The cultural creativity Red Bull brought to the marketing world is what first inspired me to join the company. Initiatives like the Red Bull Music Academy redefined what a brand could achieve by connecting deeply with cultural communities through novel experiential concepts, deep storytelling and shared purpose. Working alongside Florian Klaass, former Global Head of Music, Entertainment and Culture Marketing, I can honestly say I had some of the best years of my career. We united global teams and championed bold ideas that elevated culture marketing to new frontiers where no other brand was yet playing.

Like any tenure, there were highs and lows throughout his 15 years, and we dove into a very specific moment when all factors collided and the “plane crashed” during the “perfect storm”.  While I would call Flo a very prepared and thoughtful leader, in a perfect storm - it isn’t about executing plans. It’s about navigating fast-colliding factors in real time. For Flo, it started with the dismantling of two global programs very close to him - and many others, including myself - the Red Bull Music Academy and Red Bull Amaphiko. These closures marked the beginning of an intense and complex leadership journey that Flo describes as a defining moment in his career.

With the arrival of the perfect storm - a global pandemic, the rise in social justice movements and fast shifting corporate priorities - the plane’s alarms started going off. 

“It was like this plane and you suddenly lose a tire, you lose a turbine, you lose a wheel and then a window falls out and then the door and you go like, I’m not sure if this thing will still work.”

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While I was side by side with him as the wind started to pick up, this vulnerable and very reflective conversation was the first time we had sat down to open the black box. Reflecting years after our time together, it was an enlightening conversation about what happens when you lose faith, feel empty and find yourself making decisions you don’t like. 

“The plane crashed because everything that could go wrong, went wrong. It wasn’t about one decision—it was about being in an environment where every factor aligned against us.” 

Building Teams At Eye Level

From musician to school dropout to booking agency owner, Flo’s path to Red Bull was anything but conventional. But, I could probably say that about everyone we hired into the team - Red Bull had a very specific culture fit. As one of the earliest hires in Culture Marketing, he played a key role in shaping the brand’s pioneering investment in cultural communities—music, dance, art, social innovation and entertainment at large. This non-linear journey taught him the importance of building a team of global strategists and local operators that had two key skills, adaptability and curiosity. 

To drive Red Bull’s culture marketing forward, successful candidates needed to straddle culture and business seamlessly - one hat fluent in “creative” industries mixing with artists, DJ’s, dancers, and the other hat trained in business strategy knowing how to negotiate contracts, lead teams and manage processes. 

As the Culture Marketing team grew from just two people to a global network, Flo dedicated immense energy to cultivating an environment where diverse perspectives could flourish. The annual Culture Marketing Conference became the centerpiece of this philosophy. These gatherings weren’t just about aligning business strategy—they were about creating a sense of shared purpose and camaraderie among country leaders from across the globe.

“I think it’s always about meeting people at eye level. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, how your hair is. We’re all in this together, and no one’s better than the other. People are different, but they’re not. We had conversations about music, cultural upbringing, travel—what shaped their worldviews. Whether it was the Turkish girl speaking to the Japanese guy or the Spanish guy with the Icelandic girl, they clicked immediately. That was the magic.”

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But, magic is hard to sustain when there’s a collision of factors. 

The Collision of Factors

The storm was uniquely complex, shaped by a combination of external pressures and internal dynamics. 

Corporate Restructuring: The closure of Red Bull Music Academy and Red Bull Amaphiko marked a seismic cultural shift internally and externally. These programs weren’t just iconic; they were deeply tied to the brand’s cultural DNA and the personal values of the teams behind them. Especially, Red Bull Music Academy that had been built over a 20+ year span. The loss created fractures—not just in public perception and partner relationships but within the team members who had built their careers around these programs.

“I had to dismantle projects that were very dear to my heart—things I wholeheartedly believed were the right things to do and truly meaningful. I did the best I could to manage the process with dignity, but it took its toll. I was literally firing friends. After it was done, it just felt empty.”

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The Pandemic: COVID-19 upended business operations worldwide and for a brand synonymous with physical events and experiential storytelling, the shift isolated an already fractured team from rebuilding bold cultural initiatives to scrambling and surviving with the rest of the world. At the exact moment when they needed unity to pivot and strengthen, they were paused and isolated. 

Social Justice Movements: When rising tensions around social justice came to the forefront, the team’s frustration heightened. As the internal team responsible for uplifting the most diverse communities, Red Bull’s general apolitical stance left them unprepared and some would say handcuffed to respond decisively and swiftly. 

“We were the most diverse team in the organization, and we asked, ‘Why aren’t we making a statement?’ That created tension within the company.”

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Leadership Misstep: During a presentation intended to foster collaboration, Flo sought to use humor to address cultural stereotypes. His inclusion of a culturally insensitive map, intended as a self-ironic joke, backfired. The slide alienated the very team he was trying to inspire and stifled efforts to bring unity. This moment became one of Flo’s most humbling lessons in leadership. It highlighted the need for heightened sensitivity in times of tension and vulnerability.

“I made fun of stereotypes to warn against them, but my mistake was assuming humor would translate the same way for everyone. I was there as a leader, not a comedian. Those are two very different roles. Humor is amazing, but it can also be thin ice. Rather than provoke, it’s better to be more sensitive to land the message.”

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Navigating these simultaneous challenges forced Flo to prioritize colliding demands, pushing him to make decisions that sometimes went against his values, exposing the vulnerabilities inherent in leadership under pressure.

