Colin Ellis is a globally recognized expert in workplace culture and project management. With a focus on helping organizations build high-performing, vibrant cultures, Colin has partnered with nearly 100 different organizations across 20 countries, including Microsoft, Red Bull, the US House of Representatives, and the Dutch Olympic Team. Colin is the best-selling author of five books, including Culture Fix and The Project Book, and is a sought-after speaker featured by outlets like Harvard Business Review and the BBC. Originally from the UK, Colin travels the world delivering workplace culture programs…all while still finding time to enjoy coffee, whisky, and supporting Everton (no matter how painful).

During this episode of "Experts Unleashed," Atlassian's Dom Price chats with Colin about the importance of making culture a choice, why vibrant cultures have a common language, and the reason managers are the difference between success and failure when it comes to culture. Colin shares why many organizations tend to overinvest in strategy vs culture (even though culture is what delivers the strategy), and how finding the right balance of engagement and empathy in your organization will make or break your culture. Colin’s extensive experience working with all types of workplace cultures shines during this episode as he distils common culture issues and shares the practical actions every organization can take to improve their culture.

They also discuss the "My User Manual" Play from Atlassian's Team Playbook. It's an exercise designed to help leaders share with their teams and teammates HOW they work. Think of it like this: when you buy a TV, it comes with a User Manual. But when you hire a human, there's no such helpful guidance. Colin takes us through his User Manual and shares what the word “achieve” means to him (which you’ll learn is all about starting at the bottom of the ladder and working your way up!).

More about Experts Unleashed:

The world feels full of thought leadership and frameworks, when we’re actually hungry for lived experience, science, and pragmatic insights. Experts Unleashed seeks out amazing minds from their specialty fields and brings them to you, to unleash their wisdom in a way that will help you put it into action. Each episode aims to educate, provoke, inspire, and then activate… to give you the confidence to try someone new.

In this episode:

My User Manual Play: https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/my-user-manual

More about Colin Ellis: https://www.colindellis.com/

Save the Children Fund: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/

Greta Bradman wears many “expert” hats. Psychologist, AI scientist, founder & advisor, ABC broadcaster, former no. 1 recording artist/ freelance classical singer…the list goes on. As a coach, Greta works with leaders from business, tech, sports, entertainment, and the arts to enhance performance, leadership, and well-being. Greta is especially passionate about human values and helping people make choices that feel right in the long run, even when they’re tough in the moment. In 2025, Greta released her first book, “What Matters to You: How Values Transform Your Work and Life,” a practical field guide to understanding and applying human values in everyday decision-making.

During this episode of "Experts Unleashed," Atlassian's Dom Price chats with Greta about the power of human values, how values emerge and evolve in organizations, and the future of value-based decision making in the world of AI. Greta shares the difference between growth-based values and threat-based values (something we all have), the typical value lifecycle within an organization, and why values-alignment will be the biggest struggle for AI as we use it more. Greta’s deep understanding of human values, along with her ability to simplify such a complex topic, will have you reexamining your own values before the end of the episode!

In this episode:

My User Manual Play: https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/my-user-manual

More about Greta Bradman: https://www.gretajbradman.com/

The Westerman Jilya Institute: https://www.thejilyainstitute.com.au/

Dr. Kirstin Ferguson is a globally recognized leadership expert, ranked by Thinkers50 as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world. With a career that began as an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, Kirstin has gone on to become a CEO, board director, and acting chair and deputy chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Kirstin brings decades of leadership experience across a variety of sectors—public, private, military, and media—combined with deep academic expertise, including a PhD in leadership and culture. Kirstin is the author of three acclaimed books, including Blindspotting (2025), Head & Heart (2023), and Women Kind (2018), which have influenced leaders around the world.

During this episode of "Experts Unleashed," Atlassian's Dom Price chats with Kirstin about the idea of Blindspotting – the topic of Kirstin’s latest book – and how being honest, curious, and flexible can change the way we lead, work, and live. Kirstin shares how taking a “seeker” vs a “knower” perspective can enable you to find new answers to old problems, as well as create more teachable moments for the people around you. Kirstin’s straightforward approach to upgrading the way we show up as leaders is so simple, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing it all along!

In this episode:

My User Manual Play: https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/my-user-manual

More about Dr. Kirstin Ferguson: https://www.kirstinferguson.com/

Lifeline: https://www.lifelinesupport.org/