Why Leaders Only See 30 % of Their Culture with Mark Jesty & Dr. Harry Toukalas

Episode notes

What if you could see your organization’s culture like an X-ray? In this episode, host Naomi Titleman sits down with behavioral scientist Dr. Harry Toukalas and talent strategist Mark Jesty to explore how organizational network analysis is replacing guesswork in HR and what the rise of AI means for human accountability at work. Because most leaders believe they understand their culture. They’ve run the surveys. They’ve reviewed the data. They’ve built action plans. But they’re often working from a partial view. This conversation challenges that assumption by unpacking what sits beneath the surface: the informal networks of trust, influence, and communication that actually determine how work gets done. The parts of culture that don’t show up in surveys or org charts, but shape performance every day. We explore the gap between what people say and what they do, why hybrid work is quietly eroding cross-team collaboration, and how behavioral data can reveal early signals of disengagement before they become exit interviews. Most importantly, this episode reframes the role of HR. From interpreting opinions to measuring behavior. From reacting to problems to predicting them.