People at Work: Recent Episodes
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Want to make work better for yourself and those around you? This is the podcast for you! People at Work is a series of conversations with individuals leading change to create extraordinary workplaces. We get real about common workplace issues like engagement, teamwork, leadership, and culture, and discuss practical ideas for making change happen. We’re people at work!
In this episode, we’re looking back on our previous conversations about challenges most organizations face and how to overcome them. We spoke with industry leaders including Presidents, Founders, and CEOs about the challenges of change management, showcasing vulnerability, and making moves towards building better workplaces.
Continue listening to learn more and see what tips you can adopt at your organization. We hear from the following leaders:
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Robert Kohlhepp, Former Chairman of Cintas
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Dr. Grace Lee, the CEO & Founder of Mastery Insights
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Ebony Smith, the President of Ebenum Equation
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Matt Thieleman, the Founder of Golden Bristle
It's no secret that workplace culture has undergone dramatic changes in the last couple of years, and is continuing to do so as we redefine what this means to us. In today's episode, we revisit our conversations with industry experts including Doctors, founders, Culture officers, and owners.
Listen to how we can design organizational culture to lead change, what it means to build a welcoming culture that supports Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, and how you can build a culture based on relationships and not fear.
Our guest round-up today features:
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Jason Richmond, Founder and Chief Culture Officer of Ideal Outcomes
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Shayna Pond, the President of Model Teaching
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Dr. Steve Yacovelli, the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group
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Dr. Grace Lee, CEO & Founder of Mastery Insights
Employee experience is often a topic that’s nebulous and hard to wrap your head around. It starts from the moment someone applies to an open position, and lasts till their departure from the company.
In today's episode, we share tips from past guests on how to enable trust, transparency, and meaningful work, so leaders like you can elevate the employee experience your organization offers. Hear from:
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Kevin Hancock, CEO of Hancock Lumber
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Megan Purday, the Marketing Manager of Canadian Payroll Services
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Peter Yawitz, Founder of Clear Communication
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Maryna Shkvorets, a Public Speaking & Communication Coach
What’s your relationship with change? Do you welcome it with open arms or avoid it like your worst fear?
If you’re Liz Lewinson, you seek it out as a way to grow and expand your life experience. Liz went from writing to television to computer science to finance IT, and is still looking for ways to change.
The one constant that prepares her for change is a still mind. By practicing some form of meditation, Liz believes we can surf through even the roughest life swells.
In a world that’s ever-changing, the more prepared we can be, the better. Liz shares her experiences of moving through big and small changes with curiosity.
She also talks about how a life of meditation has given her the tools to enjoy change as an energy boost, not a drain.
I’m certain Liz will help you approach change more wholeheartedly, starting with your mind.
Communication doesn't mean talking louder than your introverted peers. In today's episode, we return to our previous conversations with communication experts, some of whom are life coaches, managers, and CEOs. We tap into why it's important to improve communication in the workplace and how this affects relationships and collaboration. We also explore the ways to do communication right.
Join us to unpack how workplace harmony isn't just about being nice, and other facets of this intricate topic. We hear from the following guests:
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Libby Robinson, Managing Partner at Integral
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Dr. Nicole Tschierske, positive psychology coach
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Dan Manian, Co-founder and CEO of Donut
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Catherine Gillespie, Managing Director of Workplace Harmony Solutions and Workplace Conflict Resolution
Stress is part of daily life, even more so with the ripple effects of the global pandemic, social injustice, and political unrest. While there’s a lot swirling around all of us, shaking us to the core some days, we can manage this stress.
Nicole Mixdorf has experienced the damaging effects of stress firsthand. She left her corporate career that was literally making her sick from stress, and started a wellness business to help busy professionals take care of themselves.
Nicole helps her clients understand their own stress response, and then teaches them how to take control of it. Whatever the cause of the stress, the first step to getting in the driver’s seat usually involves taking a deep breath.
Doing this not only gives us space between stimulus and response, it helps introduce more oxygen to the brain (70% in fact!) and that opens us up to be more calm, receptive, creative, and in control of our own emotions and physical state.
In this episode of People at Work, Nicole talks about a few simple tools that she uses to control stress, and turn each chronic stress state into an opportunity. Nicole leads us through a breathing exercise (bonus content!) and her key tips on how to change your mindset to “what can I do?” versus “what can’t I do?” when faced with stressful situations.
If you’re listening for yourself, Nicole’s simple approach will help you immediately. If you’re listening as a leader trying to help your team cope with stress, Nicole’s here for you too with thoughts on how best to support your people. Either way, just breathe.
Building trust and fostering growth in your direct reports fall under the responsibility of any leader. Yes, it's a challenging job to master. So let’s hear from these experts on how to hone your leadership skills and support the emotional wellness of your employees.
Listen to the following leaders and learn more about their successful strategies:
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Anthony Vaughan, Founder of The E1B2 Collective
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Jeff Melnyk and Laurie Bennett, the founding partners of Within People
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Lisa Fain, CEO of The Center for Mentoring Excellence
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Dr. Bruno Cignacco, Training Consultant of Human Oriented Enterprise
When a podcast guest says “This isn’t a fairytale”, I buckle up because I know we’re in for an interesting and useful conversation.
In today’s People at Work episode, Gonçalo Silva, CTO at Doist, tells the story of this fully remote company’s growth and culture journey over the past decade.
Even though Doist is doing a lot right, there are still obstacles in their way and a team to take care of from afar. Oh, and did I mention they’ve also had to adapt to cope during the pandemic? Granted, they’ve had a head start with the remote work gig, but the struggle has been real for them too.
The hero in the story is trust. Everything they do, how they work, how they make decisions, centers on trust. The success of their asynchronous, remote, fully distributed team depends on this.
This interview is real and refreshing, with many insights that can help those of us adapting our workforces to fully remote or hybrid arrangements. Give it a listen and let me know how you enjoyed the ride.
About our guest:
Gonçalo is the CTO of Doist, working remotely on Todoist and Twist. He’s obsessed with building the future he wants to work in, where location is irrelevant to being part of a highly productive team. He loves to work odd hours, but wonders if there’s even such a thing within a fully distributed team.
You can connect with Gonçalo Silva on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/gon%C3%A7alo-silva-006748171/, Twitter @goncalossilva, or Youtube at youtube.com/user/DoistApps
It's fair to say that the working world has undergone a ton of changes over the past two years. Amongst the most impactful is definitely the shift to remote and hybrid work. Let's revisit the major learnings from these pivots, and how we can re-imagine the workplace of the future.
Tune in to learn more about what two years of remote work have taught our guests and how to transition to better hybrid collaboration.
In today's episode, we look back on the insight from our expert guests, including:
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Cathryn Lavery, Cofounder and CEO of BestSelf Co
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Ryan Malone, CEO and Founder of SmartBug Media
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Vicki Yang, VP of People Operations of Bonusly
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Rachel Lanham, the Chief Customer Officer of Voodle
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JJ Caffrey, Founder and CEO of OrderIn
Employee departures are disruptive in any company. Whenever an employee resigns, they leave a gaping hole in a team. And they take their institutional knowledge, contribution to culture, and other skills with them.
Since the pandemic, talent is flocking in droves for various reasons. The great resignation has leaders, CEOs, and managers asking: what can we do about it and what does it teach us about the working world? From prioritizing communication in the workplace to ensuring employee and company value alignment, our guests go in-depth about why employees are leaving and share insights on how to retain your best people.
In today's episode, we look back on the insight from our expert guests, including:
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Yair Riemer, the CEO of Intoo
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Molly Bruttomesso, the Senior VP of Customer Success at Wunderkind
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Joe Mullings, the Chairman & CEO of The Mullings Group Companies
If the pandemic has afforded us anything, it’s a fresh perspective on a major part of our lives: work. Where we do it, how it’s measured, what we’re prepared to put up with, and how we expect bosses to behave (I could go on).
Happiness at work expert Aoife O’Brien advocates for a fresh perspective on work itself, and where it fits in our lives. With her research and personal work experiences, she believes we shouldn’t embrace work and life, work-life balance, or any other way to stitch those two parts together.
Instead, let’s simply think about life, and all the parts and contributors in that experience. This helps us make smarter decisions about what we want from our lives, what success means to us, and how we choose to spend our time.
Listen in on how Aoife suggests we can achieve happiness when we adopt this mindset. We also talk about how organizations can make a shift to whole person support structures, and the role that individuals play in their own happiness, wherever they find themselves.
Link to our Blog: https://blog.jostle.me/blog/people-at-work/aoifeobrien
About our guest:
Aoife O’Brien is a Happiness at Work expert. Her background is in data analytics in the CPG market research industry, and now she uses her strengths to help organisations to increase culture-fit to create happier working environments where employees flourish. Aoife has lived and worked in several countries and has travelled to all 7 continents, mostly independently, with camera in hand!
You can contact Aoife on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien, on Twitter at @HappieratWorkHQ, and on Instagram at @happieratwork.ie.
Resources:
Imposter to Empowered ebook https://www.impostersyndrome.ie/pl/2147526113
https://happieratwork.ie
https://www.impostersyndrome.ie
Don’t worry, this isn’t another blog post bemoaning the reality of the great resignation. It’s very well understood that we’re facing more turnover thanks to the pandemic. Now it’s time to talk about how we can avoid a revolving door of talent.
Yair Reimer believes the strongest strategy to keep people engaged and active in your organization is to communicate. And realize that over-communication is impossible. For Yair, communication includes clearly sharing company updates, asking for feedback, listening, encouraging everyone to speak up, and training leaders and managers to ask hard questions.
In this episode of People at Work, Yair shares what he’s putting into practice at Intoo, to create a workplace culture where people want to stay and contribute. Beyond communication, it’s about finding joy in the day-to-day and treating everyone like equal, whole human beings.
About our guest:
As a CEO of Intoo, Yair helps global companies increase retention by developing the potential of their people, transforming performance, and transitioning skills. Yair once attracted over 75k applicants with 1 job advert in less than a week.
You can connect with Yair on LinkedIn
Resources:
Website
Learning about leadership on the front lines of armed conflict is an extreme way to get clear on what matters when leading people. As a former US Army Special Forces Commander, Sean Patton understands what it means to be a quality leader, because his life (and those around him) depended on it.
Being a quality leader means taking a whole person approach. In the average workplace on any given day, it may not feel mission critical to be a quality leader. But, Sean believes we need to think about quality leadership as the determining factor in a business thriving or failing.
In this episode of People at Work, Sean talks about how he’s adapted his military experience into the corporate world. He outlines what he believes quality leaders need to embody, and why each of us needs to be a quality leader in every aspect of our lives, all the time.
About our guest:
Sean helps clients create more fulfilling and profitable futures through mindset mastery and servant leadership development. He’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and 2019 Masters World Champion!
You can connect with Sean on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
Resources:
Website
Youtube
Book
Too often we don’t do something for fear of making a mistake. Taking action on DEI is a good example of this. We’re afraid to misstep, alienate, exclude or worse, do exactly what we’re trying to avoid.
But that shouldn’t stop us from taking steps, even small, uncomfortable ones towards creating more inclusive and psychologically safe work environments. That’s why Bernadette Smith encourages little changes, a lot of the time.
