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Episode 212: Engineering Spaces for Belonging: The Power of Intentional Culture-Building
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What if the most successful companies aren't the ones with the best perks or highest salaries, but the ones that have cracked the code on engineering authentic human connection? Nick Lombardino, Co-Founder of CultureCon, stumbled upon this truth during focus groups that were supposed to validate a technology solution. Instead, he uncovered a startling revelation: people weren't craving another digital tool; they were desperately seeking genuine connection in their workplaces.
This unexpected discovery sparked a seven-year experiment that's been quietly revolutionizing how forward-thinking leaders approach culture. The secret? What Nick calls "engineered synchronicities"—strategic moments that feel spontaneous but are carefully designed to create the kind of authentic connections that transform entire organizations.
In this episode of The People Strategy Podcast, Traci Austin speaks with Nick Lombardino about the counterintuitive insights that emerge when you stop treating culture as a nice-to-have and start engineering it as your competitive advantage. Nick reveals why the companies thriving today have abandoned traditional culture-building in favor of something far more powerful and surprisingly simple.
You'll discover the hidden psychology behind why some teams feel like families while others remain collections of strangers, even after years of working together. Traci and Nick explore the specific behaviors that separate leaders who inspire fierce loyalty from those who struggle with constant turnover, and why the answer might surprise you.
But here's what makes this conversation different: Nick shares the exact framework he's used to help organizations create what he calls "magnetic cultures"—workplaces so compelling that people actively recruit their friends to join. If you've ever wondered why some companies have waiting lists of candidates while others can't retain talent, this episode holds the answers you've been searching for.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:225 episodes
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