Conversations about how to create fulfilling workplaces full of engaged people.
What makes this channel different:
🔧 Derived from hands-on EXPERIENCE.
🌳 Grounded in RESEARCH from psychology and sociology.
❤️ Informed by how EMOTIONS influence human behavior.
🔄 Informed by how RELATIONSHIP patterns affect collaboration.
🔥 Fueled by a desire to create FULFILLING WORKPLACES.
Most organizations struggle with accountability. Either they lean into punitive, shame-based systems that kill motivation, or they avoid the topic entirely and hope things work out. Neither approach works.
In this conversation, organizational coach Lisa Gill and I explore what accountability actually means in progressive organizations and why it's one of the hardest things to get right.
We discuss:
Why accountability feels so uncomfortable (and what shame has to do with it)
The paradox of choice and responsibility: you can't truly say yes if you can't say no
How to make commitments relational instead of abstract
Why explicit agreements are essential (and how to create them)
The difference between blaming and supporting
Practical tools like confirmation practices and self-scoring systems
How to have difficult conversations without making people wrong
Why true accountability is actually an expression of love
If you're building a more human workplace but finding that people aren't following through on commitments, this conversation offers a different way forward.
Key insight: Accountability without shame requires friction and discomfort. There's no system that removes the need for difficult conversations. But when done well, it helps everyone become bigger versions of themselves.
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About Lisa:
Lisa is an organizational designer, coach, and host of the Leadermorphosis podcast. She works with organizations exploring more participatory and human ways of working.
Learn more: https://www.reimaginaire.com/
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Mentioned in this conversation:
Peter Koestenbaum & Peter Block - "Confronting Your Freedom"
Doug Kirkpatrick - Morningstar & commitment keeping
Mia Mingus - Disability justice activist on accountability
Adrienne Maree Brown - "Loving Corrections"
Helen Sanderson - Confirmation practices
Frederic Laloux - Self-correcting systems
Jan Carlzon - "People with information cannot help but take responsibility"
15 Jul 2025
#6 Exploring the Art of Community with Richard D. Bartlett
I talked with Rich about the essence of community. We dive deep into what defines a community, the importance of community in personal and societal development, and practical ways to foster a sense of belonging and solidarity. Rich shares personal anecdotes and experiences from his journey in community building, touching on topics like emotional maturity, hierarchy, and the impact of hospitality.Here are my favorite quotes from our conversation:
“Community is the people that bring you soup when you're sick.”
“Consistent repetition, orchestrates attention and builds shared identity.”
A key aspect for creating connection within a community is hospitality.
“When a community is really alive it is like a super organism. Whatever is the issue, someone is at hand. Whatever is the need, someone is there with the skill or the resources. Whatever you need is gonna get met immediately”
“ When a community is really alive it is like being accepted in a transformative way.”
“That internal polarization, is like a knot that just keeps getting tighter and tighter.”
“It’s my belief, my orientation in the world, my understanding that all of the challenges that we face as a civilization are solved by better coordination, better collaboration, namely more community, more shared identity, more investment in each other, more care for each other, and that we need an enormous number of people to be taking responsibility for weaving the social fabric for constructing shared identities.
18 Feb 2025
#5 The fundamental flaw in performance evaluation with Steffen Behn
My conversation with Steffen centers around performance evaluation and profit sharing.I’ve known Steffen since we first met at an org exchange in 2017, which was an exchange format between progressive companies. He later hired me at kartenmacherei where he had stewarded the company culture and we worked there together for 5 years.During that time, he has become a trusted friend and advisor. I highly appreciate Steffen for his sharp analytical skills. So when I came across a logical flaw in how I had understood performance evaluation and salary setting, it was an obvious choice to ask him to challenge my thinking. Especially, since we have 5+ years shared history of creating and iterating on these processes.He did not disappoint and we had a deep discussion while keeping it fun. As always, time spent with Steffen was energy-positive and I think you will enjoy it as well.For this episode in particular it is valuable to watch the video as I share my screen to visually explain the flaw in the logic that I encountered as well as sharing my current draft of the policies.
Profit Sharing Policy (https://docs.google.com/document/d/18aeAHp46yDburfoVdQY-rFHaYAmF6184NqSIWW9wRa4/edit?usp=sharing)
Salary Setting Policy (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zxh8T0o3EL39q6T_jVMSskGpDwA-EDweAraogyWI7Zs/edit?usp=sharing)
If you want to find out more about me, you can do so at https://newworkbydesign.comMusic by audionautix.com
15 Jan 2025
#4 Adult to Adult Relationships with Lisa Gill
Lisa Gill, expert on New Work and author, explores the transformative power of adult-to-adult relationships in the workplace, empowering teams to collaborate and thrive.
12 Dec 2024
#3 A Founder's Journey with Natacha Neumann
New Work Conversations host explores Natacha Neumann's journey from founding B2C company Freche Freunde to transforming it through self-organization and meaningful team relationships.
12 Dec 2024
#2 A Founder's Journey with Steffen Reitz
New Work Conversations host explores Steffen Reitz's transformative journey as a founder, shifting from functional silos to cross-functional teams and fostering intrinsic motivation through conscious culture evolution.
9 Dec 2024
#1 Psychological Safety with Lyn von der Laden
Lyn von der Laden, a business psychologist, shares how creating psychological safety in teams and organizations can lead to effective, adaptable, and joyful collaboration by understanding and relating to the nervous system and trauma.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
3,674
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Podcast Authority Score: 20 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
13
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
0
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