How Individual Contributors Experience a Company’s Culture with Kati Moore of Google Cloud

Adrian McIntyre: 00:00

From avad3 Event Production, this is Culture Amplified. Google. It’s a noun. It’s a verb. And it’s arguably one of the most influential companies in the history of humankind. Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful, and Google Cloud is the infrastructure that powers a whole lot of innovation.

In this episode ... How do individual contributors experience a company’s culture in their everyday work? How does culture shape their interactions with customers and clients, at the intersection of technological innovation and human connection? Why is it necessary for personal values and corporate values to be aligned? And how can “uncomfortable conversations” contribute to a workplace that ensures inclusivity, appreciation, and mutual respect? All this and more, coming up.

Adrian McIntyre: 01:01

Welcome to the Culture Amplified podcast. I’m Adrian McIntyre. I’m joined for this episode by Kimber Reeves, Account Manager at avad3. Hi, Kimber.

Kimber Reaves: 01:09

Hello.

Adrian McIntyre: 01:10

And Kati Moore, Client Relationship Manager with Google Cloud. Welcome, Kati.

Kati Moore: 01:15

Hi, thanks for having me.

Adrian McIntyre: 01:16

I am so excited for this episode because in the series, we’re looking at a lot of different perspectives on culture. And Kati, I know with your role, you’re going to have a different take on this than some of the senior leadership that we’ve heard talk about it from the C-suite point of view. So tell me, in the context of a technology company, and you’ve worked for several, what does culture mean in your experience of your work?

Kati Moore: 01:41

Yes, yes. Culture, to me, is the environment that’s created with the company that allows you to exist and to be and to grow and to collaborate. And there have been times when the culture has been defined as a negative one, which makes your work very hard to do. And on the other side, a positive one, which is a lot easier to embrace as an individual contributor.

Adrian McIntyre: 02:08

One of the things that’s unique to both of your roles is that you interface with clients and their cultures. So Kimber, you have a culture at Avad3 that you participate in, but you’re also working with clients and their cultures to execute their events and fulfill their vision. What does culture mean to you in that context?

Kimber Reaves: 02:31

So for me, it’s how I respond. Like my culture that I have at work and the culture that I have personally is how I interact as well with my clients and how I interact with my peers. And so if the culture that you have at work is one that is a positive one, you’re going to interact in a different way than if your culture at your work is tight and just negative. So your interactions with the people around you are going to be different. So for me, culture is a lot of who I am, but also how I’m perceived by my clients because of my interactions with them.

Adrian McIntyre: 03:05

How much of that would you say is personal? It’s your own self-expression. It’s your own kind of personal values and commitment. And how much of that is shaped by the environment that you’re in? Kati, do you feel that you’re. Representing a different culture at Google Cloud than you have with previous clients? And what’s different? What’s the same? Kind of help us understand that.

Kati Moore: 03:25

Oh, for sure. Google Cloud is really adamant about our mission. And we always say, respect the user, respect the opportunity. And so my job as a relationship account manager is to understand what the client actually wants and delivering that in a way that represents Google and its mission. And one thing that is interesting is I do have a local client, one that is headquartered where I am raising my family. And my values in caring about that customer comes through from my support as maybe someone that wasn’t local and didn’t have ties to the company. Maybe the values wouldn’t be as strong and the culture is strong and invested. And so definitely there’s a bit of a difference from like a corporate culture and a personal culture. But if it’s similar, I think that’s a good blend.

Adrian McIntyre: 04:20

One of the things I think is really interesting, I’d love to hear you both speak about is that both your companies, while very different in their size and scale and reach, are primarily technical in what it is they’re delivering, what it is they’re making possible. Right. Obviously cloud infrastructure that powers the world, but also the technical aspects of event production, the sound, the lighting, the video, all the things that make the biggest day of the year for a client a real success. And so we’re talking about something that is an interface between a very technical execution, And this human dimension. How do you think about that, Kati, when you’re navigating these relationships, the human and the tech?

Kati Moore: 05:07

Right. I mean, business is business. There’s people, process, product across industries. But understanding what someone cares about is where the service piece of our job comes through. And I’m sure you feel this too, Kimber. But, you know, there’s there is an inherent need at each company, whether who you’re supporting, you know, and understanding what that need is and then delivering it back in a way that, you know, is going to be successful for them and for you. I don’t know if you feel similar.

