Design a Culture That Boosts Performance

Guests: Jim Ritchie-Dunham, Annabel Membrillo & Ana Claudia Goncalves Why do organizations hire capable people, then squeeze them into systems that prevent them from contributing their best? Jim Ritchie-Dunham, Ana Claudia Goncalves, and Anabel Membrillo join Maureen Metcalf to examine the invisible agreements that shape organizational culture, employee engagement, and business performance. Drawing on a multiyear transformation inside an international bank, the guests describe how leaders identified an exceptional 50-person team already operating differently from the surrounding organization. Its advantage was not simply better talent; the team had developed agreements that supported trust, communication, knowledge sharing, and meaningful participation. The conversation explores the difference between treating an employee as a replaceable “cog in the machine” and inviting that person to make a distinctive contribution. It also reveals why employees may not respond immediately when leaders suddenly ask for greater initiative: after years of being discouraged from contributing, people need evidence that the invitation is genuine. You’ll hear how knowledge sharing strengthened organizational resilience, reduced dependence on individual experts, expanded team capability, and produced reported bottom-line value. The guests also explain how leaders can connect possibility, people development, and measurable outcomes rather than treating culture change as unaccountable “soft stuff.” The episode leaves leaders with a consequential question: What capability are you already paying for, but preventing your people from using?   Other episodes with Jim Ritchie-Dunham you'll enjoy: The Science Behind Our Yes! The Power of Passion & Perseverance (Four Levels of Grit) Back to the Future…of Work For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.   RESOURCES:   Learn more about hidden agreements and vibrancy at Jim’s institute’s website, https://isclarity.org/.   The free agreements survey mentioned in this episode is online at https://isclarity.org/pages/surveys.   Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here.    Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.   Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here.  -----------------------   OUR PODCAST TEAM:   Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan Booking Producer: Jenna Reik Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.   CONNECT WITH US:  YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2  Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com    Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating!  -----------------------   About Our Guests:   Jim Ritchie-Dunham is president of the Institute for Strategic Clarity and Clinical Associate Professor of Strategy at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He is also a department associate with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Work, Health, and Well-being. His research examines the agreements that shape human interaction, organizational performance, and ecosystem-wide flourishing. He is a co-editor of Leadership for Flourishing, published by Oxford University Press in 2025, and the author of Ecosynomics: The Science of Abundance and co-author of Managing from Clarity.   Ana Cláudia Gonçalves is a thinking partner, mentor, executive coach, strategist, systems adviser, researcher, and social entrepreneur. Drawing on more than three decades of experience in multinational organizations, she works with executives and organizations navigating strategy, transformation, human development, and systemic change. Her current work focuses on helping leaders connect organizational performance with regenerative capacity and human flourishing. She contributed the chapter “Leading Shifts in Regenerative Capacity for Flourishing” to the 2025 Oxford University Press volume Leadership for Flourishing.   Annabel Membrillo is a systems-change practitioner, educator, and collaborative strategist with approximately 35 years of experience supporting systemic transformation and collaborative strategy across organizations. She is associated with Universidad del Medio Ambiente in Mexico, where she is Director of the Faculty of Business. Her work includes organizational design, systemic strategy, sustainability, regenerative leadership, project evaluation, and developing communities capable of meaningful social and environmental change.