Adrian Gostick
Most organisations accept that culture drives performance, yet treat it as a change programme rather than a daily management discipline. The gap between a stated set of values and the actual behaviour of individual managers is where engagement collapses – and where talent quietly decides to leave. Leaders need more than intent: they need specific, practised behaviours that embed recognition, accountability, and trust into how work gets done every day.
Adrian Gostick helps executive teams convert cultural intent into measurable leadership behaviour, drawing on large-scale workforce research and New York Times bestselling books published through The Culture Works.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Adrian Gostick
- His frameworks are grounded in studies of 300,000 and 850,000 workers – giving organisations credible research evidence, not opinion, when making the internal case for culture investment.
- The Carrot Principle established employee recognition as a direct performance lever, not a morale initiative – a distinction that changes where CHROs and line managers direct their attention.
- Anxiety at Work reframes workplace stress as a leadership responsibility rather than an individual failing, making it directly actionable for senior leaders managing high-pressure, post-disruption teams.
- Named to both Thinkers50’s Coaches50 and Marshall Goldsmith’s MG100 Coaches project – a dual validation from the two most credible bodies in management thinking and executive coaching.
- The Culture Works extends his frameworks into ongoing consulting and training, enabling organisations to embed behaviour change beyond the event itself.
Biography highlights
- Founder of The Culture Works, a global leadership and culture consultancy
- New York Times #1 bestselling co-author: All In, The Carrot Principle, Leading with Gratitude, Anxiety at Work – 1.5 million+ copies sold in 30 languages
- Thinkers50 Coaches50 (2025); Global Gurus top-10 in both leadership and organisational culture (2020)
- Member of Marshall Goldsmith’s MG100 Coaches Pay-it-forward Project
- Forbes leadership columnist; featured on NBC Today Show, CNN, and CNBC; cited in The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Fortune
- Client organisations include American Express, Cisco, Danaher, Merck, Bank of America, and Rolls-Royce
Biography
Culture change has become one of the most common items on the executive agenda – and one of the most difficult to execute. Adrian Gostick has spent two decades investigating the reason: not that leaders undervalue culture, but that most lack the specific daily behaviours that make it real. Through The Culture Works, he has built that investigation into a body of research that reaches from recognition science to team performance to workplace anxiety.
His books provide the empirical foundation. All In drew on a 300,000-person study conducted with Towers Watson, identifying the management practices that create what he calls a “culture of belief” – environments where employees commit fully and performance follows. The Best Team Wins extended that research to 850,000 work teams, isolating the leadership disciplines that determine whether collaboration produces results or friction. The Carrot Principle made the business case for recognition as a measurable driver of engagement and retention. Anxiety at Work reframed stress as a leadership issue, not an individual one.
Gostick writes regularly on leadership strategy for Forbes and has been featured on NBC’s Today Show, CNN, and CNBC. His research has been cited in The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Fortune. In 2025 he was named to Thinkers50’s inaugural Coaches50 list; he is also a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s MG100 Coaches project.
His consulting and advisory work spans American Express, Cisco, Danaher, Merck, Bank of America, and Rolls-Royce – organisations that have used his frameworks to move culture from aspiration to operational discipline. The Culture Works model means that engagement with his ideas does not have to end when the keynote does.
Key speaking topics
- Organisational culture and culture change
- Employee engagement and recognition
- High-performance teams
- Leadership behaviour and accountability
- Workplace anxiety and psychological safety
- Gratitude and motivation in leadership
- Resilience under pressure
Ideal for
- CHROs and People leaders designing engagement and culture strategy
- CEOs and executive teams seeking to align culture with business performance
- Leadership development programme directors and transformation leads
- Organisations undergoing post-merger integration, rapid growth, or cultural reset
Audience outcomes
- A research-grounded case for treating recognition as a performance lever, not a perks programme
- Specific leadership behaviours that close the gap between stated organisational values and daily management practice
- Practical frameworks for reducing workplace anxiety and building team resilience without retreating from accountability
- Insight into how high-performing organisations use psychological safety and clear expectations together
- Tools for translating culture strategy into measurable changes in engagement and team output
Talks
Explores how leaders can reduce workplace anxiety, build resilience, and create psychological safety so teams can perform effectively in high-pressure environments.
Key takeaways:
- How to identify signs of burnout and anxiety in teams before they affect productivity
- Practical strategies to create psychological safety so employees feel able to speak up, collaborate, and manage uncertainty
- Tools leaders can use to help teams manage workload, overcome perfectionism, and stay focused without burning out
Shows leaders how to guide teams through uncertainty by setting clear objectives, reinforcing the right behaviours, and maintaining accountability in changing business environments.
Key takeaways:
- How high-performance organisations navigate change while keeping teams focused on key objectives
- Approaches for creating clarity of purpose and aligning teams to shared goals
- Strategies to build resilience and empathy so people remain motivated and productive during periods of disruption
Examines how culture change, engagement, and workplace dynamics influence organisational performance, drawing on large-scale research and practical examples from high-performing organisations.
Key takeaways:
- The three characteristics that drive highly productive and profitable teams
- Strategies to increase engagement and build a culture of commitment across the workforce
- Approaches to evolving organisational culture so diverse ideas flourish and teams collaborate effectively
Focuses on how leaders can strengthen collaboration and accountability to build high-performing teams that work across organisational boundaries.
Key takeaways:
- How to build cross-functional teams that collaborate effectively and reduce time to productivity
- Ways to strengthen communication and accountability across teams and departments
- Practical strategies for encouraging constructive debate that leads to stronger ideas and innovation
Explores how leaders create vibrant, productive cultures where employees believe their work matters and feel empowered to contribute to organisational success.
Key takeaways:
- How high-performing organisations engage, enable, and energise their people
- Leadership practices that create cultures where employees believe they can make a difference
- Practical examples of leaders implementing these methods to build productive and committed teams
Based on large-scale research into work teams, this talk explores the science of teamwork and how leaders can guide teams to stronger performance in collaborative environments.
Key takeaways:
- Insights from research into the behaviours of highly profitable and innovative teams
- Leadership disciplines that improve teamwork and team performance
- Practical guidance on leading teams effectively in complex and volatile business environments
Examines how understanding individual and team motivation can strengthen engagement, development, and performance.
Key takeaways:
- How to identify what motivates individuals and teams using motivational assessment insights
- The concept of Job Sculpting and how it helps leaders address barriers to engagement
- How aspirational career conversations can improve productivity and retention
Videos
Testimonials
Adrian Gostick's Articles
Books
Fees
| EUR | GBP | USD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Country | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| Asia Pacific | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| Europe | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| Middle East & Africa | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| South America | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| United Kingdom | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| US East Coast | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| US West Coast | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| Virtual | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |