Responsible Leaders - Healthy Cultures

Hosted by Tobias Sturesson, Heart Management

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116

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Formerly Leading Transformational Change. Dysfunctional culture doesn't just hurt performance. In high-stakes industries, it destroys trust and derails mission. Sometimes it destroys lives. This podcast exists to equip you - through deliberate practice - to lead with integrity when the pressure is greatest. Featuring raw and practical conversations with leaders and researchers. Make your commitment on healthycultures.co.

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60 recent

June 24, 202652 min

115. Dignity sounds soft until you see the cultural cost of its absence. With Harvard dignity researcher Dr. Donna Hicks

Tobias Sturesson sits down with Dr. Donna Hicks, Harvard conflict resolution expert and creator of the Dignity Model, who spent three decades mediating the world's most painful conflicts alongside Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This conversation reframes dignity as the missing link in healthy culture. You'll learn why dignity isn't the same as respect, how the brain processes a dignity violation like a physical injury, and what it takes to build organizations where people feel safe to speak up and truly flourish. In this episode, we explore: (00:00) Why people confuse dignity and respect, and why it matters (05:13) Decades mediating conflict from the Middle East to Colombia (08:20) Searching for the one word that opened every door (11:22) What Archbishop Tutu taught Donna about shared humanity (16:15) Why toxic cultures are filled with dignity violations (20:30) Defining dignity as our inborn value and worth (22:09) How the brain processes dignity injury like physical pain (25:29) When violations get embedded into systems and structures (28:24) The 10 elements, and why safety is most often violated (40:36) The bully who finally had his suffering acknowledged (45:03) Integrating AI without systematically dehumanizing people (48:04) Assessing whether your culture honors or violates dignity ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here For more information, please visit: https://www.healthycultures.co/ .

May 27, 202648 min

114. Culture Lessons from a Nuclear Disaster that Wasn't. With Safety Culture Researcher Dr. Teemu Reiman

Dr. Teemu Reiman shares insights from 25 years studying safety culture in nuclear power, healthcare, and defense. He contrasts how two Japanese nuclear plants hit by the same 2011 tsunami had vastly different outcomes based on their organizational cultures. This conversation reveals why safety is fundamentally a leadership and cultural challenge, not just a technical one. You'll discover practical frameworks for building organizations that learn from failure, close the gap between procedures and reality, and create environments where expertise trumps hierarchy when safety is at stake. In this episode, we explore: (00:00) Why culture determined two nuclear plants' fate during tsunami (02:42) Leadership credibility through actions, not safety slogans (08:23) Learning from Fukushima versus Onagawa nuclear plant responses (25:50) Work as imagined versus work as done gaps (27:34) Overdesigning systems after incidents makes things worse (28:23) Breaking organizational silence and encouraging real feedback (30:03) Why separate safety, quality, ethics cultures compete destructively (35:36) Building sensitivity to operations and preoccupation with failure (40:37) Resisting oversimplification when investigating complex problems (41:27) Deferring to expertise over hierarchy in safety decisions ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here For more information, please visit: https://www.healthycultures.co/ .

May 13, 202656 min

113. 90% of leaders don't know what they stand for, and why you should: With Columbia Business Professor Paul Ingram

Columbia Business School Professor Paul Ingram joins Tobias Sturesson to explore why values matter for leaders and how to transform them from vague concepts into practical leadership tools that drive better decision-making and authentic leadership. Drawing from research with over 10,000 senior leaders, Paul reveals the striking gap between knowing values matter and actually using them effectively. This conversation moves beyond theory to practical application, showing how clear values reduce stress, increase resilience, and help leaders stay true to themselves when facing difficult choices and organizational pressures. In this episode, we explore: (00:00) Why good people make decisions they later regret (03:39) Defining values as our stable principles of evaluation (06:05) Cultural influences on values and finding common ground globally (11:51) Research benefits of getting clear on personal values (15:56) Building daily practices for prospective and reflective value use (21:21) Why values only matter when they cost us something (25:22) Balancing self-interest with positive impact on others (31:26) The slippery slope of temptation and ethical decision-making (36:04) Connecting organizational and personal values in large companies (37:24) Why company values can make people less ethical ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here For more information, please visit: https://www.healthycultures.co/

