What does it actually look like to build an intentional culture inside a high-stakes organization—especially one navigating constant change?

In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Kristine Gentry and Monica Smith sit down with Ron Thalheimer, a longtime financial services leader whose career spans banking in Chicago, transformation work in London, and more than two decades at Fidelity. Ron breaks down his practical, leadership-driven approach to culture: setting clear expectations, reinforcing them through consistent behaviors, and addressing misalignment quickly before it spreads.

Ron also shares a vivid case study from his time leading service operations at National Financial (Fidelity): how a shift from reactive to proactive service—and the rollout of a structured client-service technology—sparked resistance internally, improved outcomes externally, and ultimately changed the organization’s reputation from “vendor” to “partner.”

Along the way, the conversation explores why culture must start at the top, how leaders learn culture by getting out of their offices, and what gets lost when organizations try to build culture entirely remotely.

• Culture starts with clarity + consistency: Ron frames intentional culture as clear goals/expectations paired with consistent actions and behaviors that match the message.
• Leadership responsibility (not “HR’s job”): Ron emphasizes culture begins at the top and only works when leaders model it and reinforce it—especially when behavior contradicts stated values.
• Culture fails when misalignment is tolerated: Ron highlights how quickly culture change can be “poisoned” when people hear the right words but see the wrong actions go unaddressed.
• Leadership development through observation: Ron talks about walking the floor, listening, and engaging people—using real-time observation as a leadership practice (and Kristine connects it to an anthropological lens).
• Remote work’s culture tradeoffs: The conversation gets specific about what leaders lose when they can’t “walk around” and how that affects younger employees and culture shifts.
• Measuring cultural progress: Ron points to three feedback loops—employees, customers, business partners—plus tenure/turnover as a signal of whether culture is becoming healthier and more stable.

Ron Thalheimer — Financial services executive and transformation leader with 40+ years of experience across banking, insurance, and investment services.

Thanks for Listening!

We’d love to hear from you.

Kristine Gentry, PhD

kgentry@culturegrove.com

🌐 www.culturegrove.com

🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie Gentry

Monica M. Smith

tradewindscareerconsulting@gmail.com

🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com

🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary Smith

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