Kimber Reaves: 05:39

Absolutely. Spot on. I think also just the I’m kind of go back just a second when you’re talking about the company’s culture versus your personal culture. I think whenever the company’s culture and your personal culture align, it makes it a big like one of the ones that stick out to me for avad3 is, “professionalism builds trust.” Trust is a big deal for most people. And so when you can come to your job or come to your product or have her with your client and that professionalism is built, the trust just naturally comes along with it. So to me, like to be trusted is a big impact. And that’s been personally for me, too. I want to be trusted. And so to be professional, you’re trusted within your work. Also, that’s a cult… that’s a big vehicle for your business.

Kati Moore: 06:31

Yeah, I agree with that, too. When the corporate culture and the personal culture aligns, then you get to be authentic. You know, there’s the imposter syndrome is a thing in the working world, in the not working world.

Kimber Reaves: 06:43

Struggle with it all the time.

Kati Moore: 06:44

Right. But if your cultures are similar and you’re exemplifying values, both professionally and personally, you just get to be yourself and you get to be your best self. And I think that’s what’s really important.

Adrian McIntyre: 06:57

It occurs to me that you each in your own way have something of a culture ambassador role that is a dimension of your work, because on the one hand, you are representing your companies and you’re interacting with your clients’ companies. And it’s in that bridge, which sometimes can be diplomatic and sometimes you need to, shall we say, lead or direct.

Kimber Reaves: 07:20

Yes.

Adrian McIntyre: 07:22

How does that play out? What are some of the interesting dimensions there, Kati?

Kati Moore: 07:25

Yes. And sales, we always say, you know, your Google hat or your client hat, like which one are you wearing given a certain problem? I think the balance is super important. I never want to just be supporting Google or only caring about Google success. success, I want to also be getting a win for my client. And so knowing what you have to be wearing at certain times is super important. And you learn that through experience and the relationship building with your client.

Kimber Reaves: 07:55

Absolutely. And I actually say the same thing. But the way I say it is I’m the voice of avad3 to my client, but I’m also my client’s voice to avad3. So when I feel in a certain situation that maybe that isn’t the way that the client would want it, but it’s the way that avad3 suggests that we do it. I’m like, hey, actually, guys, let’s take a moment here and let’s look at it through a different lens. So you’re looking at the, you know, like the hat thing. I’m thinking of the glasses. Like my lens is a little different depending on the situation. So sometimes that can get a little rocky, you know, sometimes. Right. That can cause a little friction, but when you have it in your mind that your job is to be the voice for both, you’re able to discern a little more and then keep the culture of the professionals and keep the culture of the trust and also keep that in the forefront. So it’s interesting.

Kati Moore: 08:50

Yeah. Agreed.

Adrian McIntyre: 08:52

One of the things that you may have something to share about is the way in which the culture you are a part of now is unique or different. It occurs to me that if we were to just ask people to define culture in general, they would come up with a pretty similar set of words to describe it. But you know that in this role, there’s a different feeling. There’s a different personality of the company. The environment itself is different. So how would you describe the culture that you’re in now? How is it different? And why is it different? What specific practices make that difference? Yes.

Kati Moore: 09:35

I mean, the last few decades has been extremely transformative in the workplace. I mean, there’s huge events that have taken place, the Me Too movement being one of them. Inclusivity, just from a political standpoint, there’s so much change. And then technology. I mean, the way that we are completely reachable by our companies, you know, 24 hours a day.

Adrian McIntyre: 10:02

Yeah, those cloud products do make us all always on.

Kati Moore: 10:04

Yes, yes. They know where we are. You know, the last 30 years in particular just have been extremely transformative. And understanding the inclusivity that our company, Google Cloud, mandates. And when I think about culture and I think about the way that Google Cloud has created a culture of, everyone exists for a reason and everyone needs to be respected, it’s great. But it kind of bums me out that that’s the gold standard and it’s not the norm. Because every company should care as passionately about their people like Google does and ensuring inclusivity. And especially when I think about a corporate event, when you’re able to, you know, when you think of an event, you think of like food, music, all the things down to the bathroom. Like there are different cultures that need to be recognized and supported throughout an event. And when I see an event that is, you know, in tune with the different dietary restrictions in the world or the different cultural preferences, that feels like a successful event. Because if I am there and I am able to be supported by the event staff with all my needs or wants, then I’m able to lean into the event and focus and collaborate. And that’s got to be a good feeling. That’s got to be what the whole point of the event is, right?

