Kate Souza Manahan
Chief People Officer
BusPatrol
Episode 183
Stop Blaming HR: Your Culture is Built by Every Employee, Every Day.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMay 19, 2025 · 12:10
Thesis
“A thriving organizational culture and strong talent are a collective responsibility, not just HR's, and are built through consistent, intentional daily actions by every individual.”
Show notes
Kate Souza Manahan started her career not in HR but at Bridgewater Associates — one of the most demanding organizational cultures on earth. She came away with a phrase that has shaped her leadership ever since: radical transparency. Not the diluted version that shows up in mission statements, but the actual practice of real-time behavioral feedback, systematic accountability, and the uncomfortable conversations that most companies design out of the experience.
Now Chief People Officer at BusPatrol, Kate describes herself as "a people person raised in the business" — and that framing matters. Her approach to leadership behavior definition isn't a typical HR values exercise. She built it in partnership with the executive team, grounding each behavior in what the business actually needed, then carefully calibrated the list to be both aspirational and performance-driving — not so lofty that they're decorative, not so operational that they don't stretch anyone. The harder work was what came next: embedding those behaviors into daily "ways of working." Not through posters and launch events, but through structured meeting formats, leadership development programs, and regular discussion that makes the behaviors visible and consequential in real time.
Her view on the people function's role in high-stakes decisions — acquisitions, major restructures, executive transitions — is direct: without a seat at the table before those decisions are made, HR is left implementing someone else's choices. And the most important cultural insight in this conversation may be her parting point: culture isn't an HR responsibility. Every person, every day, through their individual choices and behaviors, is either building or degrading it.
- What Bridgewater's radical transparency actually looks like — the DOTS feedback system and how systematic candor accelerates behavioral development
- Building leadership behaviors with the exec team — how to make the list both aspirational and performance-driving, not just aspirational
- Embedding behaviors into "ways of working" — structured meetings, leadership programs, and regular discussion as the delivery vehicle for culture
- HR's seat at the table for high-stakes decisions — why being in the room before acquisitions and restructures changes what's possible during implementation
- Culture as collective responsibility — moving beyond the idea that HR owns culture and into a model where every daily action counts
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What you'll take away
- 1Embrace radical transparency and continuous feedback (like Bridgewater's 'DOTS' system) to accelerate professional development and ensure rapid behavioral adjustment.
- 2Codify core leadership behaviors in partnership with the executive team and senior leaders, ensuring they align with business needs and are balanced between aspirational and performance-driving.
- 3Embed leadership behaviors into daily 'ways of working' through initiatives like structured meetings, leadership development programs, and regular discussions to make them stick.
- 4Ensure the People function has a strategic 'seat at the table' during high-stakes executive decisions, such as acquisitions or major organizational restructures, to influence outcomes and partner in implementation.
- 5Foster a mindset that 'having great talent and a vibrant culture is everyone's responsibility,' as every daily action by every individual contributes to or detracts from the organizational culture.
What most organizations get wrong
In Kate's words
“I self-describe sometimes as a people person that was raised in the business. Because I actually didn't get into HR and people until about 2016. Before that, I was kind of on the program management and finance side of things.”
Highlights her unique career path into HR from a business and finance background.
“If you know anything about Bridgewater's culture, you know that it's focused on this notion of radical candor and radical transparency.”
Introduces the foundational cultural influence that shaped her approach to feedback and leadership.
“And so a lot of the focus has been on how do we incorporate them into this phrase that I use, our ways of working.”
This phrase encapsulates her practical strategy for embedding leadership behaviors into daily operations.
“First, the first thing you need to have is a seat at the table in order to influence and do that.”
Emphasizes the critical importance of HR's strategic presence in executive decision-making.
“I always say head of people and culture is a funny title because no one person is responsible for people and culture at an organization. And I think the biggest thing that you can do, whether you're an HR leader or not... is help foster this mindset that having great talent and a vibrant culture is everyone's responsibility.”
This quote perfectly summarizes her core thesis about collective responsibility for culture.
The problems this episode addresses
- •The challenge of effectively embedding codified leadership behaviors into daily operations and making them 'stick' across the company.
- •Ensuring the People function has a strategic 'seat at the table' during high-stakes executive decisions like acquisitions or major organizational restructures.
- •The difficulty in fostering a collective mindset where *everyone* in the organization feels responsible for talent and culture, rather than solely HR.
- •Navigating the complexities of organizational design during restructures to optimize for output and function, while thoughtfully managing talent.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Bus Patrol is the company that helps drive change in people and culture
How Chief People Officer Went From Tech to Bus Patrol
Kate says her experience at Bridgewater has shaped how she approaches leadership
In the Elevator With Ray Bridgewater
Bus Patrol developed 5 core leadership behaviors to embed across the company
The 5 Core Leadership Behavior at Bus Patrol
People function plays a key role in high-stakes executive decisions
The People Function's Role in High-Stakes Executive Decisions
Kate, what parting advice would you like to provide to our community
A message from the Head of People and Culture
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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