In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Kristine Gentry and Monica M. Smith sit down with Wendy Woolfork, founder of Purpose Walk, to explore what it really takes to build resilient, high-performing workplaces in a world defined by volatility, pressure, and constant change.

Wendy shares how she helps senior leaders and teams identify the “behavioral tripping hazards” that quietly break collaboration—everything from leadership competency gaps and relationship breakdowns to culture norms that punish honesty or reward toxic high performance. Together, they unpack why culture can’t be outsourced to HR, why it’s a CEO-level responsibility, and how leaders can move from insight to sustained behavior change.

If you’re navigating friction, retention challenges, or leadership strain, and you’re ready to treat culture like the operating system it is, this conversation is for you.

Show Notes (with segments + takeaways)
What We Cover

Welcome + Introductions

• Kristine and Monica set the stage: purpose, values, and culture as forces shaping workplace dynamics.
• Wendy shares her “born ready” origin story—helping people spot the behavioral hazards that keep organizations from accessing their best.

Sector-agnostic work, universal issues

• Wendy explains why culture work translates across industries because the friction patterns are universal.

Why clients call Wendy

Calls typically come when culture-related hurdles become unignorable:

• Relationship breakdowns
• Leadership gaps
• Mis-hires and downstream impact
• Retention and performance disruption
• Reputation and operational drag

Who actually owns culture

• A key thread: the “culture is HR’s job” idea doesn’t hold up in practice.
• Wendy is most often engaged by senior leadership—CEOs, heads of operations, department leaders—which aligns with the core premise: culture is everyone’s job, and ultimately a leadership responsibility.

Wendy’s approach: truth-telling, truth-hearing, and closing the gap

• Wendy walks through her framework:
• Current state → desired state → gap identification
• Naming the reality requires truth-telling and truth-hearing

A standout reframe: culture as fiduciary responsibility

Wendy offers a compelling executive-level argument:

• A CEO has a duty to protect and grow organizational assets.
• Culture is the operating system that determines whether investments succeed or fail.
• A dysfunctional culture becomes a liability risk and an “asset destruction machine.”
• Kristine ties it to a constant leadership blind spot: treating culture like a soft skill instead of a strategic driver of business outcomes.

From insight to action

Monica asks the practical question: how do you convert leadership reactions into execution?

Wendy’s answer centers on consequence:

• Make the cost of inaction visible
• Confirm leadership willingness to disrupt what’s not working

• Newsletter: Build a workplace that works (shared via her LinkedIn presence)

Thanks for Listening!

We’d love to hear from you.

Kristine Gentry, PhD

[email protected]

🌐 www.culturegrove.com

🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie Gentry

Monica M. Smith

[email protected]

🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com

🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary Smith

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