Your workplace culture isn't broken. It's working exactly as it was designed. Organizational psychologist Dr. Lauran Star explains why that should make every leader pause, and what courageous leaders do about it.
Dr. Lauran Star is an organizational psychologist, forensic cultural behaviorist, author, and executive advisor. In this conversation with Lori Adams-Brown, she unpacks why dysfunction at the top becomes dysfunction everywhere, how society and the workplace shape each other through what she calls the culture infinity loop, and why engagement scores rarely tell the real story. They also explore leading across national cultures, what a lunchroom reveals about inclusion, why leadership (not technology) decides how AI shows up at work, and the one honest question every leader should ask this week.
Timestamps:
00:00 Hook
00:22 Introduction
02:17 How the world's cultures shaped Lauran's leadership
04:36 Why real leaders question everything
07:25 A million followers is not a credential
09:34 Dysfunction at the top, and the fear of challenging it
13:02 The culture infinity loop: society and the workplace mirror each other
15:58 Where leaders should look first: the mirror and courageous leadership
25:26 "I asked for it": a salary negotiation lesson
32:04 Leading across national cultures
35:56 Assimilation and the beauty we are losing
38:57 The cafeteria test
41:27 Leadership drives AI, not the other way around
44:15 The first honest question: is your culture real?
46:52 Why new CHROs get sidelined, and what it costs
48:26 Values need behaviors: dysfunction lasts three to five years
52:17 Where to find Lauran and her new book
53:15 Closing reflections and Passport Stamp: India
A note on the research mentioned in the opening: for context, Spencer Stuart's 2025 S&P 1500 CEO Transitions report found that 84% of newly appointed S&P 1500 CEOs in 2025 were in their first CEO role: https://www.spencerstuart.com/research-and-insight/2025-sp-1500-ceo-transitions-behind-the-ceo-moment
FIND DR. LAURAN STAR
Website: https://www.lauranstar.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauranstar
Substack: https://substack.com/@drlauranstar
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauranstar
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.lauranstar
Book, See Dick Throw a Hissy Fit: The Rise and Predictable Fall of U.S. Culture: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GNL39P4W
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
SAFE Ground Framework™, for leaders and targets of workplace bullying: https://loriadamsbrown.com/safe
Take the VOICE assessment from Brava Global Advisory: https://www.bravaglobaladvisory.com/voice
CONNECT WITH LORI
Podcast website: https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loriadamsbrown
Substack: https://loriadamsbrown.substack.com
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