What if most of what we believe about success and failure at work is just a story we made up? What if the core ideas driving modern workplace culture might be making us less effective, less innovative, and a whole lot more anxious?
Dr. Aaron Rabinowitz, Ethics Director at the Creator Accountability Network, shares his experience in off-Broadway theater and discusses his dissertation research on “luckpilling,” a radical new way of thinking about success, failure, and who deserves help (spoiler: it’s everyone).
(00:00) Who Deserves Help?
(01:44) Theater Work and Insecurity
(06:03) Workplace Power Dynamics
(13:40) Restorative Justice at Work
(20:26) The Just World Illusion
(25:20) Performance and Psychological Safety
(32:54) Leadership and Organizational Change
(34:42) Navigating Disillusionment
(37:39) Leisure and Human Worth
Dr. Aaron Rabinowitz is the Ethics Director at the Creator Accountability Network and host of the podcasts Embrace the Void and Philosophers in Space. His research focuses on how beliefs about merit and deservingness shape culture and behavior in educational settings.
Follow Aaron on Bluesky.
See also:
Luckpilled: A New Pedagogy of Luck Introduction on Embrace the Void
Behave by Robert Sapolsky
The Meritocracy Trap by Daniel Markovits
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Work Face is produced by Hear Me Out, a culture strategy firm for leaders with the courage to listen. We help them cultivate trust by having real conversations with employees at all levels about what’s working and what’s not.
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