“I'm always surprised that nobody seems to be worried that we're investing since 70, 80 years, huge amounts of money in training and development, leadership courses... And despite that, we only have... 23% engaged employees around the world, 11% if you go to Europe... So either managers are stupid, or they do it on purpose, or we don't give them what they need... The managers... the ones that I thought were losing a lot of impact, were most of the time, ego-system driven... Those guys, however good they were, systematically got less than the managers... who were... actually putting the employee at the centre, looking for empowerment... the eco-system ones, the respectful, the servant leader kind of ones...”

S04E08 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Reggy-Charles Degen to explore the intersection of HR, leadership, and scalable frameworks for people success. Reggy is the founder of Q7Leader, a professor at Solvay Business School in Brussels, and author of The People Model Canvas. With over 20 years in international HR and 12 years as an entrepreneur in HR tech, Reggy shares how his legal and academic background shaped his mission to bridge the gap between managers and employees. He introduces the seven dimensions of the People Model Canvas, explains why HR must evolve from theory to engineering, and challenges traditional views on leadership, performance, and culture. This episode is a masterclass in rethinking how organizations support their people.

📢 Do you want to build a high-performance culture? It all starts here: www.rethinkculture.co

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to discover:
• Why HR needs an engineering mindset, not just empathy
• The 7 core elements every HR system must include
• How the People Model Canvas helps managers scale support
• Why competence is the true asset of an organization in the age of rapid change and AI
• The difference between ego- and eco-system leadership
• Why performance enablement beats performance evaluation
• How to equip managers with simple, scalable frameworks
• Why HR must prove value in attracting, developing, and retaining talent
• How open-source tools can democratize great HR practices
• Why HR must master the basics before leading culture work

Further resources:
• The Q7Leader Website: https://www.q7leader.com/
• Reggy-Charles on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdegen
• People Model Canvas: https://www.peoplemodelcanvas.com/

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction to Reggy-Charles Degen
01:58 — Reggy’s journey from law to HR
03:18 — Transitioning from HR to entrepreneurship
05:16 — Why HR fails to support managers effectively
06:53 — Overview of the People Model Canvas
10:41 — Aha moments from using the framework
12:25 — Lessons from building the model over 12 years
13:58 — How HR professionals can use the Canvas
16:12 — Leadership mistakes and best practices
18:17 — Ego-system vs eco-system leadership
21:13 — The undervalued role of HR in strategy
24:54 — HR vs culture: where the lines blur
27:57 — Why managers need frameworks to scale
31:33 — What students thank Reggy for
35:13 — What Reggy had to rethink personally
37:00 — What's stopping Reggy from the best work of his life
38:36 — What CEOs should hear about people-first leadership

"Culture is not about popcorn, peanuts, ping pong. It's about having a heart of gold and a backbone of steel... Be a caring organization... It's a balance between being tough minded and tenderhearted... It's simple, it's not easy, and time is not your friend."

We're republishing one of our "Culture Classics" featuring Garry Ridge. Garry is a “champion-of-hope” leader and has defined culture at the WD-40 Company for an impressive 35 years, where he is currently serving as Chairman Emeritus. As the founder of The Learning Moment and an executive coach, Garry has dedicated his career to making the world a happier place by consulting leaders on how to create caring organizations.

There is so much to unpack in this episode. Get ready to be inspired and acquire valuable knowledge from one of the industry's most respected leaders.

📢 Do you want to build a high-performance culture? It all starts here: www.rethinkculture.co

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to discover:
· The ingredients that should go into the Petri Dish of Culture

· Who is The Soul-Sucking CEO of Fear Inc

· The Four Pillars of Care

· What is The Learning Moment

· What are The Habits of a Servant Leader

· Garry's four values: Hope, Harmony, Optimism, and Confidence

· The influence of Garry’s Dad, Mom and his employer Mr. Lambert

· Why we should rename HR into Culture & Capabilities

· The tribal culture of WD-40

Further resources:

· Garry’s Website: thelearningmoment.net

· Garry Ridge on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garryridge/

· The One Minute Manager, by Dr. Ken Blanchard

· Helping People Win at Work, by Garry Ridge and Ken Blanchard

· Multipliers, by Liz Wiseman

· All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum

· To Be Honest, by Ron A. Carucci

· What Got You Here Won't Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith

· The Song of Significance, by Seth Godin

“A huge catalyst for growth, a huge accelerant, a huge way to improve the business on every dimension is to be a more people-oriented company… The more you support people and the things they want to do with their lives outside of work, the more people are going to cherish the relationship with their employer, the more loyal they're going to be, the harder they're going to work. It becomes this symbiotic harmonious relationship that makes the employee's life better, it makes the business more successful... Stop looking at your employees as a resource that you need to extract as much value out of as possible.”

S04E07 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Geoff Roberts, co-founder of Outseta, an all-in-one membership platform and a company that puts people first. In this episode, Geoff shares how Outseta’s unconventional approach to compensation, equity, and organizational structure is rooted in a deep commitment to people-centric values. He explains why every team member earns the same salary, chooses their own work schedule, and receives equity on equal terms, creating a culture of ownership and trust. Geoff also reflects on the importance of life profitability, encouraging leaders to consider how work enriches life beyond financial gain. Geoff makes a compelling case for rethinking traditional business norms in favour of cultures that prioritize autonomy, transparency, and personal growth.

📢 Do you want to build a high-performance culture? It all starts here: www.rethinkculture.co

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to discover:
• Why everyone at Outseta earns the same salary and equity terms.
• How flexible schedules, ranging from 1 to 5 days per week, support different lifestyles.
• Why all team members, including senior staff, handle customer support.
• Why Geoff believes in “life profitability” as a measure of success beyond financial metrics.
• How open finances and shared ownership guide company decisions.
• How quiet generosity and servant leadership shape the culture at Outseta.
• How investing in people’s lives outside of work builds deep loyalty and long-term commitment.

Further resources:
• Outseta’s Website: https://www.outseta.com
• Geoff Roberts on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrobertsmarketing/