Episode Description
Most leaders try to fix culture by managing actions—new policies, new incentives, or more oversight. Dr. Jessica Kriegel says that’s the wrong lever.
Jessica is a change strategist, Chief Strategy Officer at Culture Partners, and author of the bestselling Surrender to Lead. In this episode, Jessica and Mary Daffin talk about why most leaders get stuck in what she calls “the action trap,” managing the action instead of the belief behind it. They talk about surrender: not giving up, but releasing the illusion of control you never had in the first place, and focusing only on how you show up. And they talk about accountability. Why it’s become a dirty word, and the new definition Jessica uses with clients: a personal choice to focus on what you can control to drive results.
Jessica also walks through the four-step framework she uses to make accountability practical: See it, Own it, Solve it, Do it. It is a set of questions that works just as well on a direct report as on a boyfriend who won’t walk the dog.
“Think of accountability as a personal choice to focus on what you can control to drive results — to surrender everything you cannot control, and focus on what you can.”
Key Takeaways
- Why culture starts with belief, not policy — and how to identify the belief that’s actually getting in your way
- Why managing the action harder almost never works
- The four-step framework — See it, Own it, Solve it, Do it — for holding yourself or someone else accountable
- How storytelling moved one hospital’s next-of-kin form completion rate from 42% to 97% in three weeks
Guest
Dr. Jessica Kriegel is a #1 USA Today bestselling nonfiction author, change strategist, and a leading voice on how modern leaders drive transformation that gets results. She is a frequent national media contributor, where she offers insight on change, performance, and the evolving demands of leadership in uncertain times.
As Chief Strategy Officer at Culture Partners, Jessica leads global research and advisory work focused on a defining challenge: how to activate change that produces measurable results. She challenges outdated models of control and compliance, advancing a rigorous framework built on ownership, belief shifts, and accountability.
Her bestselling book, Surrender to Lead, explores the paradox at the heart of high performance: sustainable results don’t come from tightening control, but from knowing what to release. Her earlier book, Unfairly Labeled, disrupted generational stereotypes and established her as a research-backed authority on leadership and organizational change.
Jessica also hosts the CEO Daily Brief, a five-minute daily podcast where business pragmatism meets inner wisdom, helping leaders act with clarity to drive results.
Connect with Jessica at jessicakriegel.com.