When people are silent about the subtle exclusions that happen in a workplace, the culture suffers. When people speak up but the feedback is ignored or met with defensiveness, the culture also suffers. In this episode, Michael Baran outlines some of the best practice guidelines for having productive conversations about these insidious interactions. He describes how to “call in” rather than “call out” someone when they inadvertently cause exclusion, a skill especially essential for potential allies who can speak up without the same risk as those directly affected. He provides several real-life examples of times that speaking up like this went poorly and times it went well, explaining that there is no simple one-size-fits-all way to do it but that we can all build these important skills.

When someone says something that makes you feel bad, how do you speak up? When you see something that might make someone else feel bad, how do you say something as a potential ally? When you get feedback about how you made someone feel bad, how can you respond in a productive way?
In this episode of The Culture Advantage, host Michael Baran provides some best practice guidelines that organizations can use to create a speak up culture, where we can have challenging conversations that are productive, where resentments don’t build up, and where trust is built.

Michael begins with a real example that happened to him, when a CEO committed a subtle act of exclusion in front of 70 global leaders. Michael was on stage at the time, speaking to the group at their annual retreat. What should he say in this situation? How should he say something in a “calling-in” way rather than a “calling-out” way?

There is no one-size-fits-all way to do it. Nonetheless, Michael provides best-practice guidelines for speaking up in a productive way, either as the person experiencing the subtle act of exclusion or the person witnessing it and speaking up as a potential ally. He describes (1) pausing the action, even when we don’t know what to say, (2) assuming good intent, if the intent was actually good, (3) exploring the situation together rather than creating an adversarial interaction, and (4) explaining the impact, or the feelings involved.

Does this always go well? No, it doesn’t, and Michael describes a time when we followed all these guidelines and it did not go well. Where these interactions usually fall apart is in the way that the person getting the feedback responds.
Because of that, Michael gives critical best practice guidelines for responding to feedback like this: (1) getting in the mindset of gratitude, (2) understanding the impact rather than defending intentions, (3) using the opportunity to learn and grow, and (4) following up with the person. Michael revisits the opening story, describing how that CEO responded well to Michael’s feedback. As the 70 leaders saw how he responded, they learned a powerful lesson about culture at this organization, and they learned how they could respond to feedback like this as well.

This episode provides practical conversation skills that can be useful in situations like this or in any challenging conversation. It will be useful for people at all levels in an organization, and can also be used outside of the workplace to build trust and deepen connection with anyone.

The people bringing down the culture of your organization are not necessarily the ones you think they are. In this episode, Michael Baran describes the insidious way that all of us, even with the best intentions, can cause our co-workers to feel exclusion in our attempts to bond, to help, to be funny, or even to give a compliment. Michael and his book’s co-author name this concept “subtle acts of exclusion,” and in this episode he describes why they coined this term to reframe “microaggressions.” He build a deep understanding of what these interactions are, why they are such a problem, how they impact people, and what kind of culture would support addressing them directly.

Sometimes the most damage to an organization’s culture can come not from those explicitly trying to cause harm, but from those who are trying to be the nicest. How is that possible? What harm does that cause? And what can an organization do about it?

In this episode of The Culture Advantage, host Michael Baran provides some deep understanding about something that happens quite frequently in our places of work. People may be trying to connect, to bond, to ask a question, to be funny, or even to compliment someone else. And yet that effort may land with the opposite effect; it may cause hurt, pain, exclusion or stress. Often this happens across lines of difference, whether that’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, age, or anything else.

For 50 years, people have sometimes called interactions “microaggressions.” Michael explains just how often these are happening to some people in our workplaces and what the impact of them might be, on people and on organizations.

The term, microaggressions, however, can get in the way of us truly making progress around bringing people together to build more understanding and trust. People react defensively when they hear the “aggression” part of it, as if their intention was to be aggressive, which it usually was not. Others react to the “micro” part of the word, feeling slighted or uninterested because they understand micro to mean small or unimportant. Because of that, Michael, along with his co-author, Dr. Tiffany Jana, coined a new way to talk about these interactions. They call them Subtle Acts of Exclusion, in their work and in their book by the same name.

Using this more straightforward term, they bring people together to be able to have productive discussions when someone makes another feel excluded. People are able to speak up without encountering the same defensiveness. Colleagues can learn about one another and act in more inclusive ways.
This reframing of the concept is only part of the story. Organizations need to develop a speak up culture, where we understand we’re going to make mistakes, but we can build more trust together when we are able to speak up and to be heard. No matter where you sit in an organization, this episode will help you think about inclusive action and the culture that is needed to support all people. Michael provides some practical strategies and promises to provide lots more in an episode coming soon.

It’s been over a week since Charlie Kirk was killed, and it’s still weighing on people, though in very different ways. In this episode, Michael Baran explains how organizations can’t ignore important events like this. He gives practical strategies for leaders, for managers, and for everyone to acknowledge realities, align on values, and connect human to human.

The killing of Charlie Kirk is weighing heavily on many people. Is that something that can be discussed at work? How should leaders handle events like this in their organizations?

While many people are feeling deep emotions about the killing, it is happening in very different ways. Some are grieving because he was an inspiration to them and a voice for many of their beliefs. Others are devastated that people are unconditionally celebrating a man who they saw as espousing beliefs and actions that were directly aimed to dehumanize them or people like them.

In this episode of The Culture Advantage, host Michael Baran dives into the challenges of this current moment, for people and for organizations. The strong emotions don’t disappear when we go to work. They carry over, affecting our engagement, our creativity, our mental health, and our collaborations with others. Leaders wonder, “should I do anything about this? And if so, what?”

Michael draws from both his social science background and his practical experience working with organizations to give some basic, foundational guidelines for navigating these challenges. He first explains that silence from leaders might have worked in the past, but these days authentic and humble communication is essential.

Michael also explains how helpful it can be for organizations to embark on a journey of reconceptualizing and recommitting to the organization’s values. These values can provide a framework and a guide for handling novel situations if they are thoroughly communicated to everyone.

A key strategy for ensuring that tensions and conflicts are addressed is to make sure that managers are thoroughly trained to be inclusive leaders, to be able to handle challenging situations in the moment with authenticity and vulnerability. He also highlights research on false polarization and deep canvassing, showing that we are not as divided as we think and that we can learn and grow and connect more than we realize.

The conversation is both professional and deeply human, offering guidance for any workplace striving to build a culture of connection, resilience, and inclusion in turbulent times. Whether you’re a CEO, manager, or employee, this episode will help you think about how to foster trust, lower stress, and strengthen community even when the world outside feels divided and scary.