Decoding Culture with Dr John Curran

• S4 Ep2: Relearning the office: Jeremy Myerson

  In this second episode of series 4 I am going to explore how maybe we can begin to understand what the next few years might look like in terms of office design and use and how society perceives work. To help me with this, I discuss with my guest Professor Jeremy Myerson his new book ‘Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office that he co-authored with Phillip Ross. Jeremy is a leading international writer and researcher in design. His specialist areas include inclusive design, the future of work and healthy cities. He is Professor Emeritus in the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art and Director of WORKTECH Academy, a global knowledge network looking at the future of work and workplace. He chairs the Learning & Research Committee at the Design Museum in London, and is co-founder and academic lead for the annual Healthy City Design international congress. He has published more than 20 books on different aspects of design, architecture and innovation; his most recent titles include Designing a World for Everyone (2021) and Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office (2022).    He has advised businesses and governments on design around the world and sat the advisory boards of design institutes in Korea, Switzerland, UK and Hong Kong. He has curated major exhibitions at the Design Museum (New Old and Doing a Dyson) and the V&A (Rewind: 40 years of Design and Architecture). And its also worth adding that Jeremy is very much in demand with the media for his insights on the future of work. So it is a great privilege to have him on the Decoding Culture Podcast   Before we hear more from Jeremy, I want to remind you that my training programme on organisational culture, leadership and team dynamics starts this September. The details are in the show notes below, along with a link to my executive and team coaching page Also if you find these podcasts interesting and helpful please do feel free to leave a small donation towards the cost of bringing each episode and series together. It would be greatly valued. The donate link is also in the show notes below. Show Notes: Donation John's Training Programmes Leveraging Organizational Culture for Impact:  Learn how to decode and leverage organizational culture to work more effectively with teams, stakeholders and clients. Practitioner Certificate in Consulting and Change: For leaders, senior managers and consultants - Learn how to deepen your understanding of organisational and group dynamics at the world renowned Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in order to sharpen your consultancy and leadership skills. Executive and Leadership Coaching About John: Twitter LinkedIn JC & Associates Decoding Culture Newsletter TEDx

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• S4 Ep1: How to look at the everyday: Christian Madsbjerg

  Why is having the ability to look in our everyday lives important when trying understanding how we behave and make sense of the world around us? In this first episode of series 4 I am going to explore how Looking and observing provides us with rich cultural narratives that interweave into each other to produce tapestries of human behaviour.  To unpack the benefit and power of looking I discuss with my guest Christian Madsbjerg his new book ‘Look’ – How to Pay attention in a distracted world. For the past 15 year Christian has lived in New York. He is an author, entrepreneur and academic who works on the practical and commercial application of the Human Sciences. He is the co-founder of the global consulting firm Red Associates where he advised executive teams in some of the largest companies in the World on strategy questions based on empirical and organized observation of the human world. Christian is also Professor at the New School in New York that is part of Parsons.  What I love about Christian’s book is that he explores different ways of looking and seeing – from art, philosophy and anthropology. A core point he makes is once you are able to look at yourself, you can start looking at the world around you. We talk about watching people playing chess in Union Sq, New York City and discuss how observing chess players in a public space helps one to understand key human questions such as ‘what is winning’. Christian says practicing looking is so important to seeing around you and learning about human phenomena – it should be like going to the gym.  As an anthropologist these types of conversations and thinking really do provide rich and fertile soil to develop interesting ideas around how culture frames who we are – from ritualised, conscious and unconscious performances. Before we hear more from Christian, I want to remind you that I have two new training courses starting this year. The details are in the show notes, along with a link to my executive and team coaching. Also if you find these podcasts interesting and helpful please do feel free to leave a small donation towards the cost of bringing each episode and series together. It would be greatly valued. The donate link is in the shownotes. Show Notes: Donation About Christian Website LinkedIn Look: How to pay attention in a world of distraction Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the age of the algorithm New School The Peregrine Anthropology and Anthropologists (Adam Kuper....not Simon Kuper) John's Training Programmes Leveraging Organizational Culture for Impact:  Learn how to decode and leverage organizational culture to work more effectively with teams, stakeholders and clients. Practitioner Certificate in Consulting and Change: For leaders, senior managers and consultants - Learn how to deepen your understanding of organisational and group dynamics at the world renowned Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in order to sharpen your consultancy and leadership skills. Executive and Leadership Coaching About John: Twitter LinkedIn JC & Associates Decoding Culture Newsletter TEDx

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• S4: Decoding Culture Intro to Series 4

