Want your team to actually tell you the truth?

In the Army, Roxanne Petraeus watched senior officers announce an open-door policy and then act like the door was shut. So she stopped trusting what leaders say and started trusting only what they do.

"I only believed what I saw."

Today, Roxanne is the co-founder and CEO of Ethena, and she runs the company on the opposite of what she saw back then: never say a thing you aren't willing to back with action.

We get into how that one commitment builds a culture people actually believe — and who owns it when the CEO and the head of people disagree.

(If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of working with a “do what I say, not what I do” leader — or you don’t want to become one yourself — this episode is for you.)

👀 Here's what you get in today's edition of the Culture Creators:

• The weekly ritual that makes her team comfortable telling the CEO exactly what she got wrong

• The one-sentence test that reveals what your culture actually is, no matter what your posters say

• The reframe that turns a CEO's "not now" into budget for your next HR initiative

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 The CEO–people leader relationship

02:00 Why hiring is everything

05:00 "Maybe is not our standard"

08:15 Hiring against your values

11:15 Making every employee AI-native

14:30 Building a cult-like culture

17:00 Athlete hires & embracing feedback

23:00 Leading with "it's my fault"

26:00 Disagree, commit, back your people

32:45 Compliance is culture with documentation

44:15 Feedback Fridays

54:15 Walking the talk