Learning from What Works

Building on Communication Research and Practitioner Wisdom When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he inherited world-class technology wrapped in a toxic internal culture. Employees described a workplace where colleagues undercut one another to rise in stack rankings, information was hoarded, and innovation slowed as individuals prioritized self-preservation over problem-solving. Rather than launching […]

The Responsibility Spectrum: A Communication-Based Framework for Calibrating Accountability

Research reveals a fundamental challenge in modern workplace dynamics: individuals demonstrate asymmetrical patterns of responsibility attribution, with stronger attributions of blame for negative outcomes compared to positive ones (Fillon et al., 2025). This psychological phenomenon manifests most visibly through communication patterns—how we frame messages, choose language, and structure accountability dialogues. The implications extend beyond individual […]