Kimber Reaves: 11:31

No, absolutely. I think I love to say this. You don’t know what you don’t know. And so... For me, I had to experience a place that didn’t have the best culture to then come across and go, oh, this is what it’s supposed to look like. Same thing like what you’re saying, Kati, like to be respected, like it should be a norm. But unfortunately, it’s not in some aspects. And so when you get to be a part of a company, for me, avad3, being a part of this company, it’s like I know what it feels like to be a part of a culture that is about growth. It is a growth, not just in the technical realm, but also learning about the different cultures and how we can take that into our events, knowing that, you know, same thing like lunchtimes for some cultures are different for others in the respect in some versus what would be disrespectful and others like learning that and being able to take the vision of your company. Company and what avad3 represents, each company that we partner with for an event that we can say, hey, let us take that and let us take your vision and turn that into reality using, you know, our production that we have. So I think events are a big tool that is underutilized in a lot of companies.

Adrian McIntyre: 12:51

Kati, when you were talking about inclusivity and I also wanted to, my brain was going in the direction of accessibility. There’s so many ways in which the world has a level of diversity in it as a reality, which has not been reflected in corporate structures as well as it could have. And here we’re trying to grow up and do better. Right. But the forms of diversity, the forms of practice, the forms of movement, the forms of seeing and hearing, like all of these things touch on ways in which people need to be empowered. Barriers need to be removed. And they’re going to be different barriers for different folks. So when I go to an event, for example, or even an airport, and I see nursing pods for moms and prayer rooms for a variety of different faiths. And, you know, of course, the physical accessibility that has been around for a while, thanks to the ADA. But now we’re also seeing things that touch on neurodiversity and cognitive diversity and just different ways that we all think and act and trying to remove barriers to participation for folks. Folks, it strikes me that technology is so far ahead of humanity in the sense of we haven’t worked out the APIs for humans to connect in all these different ways. So many of us are still locked in our “on-prem” way of thinking.

Kati Moore: 14:24

Right.

Adrian McIntyre: 14:25

We’ve got this internal operating system and it doesn’t connect to the rest of the world. And we see things the way we see things, but the world itself is full of so much and so many opportunities. So how are you navigating? I guess I’m circling back to this question of the human and the tech. How are you finding ways to bridge those gaps and include some of the different topics here that we were talking about?

Kati Moore: 14:47

Yeah, definitely. I want to start by saying I am by no means an expert in this conversation of culture, but I want to continue learning. And I think that’s obviously why we’re here today, Kimber. You and I see the need. And you mentioned, you know, you worked at a company that you didn’t realize it could be this good. And now that you’re at one, it’s taken on a whole new meaning. On the same token, I don’t think you and I would go back working for companies that didn’t have this gold standard of inclusivity and culture that we appreciate.

Kimber Reaves: 15:15

100%. It’s now our standard.

Kati Moore: 15:19

It’s our standard. Exactly. Exactly. And to your point, Adrian, the world of technology does seem a bit more inclusive. The corporate culture there seems a little bit more modern, if you will, than maybe other industries. But I think that’s technology is to blame. We know so much more about each other as humans because of technology. We are now connected. We get to see things that we wouldn’t have normally seen. Um we’re exposed to so much more and so I think being a technology company and being in the forefront of that is why we have been able to shape so much and ensure that um people are welcome they’re celebrated uh there is no such thing as like this is this is the way things are this is the reason we run things we are always we’re ever changing and perspectives are able to change our and everyone’s included, and that’s important.

Adrian McIntyre: 16:11

And it’s not a perfect cure-all solution. I mean, in many ways, as the technology advances, it exposes what is, areas still need to be addressed. I’m thinking, for example, of the biases that show up in large language models where we now are like, well, yes, it’s amazing, but now we also realize it’s reflecting back to us some of the biases in our own ways of thinking and speaking, and it’s producing, unequal and disempowering effects in certain ways for certain folks. But being on the forefront of that thinking, recognizing there’s no one way to do this.

Kati Moore: 16:26

Right.

Adrian McIntyre: 16:26

How does this relate to the events world, Kimber? If you’re thinking about the ways in which different folks show up with different needs, different expectations, different opportunities, and you’re partnering with clients to fulfill on their vision for the event, do you find yourself sometimes needing to lead or direct the conversation to help them realize there’s ways they could do events differently to help their culture goals?

