace Injuries (How to build, break and repair trust at work)

    Trust is one of those words that gets used a lot in organisations and examined rarely. In this episode, Kate and Maddie get into what trust actually means in the context of teams, why low trust is so costly, and what you can do to build and repair it in practice.They explore a framework for understanding trust not as a single thing but as a set of distinct components, and why that distinction matters enormously when something has gone wrong. What We CoverWhy trust matters more than most organisations realiseLow trust has a measurable cost. When people don't feel safe, they stop collaborating openly, they paper-trail decisions, and they spend energy managing the mistrust rather than doing the work. Kate shares some vivid examples from her own career.What trust actually isTrust, at its simplest, is choosing to make yourself vulnerable to another person's actions. Teammates have to get comfortable with that vulnerability in order to build real trust with one another.The different types of trustRather than treating trust as all or nothing, Kate and Maddie explore a model that breaks it into three core components: competence trust (can you do what you say?), integrity trust (will you do what you said?), and benevolence trust (do you care about my interests?). They also discuss sincerity as a fourth dimension: do you mean what you say?How trust is builtIt is not built in big moments. It is stacked in small, repeated, reciprocal actions over time. Kate and Maddie talk through what that looks like in practice, and why the away day is not the answer (though it can play a supporting role when done well).Organised fun: what works and what really does notTrust falls. Compulsory group dances. Outdoor adventure days with no opt-out. Kate and Maddie have opinions. They also point to Priya Parker's work on intentional gatherings as a more considered approach.How to repair trust when it breaksThe repair looks different depending on which type of trust has fractured. Kate and Maddie walk through practical approaches for each: narrowing and demonstrating competence, owning integrity gaps without justification, and listening deeply when benevolence trust has been broken.Team contracting as a foundationSetting clear, explicit agreements about how a team works together gives everyone a shared reference point. It makes calling out a breach of trust feel less personal and more like holding each other to what was agreed.Reflecting on your own pattern of trustHow do you approach trust with someone you don't know yet? Are you trust-first, or do you need evidence first? Are there types of people you tend to trust more or less quickly? These questions are worth sitting with. References and ResourcesThe Thin Book of Trust by Charles FeltmanA short, practical book on trust in organisations. Explores sincerity, reliability, competence, and care as the core components of trust.The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick LencioniTrust is the foundational layer in Lencioni's model. The book includes practical exercises for building it. Worth reading alongside the framework discussed in this episode.An integrative model of organizational trust, Mayer, Davis & Schoorman (1995) Research on competence-based, integrity-based, and benevolence-based trust in organisational contexts.Brene Brown on trust and vulnerabilityBrene Brown's work on vulnerability underpins much of the conversation in this episode. Her TED Talk on vulnerability remains one of the most watched of all time. She also has specific resources on trust, including her BRAVING acronym, available at brenebrown.com.Amy Brann, Neuroscience for CoachesReferenced in relation to how low psychological safety activates threat responses in the brain, reducing the capacity for higher-order thinking and collaboration.Priya Parker, The Art of GatheringMentioned in relation to how to bring teams together intentionally. A practical and thoughtful guide to designing gatherings, both social and organis

11. 

    6 Mar 2026

    Belonging: Who Gets To Speak?

