Demystifying Company Culture and Getting Real About Better Workplaces Episode #2

In this new series of episodes on Our Agile Tales, we’re getting radically honest about company culture with Lizzie Benton—culture coach, founder of Liberty Mind, and one of the most refreshingly candid voices in the world of modern work.

Let’s face it: “culture” has become a buzzword. It’s often pitched as a magic bullet for success, but most organizations still struggle to define it—let alone get it right. In this series, Lizzie helps us move beyond the platitudes. She unpacks what culture actually is, why so many transformations fall flat, and what it really takes to build a workplace where both people and business can thrive.

We’ll explore the tools and mindsets that matter, and dig into the uncomfortable truths that often get overlooked.

In this episode:

In this episode, we delve into company culture and the essence of creating better workplaces with Lizzie Benton, a culture coach and founder of Liberty Mind. Lizzie shares her insights on moving beyond bureaucratic structures to build more human-centered, purpose-driven workplaces. The conversation touches on the success of Scandinavian countries in workplace happiness, the importance of trust, the pitfalls of traditional performance management, and the benefits of dynamic re-teaming. Lizzie also emphasizes the necessity of clear purpose, the treatment of people as adults, complexity consciousness, psychological safety, and participative decision-making in building progressive organizations.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:01 Exploring Scandinavian Work Culture
• 05:56 The DNA of Progressive Organizations
• 11:57 The Importance of Wholeness at Work
• 15:34 Humanizing Performance Management
• 19:53 The Future of Fluid Organizations
• 23:24 Democratizing Decision Making
• 27:02 Conclusion 

About Lizzie Benton:

Lizzie is a culture coach and the founder of Liberty Mind. She helps companies evolve beyond bureaucratic structures toward more human-centered, purpose-driven workplaces. She’s worked across industries—from tech to charities to construction—always with a focus on unlocking human potential and helping teams co-create meaningful change.

Her approach blends depth and practicality, rooted in progressive practices like self-management, Liberating Structures, and Teal principles. Lizzie is a certified Holacracy Practitioner, Semco Style Expert, and TuffLeadership coach. She’s been named one of the top 30 millennials changing the world of work and has been featured in Forbes, The Metro, and The Financial Times.

Visit us at https://www.ouragiletales.com/about