Kimber Reaves: 17:13

Absolutely. Well, and to kind of go back to “you don’t know what you don’t know.” And being event experts, that’s where we come into play. So you want to have this event? Great. What’s your audience? What’s your goal? What’s the message that you want to get across? Those are the first questions that we ask, because then we’re able to take that and drive and say, oh, what are your audience? Who will be in attendance? Are you wanting to stream this? Do you need translation? Translation. Do you need so seeing like different things? There’s an event that we did last year that we needed, I think, three different translations and knowing who to call and then how to set that up, how to set a schedule up to be able to. The times that, you know, that’s the certain group needed to be on because it’s different than where we were having the event, right? Like having that schedule speak to that, having the translation speak to that. I think it’s, I’m seeing more and more of it and it makes me excited that more people are able to attend an event now than they ever have been before because of technology. Before it’s like you had to travel, you had to get there. Now it’s like, Like, oh, wait, I can have this grand event and people who are 15 hours away or more can still be a part of it because we streamed it or we recorded it. So there’s so many different things now that we are able to offer that we have not been able to offer before.

Adrian McIntyre: 18:40

One of the things that is interesting on this topic of culture and people and the connections between us is there’s often a difference between what we say we do and what we actually do. There’s often a difference between what we think we’re doing and what we’re actually doing. And as some of this, uh, evolves and changes, we realize that, oh, we need to have difficult conversations. We need to lean in to coin a phrase to some of the more difficult areas of our human experience. It’s not all rosy. Let’s talk a little bit about conflict, about those moments when we’re challenged or pressed. Can you think of some examples from your experience—without names or any of the sort of things that are incriminating for anybody—where you had to navigate a difficult situation, a cultural situation? Situation less, obviously there’s personality driven ones as well, but I’m thinking here of where there wasn’t a fit. And when you had to find a way to bridge that gap in some way, does anything come to mind that you could share with us?

Kati Moore: 19:48

I mean, the overall theme of unconscious bias is what comes to mind, because that is something that I am constantly working at. It’s so wild being a woman in the working field and how I still inherently find myself thinking, not necessarily sexist thoughts, but like gender dominant. Like, you know, I’m assuming someone is in a role that they’re not based on a gender. And here I am. I’ve worked my whole life and it still affects me. And I don’t know where that stems from. You know, you’re obviously not born with it. So it’s got to be something that as a child or something early learning, we kind of learned a misconception of gender roles. And so unconscious bias is one that I constantly think of because I never want to insult someone by assuming wrong.

And I’ll never forget, I have always been in sales and I’ve always been linked to an engineer. And when we would walk into clients’ offices and pass roles, they would always assume I was the sales rep. And the gentleman that I worked with was the engineer. And that was the case. But one time we walked into a big meeting and the guy introduced himself and he said, you must be the engineer to me. And I just was like, wow, it’s kind of fun to be, you know, to play that role for a split second before I corrected him. And it made me think how often we all in our minds assume people’s roles based on appearance, which is so wild. So back to your question, unconscious bias is one that I’m constantly working on. And I’m trying to just, you know, learn. That’s probably going to be the theme of today. We’re just trying to learn.

Adrian McIntyre: 21:34

Yeah. I mean, that’s the theme in many ways of the whole series. Nobody’s got this all figured out. We’re all trying to do better. Most of us are. And, you know, talking it through out loud is one of the ways to get there. Kimber, you got anything to share about that idea of there’s a conflict or a challenge or a culture mismatch and you have to somehow find a way through it?

Kimber Reaves: 21:55

Mine’s more of like being proud of now seeing um more women on stage um and you know these big events like having you know um, It’s just it feels good in the power that comes along with that. Like there’s a woman that’s in a C-suite position, executive position, and they’re on stage and they’re it’s before, you know, kind of the same thing, Kati, with thinking that the male dominated fields that are in tech, you know, now seeing women come up and take that take that charge. That’s been inspiring to me for sure, especially because this is a tech, I mean, a men-dominated field, tech is. I mean, but …

Kati Moore: 22:38

It is. The statistics are there. From leadership down to first-line managers, the women just aren’t carrying the fair share. And there’s a whole host of reasons why.

Adrian McIntyre: 22:48

Or aren’t given the same opportunities to develop the capabilities to deliver at that level.

Kati Moore: 22:54

Exactly. There’s just a large delta when we look at the statistics.