    In this episode, Kate and Maddie dive into belonging: why it matters so much to individuals and organisations, what it actually looks and feels like in practice, and how you can start building it in your team today. Spoiler: it's not about writing a policy. It's about the small stuff. What We Cover 1. Belonging beyond a slogan We talk about why belonging is so fundamental, to individuals and to organisations. Kate shares insights from Helen Beedham's new book People Glue, which looks at what makes organisations sticky: the kind that people want to join, stay in, and bring their best selves to. We explore the neuroscience of exclusion (yes, it literally hurts), why belonging is a collective responsibility, and why it takes more than one "inclusion month" to make it real. 2. Belonging vs inclusion vs fit There's an important distinction between diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and there's one word that comes up constantly in hiring that we really don't like. We look at why "cultural fit" is a lazy shorthand that often just means "like me," how it quietly blocks difference, and what a better question to be asking might be. We also take a small detour into the nine-box grid. Kate has feelings. 3. Designing belonging without erasing difference Diverse teams genuinely outperform, but only when they're well supported. We look at Randall Peterson's research on what helps diverse teams thrive, including building trust deliberately, guarding against coordination failures, and making decision-making transparent. We also talk about amplification, a simple but powerful practice that came out of the Obama administration's female staffers and still holds up brilliantly today. Things to Try Share who you are, not just what you do. As a leader, try telling your team something about yourself that has nothing to do with work. You're modelling that there's room here for full humans, not just job titles. It's a small act that signals a lot. Start your next meeting with a check-in. Two words, one to ten, a mood thermometer, a llama picture: pick your format. The point is acknowledging that people arrive as whole people, not just resources. It also gives you useful information as a leader about who might need a bit more support. Watch who has airtime. Run yourself a quiet experiment this week: observe who speaks in meetings, whose ideas land, and whose get talked over. Then deliberately invite in the quieter voices. Notice what shifts. Try amplification. When someone's idea gets echoed by someone else, name the originator: "As Kate was saying..." It's simple, it's effective, and it changes the texture of a room over time. Find Out More People Glue by Helen Beedham No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work and How They Help Us Succeed by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown (or her podcast, for her thinking on belonging specifically) Time to Think by Nancy Kline (on the Thinking Environment and equality of voice in meetings) Randall Peterson's research on diversity and team performance https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/four-ways-get-best-out-diverse-teams-randall-s-peterson/ About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Agony Aunt/Culture Clinic Got a culture challenge you'd like Kate and Maddie to think through? We're collecting questions for our Agony Aunt episodes at the end of this series. Send yours to hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com If you enjoyed this episo

12. 

    20 Feb 2026

    The stories running your culture (and how to rewrite them)

    What if the narratives running through your organization are shaping performance in ways you've never noticed? In this episode, Maddie and Kate explore the power of storytelling at three critical levels: the stories we tell ourselves, the stories around us, and the stories organizations tell. From growth mindset to system traps, from medieval fairs to Patagonia's environmental activism, we unpack how deliberate storytelling can transform individual performance, team dynamics, and organizational culture. Plus, we share why appreciation matters more than you think, and what a housekeeper's trip to Hawaii can teach us about company values. In This Episode The Stories We Tell Ourselves How self-narratives become self-fulfilling prophecies The power of reframing and conducting a "story audit" Carol Dweck's growth mindset research: why praising effort matters more than praising intelligence Practice makes progress: shifting from fixed to growth mindsets The Stories Around Us The Pygmalion Effect: how expectations shape performance System traps and the "drift to low performance" Why the nine-box grid might be reinforcing the wrong narratives The emotional bank account: why specific appreciation beats generic praise How to escape the vortex of negative organisational narratives The Stories Organizations Tell Why leaders need to repeat messages until they're sick of saying them How to honor organisational heritage while driving change The Ritz Carlton's $2,000 laptop story and what it teaches about culture Patagonia's environmental activism narrative and paying legal fees for protesters Crafting change narratives that connect to existing organisational stories One Thing to Try If you're a leader running a project or implementing change, try writing the story of your initiative. Don't just focus on the what and why—think about: How does this link to the past? How does it build on existing organizational narratives? How does this help evolve those stories? What future are you trying to create? Write it out, then share it with people and see if it lands differently. Referenced in This Episode Books: Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows The Future of the Responsible Company: What We've Learned from Patagonia's First 50 Years by Patagonia Time to Think, Nancy Kline Research & Concepts: Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset research (Stanford University) The Pygmalion Effect (Rosenthal and Jacobson) System traps: "Drift to Low Performance" and "Success to the Successful" from Thinking in Systems, Donella Meadows Gallup workplace engagement studies Nancy Kline's work on appreciation and thinking environments Watch: Ted Lasso (Apple TV) - A masterclass in building culture through storytelling Connect With Us Got a question for our Agony Aunts episode? We'd love to hear from you! Send your workplace dilemmas, leadership challenges, or organizational puzzles to: hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com About the Hosts Maddie Fox is the founder of Madfox Group, working with organizations on leadership development, culture change, and coaching. Kate Nicholroy is the founder of The Good Ideas Agency, specializing in innovation, systems thinking, and organizational development. Credits Music: Richard FlindellProducer: Tim Fox If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen to podcasts. Your support helps us reach more curious leaders. Coming Next Episode: Building cultures that enable belonging—and why you'd want to.

13. 