  Hi I am Dr John Curran your host of the Decoding Culture Podcast and welcome to series 4. For those that are first time subscribers, the podcast focuses on the ways in which everyday culture and psychology shape who we are as human beings and social groups. As an organisational consultant, anthropologist and executive and team coach, I am fascinated by organisational culture and team dynamics - so these topics will seep into many of my conversations. I have been talking to some really interesting people for this series. Before I run through who these are, I want good to give you a quick news update on what I have been up to since series 3…..which I am well aware feels like decades ago. My big and recent news is that have been appointed Professor in Practice at University College London (UCL) anthropology department. The department is one of the most progressive anthropology departments and currently sits 4th best in the world. So it’s a real honour to be part of this. Specifically, I will support them in their new MSc called Anthropology and Professional Practice. This is a really innovative post-grad course that opens the world to students already working in their profession on how to incorporate anthropology into their work. I am also co-Faculty Director, with Camilla Child at the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations on their world renowned Practice in Consultancy and Change programme for those aspiring to become consultants. The Tavistock basically invented modern day organisational development consultancy and many of the theories and approaches around group dynamics. What’s so cool about the underpinning theories and approaches of the Tavistock is that they bring together systems psychodynamics with other social sciences like anthropology as part of the consultant’s theoretical and practical tool kit when decoding team dynamics and organisational culture. This….is….essential when working with the complexities of work place culture. Last summer I was part of a series of talks over a couple of months at the Science Museum in London for Lloyds Banking Group where I delivered a number of short seminars to many of their senior staff on group and team dynamics and how to manage them. It is really interesting to see how culture and group dynamics are universal topics that all leaders need to be able to understand and work with. This also shows up in the many webinars I have delivered recently on workplace culture and conflict. I spoke about conflict in the Financial Times Working It newsletter where the FTs Isabel Berwick interviewed me. One key thing I said was that there was no culture if there was no conflict – conflict is something we need to see as communicating something to us and not something we have to smoother. On that note, I have just been a guest on The Financial Times Working It podcast with Isabel and the FT’s Miranda Green where we have been trying to get our head around the complexities of office politics. I will put a link to the Working It newsletter and podcast below. And…I have just had confirmation from Isabel that she will be a guest on this podcast where we will chat about her new book - The Future-Proof Career: Strategies for thriving at every stage. Can’t wait and Isabel has a fantastic bird’s-eye and worm’s eye understanding of work and work culture. I have also been carrying out a number of consultancy projects within the National Health Service in the UK. This is an incredible privilege to be supporting senior leaders and teams in one of the most iconic institutions that is part of the UKs national identity. However, Covid-19, underpaid staff, the cost of living crisis, strikes and a lack of funding has understandably had a massive impact on how it is functioning. A focus on the development and training of managers and leaders to support their teams and departments will be one essential area that will demand investment and time.  Finally, I have become a ‘Play maker’ for the Palace for Life Foundation which is the charity associated with Crystal Palace Football club in the Premier League in England. The Palace for Life Foundation has been working with young people from South London for over 25 years and recently I had a great morning at the The Premier League HQ in London, where I facilitated a senior leadership action learning session on working with team dynamics. So there’s my quick update and you can keep up to date with what I am doing via LinkedIn, my Decoding Culture Newsletter and Twitter. Links are in the show notes. Ok, I have six really interesting guests for series 4 My first guest is Christian Madsbjerg where we discuss his brilliant new book ‘Look’ – How to Pay attention in a distracted world. The book interweaves different ways of looking and seeing – from art, philosophy and anthropology. But what is central is that once you are able to look at yourself, you can start looking at the world around you. There is a lovely quote from Christian - that everyday you can leave your house and see magic. What a great mindset to have as a means of starting your day. He explains this in a lovely way by describing watching chess players in Union Sq NY.  My second guest is Jeremy Myerson who is a leading international writer and researcher in design. His specialist areas include inclusive design, the future of work and healthy cities. He is Professor Emeritus in the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art and Director of WORKTECH Academy, a global knowledge network looking at the future of work and workplace. In this episode we talk through the future of the office and his book Unworking – The reinvention of the modern office that he co-wrote with Philip Ross. Jeremy is one of the go-to people around the future of work and hybrid working and he brings together his expertise in design and cultural trends to give some really rich views. As mentioned earlier, I am really excited to be interviewing Isabel Berwick from the Financial Times and host of the FT’s Working It podcast and newsletter. Her link to her book will be in the show notes  I will also have Leslie Brissett as a guest. Leslie is a world authority on group dynamics and advises boards, leaders and organisations on this subject. He is fascinated by what makes us human. I first got to know Leslie while he was at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and I found myself rapidly learning from him. Leslie is now Board Secretary at International Psychoanalytical Associations. We will find out more about his role in the podcast and also go deep into group dynamics and how it plays out at work.  I will also have Dr Melissa Fischer on the podcast. Melissa is like me, an anthropologist who is fascinated with work and organisational culture. She has written a lot about this and I can’t wait to hear her views on work, the office and culture from an anthropological point of view. We will be sharing stories for sure. Finally we end with another anthropologist, Dr Magnus Course from the University of Edinburgh. I am lucky, Magnus has sent me through his book that will be published this September by the University of Pennsylvania Press. It is called Three Ways to Fail: Journeys through Mapuche Chile. It is all about how failure is culturally framed. What is brilliant about this book is that Magnus deals with a big question like failure through the ethnographic lens of the Mapuche people in Chile and how they frame failure as an intrinsic part of being human. Magnus shares with us his personal ethnographic experiences of failure and how he moved beyond it. This is such a relevant topic at the moment in work culture and we are hearing a lot around why teams need to fail, especially with the views Prof Amy Edmondson. But by Magnus bringing in an anthropological interpretation will really make you think and reflect.  So there you are, an outline of series four of the Decoding podcast. I will of course put relevant links in the show notes. Please do subscribe to the podcast and make lots of noise about it on social media and amongst friends and work colleagues.….if you like it of course. Lastly, if you want to support the podcast by making a small donation, then the donation link is in the show notes. Any amount helps towards the technical/editing cost and overall time taken to create each episode and series.  Bye for now.   Show Notes: Donation John: Twitter LinkedIn JC & Associates Decoding Culture Newsletter Training Programme TEDx   