When we break things down, and improve our infrastructure, relationships, habits, rituals, and cultures, one step at a time, we quickly impact the whole. Bernadette talks on People at Work about how to do this with her simple ARC method: ask, respect, connect.
When we arrive with humility and curiosity, we’re able to make progress, even if we make mistakes along the way. The key is to keep the momentum up and collect little wins along the way.
How do you know what people feel about working in your organization? Better question still, when was the last time you asked them? I’m not talking about annual engagement or pulse surveys. Those might have their place, but they’re not the tool to truly get to grips with what’s going on for people in your organization.
The best way to do that is through stay interviews. Angie Bergner has been conducting quarterly stay interviews with every employee at Veris Insights long before the pandemic. It’s her most critical lever to understanding how people are doing at an individual level, as well as what’s emerging as issues or victories at the team and organization levels.
Angie joins People at Work to share why and how she does stay interviews. This is an excellent primer on key components, things to consider, lessons learned, and most importantly, how to use what you hear to take action.
While stay interviews aren’t going to solve every problem (or stop people from leaving), you’ll get ahead of things by knowing what’s going on, and being honest about what you can improve. Regardless how long people stay with your company, it’s the experience they have while they’re there that counts. For that to be positive, open communication is critical.
About our guest:
Angie is a people leader committed to bettering the world of work at all levels. Her approach to coaching, whether individuals or organizations, is to unlock everyone’s growth mindset. Angie approaches every person, session, and workshop through the lens of DEI and the lens of long-term impact.
You can connect with Angie on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/angiebergner/ and find her coaching work at angiebergner.com.
You don’t often hear gratitude for younger generations at work. But I say thank goodness for their fresh perspectives, desire for transparency, and constant desire to better themselves and their circumstances. This will ultimately make workplaces and leaders better.
But how do we retain and manage young people against the context of The Great Resignation, so that they stay with us and add to our workplace cultures and their own growth?
Molly Bruttomesso thinks about this every day. At Wunderkind, she’s building a culture that accepts that people don’t stay as long as they used to. Instead of bemoaning this, Molly and her team are structuring the way they work to embrace the best of everyone, and help prepare them for their next best thing.
In this episode of People at Work, Molly talks about how this involves intentional career pathing, robust values alignment, learning opportunities, asking for ideas, and acting on feedback… and much more.
Most of us are challenged with the revolving door of people at the moment. If you want to hear some down to earth actions on how to keep people, even for the shortest time, take a listen. You’ll also want to take a look at your culture and make sure that it’s not hastening people out the door. Molly has some tips for that too.
About our guest:
Molly leads the Customer Success and Client Partnerships teams that drive extreme value and maximum performance across the 350+ E-commerce clients. Molly began the movement of the rock t-shirt and blazer as the new tech casual. Move over gray t-shirts.
You can contact Molly on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/molly-bruttomesso-535a393/.
Very few people raise their hand and volunteer to do the tasks nobody else wants to do. But Robert Kohlhepp did just that. He started at Cintas 50 years ago with 60-odd employees and finished his career there with over 40,000 people. Robert has seen Cintas grow through its ups and downs, making his many years of experience and advice so much more valuable.
Robert believes establishing compatibility, facing conflict head on, and being direct helps bring a company’s culture to life. Much like a marriage, a company’s principle objective, corporate characteristics, and management style need to be compatible with the individual in order to create value.
Treating your customers and employees right while maintaining professionalism are some of the things that seem to be forgotten about in the midst of the constantly changing work environments.
Listen on for some tips on the essentials of building an effective corporate culture and how to retain employees in this new world of work that we’re in.
About our guest:
Robert J. Kohlhepp is the Retired Chairman of Cintas Corporation. He joined Cintas in July 1967 as controller. Over a span of 50 years with Cintas, he was promoted to positions of General Manager, Vice President and Treasurer, Executive Vice President, President, and CEO, then served as Vice-Chair and Board Chair until retiring in 2016. Additionally, Kohlhepp has served on several association, corporation, nonprofit, and university boards.
Resources:
https://robertkohlhepp.com/
Book: Build A Better Organization
Working from home can get monotonous, so how about changing it up once in a while? VEL is a hyper-localized tech-forward coffee shop concept supporting a hybrid workforce. Here you can work in a transactional setting and be more efficient while co-working.
Mo Hamzian, Co-Founder & CEO of VEL, took his love for working at coffee shops and turned that into a work experience that offers flexible privacy and psychological safety. It gives you the opportunity to experience the energy of other people working in the same space as you.
Mo joins us to chat about what the future of the workplace looks like. Are there better alternatives? What are the benefits of co-working vs. working from home?
The nature of workplaces has been shifting and will continue to do so. Mo encourages you to discover how you think about work itself. Do you go to a gym because of the equipment or does it depend on the ability to customize what fitness goals suit you? At VEL, more than renting a co-working space, technology, and snacks, they focus on selling a productive work experience.
The transition from a disrupted workforce back to “normal” is slow for a reason. Mo believes that hybrid, flexible, dedicated co-working spaces are here to stay as employees crave more interesting and supportive ways and places to work.
About our guest:
Mo is a London Business School Sloan Fellow and the co-founder & CEO of VEL, a premium utopian tech-forward work cafe. An established leader with 20 years of experience in nearly all things business. Mo excels at building businesses and creating value. He has successfully exited projects with a total value of over $150M.
You can contact Mo on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mohamzian/.
Have you heard anyone say “I love that learning platform”? No? EdApp is here to change just that through their constant functional learning.
EdApp is a workplace learning tool that delivers bite-sized education while maintaining high levels of engagement. CEO and Founder, Darren Winterford, identified that e-learning was broken and that COVID played a role in accelerating that because of how disconnected people are.
However, the increased usage of smartphones in workplaces is providing the perfect opportunity for microlearning. Imagine if a push notification asked you for 5 minutes of your time to give you a refresher on your sales training. Way better than a 90 minute video taking you through the whole process, right?
Changing attitudes towards content creation, consumption, channels, and adoption of learning material is key to harnessing the power of microlearning. The old way of learning in organizations isn’t effective: it’s not engaging, it’s inaccessible, and it doesn’t help people learn.
Listen to Darren speak about why enforcing a continuous learning culture through microlearning within your organization is essential in order to be successful.
About our guest:
Darren Winterford, CEO and founder of EdApp, has extensive experience building mobile apps and pushing the boundaries of innovation. As a pioneer in the microlearning space, EdApp's teams are established in Sydney, London, Manila, and New York.
You can contact Darren on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/darrenwinterford/.
Resources:
http://linkedin.com/in/edapp-micro-learning
http://twitter.com/thisisedapp
Remember the black squares on Instagram showing support of Black Lives Matter? What action took hold after companies proclaimed to care about DEI in the workplace? Even though awareness has likely increased, meaningful change is in short supply.
That’s what’s driving LaTonya Wilkins to get below the surface with leaders. Leaders have a critical role to play in shifting workplaces (and society at large) towards deeper inclusion and caring about diversity. Unless we get to the core of change, we’ll see little progress for DEI.
LaTonya chats to me about why we should be skeptical about what’s been done, what mechanisms we can use to change from the core, and what’s helping and hindering DEI as we shift to hybrid workplaces. If you’re trying to get past the DEI checkboxes and external posturing in your workplace, this is the podcast episode for you.
About our guest:
As the founder of Change Coaches and author of Leading Below the Surface, LaTonya helps organizations create cultures of belonging and motivating environments while amplifying the “only ones” at work so they feel more valued, heard, and engaged.
You can contact our guest on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/latonyawilkins/, on Facebook at facebook.com/LaTonyaWilkinsCoachSpeaker, on Twitter at @LaTonyaWilkins, and on Instagram at @latonyacoaching.
Resources:
Learn more about and purchase Leading Below the Surface at leadingbelowthesurface.com.
Imagine you’re delivering a town hall presentation on Zoom to your entire organization. Now think what you’d do if a potato head filter appeared instead of your face. And try as you might, you can’t remove it.
Would you be flustered and embarrassed or would you embrace the moment to be a real person in a jam? A humble and vulnerable leader would accept the fate delivered by the Zoom gods and have a laugh, before proceeding with the presentation as a potato head.
This is a real story shared by Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone on the latest episode of People at Work. The topic of conversation is a new era of leadership based on self-awareness and humility, stripping away ego, power, and titles to reveal human beings who happen to lead people.
Once you’re able to connect with yourself first, you can then start to show concern, interest, and even love for those around you. Then you’ll tap into the bottomless well of creativity, problem solving, ideas, trust, and loyalty.
With deep insights from their book, “Leading with Love and Laughter”, Zina and Patrick make a strong case for heart-centred leadership for yourself and others. If you’re evolving as a leader in the context of the ever-changing world of work (who isn’t?), this conversation will get you well on your way.
About our guests:
Zina Sutch has been leading development and diversity programs for the US Federal Government for 20 years, and currently serves in the Senior Executive Service. Patrick Malone spent 23 years in the Navy and served as an officer in the Medical Service Corps. Zina is a faculty member and Patrick is director of the Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University.
You can contact Dr. Zina on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/zina-b-sutch-ph-d-843752a/, and Dr. Patrick on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/patrick-malone-phd-51b2a624/.
Resources:
sutchmalone.com
Their new book: Leading with Love and Laughter: Letting Go and Getting Real at Work
If the pandemic has afforded us anything, it’s a fresh perspective on a major part of our lives: work. Where we do it, how it’s measured, what we’re prepared to put up with, and how we expect bosses to behave (I could go on).
Happiness at work expert Aoife O’Brien advocates for a fresh perspective on work itself, and where it fits in our lives. With her research and personal work experiences, she believes we shouldn’t embrace work and life, work-life balance, or any other way to stitch those two parts together.
Instead, let’s simply think about life, and all the parts and contributors in that experience. This helps us make smarter decisions about what we want from our lives, what success means to us, and how we choose to spend our time.
Listen in on how Aoife suggests we can achieve happiness when we adopt this mindset. We also talk about how organizations can make a shift to whole person support structures, and the role that individuals play in their own happiness, wherever they find themselves.
About our guest:
Aoife O’Brien is a Happiness at Work expert. Her background is in data analytics in the CPG market research industry, and now she uses her strengths to help organisations to increase culture-fit to create happier working environments where employees flourish. Aoife has lived and worked in several countries and has travelled to all 7 continents, mostly independently, with camera in hand!
You can contact Aoife on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien, on Twitter at @HappieratWorkHQ, and on Instagram at @happieratwork.ie.
Resources:
Imposter to Empowered ebook https://www.impostersyndrome.ie/pl/2147526113
https://happieratwork.ie
https://www.impostersyndrome.ie
2019 seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? And in the world of work the rate of change over the past two years is probably the highest it’s ever been. With more people than ever considering new opportunities and companies able to hire across a wider geographical area it can be hard to stand out. But in order to attract and retain top talent you really need to start building a strong employer brand.
On this episode I chatted with Joe Mullings about a wide-range of topics related to these changes we’re facing. We spoke about:
- Work from Anywhere (WFX)
- Generational effects on those who are starting their career fully-remote
- The many inequities of hybrid work
- How content creation and brand building have been democratized due to demographic shifts
- Why HR shouldn’t be the ones hunting for new employees
- And much, much more
I got a lot out of this conversation and I hope you do too. Enjoy!
