Ep. 17 Kill the Microaggressions or Kill Your Culture. You Choose

In this episode we talk about the ripple effects of microaggressions, forgotten voices, and how one Fortune 50 company accidentally created a leadership vacuum by cutting its campus recruiting program. William Tincup and Ryan Leary sit down with Heather Jerrehian from ServiceNow and Yaz Dalal from Joveo at the Fama booth at HR Tech to unpack how culture is built or broken in the small moments. Key Takeaways ➡ Microaggressions in meetings may seem small, but they erode confidence fast ➡ Speaking over someone or repeating their idea louder is a form of cultural rot ➡ Leaders must amplify marginalized voices — it only takes one to set the tone ➡ Heather shares how ServiceNow's "People Pact" empowers peer-level accountability ➡ Yaz recounts a Fortune 50 company that cut campus hiring for two years during a recession ➡ That one cost-cutting move created a 12-year leadership void in their most strategic groups ➡ Culture is what you reward and what you punish — and what you allow ➡ The middle managers you ignore are actually the keepers of your company’s DNA ➡ Psychological safety and inclusion must be modeled from the top ➡ Pulling ideas from quiet voices can completely change product strategy ➡ Small moments like asking for input or crediting ideas shape long-term engagement ➡ Companies must think long-term about talent pipelines and internal mobility Chapters 00:00 Live at the Fama booth with ServiceNow and Jovio 01:00 Microaggressions in meetings and the cost of silence 03:00 The power of amplification and leadership modeling 05:00 How a quiet comment changed Dirt Devil’s product strategy 07:00 Building culture through consistent behavior and accountability 09:00 Why structure and tone in meetings matter 10:00 The “People Pact” at ServiceNow 11:00 How cutting campus hiring caused a 12-year talent gap 12:30 Why middle managers matter more than we think 13:00 What Heather and Yaz hope to take from HR Tech This limited series is brought to you by FAMA, Modern Candidate Screening. Talent teams use FAMA to improve candidate quality, create safe and inclusive workplaces and place the right leadership for their organizations. You can subscribe and listen to the #9to5Nightmares podcast here https://fama.io/podcasts or here Guest Info Heather Jerrehian, VP of Product Management, Employee Workflows, ServiceNow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherjerrehian Website: https://www.servicenow.com Yaz Dalal, Chief Growth Officer, Jovio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yazdalal Website: https://www.jovio.com Connect with us William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined Twitter: https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com