Kimber Reaves: 22:56

It’s just nice to see it. It’s so nice to see the women, especially even the technical aspect of your technicians. We have a few on staff here, and I love that coming in and you see a woman like, I’m going to take that A1 position. I love it. And it makes me excited to see the future of this industry shifting and the culture changing.

Kati Moore: 23:20

And that goes back to avad3 creating a culture where women feel like they can apply for roles or they can become into leadership. And so it all goes back to if someone is supported and feels like they’re in a safe place, they’re going to thrive.

Kimber Reaves: 23:34

Absolutely. And you’re going to want to continue that culture. So you’re going to be the vehicle that carries the culture on to the people that are your peers, but also people that don’t work here. There’s been times with avad3 before I even came here that I worked with avad3, hired avad3 for events that I was leading. And I would look even on site. Wow, their culture is awesome. Everyone’s upbeat. Of course, there’s going to be hard things that happen in the event world and the tech world. That’s just the way it is. But how you deal with it and how you manage that on site, it was palpable. And so I was like, one day, I think I might be interested in working there.

Kati Moore: 24:15

That’s amazing, that you could feel that from the client side.

Kimber Reaves: 24:16

And end up coming and working here. Yes. From the client side. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Adrian McIntyre: 24:20

You know, it strikes me that not only are we not born with those exclusive prejudices, they’re all learned and they’re learned in the fabric of our lives. Very few people, although there are some, very few people are explicitly taught to be racist or sexist. In the sense of there’s no curriculum for hatred and exclusion. But most of the time we learn this by observing the way things are, and the way things are is an inherited set of circumstances and power relations and economic conditions that comes from a previously existing time. So one of the things we also have to learn is how to change the world and our companies. And we need models and we need mentors in order to do that. What’s been your experience? How have you developed some of the cultural competence, some of the leadership skills? Sometimes it’s in the negative by seeing things you don’t want to emulate, but sometimes it’s in the positive. What sorts of mentoring, what sorts of guidance has helped you get to where you are now?

Kati Moore: 25:31

Yeah, I love what you said, because you’re right. Like, we believe what we see. And if we see women leaders or leaders of different race, then we believe that to be the norm and possible. And that’s what’s exciting for us and really exciting for the generations to come.

Kimber Reaves: 25:50

Absolutely, I was just about to say …

Kati Moore: 25:52

I hope it is something that of a history lesson when my daughter is in the corporate world. And, you know, not that I want it to be easy for her, but I definitely don’t want the same challenges that I’ve had to keep being repeated. And I think we’re changing that. I do. do. Mentors are so crucial because experience is something that you don’t just get to graduate from college and now you know it all. You have to go through the different types of challenges and scenarios. And having a mentor that has your best, I don’t know, your heart and mind, your career in mind, your aspirations in mind, and can help lead you is huge. And beyond that, having a manager similar, you know, that really looks out for you is super important to me as an individual contributor.

Kimber Reaves: 26:46

Oh, I could not agree more. Especially, you know, also for my son to see. I want my son to see, I have a daughter and a son. I want my son to see, wow, my mom worked really hard and ... in a tech, you know, a tech industry, which he’s all about technology. But for him, naturally, he was like, Mom, what is what is it that you do? Like, I don’t understand. Like, do you? I’m like, yeah, I do that. I do what you think that I don’t do. I actually do that. So I want my daughter to see it. But most importantly, I also want my son to see that. Let’s break those barriers that you are used to hearing that have just been kind of like you said, just we don’t know how they’re understanding it, but it somehow it seeps in in different ways. And so as much as we can show it, live it, and then also teach it along the way, that’s how we can adjust the change, in my opinion.

Kati Moore: 27:41

Yeah. Agreed.

Adrian McIntyre: 28:38

One of the conversations that we are all familiar with is around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Of course, the world itself is inherently diverse, But it is not equitable or equal. And it is not inclusive. And even speaking as a cultural anthropologist who’s lived and worked all over the world, cultures, as we used to use the term to refer to groups of people who are different than us, are also not inclusive. They do what they do as opposed to what the other folks do. In fact, a lot of times we have defined ourselves in our human groups by us versus them ideas. So as we explore this, I think it is truly interesting that inclusivity or now some folks are even leaning into the notion of belonging as a way to talk about the fact that you can be however you are and still fit in here. We’re creating a culture of cultures in a way. How has this shown up in your experience?