About our guest:
Joe is the Chairman & CEO of The Mullings Group Companies, including TMG Search, Dragonfly Stories & TMG360 Media. The search firm is responsible for more than 8,000 successful searches in the medtech / healthtech industry with clients ranging from multi-billion-dollar companies to emerging tech startups. Dragonfly Stories is the media production company behind the Award-Winning video docuseries, “TrueFuture”, of which Joe is the host as well as generating attention and awareness for companies globally. In 2020, Joe was appointed Chief Visionary Officer for MRINetwork, Inc. where he guides the digital transformation of the MRINetwork bringing video storytelling strategies and techniques for talent access, which he innovated at The Mullings Group.
You can contact Joe on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/joemullings/, on Facebook at @joemullings and on Instagram at @joemullings.
Resources:
True Future Docuseries
Mullings Group
Dragonfly Stories
TMG360 Media
Youtube page
The people at Wilson Sporting Goods have been navigating a world of work turned upside down, much like the rest of us, over the past 20 months. But, they’ve made a few critical decisions along the learning curve to help galvanize their new way of working together.
At the core of their new hybrid work culture is constant communication. Geoff Watts joins me on People at Work to share what this looks like in practice. Connection at every level, starting with individual employees, is their sweet spot.
Not only does this ensure that people are heard and given space to shape their own work experience, but it enables tremendous value creation for employees and consumers. And that leads to a crystal clear understanding of the company’s vision, and every person’s role in achieving it.
We’re living through interesting times, and the need to look after our people increases daily. Geoff also has some thoughts on employee care, retention, and satisfaction, against the backdrop of “The Great Resignation”. As he puts it, the grass is greenest where you water it.
Give this episode a listen and you too can tend to your lawn, and ensure that your people don’t need to head to the other side to see if it’s greener.
About our guest:
Leader at Wilson Sporting Goods. Runner, cyclist, and coffee addict. Geoff’s favorite book is Legacy by James Kerr. An incredible book about the New Zealand All Blacks and their approach towards not only sport, but life in general.
You can contact Geoff on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/geoff-watts-aaa8792/
You’ve probably heard of job sharing, but what about top sharing? It’s a flexible working arrangement offering senior level role splitting across two or more people.
How can that possibly work you might ask? I had the same question (and more). Fortunately I recently met Karin Tischler, who focuses her research and energy on this precise topic.
Karin joined me on People at Work to dive into what she’s learned, and why she’s an avid fan of top sharing. Karin makes a case for how this can reduce burnout, increase innovation, and enhance job satisfaction.
With the door to flexible working flung wide open due to the global pandemic, now’s the time to expand our thinking about unique and creative ways of getting work done while harnessing expertise at the senior level.
About our guest:
Lifelong researcher focused on flexible work to get to gender equality faster. Currently stuck global traveler using podcast intro questions to learn more about future locations to visit from her international guests.
You can contact Karin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/karin-tischler/, on Twitter at @karin_tischler, and on Instagram at @karintischlerbc.
Resources:
Podcast: "Jobsharing and Beyond"
Website: Emilyspath.ca
Do you want a high performance culture in your workplace? Who doesn’t? Trouble is, I don’t think we’re being honest about what’s needed to get this level of performance at work.
Anthony Vaughan has some ideas on this topic, starting with this simple premise: people first.
If you want people to contribute and deliver, you need to create a safe place and take care of them. That means understanding what makes them tick, listening to their concerns, and supporting them in ways that matter to them (not you).
Anthony talks more about his ideas and offers some practical advice for managers and leaders on the latest episode of People at Work.
About our guest:
Anthony is a hybrid, a split between an entrepreneur, executive, and HR rebel! Everything he believes and does is backed by putting employees first.
You can contact Anthony on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/anthony-vaughan-8ba8a8172.
Resources:
Website : https://e1b2.webflow.io/
Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-e1b2-collective-podcast/id1467066005
You’re sailing on choppy seas, and building your boat as you go. That’s the vivid picture that Vicki Yang paints about tackling how to do hybrid work.
It really emphasizes the situation most of us are in if we’ve chosen hybrid mode. We don’t have the answers, we don’t know what will work, and we’ve got to try something and see if it takes us forward.
On the latest episode of People at Work Vicki chats about what Bonusly is doing to build their boat. It’s a lot of trial and error, but three things are key: understand what individuals need and want, document everything to keep things clear for all, and stay as flexible as possible.
Hear about this and much more with Vicki’s generous sharing so that we can learn and adapt too.
About our guest:
A people leader who leads by helping build up people through coaching on matters relating to performance management, org development, recognition, and engagement. An avid reader, with current favourite reads: The Making of a Manager, Just Work, and Eloquent Rage.
You can contact Vicki on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/victoriayang/.
Resources:
Life Labs for workshops and webinars (especially around hybrid work)
Think about your day-to-day at work right now. Are you in the moment swatting at the most immediate issues or are you fixated on getting to better times ahead?
Many of us are wrestling with how we shift to new ways of working together. Dave McKeown thinks that to make this new mode work for everyone, we need to have a two track approach. Fix what’s broken in the short-term, but keep focused on where you want to go in the long-term.
This means that leaders have to be honest about not having all the answers. It means trying new ways and failing until you find what works—and being okay with that.
Hybrid and dispersed work require a new mindset. What worked before won’t work now. Dave has very practical tips for what to think about and how to make the most of uncertainty.
About our guest:
Dave McKeown helps individuals, teams, and organizations achieve excellence by doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. He is the CEO of Outfield Leadership and author of The Self-Evolved Leader - Elevate Your Focus and Develop Your People in a World That Refuses to Slow Down. Dave is the host of the podcast 'Lead Like you Give a Damn' and writes a weekly column for Inc.com.
You can contact Dave on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/davemckeown/, on Instagram @davemckeown1, on Twitter @davemckeown, and on Facebook facebook.com/davejmckeown/.
Resources:
Free Guide: Six Secrets of Effective Strategic Planning. Discover how to set and achieve your strategic goals with ease. Download from www.outfieldleadership.com
If you’ve ever heard a friend or family member on a work call you may have noticed they have a “work voice.” A lot of people feel the need to sound more professional so they change their tone, sanitize their language a bit, and are a pared down version of themselves. All because they want to be seen as a professional.
But the reason for this might be because the company chooses to see their people as professionals first and humans second. It could be that they’re part of a transactional company culture and not a transformational one.
A transformational culture puts the human first and encourages them to bring their whole selves to work. Their own distinct views, values, and thoughts. And ultimately the goal of the company is to have each employee leave the company a better version of themselves than when they started. In turn, people will want to go that extra mile and will bring their own unique ideas to their work.
On this episode I spoke with Shane Metcalf from 15Five about why building a transformational culture is one of the most important things you can do for your people. We also spoke about his unconventional background for a tech founder and the new sabbatical program that they’re rolling out.
About our guest:
Shane Metcalf, Co-founder of 15Five, is a keynote speaker on building a world class workplace and one of the world’s leading pioneers in the space of cultural engineering and positive psychology. His insights have been featured in Inc, Fast Company, Business Insider, Washington Post, Tech Crunch, and Bloomberg.
You can contact Shane on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/shane-metcalf-55620213/, and on Twitter at @shane_metcalf.
I was an early-ish adopter of virtual reality (VR). When the HTC Vive came out in 2016 I ended up buying one sheerly out of curiosity. The graphics were pixelated and didn’t look that realistic...but it’s so immersive that it felt real. So real that I may or may not have punched air when a ghost popped out while playing a Paranormal Activity VR game. Luckily that event was not captured on video.
So what in the world does all that have to do with this podcast?
On this episode I got to chat with Robin Rosenberg, CEO and Founder of Live In Their World, about how VR is an effective tool to help with civility training and DE&I. It allows people to truly live in someone else’s shoes for a brief moment and see how a scenario may play out. For example, men can experience what it’s like to be a woman as a man stands over their desk speaking to them. It helps drive home the feelings someone might experience to help decrease bias and increase respectful engagement.
We also chat about how VR is just a tool and that ultimately it comes down to building a habit of taking the time to be self-aware enough to realize how your words and deeds impact others, and then adjusting your behavior accordingly.
About our guest:
Robin S. Rosenberg is the CEO and Founder of Live in Their World. Robin is a clinical psychologist and textbook author. Robin has also been interested in virtual reality (VR) for years, and was the lead author of a study to investigate using “VR for good.” She has written and spoken about the psychology of superheroes, using other people’s fictional stories to illustrate scientific psychological findings.
You can connect with Robin at linkedin.com/in/robin-s-rosenberg-b6942329 and on Twitter @LiveNTheirWorld.
Resources:
Dear Robin Column
Their World podcast
A business that tells lighthearted romantic stories for a living must have a distinct advantage: storytelling. At Meet Cute this couldn’t be more true.
CEO Naomi Shah joined me on People at Work to talk about why the human story of every person at Meet Cute is critical to their culture. From the very beginning Naomi wanted to build an organization based on human connection and care, starting with each individual’s needs and circumstances.
But, actions speak louder than words (or stories). For Naomi and her team, it’s crucial that the lived experience actually supports her beliefs about what people need to thrive at work.
Even though Meet Cute exists in a traditionally unforgiving environment with deadlines and demands, Naomi emphasizes the mental health and wellness of every person. Examples of real actions to support this include mental health days, work “love” language that declares working styles and preferences, and being open and supportive of therapy blocks in calendars.
Naomi generously gets into details of this and more in our time together. This is a refreshing conversation for leaders everywhere, especially those who are currently trying to make a distributed model work while keeping people and their wellbeing front and centre.
About our guest:
Naomi Shah is the founder + CEO of Meet Cute, a venture-backed media company that has produced over 300 original light-hearted romantic comedies in podcast form. In high school, Naomi won the Inaugural Google Science Fair at the age of 16 and did a TEDtalk about her research, and placed 1st at the Intel Science Fair four years in a row.
You can connect with Naomi on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/naomicshah, on Instagram @nshahster, on Twitter @naomicshah, and on Facebook facebook.com/listenmeetcute.
From pursuing an MBA at MIT, to Vipassana and 10 days of silence in India, then back to a pressure cooker job at McKinsey, Rahul Kulkarni knows a thing or two about dealing with stress and taking care of your mental well-being.
Rahul founded Sukhi to help answer a simple question. How do we reimagine what work-life balance looks like in the modern work era? Sukhi provides scientifically backed, month-long courses called Journeys that focus on well-being, productivity, and community.
Rahul and I chatted about how the pandemic has brought mental wellness and burnout to the forefront of the conversation and how being a good leader is no longer just about the productivity of your team. Instead, it’s about showing up for your employees and showing that you care about them as humans and not just task rabbits. We also discuss how inequity can creep into hybrid work and some steps you can take to make sure fully remote employees are treated the same way as in-office employees.
About our guest:
Prior to Sukhi, Rahul was a strategy consultant with McKinsey, a global health official, and facilitated group therapy sessions in Boston. Following mindfulness training in India, he looked to combine his passion for analytics, diversity, and mental resilience to support workplace connection. When not on a Zoom call, you can see him playing guitar in his 90’s cover band - Matchbox 30ish.
You can connect with Rahul on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/rahul-kulkarni-6b084b44.
