Seen at Indonesian & Malay traditionLiving the Values
Gotong Royong Day
A day where the whole team works side by side on a shared community or workplace project — everyone hands-on, regardless of rank.
QuarterlyHalf a dayOrganisation-wide
Theme
Leadership
Everything on Rituals of Work about leadership, in one place.
Rituals
See all →Research-backedChange & Transformation
Kill Criteria Kickoff
At the start of every significant project, agree in writing what would make you stop it — and who makes that call.
Milestone20 minutesSmall team (2–10)
Seen at GoogleLeadership
Open Q&A All-Hands
A regular all-hands where leaders take unscreened questions from anyone — including the uncomfortable ones.
Monthly45 minutesOrganisation-wide
Research-backedLeadership
Priority Echo
Ask a team member to explain the top priority in their own words. If it doesn’t match yours, your communication needs work.
Monthly5 minutesAny
Change & Transformation
Red Tape Demolition Derby
A quarterly event where employees nominate pointless rules and approvals — and leaders visibly scrap the worst ones on the spot.
Quarterly60 minutesOrganisation-wide
Seen at AmazonLeadership
Silent Memo Start
Replace slides with a written narrative, and begin the meeting with everyone reading it in silence before any discussion.
Weekly20–30 minutes readingSmall team (2–10)
Articles
See all →Psychological Safety
The “CC everyone” epidemic
Copying the boss “just in case” looks like transparency. It’s really a symptom of fear — and leaders can cure it one reply at a time.
8 Oct 2026
Change & Transformation
Culture doesn’t die of apathy. It dies of friction.
When people stop recognising colleagues or sharing ideas, leaders blame motivation. Usually the real culprit is how hard we’ve made the right behaviour.
1 Oct 2026
Nudges
See all →Leadership
The Curse of Knowledge
Once you understand something, it becomes very hard to imagine not understanding it — which is why leaders consistently overestimate how clearly their priorities have landed.
2-minute read13 Oct 2026
Learning & Performance
Goodhart’s Law at Work
When a measure becomes a target, people optimise the number instead of the thing it was meant to indicate — sometimes disastrously.
2-minute read3 Oct 2026
Leadership
The Benjamin Franklin Effect
People tend to like you more after they’ve done you a favour — but only when you asked them yourself.
2-minute read1 Oct 2026
Change & Transformation
You Cannot Kill Your Own Project
The person who launched a failing project is the person least able to stop it — not from stubbornness, but because stopping means admitting the original call was wrong.
2-minute read29 Aug 2026
Leadership
Competence Earns the Right to Fumble
A visible mistake makes a highly competent person more likeable — but makes someone of unproven ability less likeable.
2-minute read22 Aug 2026
Wellbeing & Energy
Resilience Is Not a Personal Skill
Burnout comes from job demands outrunning resources. Teaching individuals to cope better doesn’t fix a structural imbalance.
2-minute read18 Jul 2026
Videos
See all →Psychological Safety
The “CC everyone” epidemic
A one-minute comedy sketch about the email CC line — and what it reveals about trust in your organisation.
1 min8 Oct 2026
Podcasts
See all →Living the Values
The rituals that built our culture
In the first episode, we unpack why rituals matter more than values statements — and the three rituals every team should start with.
Ep. 1Guest name35 min
Playbooks
See all →Change & Transformation
The 90-Day Culture Reset
A step-by-step plan for leaders to diagnose their current culture, choose three priority behaviours and embed them through rituals in one quarter.
24 pagesFree download