Kati Moore: 29:38

A lot of training. DEI is, we have large teams dedicated to DEI within Google Cloud because it is something that we need to constantly be learning and talking about. And it’s something that I’m not an expert on, like I said. And so learning from others and their experiences will help me do better and help me to be more inclusive. But it’s something that is extremely important to be able to walk into an office and know that no matter what you look like or what you believe, you are able to do your job and do it supported. And so that’s why it’s just it’s got to be the norm.

Kimber Reaves: 30:31

Absolutely. Well, I can actually give an example, personally, that I found myself not really understanding. Another one of those, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” We would do this thing here when we would onboard somebody, and we would say, “what is your spirit animal?” And not understanding that we had someone with a Native American background. They’re like, “actually, that’s very sacred to my culture.” And the fact that we’re saying this is my spirit animal was we weren’t respecting that culture. So that was on, that was on me. Like, “wow, I’m so sorry that I didn’t even think in that realm.” And I had to have someone bring that to my attention. It’s hard, it’s kind of a hard pill to swallow. You think, “I’m not doing that, like, there’s other people who are doing that.” But it’s the little things too that you have to be socially aware of to know that this is offensive to that culture. And so that was a big thing for me. And I know it’s still hard for me to say, but it’s real. And so if I can say that to help somebody else along their culture journey within the workplace, I think it’s ... and then the person who was offended to come and say, you know what? Thank you for onboarding me. But actually, this is not OK in my culture. And you’re like, I’m so sorry. We came on the even ground. You know, it was it was not hostility. It was not let’s be angry and lash out. It was like, hey, I just want to let you know this is this is not OK for me.

Kati Moore: 32:08

Which means they felt comfortable and in a safe place to say that.

Kimber Reaves: 32:11

Exactly. And you’re like, thank you so much for telling me because I didn’t understand. And then from that moment on, it was like we both felt respected because we’re on the same ground and we both felt that we can keep moving and there’s going to be change there. So I think those little things like that are very important.

Adrian McIntyre: 32:29

You know, it points to the larger issue, which I think we as humans just generally are not very good about receiving feedback. Right. And it has been pointed out by many folks working on DE&I and many other dimensions. I mean, honestly, this could be in a book on, you know, personal relationships. Marriage or, you know, life partnerships of some kind. How to give and receive feedback gracefully is something that we all are trying to do better. It’s not easy to be told that you made a mistake, that you said something offensive. It’s important to be able to hear it. And it’s hard to hear because, of course, we don’t want to think of ourselves as the kind of person who would make even an off-color joke or whatever. Like we just don’t think of ourselves that way. And so as we interact with others and learn together, the giving and receiving of feedback is so important. Is this something that has shown up in practice?

Kati Moore: 33:32

Oh, absolutely. Both internally at Google and with our clients, we always start out by saying feedback is a gift and we want to hear what we’re doing well, well, what we’re doing wrong. And internally at Google, we do a rating system. And instead of it just coming from a frontline manager, we also have the opportunity to give feedback on each other’s. And you can even choose the people that you want to give feedback on you, which I think is always fun. You get a little notification and you’re like, oh, yes, I really enjoy working with this person. But it’s not all rainbows and butterflies, right? In order for us to grow, we do need to hear kind of the hard stuff. And I try and consider that too, because I inherently am a positive, I call myself a hype girl. Like I want to make you feel good and I want us all to have fun. But at the end of the day, like you got to give that constructive criticism if someone genuinely wants it. You know, I want to be able to deliver that for them and vice versa. I want people to help me because like I said, we’re all growing. We’re all learning constantly.

Kimber Reaves: 34:37

Growth is the goal. That’s one of our missions here is growth is a goal. And sometimes growth is not easy. That’s why they call them growing pains. It’s not easy, but you have to be aware. The first step to growing is knowing. You have to know where you’re going and know how to head that way.

Adrian McIntyre: 34:53

A lot of companies pride themselves on being a listening organization. A lot of executives, a lot of senior leaders, do embrace the idea of listening. And many of them are very good at it. But listening is also one of those things that’s not often taught, but it can be learned and it can certainly be modeled when you’ve experienced it. For sure. It strikes me that we are asking so much of people, right? At some level, you know, it’s like be technically competent, be professional.

Kimber Reaves: 35:27

It’s exhausting sometimes.

