In every meeting in every organization around the world where bad behavior is happening, there is someone with the most power in the room who can do something about it. What that person does shapes the culture. If the most powerful person is silent, this signals passive acceptance of whatever is going on. And if that person speaks up to say, “Good idea,” or, “Thanks for asking a clarifying question,” everyone notices and will be more likely to do those things. It's deep in human nature to look to the top to define our own behavior, even at a company as autonomous as Automattic.
