331: How to Nurture Workplace Culture as a Living Ecosystem with Abi Adamson

In this episode, Julie Kratz discusses global workplace culture strategies with Abi Adamson, founder of the Culture Partnership and a LinkedIn Top Voice. Abi introduces her "SERN" framework—Soil, Exposure, Roots, and Nutrients—as a way for leaders to move beyond performative DE&I and begin gardening their organizations for sustainable growth.

Three Key Takeaways

Cultivate Your Culture Like a Living Ecosystem. Instead of treating culture like a static construction project with a fixed end date, leaders should act as gardeners who constantly tend to the environment. "Organizations still treat culture like a construction project instead of what it is. That is why I call workplace culture a living ecosystem."

Build Psychological Safety to Uncover the Truth. A healthy culture requires an environment where employees can be honest with leadership about what isn't working without fear of retaliation. "When you're able to have an organization that's built on psychological safety... everything else will follow."

Reframe Resistance as a Sign of Progress. Friction and pushback are natural responses to major social or organizational changes; history shows that these moments often precede a shift in the right direction. "History has always taught us: whenever big changes happen, there's always resistance... to get to a good place, you do need to go through a bit of a gauntlet."

Follow Abi at https://www.abiadamson.com/