Adrian McIntyre: 35:38

Yes, that’s kind of where I’m going with this. There’s a reason I don’t work for big companies. I don’t think I have the stamina for it. But at some level, what we’re asking people to do is be available for all of those growth opportunities all of the time. But as you say, that in and of itself can be exhausting. Well-being is a big conversation now. Taking time to be unplugged or disconnected in whatever way is empowering to you. What’s the state of the conversation around well-being, around mental health, around other forms of rejuvenation? Right.

Kati Moore: 36:01

Oh, it’s so important. Self-advocacy is so important. Knowing when you need a break, all of that. And it’s kind of on you to manage. I wanted to go back to what you said, though, about leaders and listening. I read a quote one time that said, if a leader is... Consistently not listening the organization will go quiet because that’s good you know when you are asking for feedback if your strategy is never changing based on that feedback that you are given then people are going to stop no one wants to go unheard and so one of the main things I do as a client relationship manager is if my client tells me about a need they have or help that’s needed listening to that and following through with that because then they’ll stop telling me too, if I’m never helping to change and never helping to solve. And so to your point, a leader that listens is huge and probably underrated, honestly.

Kimber Reaves: 37:01

And also knowing that leadership does not mean a title. Like leadership can come in many different forms in many different ways. And taking that initiative is a leadership, like a big leadership move of, you know, it doesn’t matter what title I hold, but everyone needs someone to listen to. Everyone needs someone to hear them, but also to be heard. So having that and knowing when to listen and knowing when to speak, I think is really important in the journey that you take personally and professionally that will get you, you know, get you further than what you were before.

Kati Moore: 37:38

Right.

Adrian McIntyre: 37:40

One of the big conversations is, and maybe there will be a day when we don’t need to have it, when we no longer need to talk about women in technology, as if that’s somehow a thing. There are people and a variety of different roles. Is participation on boards, and I know this is something that’s important to you. You serve on a number of boards. How do you view that, role or those roles, because it may be different. What’s prepared you for that? What do other folks need to understand and potentially embrace about the future of that? Talk to me a little bit about the board dimension of leadership.

Kati Moore: 38:15

Yes. When I think about what I care about and what’s important to me, finding groups that also care about similar things. So I’m very plugged into Women in Technology in Northwest Arkansas, and knowing that not every woman or man are given the same opportunities that I’ve been given in the past, whether that be college or entry-level positions or promotions, and finding a way to help them. So I found a group that had similar beliefs as me, and then I really rely on the resources that I’m given within my corporation. And so at Google Cloud, we offer certifications for free to organizations that are looking to help in the STEM world, especially in the minority sense of women. And we offer certifications to women in Northwest Arkansas through a program that gets them trained on different areas that they’re interested in. And it’s incredible because it’s kind of a first step. If you’re interested in project management, come take this course, get certified, add that to your resume. And then also guiding them and teach them the world of LinkedIn and self-promotion and self-branding. And so being on the board for that organization specifically is just extremely aligned with what my personal and professional culture is.

Adrian McIntyre: 39:34

As we begin to wrap up this conversation, I’m curious to know your thoughts about the future. What’s coming at us that maybe we haven’t figured out yet, but we need to be thinking about? Obviously, AI in the tech world has changed the conversation across the board for everybody in every role. So taking that as a sort of obvious one, what’s the less obvious or more nuanced take on what’s coming at us, both generally as a human species, but specifically in your world of event production, your world of cloud computing and all of the architecture that makes life work. What do we need to be thinking about that we haven’t quite figured out yet?

Kimber Reaves: 40:18

I’ve got a good one on this one. Sustainability. Sustainability is so important, but it hasn’t been practiced as much as I’m seeing that it’s headed. Um, sustainability can look like many different, different things, but events, especially as a sustainability of looking at your emissions, like what you’re trucking in, looking at, um, the impact on the environment, the waste that comes along with that, like food choices and, and different things, um, of those of that caliber looking in the event industry is to me is sustainability is something that is making a, um, making an impact. But it’s climbing and we’re going to see it. We’re going to see more of it.

Kati Moore: 41:05

Yeah, I love that. That’s really good. I think for me, it would be kind of the tale of work like you don’t have a family and devote to your family like you don’t have a job. Like that’s such an old way of thinking. And I, I love now like work life balance in the way that my company promotes it and respects it. And there is no meeting happening for me before 9 a.m. because it is chaos at my house trying to get little ones out the door and make sure that they start off on the right foot. And the fact that I work for a company that respects that is huge. And it makes it to where I do feel like I can have it all. I can have a career and I can have a family and both can be functioning in a positive way because I am supported in both, both at home and at work. And I think we’re seeing more of that. We’re seeing the work-life balance We’re seeing companies promote what’s going on in the home, especially with women. Biologically, we need that support in order to grow a family. So I’m really excited about that change.

