Colin Ellis is a globally recognized expert in workplace culture and project management. With a focus on helping organizations build high-performing, vibrant cultures, Colin has partnered with nearly 100 different organizations across 20 countries, including Microsoft, Red Bull, the US House of Representatives, and the Dutch Olympic Team. Colin is the best-selling author of five books, including Culture Fix and The Project Book, and is a sought-after speaker featured by outlets like Harvard Business Review and the BBC. Originally from the UK, Colin travels the world delivering workplace culture programs…all while still finding time to enjoy coffee, whisky, and supporting Everton (no matter how painful). During this episode of "Experts Unleashed," Atlassian's Dom Price chats with Colin about the importance of making culture a choice, why vibrant cultures have a common language, and the reason managers are the difference between success and failure when it comes to culture. Colin shares why many organizations tend to overinvest in strategy vs culture (even though culture is what delivers the strategy), and how finding the right balance of engagement and empathy in your organization will make or break your culture. Colin’s extensive experience working with all types of workplace cultures shines during this episode as he distils common culture issues and shares the practical actions every organization can take to improve their culture. They also discuss the "My User Manual" Play from Atlassian's Team Playbook. It's an exercise designed to help leaders share with their teams and teammates HOW they work. Think of it like this: when you buy a TV, it comes with a User Manual. But when you hire a human, there's no such helpful guidance. Colin takes us through his User Manual and shares what the word “achieve” means to him (which you’ll learn is all about starting at the bottom of the ladder and working your way up!). More about Experts Unleashed: The world feels full of thought leadership and frameworks, when we’re actually hungry for lived experience, science, and pragmatic insights. Experts Unleashed seeks out amazing minds from their specialty fields and brings them to you, to unleash their wisdom in a way that will help you put it into action. Each episode aims to educate, provoke, inspire, and then activate… to give you the confidence to try someone new. In this episode: My User Manual Play: https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/my-user-manual More about Colin Ellis: https://www.colindellis.com/ Save the Children Fund: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/ Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 1:40 - Welcome the workplace culture expert, Colin Ellis! 4:23 - What Colin’s user manual says about achievement 7:34 - Reconciling personal success with your upbringing 12:20 - Culture is a choice! 16:10 - Creating a culture to become an employer of choice 23:12 - Moving from ignorance to pragmatic action 29:04 - Vibrant cultures have a common language 31:24 - No one cares in a stagnant culture 32:39 - The “nice” culture that doesn’t get work done 34:48 - Combative cultures and finding balance 39:43 - High engagement with high empathy is the sweet spot! 41:55 - Agency in the workplace 43:50 - Managers are the difference between success and failure 49:04 - Tips and tricks for managers 52:25 – Donating to the Save the Children’s Fund About Atlassian: Behind every great human achievement, there is a team. From medicine and space travel to disaster response and pizza deliveries, we help teams all over the planet advance humanity through the power of software. Our mission is to help unleash the potential of every team. Connect with Atlassian: Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@Atlassian Follow Atlassian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atlassian Follow Atlassian on Instagram: https://instagram.com/atlassian Follow Atlassian on X: https://twitter.com/atlassian Follow Atlassian on Facebook: https://facebook.com/atlassian

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