Trust or Control: What Daria Rudnik Taught Me About Culture That Survives a Crisis

A submersible imploded on its way to the Titanic wreck, and buried in the investigation was one line: toxic culture was a contributing cause. That story opens this conversation with Daria Rudnik, executive leadership coach and author of Clicking, about why culture only proves itself under pressure, what it costs a company to fake trust, and the one question she says every leader should ask their team this week.

Guest: Daria Rudnik — executive leadership coach and team architect with 15+ years of executive experience, 1,500+ hours of individual coaching, and 2,000+ hours of team coaching across six continents. Author of Clicking: A Team Building Strategy for Overloaded Leaders Who Want Stronger Team Trust, Better Results, and More Time. Website · LinkedIn

In this episode

~00:00 — Welcome, and why Daria's story on culture stopped me in my tracks

~01:39 — Why culture is a real business driver: the Titan submersible investigation, and a client team that rebuilt trust and expanded into Europe

~06:28 — Culture only proves itself when times get hard — a company that didn't survive an acquisition because its culture was built on being pleasant, not honest

~10:46 — Early warning signs a company is heading for trouble, and the client who said "trust is our value" while cutting corners

~13:19 — Being honest with yourself first — a story from my own coaching practice about two business partners who couldn't communicate

~15:42 — Daria's book, Clicking, and why she wrote a practical playbook for overloaded leaders

~19:25 — Leading hybrid and remote teams: why your job isn't more 1:1s, it's connecting your people to each other

~22:13 — Stop being the hero: the one question Daria says every leader should ask their team this week

~23:36 — The 24-hours-to-live question, and Daria's answer

~24:36 — Where to find Daria and her book

Quotes

"It's either trust or control. If you're not honest with yourself, if you're not honest with your clients, people get hurt." — Daria Rudnik

"You cannot say what kind of culture you have when everything is fine. Once you go through difficult times, that's when you see whether you have this culture or not." — Daria Rudnik

"Strong culture is when you can have difficult conversations respectfully with each other." — Daria Rudnik

"Your role now, as a leader, is to facilitate conversations." — Daria Rudnik

Links & resources

Listen: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube

Daria's book — Clicking: https://www.amazon.com/CLICKING-Building-Strategy-Overloaded-Stronger-ebook/dp/B0FN4S6P37

Daria Rudnik: Website · LinkedIn

Re-Invent Consulting: https://re-invent.consulting/

📕 Recoded — Javier's second book, coming September 2026