Building an inclusive culture at Media Zoo: Leadership lessons from Yasmine Alani

Becky Norman

HRZone

Managing Editor

Building an inclusive culture at Media Zoo: Leadership lessons from Yasmine Alani

How can one individual successfully lead culture change? Yasmine Alani, Workplace Transformation Director at Media Zoo, opens up about her unrelenting focus on workplace inclusion, and its remarkable impact on both people and the business.

By Becky Norman

Leadership, in any context, is challenging. But leading people through culture change? That takes an extra dose of tenacity and grit.

Drawing on her experience of shaping an inclusive culture at creative agency Media Zoo, Yasmine Alani shares her candid thoughts on what it really takes to lead impactful cultural initiatives. When joining Media Zoo in October 2021, Yasmine quickly identified a lack of focus on celebrating differences and fostering psychological safety. Through hard work, perseverance and allyship, she created a more unified organisation that truly listened to its diverse workforce and cultivated ‘belongingness’. As a result, in 2024 Yasmine won the Culture Pioneer’s Leadership Award for her outstanding achievements in designing an inclusive culture from the ground up.

In this Culture Pioneers interview, Yasmine talks about her role in stewarding the organisation through this transformation journey, and the leadership approach she embodies to push positive change forward. She also shares guidance for like-minded leaders who are striving to cultivate better workplace cultures. Watch the full interview below.

A little more about Yasmine…

Yasmine is a multi-award winning professional, recognised for being a Top 100 Future Leader, The LPI’s Learning Professional of the Year, and the winner of the 2024 Culture Pioneer’s Leadership Award. Yasmine’s passion lies in putting people at the centre of transformative work, and has achieved meaningful change in the culture space, from working to tackle unconscious bias in domestic abuse cases in courtrooms, to challenging global leaders to commit to true allyship.

Key discussion points

Yasmine’s leadership approach: “People, Purpose, and Persistence”

Yasmine describes her leadership approach as focusing on people, purpose, and persistence.
She emphasises the importance of putting people first, drawing from her diverse career background.
Yasmine discusses the significance of having a clear purpose as a leader, which can help sustain momentum despite challenges.
She highlights the need for persistence in cultural change, acknowledging the resistance and politics involved.

Challenges and issues at Media Zoo

Yasmine talks about the issues she noticed at Media Zoo when she joined in October 2021.
She describes the challenges of defining and pinpointing culture, using her own experiences and observations.
She identifies issues with inclusion, psychological safety, and the absence of policy or accountability by leadership.
Yasmine shares her observations of a lack of proactivity in designing a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Building trust and initiating change

Yasmine explains how she gained trust from employees and senior leaders by consistently raising issues and proposing solutions.
She emphasises the importance of being persistent and gaining trust from both sides.
Yasmine shares her approach to initiating change, focusing on small, actionable steps and building on employee feedback.

Implementing cultural initiatives

Yasmine describes the cultural focus groups she conducted, which helped identify key themes and solutions.
She highlights the importance of allowing employees to be part of the solution and taking action on the most obvious and actionable issues.
Yasmine shares her pride in implementing an enhanced maternity policy, which was a direct result of employee feedback.

Impact and reflection on progress

Yasmine reflects on the progress made at Media Zoo, including the unification of the business into one building and the reduction of silos.
She emphasises the importance of taking stock of progress and recognising the impact of cultural changes.
Yasmine shares her thoughts on the continuous journey of improving workplace culture and the importance of celebrating successes.

Guidance for leaders addressing cultural issues

Yasmine advises trusting one’s instincts and taking action without waiting for permission.
She emphasises the importance of finding allies and building momentum for cultural change.
Yasmine encourages leaders to be persistent and to focus on the people and the purpose of their work.

Winning the Culture Pioneer Award

Yasmine expresses her gratitude and pride in being recognised for her hard work and persistence.
She shares her journey of entering and winning the award, highlighting the importance of perseverance.
Yasmine hopes that her recognition will inspire others to take action and make a difference in workplace culture.

Culture Pioneers is a campaign proudly powered by HRZone. We are on a mission to both support organisations driving impactful culture change, and commend those who are leading forward and challenging the status quo at work.

Our campaign provides expert guidance and insights, while celebrating workplace cultures that drive real business impact. The best businesses don’t just adapt; they shape the future.