“We had everything we needed, but we weren’t working as one team within the company. Leadership within my team was the easy part but it isn’t just about your team—it’s about navigating complexity across the business. And sometimes, you have to push your agenda in ways that don’t feel right. I tried to stay true to myself, but I didn’t always like the decisions I had to make.”

How To Build Psychological Safety in Crisis

As we re-visited these factors, one theme emerged repeatedly as a safeguard and framework for navigating the perfect storm - psychological safety. 

“I couldn’t save the projects, but I could manage the process in a way that respected their dignity. Even when it was hard, I tried to stay human in every decision.”

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Rooted in the term coined by Dr. Amy Edmonson and further developed into a framework by Timothy R. Clarke, psychological safety requires four elements to create an environment where individuals feel safe to collaborate, contribute, and challenge constructively: Inclusion Safety, Learner Safety, Contributor Safety, and Challenger Safety

1. Inclusion Safety: Increase Bonding Moments

Inclusion safety means continually reinforcing a sense of belonging - ensuring teams members feel included, accepted and respected. This is especially critical during difficult times. When crises like layoffs or restructurings hit, as Flo faced, creating inclusion safety becomes both essential and challenging. Meeting people at “ eye level” may not be enough to repair broken trust or morale.

Strategies for Leaders: 

• Foster micro-moments of connection: Hold regular check-ins, whether one-on-one or as a team, to ensure individuals feel seen and valued. Small acts of recognition can rebuild morale.
• Leverage transparent communication: Create open channels where team members can voice their concerns and get honest, consistent updates—even if the news isn’t ideal.
• Facilitate collaborative rituals: Introduce low-stakes but meaningful activities, like team retrospectives or brainstorming sessions, to reinforce the spirit of collaboration.

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2. Learner Safety: Creating Space for Growth

Learner safety encourages individuals to ask questions, make mistakes and grow. Yet, during a storm, as in Flo’s case, the emotional toll of shifting company priorities and external pressures can severely limit or extinguish a team’s capacity for learning. When resources and bandwidth are stretched thin, curiosity and innovation may stagnate. 

Strategies for Leaders:

• Reframe challenges as learning opportunities: Emphasize a growth mindset. For example, discuss mistakes as valuable data points rather than failures.
• Provide structured opportunities to learn: Offer bite-sized skill-building sessions, even during crises, that directly address immediate challenges (i.e. conflict resolution during tense times).
• Model vulnerability: Share your own learning moments as a leader, particularly where you’ve had to adapt or adjust under pressure. This normalizes growth during adversity.

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3. Contributor Safety: Empowering Teams to Take Action

Contributor safety means empowering individuals to contribute their skills and ideas without fear of micromanagement or judgment. However, during crises, too much autonomy without proper support can quickly lead to overwhelm.

Strategies for Leaders:

• Calibrate ownership and accountability: Assign specific areas of decision-making based on individual strengths, but ensure support mechanisms are in place (i.e. regular feedback loops).
• Acknowledge and celebrate contributions: Publicly recognize even small wins to reinforce the value of each individual’s work in the larger mission.
• Assess crisis profiles: Identify team members who thrive under pressure and those who may need additional guidance, adjusting expectations and responsibilities accordingly.

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4. Challenger Safety: Encouraging Constructive Dissent with Sensitivity

Challenger safety allows team members to question decisions, voice concerns, and propose alternative solutions - an essential component for fostering innovation and sound decision-making in times of crisis. However, when leaders are overwhelmed by colliding factors and competing priorities, it can be tempting to close ranks and limit dissent to maintain control.

The reality is that leaders can’t know everything or anticipate every outcome in a rapidly shifting environment. By creating an atmosphere where constructive dissent is encouraged, teams can engage in critical thinking that improves decisions and strengthens resilience - even when those challenges may feel uncomfortable.

Strategies for Leaders:

• Create structured forums for open dialogue: Set up dedicated spaces where team members can offer candid feedback or voice concerns. This could include regular team retrospectives, anonymous input channels, or facilitated brainstorming sessions.
• Acknowledge and validate dissent: Show appreciation for differing opinions by actively listening, seeking clarification, and explaining how feedback is being considered - even if it doesn’t lead to immediate changes.
• Set boundaries for constructive dissent: Encourage debate that focuses on ideas and solutions, not personal grievances. Provide guidelines for respectful discourse to ensure discussions remain productive.
• Be clear on spheres of influence: Communicate transparently about what decisions are within your control and what isn’t. Clarifying these boundaries helps manage expectations and focuses discussions on actionable solutions.
• Model humility as a leader: Demonstrate that you’re open to being challenged by acknowledging when you don’t have all the answers. This fosters a culture of shared problem-solving and reinforces trust in your leadership.

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Psychological safety isn’t just a leadership strategy or a framework; it’s a lifeline during crises. It provides the foundation for teams to collaborate effectively, grow from adversity, contribute meaningfully, and challenge constructively - even when the storm is at its peak.

In Short…

Flo’s journey reminds us that even the most prepared leaders can’t anticipate every collision of factors. When the alarms start going off and the proverbial plane begins to falter, the foundation of psychological safety becomes a leader’s greatest asset.

Navigating chaos is never about flawless execution. It’s about humility, transparency, and creating an environment where people feel seen, heard, and valued - even when the outcomes aren’t ideal.

Leaders can rarely avoid a storm - but they can weather it with grace, humanity, and a commitment to leaving their team stronger for having endured it together.