When you think of being an ally, what comes to mind? Are you thinking that being an ally means being respectful to everyone? Are you thinking about a scenario where someone is being bullied or insulted and you stand up for them or stand with them? While those are both important, they are not enough, if we really want to create cultures of more inclusion and safety for everyone. In this action-oriented episode, Michael interviews highly acclaimed workplace influencer, speaker, and four-t...

Would you be surprised to learn that over 300,000 Black women were recently pushed out of the US labor force in just three months? Do you know how that impacts all of us? It was Katica Roy’s research that brought this to our national attention, first from her MSNBC byline that broke the story and then from the front-page article about it in the New York Times. In this episode, host Michael Baran asks Katica more about how that is happening and what the implications are for workplaces and for ...

There’s a lot of misunderstanding about the use of gender-neutral pronouns they/them in the workplace and in the world. Many people in your organization or in your life, especially younger people, would be feeling a lot more inclusion if people used these pronouns correctly. In this episode, Michael Baran delves into the many ways that people are messing up – by ignoring people’s identities, by debating the grammar of it (or some other devil’s advocate position), by rolling eyes or pausing be...

If you’ve been working for at least a few years, especially in the corporate world, you’ve probably done an unconscious bias training. These trainings can be frustrating and ineffective! They fail to really provide deep understanding about bias, and they do not usually provide practical solutions. In this episode, Michael Baran provides that deep understanding with some compelling research studies and with a fascinating account of how biases develop, starting in childhood. He also describes w...

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 a...

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 “microaggressio...

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 sh...

DEI isn’t magic, it’s real work. And it’s worth it. In this episode, Michael Baran unpacks what DEI work actually does and how it can make a difference. Along the way, he provides some actionable tips leaders can use right away to create more trust and inclusion. DEI work is mistakenly thought to be only about quotas or the most extreme examples of “wokeness.” What is the work really? And how can it help organizations? In this episode of The Culture Advantage, Michael Baran elaborates ...

DEI has been all over the news, as political attacks affect organizations of various types. Host Michael Baran clarifies how the attacks are misleading people about DEI work, explains why the work of DEI isn’t going anywhere, and shares strategies for moving forward in this contentious time. DEI has become the subject of the most heated debates about today’s workplaces. Is there any validity to the attacks against it? Is DEI really dispensable? In this episode of The Culture Advantage, ...

DEI isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the foundation of healthy, high-performing cultures. In this episode of The Culture Advantage Podcast, host Michael Baran breaks down what diversity, equity, and inclusion truly mean, why they matter, and how leaders can start noticing everyday behaviors that shape belonging in the workplace.

From hidden messages to everyday interactions to structures and policies, culture has a significant impact on how people feel, collaborate, and perform. In this inaugural episode, Dr. Michael Baran shares about his background and his motivation for starting this podcast to help you build a culture that supports all people, catalyzes effective collaboration, and leads to thriving organizations.

Culture isn’t about food days, slogans, or posters on the wall; it’s about how people actually experience your organization every day. In the premiere episode of The Culture Advantage Podcast, Dr. Michael Baran unpacks what culture really means, why it determines everything from retention to innovation, and how leaders can intentionally create environments where people thrive and teams excel.