    6 Feb 2026

    The Zorro Guide to Influencing Culture Without Losing Your Mind

    How individuals influence culture (and what Zorro can teach us about it) Culture often gets talked about as something set by leaders, strategies and values decks. In this episode of A Curious Space, we zoom in somewhere else. We explore the role individuals play in shaping culture day to day, through small choices, habits and behaviours that quietly ripple out across teams and organisations. We unpack a simple but powerful idea: we all have the power to significantly shape the cultures we are part of, especially when we do it together. In this episode, Kate and Maddie discuss: Why culture is made up of small actions rather than grand gestures How individuals can influence culture intentionally, even without formal authority Emotional contagion, mood hoovers and radiators The spheres of control, influence and concern, and why they matter when change feels overwhelming What Zorro can teach us about growing influence by starting small How team identity shapes behaviour and outcomes Why being deliberate about “how we want to be” as a team really matters As ever, we share practical reflections, useful frameworks and ideas you can take straight back into your work. References and further reading Stephen Covey – Spheres of Control, Influence and Concern Margaret Heffernan – Beyond Measure Sean Achor – The Happiness Advantage Haslam, Reicher & Platow – Research on leadership identity and “who we are” Drexler–Sibbet Team Performance Model Got a team dilemma? We’re collecting questions, challenges and conundrums for our Agony Aunt episodes later in the series. If you’ve got a tricky team dynamic, a culture question, or something you’d love a thoughtful outside perspective on, email us at: hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Thank you Huge thanks to our brilliant producer, Tim Fox, for keeping us on track and making the podcast sound far more coherent than it sometimes feels in the moment. And thank you to our music creator, Richard Flindell,  for the soundtrack that carries us in and out of these conversations so beautifully. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it, rate it, or send it to someone who might need a reminder that small actions really do matter.

14. 

    22 Jan 2026

    How Culture Is Shaped: Leaders & Founders

    In this episode of A Curious Space, Kate and Maddie explore one of the biggest (and most underestimated) forces shaping organisational culture: leaders and founders. From emotional “weather systems” to decision-making habits and unexamined assumptions, this conversation looks at how culture is created every day — often unintentionally — through how leaders show up, decide, and relate to others. Along the way, we share practical reflections, coaching insights, and one simple thing you can try immediately if you lead (or influence) others. What we explore 1. Leaders and founders set the emotional temperatureHow leaders’ moods, stress levels and ways of showing up ripple through teams — whether they intend it or not. We explore why this impact is amplified in leadership roles and how awareness is the first lever for change. 2. Decision-making as culture in actionWho gets listened to, how decisions really get made (not just how governance says they should), and how leaders shape culture through what they prioritise, question, or bypass. 3. The unintended influence leaders carryFrom inherited beliefs and assumptions to past organisational experiences, leaders bring a lot with them. We unpack why unexamined assumptions can quietly undermine good intentions — and what helps surface them. One thing to try Before your next meeting, pause for 30 seconds and ask yourself:“How do I want to be in this room — and what will help me show up that way?” It might be a breath, a reset, a smile before you click “join”, or building small gaps between meetings. Tiny shifts in presence can have outsized effects. Find out more The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership – Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman & Kaley Warner Klemp(Including the simple but powerful above the line / below the line model) Harvard Business Review article: If You Want to Be a Great Leader, Be PresentOn mindfulness, presence, and the measurable impact leaders have on team performance and wellbeing Agony Aunt: your questions wanted We’re collecting real dilemmas for our upcoming Agony Aunt–style bonus episodes. If you have: a tricky team dynamic a leadership challenge a culture or collaboration question 📩 Email us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com We’d love to explore it with you. About the hosts Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF. Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com). Coming up next In the next episode, we shift the lens away from leaders and ask:What role can everyone else play in shaping culture — regardless of job title? Thanks for listening, and see you next time in A Curious Space.

15. 

    9 Jan 2026

    What even is culture anyway? Why It’s Happening Whether You Notice or Not (and How to Lead It Intentionally)

    In the opening episode of A Curious Space, Kate Nicholroy and Maddie Fox explore what organisational culture really is, why it forms whether leaders intend it or not, and how it shapes behaviour, performance and decision-making beneath the surface. Drawing on practical models and real-world examples, they offer clear insights for leaders who want to work with culture intentionally rather than leaving it to chance.

16. 

    9 Jan 2026

    Introducing A Curious Space - Leadership, Culture and Teams

    Senior leaders face unprecedented pressure to deliver results while keeping their people engaged, resilient, and innovative. In this episode, Kate Nicholroy and Maddy Fox introduce A Curious Space, sharing their insights on why curiosity and culture are critical levers for building high-performing, sustainable organisations—and what to expect from Season 1.

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Apple Podcasts (US)

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