The “humanization” of work must surely be one of the leading themes in the discussion around the 21st century workforce. We have the ongoing global health crisis to thank for that. The pandemic has at least one endearing quality: it’s helped us accelerate the importance and care of people in the workplace.
But smart leaders like Phyllis Reid-Jarvis have been thinking about the humanization of work for some time. Phyllis believes that we’re finally shifting from performative to authentic work environments. Here, people can be more demanding and intentional about how they want to work and what they want from their leaders.
In this episode of People at Work, Phyllis shares her perspective on how to practically build people-centric workplaces and elevate leadership acumen to rise to the challenges ahead of us thanks to new ways of working.
About our guest:
Phyllis Reid-Jarvis helps leaders use the principles of Conscious Leadership to create diverse, inclusive and psycho-socially safe and healthy workplaces. She is a proud Winnipegger that enjoys walks by the Red River, in the Exchange District or at the Forks, followed by a meal at one of the many amazing restaurants in the area!
You can connect with Phyllis on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ultimatepotentials and on Instagram @ultimatepotentials.
Resources:
The Ultimate Potentials resources page includes their introductory Managing a Remote Workforce manual.
Be honest: do you actually know what your organization’s purpose asks you to do? Many of us have spent hours articulating what our purpose is but we haven’t taken the next step to put it into action.
Chip Walker and Liza Haffenberg of StrawberryFrog are on a mission to change this. Their concept of “movement thinking” helps people galvanize around their company’s purpose and spur actions in support of it. They believe a movement is purpose activated.
In this climate of social impact and values alignment for employees and consumers, it’s time for all of us to take a stand on what our organizations are here to do. If you can mobilize your purpose into a movement, your whole company and everything you care about, will thrive.
About our guests:
Liza Haffenberg is a movement maker with a passion for helping companies activate their people through purpose – galvanizing employees, changing culture and driving growth. Heading StrawberryFrog’s Movement Inside™, Liza develops people-first solutions that ignite positive change for employees while solving business problems.
You can connect with Liza on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/liza-haffenberg-78a50622, on Instagram at @lizahaffenberg, on Facebook at facebook.com/liza.haffenberg, and on Twitter @Lizahaffenberg.
Chip Walker is recognized for his expertise in brand creation and re-invention, and has led the charge in transforming brands such as Goldman Sachs, Lexus, Bank of America, Jim Beam, and Heineken. Chip is a speaker, columnist, and the author of the new book Activate Brand Purpose which he co-wrote with Scott Goodson – Founder & CEO of StrawberryFrog.
You can connect with Chip on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/chipwalker, on Instagram @walker.chip, on Facebook at facebook.com/chip.walker.nyc, and on Twitter @ChipWalkerNYC.
Resources:
The 7 Keys of Chip's Book
Purpose Power Index 2021 Executive Summary
As a Dad to two young boys, it is more than a full-time job taking care of them. Between soccer practice, baseball practice, swimming lessons, and play dates I am basically their chauffeur. I’m fortunate that I have a lot of help from their grandparents and my wife, but not everyone has that support system and juggling two full-time jobs (parent + your career) is incredibly difficult. Employers need to understand that and leaders need to be a support system.
Heather Odendaal is the co-founder and CEO of WNORTH which is a global network and community of women aiming for, or already on, a senior executive leadership track. Through her relationship with WNORTH members, Heather has heard all about the good and the bad when it comes to how employers have and haven’t supported mothers and women of color in the workplace. I had the opportunity to chat with her and get her thoughts on what to expect as we slowly transition to whatever this new normal of hybrid work is.
We spoke about why prescribing a rigid schedule to employees just doesn’t work anymore, how we should expect a dip in productivity as we transition back into the workplace, and why it’s important to schedule meetings and other key events at times when working parents are able to attend.
About our guest:
Meet Heather Odendaal—an accomplished Canadian entrepreneur, brand builder and event producer whose experience in corporate environments inspired her to create and co-found WNORTH, a global organization dedicated to the development of women mid-career on a trajectory towards senior executive leadership.
Heather currently resides in Whistler, BC, and is a Director on the board of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce. In her spare time, you can find her judging local food & wine festivals, and skiing with her husband and two children.
You can connect with Heather on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/heatherodendaal.
Our original Jostle website in 2012 was focused on the concept of empowering your employees. Which is why I was really looking forward to chatting with Avnish Goyal, Founder & Chair at Hallmark Care Homes, about his Empowerment Days program.
Avnish is the type of leader who very strongly believes in empowering all of his employees to be better versions of themselves. He runs Empowerment Days which are when he gets hundreds of his employees in a room to focus on personal development. One of the most interesting parts to me is that he actually opens it up to his competitors and colleagues in his sector to bring their employees as well.
Avnish and I chatted about where his passion for personal development came from, why it’s a never ending journey, and how he’s managed to use things he’s learned in his personal and professional life.
About our guest:
Avnish Goyal is the Founder & Chair of industry-leading care provider, Hallmark Care Homes. He is also the Chair of Care England, an Advisory Board Director, Patron of The Care Workers' Charity, and Ambassador of E2Exchange and the Alzheimer’s Society. Avnish founded the Hemraj Goyal Foundation in memory of his late father, supporting charities on issues such as trafficking, menstrual dignity, empowerment of women, and education of children from disadvantaged backgrounds both in the UK and abroad.
You can connect with Anvish on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/avnishgoyal.
Learning the basics of communication is key to having productive conversations. This includes active listening, giving feedback, and identifying stakeholders. But is that enough to really get your ideas heard and gain traction?
No, says Dr. Nicole Tschierske. We can’t stop there. If we want to rally people around our ideas, we need to go beyond the basics. Now we get into choice of words, desired outcomes, tone, timing, and more, to help us engage and convince our audience.
If you’re ready to go to the next level with your communication, give this episode of People at Work a listen. If we all communicate with clear purpose as Nicole suggests, perhaps we’d get more done and be happier at the same time.
About our guest:
As a Scientist and Positive Psychology Coach, Nicole helps her clients strategically turn their career frustrations into a renewed love for their work. She’s a huge fan of Mary Poppins who inspires her to bring magical moments to the work she does.
You can connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/drnicoletschierske.
Resources:
‘Women in STEM, Reimagined’ is a free masterclass series dedicated to helping participants stand out with confidence, become the go-to expert in their area, and spark their next-level career move. It’s open each March and September and you can get on the waitlist at womeninstem-reimagined.com
If you’ve been working this past year and a half, you know that where and how we work has changed. But, do you know that career management has had a seismic shift too?
It stands to reason that if employees are expecting changes in work habits, recognition, and care for their individual needs, that attitudes towards careers are changing too.
Denise Cooper joins me on People at Work to talk about the new landscape of career management. The basis of employment has always been a contract for work in exchange for pay. Climbing the career ladder meant increasing pay with increasing importance or status in an organization.
Those days are gone. Now, as all things job and career become more human-centric, we must transcend the contractual way of thinking. A key shift according to Denise, is understanding that all workers are knowledge workers (not just those who work in offices).
Once we do that, we open up a much more diverse and engaging conversation about career development. In this conversation, Denise encourages us to question performance standards and reward systems, see organizations as communities working together, and encourage space for individual stories.
Whether you’re a manager or an individual contributor, the memo is here: career development has changed. Take a listen to Denise’s perspective on how we use this shift to showcase our own brilliance and that of our team.
About our guest:
Denise Cooper is an Executive Trainer with 25 years experience in Human Resources, apprentice patio builder, and amateur gardener.
You can connect with Denise on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/denisecooper and on Instagram @denisecooperinc.
Resources:
Denise's book, Remarkable Leadership Lessons, is available on Amazon.
Her podcast, Closing the Gap with Denise Cooper, is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Things are changing at work, and they’re changing fast. It’s not only the overnight shift to remote work that’s keeping leaders up at night.
It’s also the new landscape of employee-powered workplaces. Here, employees care about what their organization stands for and how it contributes to the greater good.
Rachel Klausner is so invested in the idea of social impact as a key driver of all things good for business (most importantly, its people), that she started a social impact platform called Millie.
Rachel’s keeping a keen eye on what’s happening in the realm of social impact, and she joined me on People at Work to emphasize what leaders should be focusing on. We chat about generational shifts (PSA: the philanthro kids are here), why employee resource groups matter, starting small is better than not starting, and giving the keys to passionate individuals.
Now’s the time to make social impact a firm part of your culture, not a convenient add on to serve your marketing agenda. Listen in and hear why and how you can build authentic and credible social impact with your organization. Your people are counting on it.
About our guest:
Rachel Klausner is the founder and CEO of Millie, a social impact platform bringing giving and volunteering to workplaces of all sizes. When she’s not running a small tech company or podcasting under a blanket, Rachel is hiking with her daughters (read: bribing them with Skittles up mountains) or trying new art mediums to amatuer-out with.
You can connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/millie-giving.
Employee engagement is something companies have focused on for years, but when you look at the Gallup polls and the research we’ve barely moved the needle?
Why is that?
One big reason is that a lot of it focuses on the company instead of the person. Employee engagement is always tied to productivity, profitability, and what leaders want to see from their engaged employees. It’s a selfish view and we are likely better off focusing on how to increase the happiness of our employees in the workplace.
On this episode I spoke with Eric Karpinski who is the author of Put Happiness to Work. He spoke about how to develop habits to improve social connection and deal with negative emotions.
Here are just a few of the tips he shared on how to improve social connection:
- Gratitude practice; takes 3 minutes at the start of the day to write down three people that you appreciate and what you appreciate them for.
- Conscious act of kindness: as soon as you get to your phone each day commit to writing a one or two line email or text to someone telling them something you love about them, encouraging them, or just sharing some good news with them.
- Connection meditation: bring someone to mind that is really close to you and just send them good wishes in your mind
- Pecha Kucha connection presentation: Each week ask someone on your team to pull together 10 photos of their life outside of work that they’re comfortable sharing with the team and then present them. This gives everyone an understanding of each other and plants potential seeds of conversation
There’s so much more to this episode and some great tips for dealing with negative emotions. I guarantee you’ll get something valuable out of this episode so give it a listen.
About our guest:
Eric Karpinski has been on the cutting edge of bringing positive psychology tools to workplaces for over 10 years. Eric is a key member of Shawn Achor’s GoodThink team, trained as a scientist at Brown University and has an MBA from the Wharton School. He and his wife are regular work-advice columnists on Psychology Today and his new book, Put Happiness to Work, is available now.
You can connect with Eric on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/erickarpinski.
Leaders have always struggled with being out of touch with people in their organization. That’s worse now. All sorts of new barriers, like the digital divide, disparities during COVID, and muted interpersonal signals, are making leaders more invisible than ever.
Derek Newberry chats with me on People at Work about how leaders can move from invisible to visible. As a cultural anthropologist, Derek sees similarities between tribes and groups of people who gather in organizations. In both cases, leaders have to work harder to bring people together to work in harmony and be productive.
But in today’s work context, where people are face to face less often, leaders must be more intentional about presence. This starts with deep listening, followed by what Derek calls strategic vulnerability, where you arrive without all the answers. Both of these require interest, curiosity, and humility.
Visibility stands to benefit everyone in our teams and organizations. Not to mention the impact present leadership will have on the tone and experience of workplace culture everywhere. If you do one thing today to up your leadership presence, listen and act via Derek’s take.