April 15, 20261 hr 1 min

112. You Only Know Your Values When You're Willing to Lose Something: With Global Pharma Executive Mwana Lugogo

Tobias Sturesson sits down with Mwana Lugogo – veteran Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at global pharmaceutical company Takeda – to explore the hidden gap between knowing the right thing to do and actually being able to do it. This first episode of the Responsible Leaders - Healthy Cultures marks a pivotal shift from responsibility and ethics as a compliance exercise to ethics as a leadership practice, grounded in culture, humility, and human behavior. You'll discover the critical difference between training and practice, and learn a practical model for building environments where people can act on their values – even under pressure. Make your commitment to responsible leadership and get equipped to lead with integrity and transform your culture on: ⁠https://www.healthycultures.co/⁠ In this episode, we explore: (00:00) Why good people in organizations make decisions they later regret (02:42) Finding common ground across cultures and regulatory contexts (08:23) Overcoming the health illusion and uncovering organizational blind spots (25:50) Why we treat a behavior problem like a knowledge problem (27:34) Building environments where courage is less necessary (28:23) Shifting from ethics training to intentional leadership practice (30:03) Scaling values through a global ambassador program (35:36) Staying anchored in turbulent times when norms are rewritten (40:37) What you only discover when values become costly (56:09) Moving from "can we?" to "should we?" as laws lag behind technology ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here

April 1, 202634 min

111. A Movement of Responsible Leaders

Why do so many organizations struggle with cultural dysfunction despite having strong values statements and well-intentioned leaders? Tobias Sturesson and Andreas Almlöf reveal the launch of a movement designed to bridge the gap between leadership intentions and everyday actions. This episode marks a pivotal transition from knowing what good culture looks like to actively practicing the habits that create it. You'll discover a framework for leading with integrity when pressure is highest and learn why sustainable change starts with personal accountability. In this episode, we explore: (04:34) Why responsible leadership requires intentional practice (08:39) Four commitments that define responsible leaders (11:04) Closing the gap between values and actual behavior (12:56) Creating conditions where people can flourish (14:46) Breaking the silence and inviting uncomfortable feedback (19:56) Stories of leaders who transformed their approach (22:28) What makes this podcast different from others (27:44) How to join the responsible leaders community (29:44) Building a world free from unhealthy workplace culture To read more about the movement, please visit: https://www.healthycultures.co/ ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available ⁠here⁠.

December 18, 202552 min

110. What 2025 Revealed About Cultural Health

Caterina Bulgarella joins Tobias Sturesson and Andreas Almlöf to unpack the big lessons from 2025 and what’s ahead for companies navigating rapid change. Together, they dive into how organisations can cut through performative culture work, truly prioritise human dignity, and harness technology – especially AI – without losing sight of what really matters. In this episode, we explore: (01:43) Opening reflections on organisational culture in 2025 (04:51) Professional work across multiple countries and cultures (06:37) Contrasting cultures: Sao Paulo insight (10:06) Integrity and business culture (16:06) Cultural health and innovation (17:30) Tech founders’ impact and risks (23:03) Redefining workplace culture (27:33) Technology, limits, and human loss (31:34) Substance over image in workplaces (33:20) Performative culture and reality (38:00) Understanding culture through AI insights (42:00) Transforming data into strategic insights (44:39) Narrowing focus for deeper insights (48:49) Prioritising cultural health and integrity (50:28) Corruption accountability signals progress ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here .

December 4, 202550 min

109. Focus on Cultural Health, not Compliance Culture

Stephen Nguyen-Duc is Chief Compliance Officer at GE Healthcare and a veteran leader who has built ethics and compliance programs for global healthcare powerhouses like Eli Lilly, AbbVie, and Medday. Across more than two decades, Stephen has seen compliance evolve from a box-ticking exercise to a deeply human journey. In this episode, he joins host Tobias Sturesson to break down why organizational integrity is never just about rules – and why surprise is compliance’s greatest foe. In this episode, we explore: (05:00) Integrity as a daily habit (06:30) Rethinking compliance and culture (11:16) Building cultural health together (13:14) Tone at the top misalignment (16:27) Ownership as key to organizational change (21:23) Awareness vs action in organizations (25:44) Cultural health and awareness (28:58) Fostering a culture of listening (32:40) Driving behavioral change together (33:28) Cultural impact on business tools (38:04) Understanding the trust equation (42:44) Empathy and ethical leadership (47:30) Integrity drives business performance (48:27) Optimistic industry progress Links mentioned: The Trusted Advisor – Book Stephen Nguyen-Duc’s LinkedIn ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here .

