Jim Harter is Chief Scientist for Workplace Management and Wellbeing at Gallup and one of the world’s leading researchers on employee engagement, wellbeing, and organizational performance.

For decades, Jim has studied how people experience work—what helps them thrive, what drives performance, and why some organizations consistently create stronger cultures than others. His work has shaped global conversations around engagement, strengths, leadership, and the future of management, and the annual State of the Global Workplace report has become one of the most widely referenced studies on the modern workplace.

In this episode, Jim returns to Culture Matters to unpack the findings from the 2026 report and what they reveal about the current state of work globally.

We explore:

• Why employee engagement has now declined for the second consecutive year
• The growing pressure and emotional burden managers and leaders are carrying
• What organizations with highly engaged managers are doing differently
• Why AI adoption is ultimately a management and leadership challenge
• The tension between productivity gains and rising fear around AI-driven job loss
• How leadership and management roles may need to fundamentally evolve
• The relationship between engagement, wellbeing, burnout, and performance
• And why this moment may represent a genuine inflection point in the future of work

R. Gopalakrishnan (Gopal) is one of India’s most respected business leaders, having held senior roles at Unilever and the Tata Group. Over the years, he has also become a thoughtful voice on leadership, learning, and life through his writing and speaking. Nirmala Isaac is a doctoral scholar whose work spans organizational behavior, leadership, and sustainability, with a deep interest in trust and institutional dynamics.

In this episode, Gopal, Nirmala, and Subbu explore the deep and fascinating relationship between India and China through the lens of history, culture, and exchange. Drawing from their book, the guests bring together the ideas of Chanakya and Sun Tzu to uncover how civilizations evolve, interact, and learn from one another over time.

We cover:

• The origin story behind the book and the collaboration
• The idea of “travel, trade, and thought” as the foundations of civilizational exchange
• How business offers a unique, practical lens to build relationships across borders
• The similarities and differences between Chanakya and Sun Tzu
• What ancient dynasties like the Mauryas and the Han can teach us about leadership and stability
• Stories of cultural exchange that still echo today, from language to rituals
• Why relationships, whether between people or nations, evolve by focusing on shared interests
• And what modern leaders can learn from history about navigating complexity and difference

Vinay Kumar is a leadership facilitator and organizational development expert who has spent close to two decades helping leaders and organizations navigate complex conversations, build alignment, and strengthen culture. He’s the Founder Director of C2C OD and has been the global chair of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).

In this episode, Vinay and Subbu explore facilitation not just as a skill, but as a fundamental shift in how leadership shows up today. In a world where knowledge is abundant and easily accessible, the role of the leader is evolving, from being the one with answers to the one who creates the conditions for better answers to emerge.

We cover:

• What facilitation really means and why it’s often misunderstood
• Why facilitation is becoming an essential leadership capability
• How leaders can move from giving answers to asking better questions
• The role of facilitation in building alignment and driving cultural change
• Why culture is the “spine” of an organization and what happens when it’s unstable
• Common mistakes facilitators and leaders make when working with groups
• The importance of creating spaces where all voices are heard
• And why leadership, ultimately, is a practice, not a theory, and never a finished product