About our guest:
Derek Newberry is an organizational development consultant who specializes in helping leaders build great cultures and drive transformational change. He’s co-author of a new book “The Culture Puzzle: Harnessing the Forces that Drive Your Organization’s Success”. Adam Grant called it “a stimulating, sensible guide to understanding—and improving—the values and norms of your workplace.”
You can connect with Derek on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/derekonewberry.
Resources:
The Culture Puzzle is available on Amazon or wherever you get your books.
Over at Voodle, there’s excitement about how short videos can create micro-connections for people who don’t work face to face. But that’s not all.
Voodle’s Chief Customer Officer, Rachel Lanham, is excited about the possibilities the new work landscape presents. She’s also curious about how to prepare for the transition to hybrid work.
So, the Voodle team asked 800 US technology workers what they’re thinking about. The result is a comprehensive “Hybrid Workplace Report” that details five big challenges in the transition to hybrid. All of these challenges relate to people and how they’re connected to each other.
Turns out maximizing an employee’s experience in the new normal means being open to new ideas about what culture is, how people are included, and the opportunities for new connection habits.
Tune it to hear Rachel speak on People at Work about what this research means for all of us. She also shares how she’s interpreting the data and implementing solutions for Voodle’s own people and culture. As Rachel says, employees are loose in the socket and ready to plug in somewhere else. Let’s listen and understand how to keep them.
About our guest:
Rachel has dedicated her career to solving big business problems with digital innovation and is currently obsessed with the promise of the future of work - a more flexible, inclusive, distributed, and human experience. Her home base is Seattle, WA but, born and raised in Southern California, she reserves the right to complain about the weather anyway.
You can connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/lanhamrachel and on Twitter @RachelLanham8.
Resources:
Hybrid Workplace Report
Virtual Onboarding Toolkit
Even if you sit right beside your manager, there’s no way they have complete visibility into your work. Now that many of us are working from home, this visibility is decreased even more. Add on a flexible work schedule and more distractions at home and it’s a recipe for your manager to accidentally overload you with work.
Which is why it’s ok to push back.
Ben Brearley gives some tips on questions you can ask to get the conversation started when you feel like you have too many competing priorities. It really does come down to prioritization and trust. Otherwise you run the risk of setting a precedent that you’ll just accept all work that is thrown your way even if you’re drowning in it.
About our guest:
Ben Brearley is a certified leadership coach, MBA and consultant who helps thoughtful leaders to manage the tricky balancing act of leadership and helping them to lead with confidence.
You can connect with Ben on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/benbrearley.
Ask 100 people what happiness is, and you’ll likely get 100 different answers. But, as Becky Morrison tells us on this episode of People at Work, joy is the root of happiness for us all.
Your recipe for happiness relies on where your joy comes from. We maximize happiness when we do more of this, and less of the rest.
It’s not quite that simple though. Which is why Becky has created a framework to help tune into what matters, and then find that joy in every part of your life.
In the context of work, employees and employers alike have something to learn from this conversation. If we build more joy into our workplaces, we create environments that welcome choice, diversity, and authenticity.
Hear Becky’s thoughts on how to make joy a priority. Just imagine what this would look like if it works.
About our guest:
Meet Becky Morrison. Lawyer turned Happiness Coach, book author, international speaker, and mom to two. Becky also comes from a basketball family – her husband is a basketball coach and both her kids play as well.
You can connect with Becky on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/beckymorrisonbfs, on Facebook at facebook.com/untanglehappiness, and on Instagram @the.butterfly.society.
Resources:
Book: The Happiness Recipe: A Powerful Guide to Living What Matters
The Happiness Recipe Workbook: view.flodesk.com/pages/606cc3f1156ede2be20c611b
Things are happening quickly at Dooly. With a recent $80 million Series B raise, they’re scaling most things in their business, not least of which their culture.
Candace Bajgoric is Head of People and Culture at Dooly, with a background of building and scaling companies and their workplace cultures in the tech space. This is complex work under normal circumstances. Throw in a global pandemic with forced remote work for all, and everything from hiring to onboarding to doing productive work together, becomes more challenging.
At Dooly, the key is being human-centric. Candace joined the People at Work podcast recently to talk about how they’re achieving this, even when they’re not face-to-face. She talks about:
- Authentic and vulnerable leadership, where humility and openness starts from the top
- The importance of employee storytelling to create connection and celebrate commonalities and uniqueness
- Placing greater emphasis on what people actually want in their workplace and how that fits into their lives, rather than prescribing rules, perks, and quirks in your culture
Regardless of where you are in your culture-building journey, there’s a ton we can learn from Candace and her team of Dooligans. With additional pressures arriving due to the pandemic, such as greater demands for flexibility and more mobility in the workforce, companies like Dooly are showing how to keep ahead of change while looking after their people.
About our guest:
Candace is a down-to-earth, people-focused leader who has spent the past eight years working with emerging and growing companies in the tech space. In 2019/2020 she took a different (but also super fulfilling) people and culture role, spending the year traveling in Europe with her young family.
You can connect with Candace on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/cbajgoric
Andrew moved from the UK out to San Francisco to open up a new office and hire rapidly. That’s hard enough to do.
Just as he started doing that, the pandemic hit. The in-person interviews weren’t possible anymore. So he had to adapt to virtual interviews. Instead of thinking about how to connect two offices, he now had to think about how to connect everyone remotely.
That’s a whole lot of change and a whole lot of learning so I was excited to pick his brain a bit. We chatted about the pros and cons of virtual hiring, how to maintain your culture when rapidly hiring and switching to remote work, and what he plans to do with the two offices once things go back to “normal.”
About our guest:
Andrew Butt is the Co-founder & CEO of Enable, a modern, cloud-based B2B software solution for rebate management. Distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers across over 50 industries now have an easy, seamless solution to execute and track their full range of trading programs. Andrew and his co-founder met twenty years ago while learning to fly helicopters and have launched three businesses together since.
You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/awbutt
Workplace culture is like an octopus on roller skates. There are many moving parts, and if we don’t move those parts in the same direction, chaos ensues.
That’s why this week’s guest on People at Work, Gina DeLapa, believes that the future of workplace culture rests on shared purpose. As we’ve shifted (a bit awkwardly like invertebrates on roller skates too) into overnight remote work, our physical spaces are now far less important for building our cultures than rallying everyone around a common goal.
But vibrant and engaging workplace cultures go beyond shared purpose. They also require more self-aware leaders who understand why human-centric environments are best for people who work there. In addition, collaboration, openness, and inclusion are now minimum viable elements for any organization and its culture.
Listen in for more about Gina’s look into the future of workplace culture and her call to action for all of us at work. Workplace culture is up to all of us, and there’s much we can influence for good if we choose to do that.
About our guest:
Gina DeLapa helps company leaders transform their culture so employees engage, drama disappears, and company culture becomes a competitive advantage.
Gina has been collecting great quotations for more than half her life. They often inspire her writing and speaking. Here's one from Ed McMahon, as he was wrapping up his time on The Tonight Show: "Play your role — to the very end."
You can connect with Gina on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ginadelapa, on Twitter @GinaDeLapa, on Facebook at facebook.com/ginadelapa, and on Instagram @ginadelapa.
Resources:
50 Traits of Exceptional Leaders: info.ginadelapa.com/50-traits-of-exceptional-leaders
There are things that get in the way of achieving goals. Often, we have ourselves to blame. It’s not usually a lack of aspiration or dreams, but the belief that we can actually set a goal and see it to completion.
Kristin Burke feels there are four obstacles that put roadblocks in our way. Perfection, fear, perceived shortage of time, and lack of self-promotion. These are all internal factors that we can control on our goal setting and achieving journey (also known as life).
Kristin talks through each of these obstacles in this episode of People at Work. She provides sassy yet helpful responses to the usual excuses we use to get ourselves off the hook. After all, if we’re not taking our goals seriously, who will?
About our guest:
Kristin is a goal achievement coach who collaborates with women, entrepreneurs, and leaders to accomplish breakout performances. She launched her coaching practice after advancing in her corporate career from an intern to a senior level director. Kristin is married to her high-school sweetheart, Joe, and they have a vivacious 6-year-old, Scarlett. In her free time, she enjoys finding flow through her hot yoga practice, running, and reading.
You can connect with Kristin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/burkekristin and on Instagram @meetkristinburke.
Resources:
Hear more from Kristin at kristinburke.com/podcast.
If you’re a recovering perfectionist like me, you’ll know that failure and making mistakes don’t sit well. Where in the past I focused on the perfect score in any endeavor, I’ve now come to value the jagged edges of things unfinished, unsolved, and never meant to be.
Shani Magosky brings the idea of embracing failure into focus. She believes there are types of failure that can help us grow, innovate, adapt, and improve. Most of these don’t even get us into a lot of trouble (except for the mistakes around law-breaking, which are generally not encouraged).
But why then do we shy away from not getting things right the first time or at all? Shani talks through the psyche around mistake making and how humans can learn to accept and even welcome failure as a prerequisite for success.
According to Shani, we’re never done failing because there really is no such thing as perfection. So, get messy and make mistakes—it’s good for you (and everyone around you!).
About our guest:
Shani Magosky founded The Leadershift Project based on years of experience working with leaders of all levels and a desire to change organizations by helping people become better leaders- of others and themselves.
In her free time, you can find Shani rock climbing, mid-vinyasa at her favorite yoga studio, hurtling down black diamond slopes, riding her Harley, or kicking back to watch some college football.
You can connect with Shani on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/shanimagosky, on Twitter @leadershiftproj, and on Instagram @theleadershiftproject.
Resources:
Check out The LeaderShift Project website for free resources and book recommendations by Shani at theleadershiftproject.com.
As companies grow their company culture also grows and evolves. When that happens there are two common reactions:
- Slap on some shiny new process or HR tactic that they heard some Fortune 500 company was using
- Try desperately to hold on to their existing culture and stop it from evolving
Both of these reactions often make things worse.
So what do you do if you’re leading a high-growth company and want to make sure you have a vibrant culture and the right mix of processes and freedom? That’s the exact question I kicked around with Andrew Bartlow on today’s episode.
What it boils down to is awareness, critical thinking, and intentionality.
You need an awareness that the changes you’re experiencing are a natural evolution for a high-growth company. Then think critically about what might work for your specific company. Don’t just blindly copy an approach from a company you admire. Finally, be intentional with your changes. Don’t make them for the sake of making them. Really think through what your intended outcome is.
Simple, right? But definitely not easy.
About our guest:
Andrew Bartlow is a Human Resources and Talent Management expert and the co-author of Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organizations. He leads Series B Consulting, which focuses on rapid growth, and the People Leader Accelerator, the preeminent development program for startup HR leaders. He’s worked with clients like Masterclass and many others to help them overcome obstacles in a hyper-growth phase.
You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/bartlow.
Resources:
Who Should Founders Listen to For Advice
Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow
There are always some bumpy times when a company is growing quickly. Usually the problem boils down to either the wrong people, the wrong processes, or both. If you have a capable person who just isn’t compatible with your organization and becomes disgruntled then you run the risk of that spreading to other employees. On the other hand, if you drown intelligent, creative people in strict processes you could be hurting their ability to make positive change in the organization.