Kimber Reaves: 42:07

I love that you said that because for me, it’s not that my company doesn’t promote it. It’s because I don’t give myself permission to take it, because I am like I gotta work harder I gotta do you know and really I need to remember that it’s not it’s promoted like take it We want you to have a work-life balance, right? But it’s me personally sometimes I have to hear a, give myself the permission to take it. So I think that’s something I practice. Like I’m going to be intentional. Yes, I have got to be more intentional on that. But for also it also that kind of plays into the culture aspect of it, too, is because you’re that’s your personal culture that, you know, you still need to work on.

Adrian McIntyre: 42:50

Let’s fast forward 100 years in the future. We’re at the tail end of our career because, you know, health and biotech has helped us.

Kati Moore: 42:57

I need to start eating healthier.

Kimber Reaves: 43:00

So our lunch plans are going to get canceled. We’re going to change that somewhere else.

Adrian McIntyre: 43:04

We’ve reconnected and we’re sitting around at whatever version of a podcast studio is happening in 21 24. Looking back, what’s a difference you will be proud to have made in your workplace, in the world around you? What’s something that you personally will feel is a difference worth making?

Kati Moore: 43:28

I think I’m going to steal Kimber’s because I, again, inherently mentioned my daughter, but I have a son too. And I want him to see that not only did my mom work hard, but that makes me want to promote women and support women. And so it’s so beyond my daughter knowing that she can. And it also comes down to my son understanding that women in the workplace, again, it’s the gold standard.

Kimber Reaves: 43:55

Absolutely. So sitting here because my kids have taken the good advice that I’ve given them and they have provided a great life for me. That’s what I want to see. I think, Kati, I’m right there with you. I want to be able to show in that it’s palpable on me, the kindness and the way that you respect one of one another in your workplace, that it is now I’m going all the way full circle here. It’s now the norm that now we’re talking, we’re talking about something completely different because now it’s the norm that in the workplace, respect is top of mind, no matter your, no matter who you are and where you come from and what you do, you are respected.

Kati Moore: 44:38

It really always does go back to like, it’s cool to be kind. And it’s so simple, but it’s often not thought of in the workplace because like the hustle and the power and all of that kind of trumples it. But at the end of the day, like being kind, that’s success for me. If I can make people feel welcome and comfortable, then I’ve done a decent job.

Kimber Reaves: 45:01

Up that one bit of kindness that you can give somebody that that brief moment that you maybe met them for the first time or it’s a new client that you brought on but that one you only have that one time to make the first impression so the kindness that you give is so key into the relationships that you hold throughout your life so.

Adrian McIntyre: 45:19

Kimber Reeves is Account Manager with avad3 Event Production. Kati Moore is Client Relationship Manager with Google Cloud. Thank you both for joining us for this conversation.

Kimber Reaves: 45:27

Thank you.

Kati Moore: 45:28

Thank you, Adrian.

Adrian McIntyre: 45:32

Thanks for listening to this episode of Culture Amplified. If you enjoyed the conversation, please share this podcast with a colleague who might also find it valuable. It’s easy to do! Just click the “Share” button in the app you’re listening to now.

Culture Amplified is brought to you by avad3 Event Production, located in Northwest Arkansas and serving clients nationwide. avad3 believes that event production should be flawless so your message can shine. They provide many free resources for corporate and non-profit event planners on their website, including planning checklists, technical guides, and templates. You can download them free of charge at avad3.com. That’s A-V-A-D-3 dot com

Special thanks to Cameron Magee, Tabitha McFadden, Amy Bates, Jessica Kloosterman, Steve Sullivant, Kimber Reaves, and Olivia Martin at avad3 for helping bring this podcast series to life.

Podcast strategy, on-site recording, and post-production by Speed of Story, a B2B communications firm led by Adrian McIntyre – that’s me – and Jen McIntyre. Music by Diego Martinez.

Most of all, we’d like to thank our featured guests, who so generously shared their time, stories, and insights with us. You can learn more about them in the written notes for each episode, at avad3.com/podcast.

For all of us here at Speed of Story and avad3 Event Production, thanks for listening – and for sharing the show with others, if you choose to do so. We hope you’ll join us again for another episode of Culture Amplified.