November 20, 202540 min

108. Make Values Matter

Tobias Sturesson and Andreas Almlöf dive deep into the crucial role that values play in shaping organizations and leadership. Values are far more than just words on a wall; they’re the principles that guide tough decisions, even when those choices come with real costs or discomfort. You’ll also hear personal stories about valuing honesty in leadership, wrestling with failures, and fostering environments where tough conversations about ethical dilemmas are not only safe but necessary. Plus, the episode offers practical frameworks and questions to help leaders navigate values-based decision-making under pressure. In this episode, we explore: (00:00) Reflecting on core values (06:45) Integrity through actions, not words (08:09) Values guiding tough decisions (11:40) Wrestling with corporate values (17:09) Aligning personal organizational strategic values (19:31) Living true to core values (22:15) Embracing dilemmas and trade-offs (27:31) Living and aligning with values (31:04) Navigating values amid strong pulls (33:55) Modeling values-based leadership (35:41) Staying true to our values (39:10) Stand up, fail and keep trying Links mentioned: ‘Patriot’ by Alexei Navalny ‘Walking the Talk’ by Carolyn Taylor ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here .

November 6, 202550 min

107. Caterina Bulgarella: Why Your Culture Data Isn't Telling You What You Need to Know and How to Fix It

Caterina Bulgarella is a renowned social scientist with over 20 years of experience in organizational culture transformation and assessment. As a leading expert in culture measurement and a co-creator of the widely used Two Factor Model of Ethical Culture, Caterina brings powerful insights into the deeper layers behind workplace data. In this episode, host Tobias Sturesson dives into the pitfalls of traditional engagement surveys and the value of understanding what culture truly means within organizations. Together, they unpack why much of what leaders think they know about culture and ethics is often just the tip of the iceberg, and how to get to the roots beneath the surface. In this episode, we explore: (00:00) Understanding workplace culture insights (05:21) Behavioral insights and measurement journey (09:18) Insights beyond generic feedback (13:27) Understanding organizational culture mechanisms (17:00) Restructuring meaning for cultural change (20:41) Survey credibility and ethical behavior (23:25) Pressure's impact on leadership dynamics (26:16) Two-factor ethical culture model (29:51) Measuring ethical organizational culture (32:51) Insights through dialogic stories (37:25) Respecting history, embracing difference (39:27) Values, culture, and context (44:06) Root causes and cultural awareness (48:34) Embracing curiosity for positive change Links mentioned: Connect with Caterina Bulgarella on LinkedIn ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here .

September 11, 202537 min

106. Restoring Broken Trust when the Stakes are High

Tobias Sturesson kicks off a new season of Leading Transformation Change with co-host Andreas Almlöf. Building on insights from his work with global leaders and his acclaimed book You Can Culture , Tobias unpacks the game-changing role of repairing trust inside organizations. Tune in to hear practical strategies for leaders navigating crises, high-pressure environments and everyday cultural tensions… at a time when AI, regulatory upheaval and shifting values are rewriting the rules of leadership. In this episode, we explore: (05:15) Navigating change with AI, values and DEI (11:19) Why trust is leadership’s most valuable capital (13:22) Accountability and cultural reform in leadership (17:58) How regret can drive real growth (20:45) Building customer trust through openness (23:02) How culture and design shape accountability (29:42) Why unaddressed issues create distrust (32:38) Steps to repair harm and rebuild trust (34:39) Owning responsibility through vulnerability Links mentioned: The Power of Trust – Book The Power of Regret – Book Listen to Daniel Pink: Unlocking the Power of Regret ‘You Can Culture: Transformative Leadership Habits for a Thriving Workplace, Positive Impact and Lasting Success’ is now available here .