It’s all a tricky balance and it’s why growing a company isn’t easy.
In this episode, I had a chat with Josh Mathias about why hiring people whose values are aligned with your company’s values is more important than their skill set, and how important it is to make sure processes don’t limit the creativity and capability of your people. Give it a listen to learn some of the lessons he learned along the way as he grew from labourer to Managing Director at The Hythe Group.
About our guest:
Josh Mathias is MD of The Hythe Group. He joined the company aged 22 as a labourer and took a break so he could return in a commercial role. Josh loves cooking - particularly outdoors, which is lucky because—until today—indoor dining hadn’t been allowed in the UK for months! He likes to cook anything that’s challenging.
You can connect with Josh on Twitter @JoshMathias9 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/josh-mathias-544112101.
There’s more than meets the eye with each and every one of us. Yet, we often make assumptions about others based on what’s visible to us. And that can lead to misunderstandings, compounding stereotypes, and division.
Laura Kriska believes that to be successful in relating to somebody else, we have to grasp not only the visible, but the invisible. This takes work, patience, and skills like listening and attentiveness. Plus, it demands that we check our biases and assumptions, so that we build an internal infrastructure that’s based on curiosity, respect, and an open mind.
In this latest episode of People at Work, Laura talks about why this is so important, especially in the workplace. As leaders, we have significant power and opportunity to bring about change. Learning from her own hard knocks, Laura has some powerful ideas and practices to bring people together, rather than force them apart.
About our guest:
Laura Kriska is an internationally recognized expert and leading consultant on cross-cultural relations with more than 30 years of experience bridging gaps in diverse workplaces. Laura has worked with Fortune 500 companies on four continents, helping thousands of business leaders and professionals build trust across Us versus Them differences based on nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, age, or any factor of identity. Her latest book The Business of WE provides a practical roadmap for creating trust with others who are different from ourselves.
You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/laura-kriska-0a93902a, on Twitter @LauraKriska, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LauraKriskaauthor, and on Instagram @laurakriska_author.
Resources:
Learn more about The Business of WE at www.businessofwethebook.com.
When your team members wake up in the morning, do they want to come to work?
It’s worth reflecting on that question. The answer could tell you a ton about your own leadership, the degree of intellectual stimulation on offer, and the quality of your workplace culture and relationships.
If you don’t like the answer you get, then it’s time for change. Because if you don’t make sure the answer is positive, someone else is eagerly waiting to make up for what you’re lacking.
Employee retention isn’t a burden for leaders. It’s exactly the opposite. Dr. Bev Kaye has been thinking about this opportunity for leaders for over 40 years. She thinks of retention as caring for people rather than simply trying to keep them.
Bev joined me on People at Work to get to the heart of the matter. She shares a few key tips for leaders that don’t involve rocket science. It’s simply about human-to-human relating, that starts with noticing employees and what matters to them. Now more than ever, you’ll want to hear a resounding “Yes” when your people open their eyes every day.
About our guest:
Dr. Beverly Kaye is recognized internationally as one of the most knowledgeable and practical professionals in the areas of career development and employee engagement and retention. Bev is a transplanted Jersey girl who has made her home in Los Angeles with her husband, Barry, and near her daughters, Lindsey and Jill.
You can connect with Dr. Kaye on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/bevkaye and on Twitter @BeverlyLKaye.
Resources:
Download a free excerpt from the sixth edition of Dr. Kaye’s international bestseller, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay at https://bevkaye.com/books/love-em-or-lose-em/
If we moved to widespread remote work under regular circumstances, things might look and feel a bit different. But, almost overnight we turned dining rooms into offices and blew up the ring light market against the backdrop of a global health crisis.
Those who lived through that shift might be able to relate to Zoom fatigue, cats as co-workers (or alter egos), and the cementing of sweat pants as office attire. More promising, the commute is gone, we’ve got extra time for ourselves, and we don’t have to contend with co-workers not making a fresh pot of coffee after taking the last cup.
But, the shape of remote work isn’t what it should be. It could be so much better. And realistically, it needs to be. Dr. Aaron Barth of Dialectic recently partnered with us on a research study to understand the impact of remote work on inclusion.
What we found were some obvious barriers to inclusion, but also a set of contradictions that remote workers are feeling. These sentiments centre on performance, manager relationships, sick time, and added responsibilities. In some cases, we’re seeing positive gains, but overall there’s short-term thinking that’ll have long-term negative effects for people and organizations.
Aaron talks about these contradictions in this week’s episode of People at Work. The current state of remote working needs work. There are alarm bells ringing and this isn’t an office building fire drill.
About our guest:
Dr. Aaron Barth has led comprehensive research on unconscious bias and inclusion training. He has a moral interest in making people’s day-to-day lives better through critical thinking and supporting companies with their DE&I strategy. Aaron is also the founder of Dialectic’s diversity, equity, and inclusion Learning Snippets.
You can connect with Aaron on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/aaronbarthphd/, on Facebook at facebook.com/dialecticwork, on Twitter @dialecticwork, and on Instagram @dialecticwork.
Resources:
Dialectic's Learning Snippets
Jostle + Dialectic's remote work research study
Be honest: how many of us get more excited about the box than the contents, like when we were little? Probably very few. But what if we could bring the joy that children get from creating spaceships, forts, and lemonade stands out of cardboard boxes, into our adult working lives?
Nir Bashan thinks we should and we must. He’s a creativity expert who’s rejecting traditional business thinking in favour of creativity. It’s not that we don’t need analytics, it’s just that alone they don’t serve the long-term health and prosperity of organizations or their people.
According to Nir, we’ve traded our creativity that we were born with for analytical skills at work. Nir joins me on People at Work to talk about what this means today and what we need to change for the future.
Creativity isn’t reserved for artsy types. Creativity has a firm place at the helm of business and Nir is here to show us how. Give the episode a listen and see whether you can bring cardboard box thinking into your work life today.
About our guest:
Nir Bashan has taught thousands of leaders and individuals around the globe how to harness the power of creativity to improve business outcomes and create more meaning in their work. Nir has spent the last two decades working on a formula to codify creativity for business and he’s written about it in his book, The Creator Mindset. Nir is also a lifelong West Ham United fan. Come on you Irons!
You can connect with Nir on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/nirbashan, on Instagram @nirbashan, on Twitter @Nir_Bashan, and on Facebook at facebook.com/nirbashan1.
Resources:
Nir’s book, The Creator Mindset, is available anywhere books are sold!
Clammy hands, dry mouth, body slightly shaking… exactly what happens when you hear the words “I’d like to give you some feedback.” Even worse when they’re paired with “annual performance review”.
Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but if you’ve ever had a job, you’ve likely experienced the agony of poor feedback. If you’ve ever managed a team of people, you’ve most definitely experienced the discomfort of delivering negative feedback.
Libby Robinson is out to change that. Believing that we’ve been doing feedback wrong for many years, Libby advocates for a more proactive approach. It’s not that people don’t want feedback. They just want it on their terms.
In this People at Work conversation, Libby shares the research and neuroscience behind a new way of thinking about feedback: when people seek it out, it’s far more pleasant for everyone.
Libby’s so committed to doing feedback right, that she’s built a free app called Backfeed+ to facilitate it. If you’d like to join her in the quest to blow up traditional performance reviews and awful feedback, listen in!
About our guest:
Libby Robinson is the Managing Partner of Integral, an award-winning leadership, executive coaching, and advisory company working with Fortune 1000 companies globally. A former Wall Street Banker, aerospace engineer, and National Champion Equestrian, Libby has worked for 26 years with senior leaders globally, helping to bring more mindfulness, resilience, and greater capacity to brilliant and ambitious leaders. Libby’s latest venture has been to launch BackFeed+, a new app that helps individuals and organizations get better, faster feedback using a method backed by the latest neuroscience data about how individuals receive feedback with less stress.
You can connect with Libby on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/integralcoaches.
Resources:
Learn more about Backfeed+ at www.backfeedapp.com.
Observe a group of children being curious and you’ll see joy, engagement, experimentation, and more on display. That’s because they’re free to try new things, make mistakes, and learn to trust what others have to say and do.
Robin Barone saw a parallel between child-like curiosity and the ingredients for a healthy and vibrant place of work. Pivoting from children’s book author to workplace consultant, she now teaches leaders how to use curiosity to build workplace culture.
For Robin, there are two distinct buckets of workplace cultures: those that embrace curiosity and those that don’t. Those that do, use curiosity to make the uncomfortable more comfortable, and she believes that we get there by building trust.
Listen in to hear Robin’s take on how else curiosity can help workplaces and people in them perform at their best. We can all aspire to bring more childlike wonder into work! Even better if it builds trust and helps us relate better with others.
About our guest:
Robin Barone is an educator, writer, and traveler who has visited over 60 countries and lived abroad. Prior to founding Diplomat Books, Ms. Barone worked in finance where she was known for her ability to formulate win-win solutions.
You can connect with Robin on Instagram @whereisrobinusa.
Resources:
- The next Curiosity Conversations for Individuals cohort will be held May 12-June 2
- The next Train the Trainer session will be held July 12-13
Visit https://curiosityconversations.co for details.
As always, this episode of People at Work is brought to you by Jostle. Head over to www.jostle.me to start your free trial today.
I like solving puzzles so I’ve always enjoyed escape rooms. I looked at them as a fun way to pass time with friends but I never really noticed the parallels between escape rooms and work issues until I spoke with Christina Eanes.
Deadlines, stress, communication, productivity, emotional intelligence...all part of work, and all part of escape rooms. On this episode I chat with Christina about how she uses skills learned and practiced in escape rooms to help leaders with self-development. We focus on the importance of perception, emotional intelligence, and communication. We also chat about how being self-aware of your energy and understanding what creates and consumes energy for you can help improve your productivity.
About our guest:
Christina Eanes is a former FBI violent crime analyst and senior manager, now author, speaker, podcast and YouTube channel host, and self-improvement guru. Christina has done 500+ escape rooms in 20+ countries.
You can connect with Christina on Twitter at @ChristinaEanes and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/christinaeanes.
The job of a leader is to help those on their team grow and be successful. This is why I was excited to chat with Cherie Curtis. Cherie went from volunteer intern to CEO at Revelian so she knows a thing or two about what people need in order to advance in their career.
Cherie explains that helping your people grow starts with genuinely caring and getting to know them. And by selflessly focusing on what they need to grow. She also gives some tips on how to spot people who have high growth potential with the three main components being problem-solving ability, emotional intelligence, and initiative.
If you’re a leader looking to help your people grow or if you’re looking to grow in your own career, this episode is worth a listen.
About our guest:
Cherie Curtis is an Organizational Psychologist and President of Criteria, an assessment company dedicated to helping organizations make better talent decisions using objective, multidimensional data. Cherie has been recognized as the nation’s top leader in the 2016 AIM Leadership Excellence Awards and was a finalist in the 2015 Qld Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
You can connect with Cherie on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/cheriecurtis, on Twitter @CriteriaCorp, or on Facebook at facebook.com/CriteriaCorp.
Most companies that grow quickly experience some form of growing pains. It’s almost inevitable. But having a strong foundation of core values and a focus on company culture from the start can help make those growing pains a little less painful.
