Culture Secrets
Culture is more than a mission statement — it’s the everyday experience people have inside your organization.
Join international best-selling author, speaker, and workplace culture expert Chellie Phillips on the Culture Secrets Podcast as she shares practical strategies, real-world stories, and honest conversations about building people-centered workplaces. Each episode is designed to help leaders improve communication, strengthen trust, increase engagement, and create cultures where both employees and organizations thrive.
You’ll also find 5 for 55 mini-pods — quick, 5-minute episodes designed to give you practical leadership and culture takeaways in less time than it takes to finish your coffee.
If you want to lead with more clarity, connection, and purpose, you’re in the right place.
Episodes
45 episodes
Five Things I Won’t Outsource to AI
AI can help us work faster, organize better and do more with the time we have.But there are some things Chellie Phillips believes we should never hand over.In this episode of 5 for 55, Chellie shares the five things she w...
AI May Be the Tool. Trust Is the Transformation/ Why successful AI adoption is really a leadership and culture challenge
AI is changing how we work—but successful AI adoption may have less to do with the technology than we think.In this solo episode of Culture Secrets, Chellie Phillips explores why AI is ultimately a leadership and culture challen...
From Top Performer to Trusted Leader - Tess Fyalka
In this episode, Chellie Phillips welcomes Tess Fyalka to the Culture Secrets Podcast for a conversation about what happens when high-performing employees step into leadership roles and discover that leading people requires a very different set...
5 for 55: The New Coke Lesson: 5 Leadership Lessons from a Famous Marketing Failure
5 for 55 is the weekly micro-podcast where Chellie Phillips shares one story, one leadership lesson, and one small shift you can apply immediately—in five minutes or less. What happens when one of the world's most recognizable...
Your Leadership Brand Is a Culture Signal with Christine Blosdale
Your leadership brand isn’t just what you say about yourself. It’s what people believe about you based on what they experience.In this episode of Culture Secrets, Chellie Phillips sits down with Christine Blosdale, The Expert Au...
How You Show Up Matters: The Leadership Brand People Never Forget
People won't remember every meeting you led.They won't remember every email you sent.But they'll remember how you made them feel.In this episode of 5 for 55, Chellie Phillips shares a simple leadership lesson inspire...
From Chaos to Clarity: How Leaders Turn Culture Around
What happens when a business, team, or leader reaches the point where things feel stuck, strained, or maybe even a little broken?In this episode of the Culture Secrets Podcast, Chellie Phillips talks with Josh Post, an operations executi...
What AI Can’t Replace: Leadership Brand, Human Voice & Trust with Mike Kim
What does your leadership brand say about you when you’re not in the room?In this episode of Culture Secrets, Chellie Phillips sits down with business strategist, speaker, author, and personal branding expert Mike Kim for a prac...
5 Ways to Build Trust Before People Have to Ask: Why people don't expect perfection—but they do expect communication.
A few months ago, I met a friend for dinner and experienced something surprisingly frustrating. We weren't upset because the food was slow. We were frustrated because no one seemed to know we were there.That experience sparked a bigger l...
5 Ways to Turn Ordinary Into Memorable - What a colorful alley in Chattanooga taught me about leadership, culture, and seeing possibilities.
I wasn't looking for Umbrella Alley.In fact, I didn't even know it existed.While on a haunted history tour in Chattanooga, I stumbled across a vibrant alley filled with colorful umbrellas suspended overhead. What had once been an ...
Trust Isn't Given Anymore. It's Proven.
This week on Culture Secrets, Chellie Phillips takes a step away from guest interviews for a personal reflection inspired by two very different experiences: a panel of journalists-turned-authors at LitFest and a headline-making news story that ...
5 for 55 - Five Leadership Habits That Actually Move Teams Forward
Leadership isn’t about titles—it’s about habits.In this episode of Five at 55, Chellie Phillips shares five leadership habits that consistently move teams forward: communicating clearly, practicing accountability, truly listenin...
Building a Vibrant Culture: Leadership, Energy, and Unlocking Potential with Nicole Greer
What does it really take to create a workplace where people feel energized, valued, and motivated to do their best work?In this episode of The Culture Secrets Podcast, Chellie Phillips sits down with leadership coach and culture s...
5 for 55 - The Leadership Mistake I Learned the Hard Way
One of the most common leadership mistakes starts with good intentions.In this episode of Five at 55, Chellie Phillips reflects on a lesson she learned early in her leadership journey—trying to be friends with everyone on the te...
5 for 55 - Five Lessons I’d Tell My Younger Self
If you could sit down with your younger self, what would you say?In this episode of Five at 55, Chellie Phillips reflects on the early years of her career—when she was working hard to prove she belonged but hadn’t yet learned to...
5 for 55 - Spaghetti Leadership
A simple lunch order turned into an unforgettable leadership lesson.In this episode of Five at 55, Chellie Phillips shares a surprising restaurant experience involving cinnamon… in the spaghetti. What started as an unexpected tw...
5 for 55 - Five Truths I Trust at 55
At 55, clarity hits differently.In this episode of Five at 55, Chellie Phillips shares five truths she trusts—not because they sound inspiring, but because experience has proven them true.From self-worth and courage to co...
The Moment I Realized I Actually Liked Myself
Sometimes confidence doesn’t arrive all at once—it sneaks in through small, hard decisions.In this episode, Chellie shares how training for a half marathon became an unexpected turning point—not just physically, but mentally and emotiona...
5 for 55: Delete the Label — What The Breakfast Club Still Teaches Us About Leadership
This week marks the anniversary of the premiere of The Breakfast Club — and it still holds one of the most powerful leadership lessons we often overlook.In this episode of 5 for 55, Chellie explores what happens when leaders sto...
Five at 55: What This Is (and What It’s Not)
Turning 55 isn’t a slowdown—it’s a launch point.In this kickoff episode of Five at 55, Chellie Phillips introduces a year-long series of short, real-world reflections built around lessons learned through leadership, growth, miss...
EPISODE 25: Designing a Cooperative Culture: Servant Leadership, Hiring for Fit, and What Co-ops Get Right with Adam Schwartz
What if you could intentionally design the culture you want—not just hope it takes shape on its own?This week on The Culture Secrets Podcast, Chellie sits down with Adam Schwartz, founder of The Cooperative Way a...
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Culture Starts with Leadership—but Lives with the People: A Conversation with Yamaha's Bob Brown
What does a strong workplace culture actually look like in action—not on paper, but in real life?In this episode of Culture Secrets, Chellie Phillips sits down with Bob Brown of Yamaha Motor Manufacturing to explore how culture ...
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Episode 23: The Culture Compass: How Panasonic Built a People-First Model That Transformed Everything
What really changes a workplace culture—and what’s just surface-level noise? In this powerful conversation, Chellie Phillips sits down with Stephen Childs, Chief HR Officer at Panasonic, to uncover the real strategies that trans...
Episode 21: The Recharge Ripple Effect: Leading by Example Without Burning Out
Leaders set the tone—whether they realize it or not.In this episode of Culture Secrets, Chellie Phillips explores the hidden leadership power of rest and renewal. When leaders are constantly overworked, overstretched, and...
Leading with V.A.L.U.E.: How Harry Hynekamp Builds World-Class Culture from the Inside Out
What does it take to create a workplace where people feel seen, heard, and truly valued — not just as employees, but as human beings?In this episode, we sit down with Harry Hynekamp, former Vice President of Guest Experience at