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The B Continued Podcast
The B Continued Podcast is a space for honest conversations with the leaders shaping the future of work. Each episode dives beneath the job titles and strategies to explore the real human stories behind change, the breakthroughs, the setbacks, the uncomfortable truths and the unexpected lessons that define modern leadership.
We speak to HR Directors, Commercial Leaders, Founders, ESG specialists and culture-shapers who are navigating today’s biggest organisational challenges: hybrid work, inclusion, digital acceleration, talent scarcity, sustainability, social mobility, and the shifting expectations of a new generation.
B Continued. Because real change doesn’t happen in one moment. It’s built, challenged and continued.
The B Continued Podcast
Why Performance Culture is a Strategic Red Flag - Ep. 5 Ft. Weronika Niemczyk-Savage
In our first episode of 2026, we are joined by the brilliant Weronika Niemczyk-Savage, Chief People Officer at Cyncly. With a career spanning giants like Google and Expedia, Weronika brings a sharp, commercial lens to the world of People and HR.
In this deep dive, Weronika challenges leaders to drop their "expertise armor" and trade it for curiosity. She explains why a CEO asking for a "performance culture" is often a major red flag and how companies can move away from "coloring in" to actually solving organizational problems.
00:00 – Intro: Introducing Weronika Niemczyk-Savage (CPO, Cyncly).
01:01 – Weronika’s background: Google, Expedia, and the move to Private Equity.
03:20 – The "Red Flag": Why CEOs often get performance culture wrong.
05:20 – Accountability vs. Penalization: Building a true framework for success.
08:21 – Measuring progress: OKRs and the quality of goal setting.
10:30 – The Peer Feedback Secret: Why 71% of colleagues opted-in without a push.
12:11 – Rewarding overperformance: Linking individual results to compensation.
15:32 – Using AI in HR: Summarizing reviews and simplifying management tasks.
20:43 – The value of "Solid Citizens" vs. Brilliant Jerks.
25:54 – Pay Transparency: Navigating the EU Directive and the pillar of secrecy.
34:44 – Psychological Safety: Why it’s okay to report mistakes.
42:25 – Closing: Final thoughts and the future of People Strategy.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The Performance Red Flag: Why the term is often weaponized to simply fire people rather than grow them.
The Power of Curiosity: Why the most successful leaders prioritize learning over being the "expert."
Valuing "Solid Citizens": Why your consistent B-players are the true backbone of your company.
Peer Feedback Secrets: Why 71% of Cyncly’s staff engaged in peer reviews without any HR "push."
Pay Transparency: Navigating the "pillar of secrecy" and why equal pay for equal work is non-negotiable.
About Weronika Niemczyk-Savage: Weronika is the Chief People Officer at Cyncly, a global software leader in the interior design and manufacturing space. Her experience in private equity and large-scale tech (Google, Expedia) has made her an advocate for high-accountability, high-trust cultures that focus on real business impact.
Connect with the Be Continued Podcast:
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-b-continued-podcast/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebcontinuedpodcast/
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tpUPcXh7TsbIRjxQzMnPo?si=459393d0f84f4b0d
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/built-to-perform/id1838874199
About Be People Group: We help businesses move from "traditional HR" to high-performance People Strategy. Visit us at https://www.b-people.net/
#Leadership #CPO #Cyncly #WorkplaceCulture #HRStrategy #FutureOfWork #BContinuedPodcast
