How Culture Is Shaped: Leaders & Founders

In this episode of A Curious Space, Kate and Maddie explore one of the biggest (and most underestimated) forces shaping organisational culture: leaders and founders.

From emotional “weather systems” to decision-making habits and unexamined assumptions, this conversation looks at how culture is created every day — often unintentionally — through how leaders show up, decide, and relate to others.

Along the way, we share practical reflections, coaching insights, and one simple thing you can try immediately if you lead (or influence) others.

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What we explore

1. Leaders and founders set the emotional temperature
How leaders’ moods, stress levels and ways of showing up ripple through teams — whether they intend it or not. We explore why this impact is amplified in leadership roles and how awareness is the first lever for change.

2. Decision-making as culture in action
Who gets listened to, how decisions really get made (not just how governance says they should), and how leaders shape culture through what they prioritise, question, or bypass.

3. The unintended influence leaders carry
From inherited beliefs and assumptions to past organisational experiences, leaders bring a lot with them. We unpack why unexamined assumptions can quietly undermine good intentions — and what helps surface them.

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One thing to try

Before your next meeting, pause for 30 seconds and ask yourself:
“How do I want to be in this room — and what will help me show up that way?”

It might be a breath, a reset, a smile before you click “join”, or building small gaps between meetings. Tiny shifts in presence can have outsized effects.

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Find out more

• The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership – Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman & Kaley Warner Klemp
  (Including the simple but powerful above the line / below the line model)

• Harvard Business Review article: If You Want to Be a Great Leader, Be Present
  On mindfulness, presence, and the measurable impact leaders have on team performance and wellbeing

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Agony Aunt: your questions wanted

We’re collecting real dilemmas for our upcoming Agony Aunt–style bonus episodes.

If you have:

• a tricky team dynamic

• a leadership challenge

• a culture or collaboration question

📩 Email us at hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com

We’d love to explore it with you.

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Coming up next

In the next episode, we shift the lens away from leaders and ask:
What role can everyone else play in shaping culture — regardless of job title?

Thanks for listening, and see you next time in A Curious Space.