Barbara Matthews
Chief People Officer
Remote
Episode 55
Unlock Top Talent: Why a 'No Surprises' Culture Starts with Better Managers
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleSeptember 12, 2025 · 14:52
Thesis
“Effective HR leadership hinges on building a 'culture of no surprises' through strong manager development and transparent communication, while embracing AI and flexible work models to attract and retain top talent in a rapidly evolving landscape.”
Show notes
Episode SummaryWhat does it take to build a high-performing, values-driven culture across a rapidly scaling global workforce? In this episode of Built by People, host Dave D’Angelo sits down with Barbara Matthews, Chief People Officer at Remote and former HR leader at Google and Stripe. With over two decades in HR, Barbara shares hard-won lessons from the front lines of leadership—starting from a three-week contract at Google to shaping global people strategies for companies with thousands of employees across 85+ countries.
Barbara unpacks how a single moment of ethical decision-making early in her career defined her leadership style, why poor management is the silent killer of engagement, and the repeatable HR initiative she swears by: building a culture of no surprises. From performance alignment to manager coaching, she offers a blueprint for HR leaders aiming to build trust, clarity, and long-term impact.
Whether you're scaling a team, developing your leadership brand, or exploring how AI is transforming HR, this episode is packed with practical wisdom you can implement today.
Key Timestamps
[00:51] – Barbara’s 20+ year journey from Google to Remote
[03:17] – A defining career moment: speaking up against a weak disciplinary decision
[05:28] – Why poor managers can derail employee experience—and how to fix it
[08:00] – How Barbara helped shape manager development at Stripe
[09:57] – The HR playbook she’s repeated across companies: culture of no surprises
[12:34] – A tactical first step to build performance clarity across teams
[12:56] – The two biggest shifts HR leaders must prepare for in the next 5 years
[14:27] – Barbara’s top advice: back yourself and say yes to opportunity
Actionable Takeaways
Create a “culture of no surprises” to boost performance clarity and trust
Invest deeply in manager development—strong managers drive team success
Use performance calibration data to uncover misalignment early
Coach managers in real time with roundtables, cohort coaching, and feedback loops
Integrate AI tools thoughtfully to free up bandwidth for strategic HR work
Document flexible work norms if you want to attract and retain top global talent
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What you'll take away
- 1Prioritize manager development to foster clarity, transparency, and consistent expectations, as poor managers are a significant detriment to employee and business success.
- 2Implement a 'culture of no surprises' by ensuring clear communication of performance expectations, providing timely feedback, and aligning management on assessment criteria.
- 3Leverage data from performance calibrations and employee issues to identify disconnects and inform targeted HR initiatives.
- 4Embrace AI not as a job replacement, but as a tool to automate HR workflows, freeing up teams for more strategic work, and hire talent curious about AI.
- 5Be deliberate in designing flexible work infrastructures with clear guardrails, recognizing that top talent will increasingly seek out adaptable work environments.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Successfully pushed back against senior leaders on a disciplinary outcome, advocating for a stricter penalty despite being new in her role and risking credibility, demonstrating conviction over convenience.
- •Challenged the common fear of AI replacing jobs by stating, 'AI is not going to take your job, but people who understand AI will,' shifting the focus to skill adaptation rather than job loss.
In Barbara's words
“I really deliberately and intentionally chose to use my voice. I disagreed with the penalty that was being imposed after the outcome of an investigation. I actually thought it was way too light for what had actually happened.”
This quote highlights the courage required to uphold ethical standards and advocate for the right outcome, even when it means disagreeing with senior leadership.
“Poor managers are the biggest problem across any company.”
A bold statement emphasizing the profound negative impact of ineffective management on employee experience and overall business success.
“I encompass or package all that into building a culture of no surprises.”
This phrase encapsulates her core philosophy for fostering transparent communication and consistent expectation-setting within an organization.
“AI is not going to take your job, but people who understand AI will.”
This quote offers a crucial forward-looking perspective on the necessary skills and mindset for the future of work in an AI-driven landscape.
“you know more than you think you know, and you were hired for a reason. So, even now, I still get imposter syndrome when I'm in rooms.”
This offers relatable, personal advice on self-belief and overcoming imposter syndrome, a common challenge for professionals at all career stages.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Poor managers lead to employee disengagement, lack of clarity, and unexpected performance issues, negatively impacting retention.
- •Disconnects between employee self-assessments and manager evaluations indicate a systemic problem with clarity and consistent performance expectations.
- •Inefficient manual HR workflows consume valuable time, preventing HR teams from engaging in more strategic work (opportunity for automation).
- •Traditional 5-day in-office models risk losing top talent who now expect and will 'vote with their feet' for flexible work options.
- •HR leaders and employees grappling with imposter syndrome, hindering proactive career growth and contribution.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Barbara Anderson started her career at Google over 2 decades ago
How to start your career on a positive note
Dave: Tell us about a moment in your career where everything was on line
A Moment When Everything Was on the Line
What can really affect someone, an employee and therefore the business is a poor manager
What is the most meaningful change that you've made in a company
Barbara, what's a leadership move or HR initiative that you've repeated
Barbara, What's a leadership move or HR initiative that you
Barbara, what is the single biggest shift HR leaders need to prepare for
What is the Biggest Shift in HR in the Next 5 Years
If you could leave one piece of advice for our community, what would it be
Barbara On The Built by People Podcast
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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