On this episode I had the opportunity to chat with Morgan Browne, President & Co-Founder of Oakwyn Realty. Morgan is on a mission to flip real estate upside down and provide a collaborative atmosphere where realtors feel safe and work together.
And it’s working.
Oakywn has gone from 10 agents to 500 agents and they’ve managed to hold onto that collaborative atmosphere due to their consistent focus on their core values.
Give this episode a listen to learn about the core values that enabled their success, as well as some of the growing pains they did face along the way.
About our guest:
Morgan Browne is a fierce and passionate partner at Oakwyn Realty. Co-founding the company in 2014, Morgan has nurtured Oakwyn Realty into Vancouver's fastest-growing realty brokerage. Morgan’s can-do attitude and passion for building make it possible for Oakwyn’s forward-thinking and expansion plans. Driven to make a difference in the Canadian business community and embracing change in the real estate industry.
You can connect with Morgan on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/morgan-browne-97bb1710.
The ability to think strategically is something that makes you more promotable and is something you need in order to lead a company. I think most of us would agree on that.
But how do you improve your ability to think strategically?
The short answer is...there’s no shortcut to developing your strategic thinking skills. It takes time, commitment, and, according to Greg Githens, working on specific microskills like curiosity, courage, and dealing with ambiguity. The good news is that strategic thinking is a skill that we can all work on and not just some mystical thing that some people have.
Give this episode a listen to get some ideas on how to improve your strategic thinking starting today.
About our guest:
Greg Githens was born and raised in Ohio but now lives in Florida. He is an Executive Coach who works with senior and mid-level managers in organizations of all sizes. He is also a seminar leader and speaker who has appeared before audiences on six different continents. He's looking for an opportunity in Antarctica but his wife says that she'll stay in Florida if he goes.
You can connect with Greg on Twitter @GregGithens and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/greggithens.
Resources:
Greg has a LinkedIn group, "Practitioners of Strategic Thinking Microskills." Each week, on a rotating basis, the group is reminded of one of the 20 microskills and encouraged to practice that microskill. Everyone is welcome.
Greg's book is available at all major booksellers: How to Think Strategically. Sharpen Your Mind. Develop Your Competency. Contribute to Success.
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
If you exist alone on a desert island, you can do what you want, when you want, and how you want. However, none of us have this luxury in the business world. We all rely on others to get things done.
When we’re trying to get something done together, differences start to matter. According to Dr. Nate Regier, those differences show up in the way we communicate with one another. In fact, our very personalities are expressed in our communication preferences.
Nate joins me on the People at Work podcast to explain how the Process Communication Model® helps us make sense of this. This is not just another personality assessment tool. It’s a model of personality and communication, that helps individuals understand themselves better and learn behavioural skill sets and self-management competencies.
Not only does this model help us make sense of who we are and grow, it’s vital in helping leaders take care of themselves and people around them. By learning how to communicate better, we reduce stress and enhance compassion. Two key outcomes all leaders should be striving for.
About our guest:
Nate Regier, PhD, is the CEO and founding owner of Next Element Consulting, a global leadership firm helping companies build cultures of Compassionate Accountability®. Dr. Regier is a former practicing psychologist and expert in social-emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, and leadership. He shares his expertise as a keynote speaker, author, and podcaster. Nate loves to bar-be-que and once won a competition for his Jamaican Jerk chicken wings.
You can connect with Nate on Facebook at facebook.com/NextElement, on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/next-element-consulting-llc, on Twitter @NextNate, and on YouTube at NextElement1.
Resources:
Next Element Resources | Next Element Workshops
Emails and messages and meetings...oh my! Nowadays there are so many different communication channels that it can be difficult to figure out which one to use in a given situation. Do you go synchronous or asynchronous? If you go asynchronous, do you send a message, an email, or a video? I wish it was an easy answer, but it really depends on who you’re communicating with and what you’re hoping to achieve with that communication.
On this episode, I was joined by Josh Little, the Founder & CEO of Volley which is an asynchronous, threaded video communication platform. We chatted about how some people are just better suited for asynchronous communication, how to deal with Zoom fatigue, and what the future workplace will look like.
About our guest:
Josh Little is the founder of four tech companies–Maestro, Bloomfire, Qzzr, and Volley–that have collectively been used by hundreds of millions of people. His work has been featured in Tech Crunch, Mashable, Entrepreneur, Inc., and Forbes. With two successful exits and third pending, he’s currently on a mission to save the working world from death-by-meetings with his fourth creation, Volley.
Depending on what circle you run in, you may know Josh better for his pickles, performances, or projects–as he is a 5th generation pickler, a classically trained singer, and a mechanically-minded YouTuber.
You can connect with Josh on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/littlejosh.
There are a few Qs you may be familiar with: IQ and EQ are the obvious ones. Recently I was introduced to a new, and possibly more powerful Q, Spiritual Intelligence or SQ.
SQ has nothing to do with faith or religion. It’s a way to describe that place within each of us where compassion, wisdom, and love reside. Once we’re able to tap into this place, we can achieve a state of equanimity to manage our emotions and respond calmly to others.
Amy Lynn Durham believes we need SQ at work. More human-centric workplaces are created by leaders working on their SQ first, and then creating environments where people are seen, heard, and wanted.
In this episode of People at Work, Amy Lynn shares her own journey to nurture deeper SQ, and how she’s made it her life’s work to help others do the same. She also talks about ways to build SQ, and what it looks like at work when SQ thrives.
This conversation really piqued my interest as a growing human and leader, and I hope it’ll do the same and more for you.
About our guest:
Amy Lynn Durham is a certified Spiritual Intelligence coach and an Emotional Intelligence Practitioner. She has spent years in the corporate world successfully managing hundreds of employees for private and publicly traded companies. Amy designed Create Magic At Work to bring a variety of services and strategies to aid in cultivating teamwork and harmony in order to improve profits and employee morale through coaching and workshops.
You can connect with Amy Lynn on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/amylynndurham, on Facebook at facebook.com/CreateMagicAtWork, and on Instagram @createmagicatwork.
Resources:
The Create Magic at Work Book is available on their website.
When you join a new company, you enter into two contracts. The obvious one is the signed employment agreement that outlines your salary, benefits, and the like. The other contract is the implicit agreement that exists between you and your employer.
Few people work for what’s in the signed contract. They show up at work each day because of how it feels to be there, what they enjoy about their work, and how much opportunity they have to grow. In other words, they come because of the culture, not their paycheck.
Bretton Putter has been observing implicit contracts and how they’re upheld across companies of varying sizes and industries. Unfortunately over the past year, many of these contracts have been broken. In particular, those companies building cultures based on physical offices and tangible perks, have struggled to keep their implicit contracts in one piece.
In this episode of People at Work, Bretton talks about what to do if you’ve been caught swimming naked as the tide recedes (paraphrasing Warren Buffett). This is a conversation to prepare us for what lies ahead in the re-framed world of work and those implicit contracts that need repairing. Naked swimmers, now’s the time to get a wetsuit.
About our guest:
Bretton is an expert on company culture development. He’s the founder and CEO of CultureGene, a company culture development company helping companies build strong, functional cultures while transitioning to a remote or hybrid work model. Bretton has written two books on the subject of company culture. Culture Decks Decoded was published in 2018 and Own Your Culture: How to Define, Embed and Manage your Company Culture was published in September 2020. He writes a popular blog on culture-driven companies and is a sought-after speaker.
You can connect with Bretton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/brettonputter, on Facebook at facebook.com/culturegene100, and on Twitter @BrettonPutter.
Resources:
Own your Culture
Culture Decks Decoded
COVID-19 kind of hit the factory reset button on a lot of people’s lives. It caused an immediate change and for many people, it was a time where they paused and took the chance to spend time being introspective.
One of the key things that a lot of people have discovered is a desire to find purpose in their work. A greater sense of purpose was already a driving force for many Millennials and Gen Zers but it was only accelerated by all of the changes in the world.
I had the opportunity to have a chat with Elizbeth Lotardo on the importance of finding purpose in your work, how companies who take the time to find their noble purpose have happier employees and do better financially, and how you can get started with discovering your purpose through using an impact map.
About our guest:
Elizabeth Lotardo is an expert in helping organizations find and live their noble purpose. In this conversation, she shares insights and tips on how you can find more meaning, fulfillment, and joy in the job you already have.
You can connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/elizabethlotardo or on Twitter @e_mcleod_.
Resources
Elizabeth's courses on LinkedIn Learning
The genie is out of the bottle. The toothpaste is out of the tube. Pick your metaphor. Workplaces have changed forever, and there’s no going back.
Jeff Harry believes there’s never been a better time to think differently about how you work and lead others, not to mention create thriving work environments. According to Jeff, the way we get there is through play.
Not the kind of play you’d find in board games and virtual escape rooms. He’s talking about any joyful act where you’re fully present in the moment. These are the moments when we’re most likely to experiment, tinker, and try new things. That teaches us to be adaptable, flexible, and resilient.
Experimentation is also the antidote to perfection. Too often in workplaces we place unrealistic expectations and pass heavy-handed judgement on people. When we switch shame for play, we move closer to psychologically safe places where people want to be, stay, and grow (and yes, play).
Right now none of us have the answer to what workplaces will be like and how we’ll work together once we see the pandemic in the rear-view mirror. But one thing is clear, the more adaptable you can be now, the better off you and your people will be (and psst: that means your business will be better too).
So, it’s time to play. Jeff shares how in this joy-filled episode of People at Work.
About our guest:
Jeff Harry shows individuals and companies how to tap into their true selves, to feel their happiest and most fulfilled—all by playing. He is an international speaker, coach, and consultant and has worked with Google, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, the NFL, Amazon, and Facebook, helping their staff to infuse more play into the day-to-day. Jeff believes that we already have many of the answers we seek, and by simply unleashing our inner child, we can find our purpose and, in turn, help to create a better world.
You can connect with Jeff on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jeff-harry-6991a94, on YouTube at youtube.com/user/jchuche, or on Instagram, Twitter, Medium, or TikTok @JeffHarryPlays.
Resources:
How To Stop Wasting Time Scrolling And Start Finding Joy In Play - Mashable
How Do You Add Play To Grown-Up Life - Even Now - NY Times
A Play Experiment To Remind You Who You Are - Medium
I think that if you asked people what are the key traits of great leaders the most common answer would be charisma or confidence. But is that actually the case?
Tim Spiker’s research has shown that three-quarters of your effectiveness as a leader comes from who you are, not what you did. Tim calls this the Who* Not What Principle. His findings on what parts of the “who” are most important go against the common notion that leaders have to be charismatic, charming, and outgoing. Rather, Tim found that being inwardly sound and others-focused are the two fundamental attributes of exceptional leaders.
I had a great time chatting with Tim. We touched on why tactics-first approaches to leadership development often don’t have long-term benefits, how focusing on the who of leadership takes more commitment but has a longer-lasting impact, and how you can become a leader who is actually worth following.
About our guest:
Tim Spiker is the founder of The Aperio and the Who Not What Principle, a profound research-based truth that has powered 15 years of leadership development success. Tim’s book, The Only Leaders Worth Following, reveals that 77% of leadership effectiveness comes from who a leader is and not what they do. Using this principle, Tim helps people become, be, and stay leaders who are actually worth following. Tim currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and four children.