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• S3 Ep10: 3 Myths about Workplace Conflict - Alex Ethymiades

  This episode looks at how conflict exists within organisations and team dynamics. However, much of what I will talk about with my guest will also have relevance to all areas of conflict. From my anthropological background and as an organisational consultant, I frame conflict as part of culture and not something that sits outside culture and threatens it. Instead of running away from conflict one can reframe it as a form of communication……it is trying to tell us something that, maybe we do not want to hear because it might hold uncomfortable truths or taboos. In this episode I speak to Alex Efthymiades who is an expert on workplace conflict and mediation. She is the co-founder of Consensio Partners and works with organisations offering training and mediation. A few years ago I had the privilege of training under Alex and it empowered me to be able to situate conflict at the core of much of what I do as a organisational consultant and team coach.  Alex brings to the conversation many important and interesting insights. One thing she said was that “every human relationship has conflict….and that is not a bad thing but a necessary thing”. She defines conflict as a “breakdown of relationships (that) can be something quite small that can become something quite big”.  Too often we see leaders shy away from address workplace conflict at an early stage and Alex and I talk more about why this is the case. Alex also explains the 3 main myths around workplace conflict.  If you are interested in organisational culture, leadership, coaching, HR, the social sciences and psychodynamic approaches of organisational consultancy, then this episode will give you a deep understanding to why conflict exists in the workplace and how it can be addressed.   Show Notes: Alex: LinkedIn Consensio Partners References cited: Dr. Brene Brown,University of Houston, https://brenebrown.com/books-audio/ Dr. Peter Coleman, Columbia University, https://sps.columbia.edu/faculty/peter-t-coleman-phd Dr. Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School, https://amycedmondson.com Dr Marc Brackett, Yale University, https://www.marcbrackett.com  John: Twitter LinkedIn JC & Associates Decoding Culture Newsletter Training Programme TEDx Talk

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• S3 Ep9: 9: Ethnographic Walking: Part 2 Prof. Les Back

  So……this episode is part 2 of my conversation with Professor Les Back. Les is a leading sociologist and thinker at Goldsmiths University in London.  He’s written many books and in part 1 we discussed his book The Art of Listening and how having the ability to listen sociologically opens up new ways of getting closer to understanding society.  Part 2 develops this further where Les and I discuss we need to walk….and walk sociologically? To quote Les from the recording: “To study society you need to get your boots dirty and move”. This is a powerful quote….and is relevant to not just to social scientists conducting ethnographic research, but also to leaders and HR in organisations. Sometimes when I coach or train leaders to get their boots dirty there is a resistance……this is understandable…… Forcing oneself to move through everyday cultural spaces that we think we know, like an office, and then push oneself to see different things and question why they are different…can be threatening to our embodied sense of rationality. We often don’t want to be challenged.  I often think of culture as multiple frames that appear to have little curation. They are never static...the frames change in size and form to accommodate uncertainty. By physically moving, walking and listening sociologically, allows you to see multiple frame. The more frames you identify and interpret, the richer your understanding is of the cultural ecosystem is around you.  We start our conversation on the roof of Warmington Tower at Goldsmiths university in South East London, looking over the London skyscape. We first discuss the cultural meaning of cities……..Cities for Les “are a cross roads of movement, of people, things and culture”. This is powerful and emphasises the need to move to be able to understand. We then spend time observing at a busy bus stop, understanding the micro rituals at play and the multiple stories in front of us that the rituals frame.  If you are a social scientist then Part 1&2 will add to your ethnographic repertoire. If you are a leader or work in organisational development or HR, these episodes will help you to begin to think about the importance of decoding culture. Show Notes: Les: Twitter Selected Writings: Art of Listening Academic Diary The Changing Face of Football: racism, identity and multiculture in the English game Video on walking: Les introducing The Sociology of Walking John: Twitter LinkedIn JC & Associates Decoding Culture Newsletter Training Programme TEDx Talk

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