Building Culture-First Companies: Insights from Culture Amp's CEO, Didier Elzinga

For today’s essential Heretics 101 feature, Kelli and Nolan talk to Culture Amp CEO Didier Elzinga, revealing data-driven insights on building culture-first companies, balancing psychological safety with accountability, and prioritizing growth as engagement’s foundation.Support our Sponsors:Ethena is the compliance training platform built for modern workplaces. Visit goethena.com/heretics and get 10% off your first year.Metaview is the AI platform built for recruiting. Check it out: https://www.metaview.ai/heretics* Our suite of AI agents work across your hiring process to save time, boost decision quality, and elevate the candidate experience.* Learn why team builders at 3,000+ cutting-edge companies like Brex, Deel, and Quora can’t live without Metaview.* It only takes minutes to get up and running.KEEP UP WITH DIDIER, NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDINDidier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/didierelzinga/Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/—LINKS:Culture Amp: https://www.cultureamp.com/For coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(00:30) From Harry Potter to Building Culture Amp(02:16) What Is a Culture-First Company?(03:19) The Coherency Matrix: Trust vs. Mission Orientation(04:40) Growth: The One Thing That’s Never Changed(05:36) Leaders Matter More Than Managers (The Data)(07:09) Don’t Bother Convincing People Who Don’t Get It(08:02) How Structured Reviews Closed the Gender Gap(09:17) Sponsor: Ethena | Metaview(12:39) Data Is Just the Start of Honest Conversations(13:28) Esther Perel: Leaders Don’t Know How to Say No(14:16) My Engagement Survey Mistake as CPO(15:32) Feedback Is Not a Gift, It’s a Workout(16:23) How We Run Culture Amp: Values and Growth(18:45) We Can’t Be Everything for Everyone(20:07) Storytelling: The Most Important Leadership Skill(22:07) Finding Your Authentic Narrative(23:32) Wrap This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com