You can connect with Tim on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/timspiker, or visit his website, theaperio.com.
Resources:
Want free leadership consulting? Visit theonlyleaders.com — sign up for mailing list at top of page and enter the promo code “jostle” for a free hour of consultation.
Being intentional as a leader demands more than deliberate action. And in fact, simply being intentional is not enough.
What we need in leaders today, is extreme intentionality. According to Jayson Krause, this starts with defining the best expression of yourself as a leader, and then consistently delivering that.
On this episode of People at Work, Jayson talks about his own journey to understand his most authentic self. He went from Olympic-level contender in the bobsled to grief-stricken friend, after his childhood friend and teammate lost his fight with cancer.
As Jayson questioned his own legacy and the value he wanted to give to the world, he realized that the only productive place to be is to face possibilities, not succumb to adversity. So he took this philosophy and began coaching other leaders to find their own brand and style of extremely intentional leadership.
Find out what this looks like in practice, how it impacts imposter syndrome, inclusion, and psychological safety, and why this is the healthiest way for any leader to operate.
About our guest:
Jayson Krause is the Managing Director at Level 52 and author of The Science Behind Success: What Every Leader Needs to Know About Mindset, Influence, Culture & Performance. Jayson helps leaders solve their most frequent and painful problems with leader development and coaching. He began his leadership and high-performance path as a Canadian national team bobsled pilot.
You can connect with Jayson on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jayson-krause, on Instagram @level52_inc, or on Facebook at facebook.com/level52inc. You can also check out his podcast, Executive Commute, wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources:
Book | Newsletter | Podcast
One of the most comforting aspects of the pandemic has been the outpouring of support and help for fellow humans. From clanging of pots, to hearts on windows, to food delivery, and having local business backs, it’s been a time of outreach and togetherness, in an albeit isolated way.
This spirit has also been seen in organizations, where leaders have pitched in within their own walls and beyond, to help others. A perfect example is the work that Within People is doing to support leaders during this weird/challenging/scary/uncertain time (pick whichever fits best for you).
Two of their partners, Jeff Melnyk and Laurie Bennett, joined me on People at Work to talk about what they’ve observed in the changing leadership landscape, and how their new tactical guide for leaders is helping.
Mostly, they emphasize the acceleration towards more progressive, human-centred ways of doing business and leading. The problem is that many leaders need help to step fully into this.
Jeff and Laurie (and their team) have carefully crafted very practical ways for leaders to get into this mode. They’re helping leaders authentically live it within their organizations in three areas: humanizing leadership, focusing on purpose, and doubling-down on employee experience.
If you’ve been wrestling with these aspects of your business this past year, you’re in good company and in good hands. Take a listen to the down-to-earth insights from Jeff and Laurie, and be sure to dig into all the goodness of their guide, for you, your people, and your business.
About our guests:
Jeff Melnyk and Laurie Bennett are Founding Partners of Within People.
Jeff believes we should all have the opportunity to do work we love. That changing the world starts with a change within ourselves. And that we can each be pioneers, creating amazing places to work where people are free to realize their dreams. You can connect with Jeff on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jeffmelnyk or on Twitter @jeffwithin.
Laurie works at the intersection of brand, culture, strategy and leadership to help leaders grow companies fit for the 21st century. He grew up in Kenya and speaks passable Swahili (which he admits doesn’t come in all that handy in North Vancouver). You can connect with Laurie on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/laurie-bennett-within or on Twitter @lauriewithin.
Resources:
Within People ebook:
www.withinpeople.com/free-leadership-guide-company-culture
Imagine you’re a craftsperson who loses the one tool needed to excel at your profession. It’d be potentially devastating and you’d be forced to adapt or quit. That’s what happened to Kevin Hancock. Except he lost his ability to speak, his most powerful tool as CEO of his company.
This set in motion a series of events that caused Kevin to pause and reflect. He became acutely aware of how it literally feels to lose one’s voice. He began to think about what that might feel like figuratively for many who don’t have a voice in society or at work.
Kevin decided he could have a positive impact in two areas: changing his own business to respect and honour all the voices there; and bring his story and ideas to a broader audience capable of shifting business to a higher purpose.
He shares how he has pursued this in our podcast interview for People at Work. For his own business, the benefits have been felt in tremendous levels of employee engagement and satisfaction, not to mention profits. On the grander scale, he’s quietly yet forcefully showing how to be a voice for good.
About our guest:
Kevin Hancock is an award-winning author, speaker, and CEO. His business operates retail stores, grows trees, and has received many accolades including six “Best Places to Work in Maine” awards. Outside of business, Kevin has published two books and is a frequent visitor to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He lives in Maine with his wife Alison.
You can connect with Kevin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/kevin-hancock-6bb0501a1 or visit his website, thebusinessofsharedleadership.com.
Resources:
Not For Sale
Amazon
The Seventh Power
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Amazon.ca
After years of being a coach, Victor Mcguire saw first-hand the positive impact that coaching could have on individuals. But he also saw an opportunity gap and wondered how the lives of those from traditionally under-resourced communities would be affected if they received the same type of coaching as some of the top employees in Fortune 100 companies. That’s what led Victor to create Coaching for Everyone.
Coaching for Everyone is on a mission to offer complimentary coaching and leadership support to traditionally underserved and under-resourced Black, Latinx, and Indigenous populations. They’re also striving to offer coaching fellowships to working BIPOC professionals interested in becoming a certified coach.
I had the opportunity to chat with Victor about this mission and he also shared some great coaching tips along the way.
About our guest:
Dr. Victor McGuire has 30 years of leadership development experience within a variety of sectors and age groups. He is a Certified Professional Coach and Certified Strengths Coach, a facilitator, and speaker. Victor has a proven record of inspiring and transforming individuals and teams, tangibly impacting the overall workplace culture for multiple organizations. When he’s not activating the potential of others, he enjoys a great meal with his wife and chasing that little white ball around on the golf course.
You can connect with Victor on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/coaching-for-everyone or on Facebook at facebook.com/Coaching-For-Everyone-102940201486197.
Traditional thinking about job roles, career paths, and measures of success is quickly changing. People are taking greater ownership of their careers and defining how they want to spend their time. For the most part, organizations are no longer in charge of how and when someone progresses.
This is good news to Dr. Benjamin Ritter. But more change can’t come fast enough in his opinion. Benjamin believes that although the career landscape is changing, we need a new way forward. What’s really needed for this transformation is job crafting.
Job crafting is the process of shaping whichever job you’re in to fit your personal values, your professional aspirations, and the path you want to take for your career.
What this means is that every individual is empowered like never before to make choices about any moment in time in their working life. But, it’s more than just flexible work hours and choosing to live far away from head office because remote work is now a thing.
It’s about actively picking types of projects that interest you, choosing to work on different teams, or saying no to work that doesn’t fit your short-term goals. It’s about anything and everything that can be shaped to suit you as an individual, not the other way around.
In our podcast interview, Benjamin shares more about his ideas and experience on this topic. He also talks about what this shift means for organizations and the types of work environments that employees will gravitate towards, in order to job craft.
If you’re thinking about retention, employee experience, evolving leadership, psychological safety, and maybe even your own career path, this is a fascinating conversation and the right fit for you.
About our guest:
Dr. Benjamin Ritter, is a leadership and career coach, regional learning manager for YPO, national speaker, podcaster, author, mentor, and passionate about guiding others in finding, creating, and sustaining a career they love. It helps that he’s worked a wide range of jobs from being a live cast model for mannequins to a healthcare executive.
You can connect with Benjamin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ritterbenj, on YouTube at youtube.com/c/benjaminritter, and on Instagram @Ritterbenj.
Resources:
Download your free e-book on creating a career you love
Afraid of public speaking? You’re definitely not alone. Apparently 73% of people suffer from glossophobia. That’s a staggering number of people who shy away from presenting their ideas and sharing their voice.
Billie Shepard is an actor turned coach. She’s found a way to help business people use the benefits of actor training to banish fear and increase their presence.
According to Billie, it starts with setting a clear intention. This helps you ignore the fear and stay focused on the task at hand.
Although Billie’s presentation method was initially designed to help executives and keynote speakers overcome their fear, it’s equally useful in other leadership and interpersonal settings.
In this delightful podcast episode, Billie shares her key tips for banishing fear and improving the quality of communication and relationships. After all, as Billie says, being afraid is just stupid!
About our guest:
Billie is a professional actor and acting coach, leveraging her acting experience and unique training and coaching methods into the business arena; transforming corporate speakers into influential leaders. Her clients include Facebook, Uber, Intuit, Rackspace, Lockheed Martin, as well as many financial and medical research companies. To encourage others, Billie earned her BA at 50, Masters Degree at 60, and published her first book at 70.
You can connect with Billie on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/billie-shepard-and-associates-59b3534.
Resources
The Billie Shepard Presentation Method
Paperback | eBook
Negotiation gets a bad rap. The word often brings to mind people haggling over a price, or someone trying to selfishly get everything they want. And sure, that happens sometimes. But you negotiate every single day, whether you know it or not. Whether it’s with employees, loved ones, or your kids, all of us are constantly negotiating.
Mark Raffan from Negotiations Ninja joined me on this episode and we chatted about the skill of negotiation, how it shares a lot of common ground with leadership skills, and how when you boil it all down it really comes down to communication. Mark gave some tips on tone and language you can use, as well as how to prep for a negotiation. Negotiation is a skill that most of us could get better at. So give this episode a listen and let me know what you think.
About our guest:
Mark is a serial entrepreneur and lover of marketing and thought leadership. Markis an expert in negotiation, influence, and persuasion. He has coached executives and teams in some of the largest companies in the world. He has been referenced in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Thrive Global, Supply and Demand Chain Executive Magazine (as a 2019 pro-to-know), and has appeared on dozens of podcasts, including Make it Happen Mondays with John Barrows, The Brutal Truth About Sales with Brian Burns, and The Insider’s Guide to Finance with Cory Cleveland. Mark loves to talk about all things procurement, negotiations, leadership, and marketing.
You can connect with Mark on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/markraffan, on Twitter @MarkRaffan, and on Instagram @negotiationpod
Resources
Find Negotiations Ninja wherever you get your podcasts.
Heard of VUCA environments? They’re ones with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. So pretty much every single organization and system in our unstable world right now.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unprepared in the face of this. But according to Ebony Smith, there’s an antidote to these stressful environments. If we choose to think about VUCA as vision, understanding, clarity, and agility, we can take control.
In this latest episode of People at Work, Ebony explains what VUCA environments feel like and explores what the antidote looks like in practice. She also has suggestions for individual actions needed to thrive.
By using technology to cleverly engage and mobilize, practicing individual self-care that keeps you sharp and engaged, and finding undervalued surge capacity in your team, leaders can proceed sure-footed even when things feel shaky.
About our guest:
Ebony Smith is a leadership development expert with a passion for creating forward-thinking leaders. After 20 years of risk-management experience in the Fortune 100, her full-spectrum-lens view of leadership has empowered her to help individuals hone their goals and reach their full potential. She pushes individuals to leave their “Subject Matter Expert” mindset behind and become relationship-oriented leaders that drive their organizations into the future. Ebony loves cooking, self-care, and exploring cultures.
You can connect with Ebony on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ebony-smith-coach and on Instagram @ebenumequationcoaching.
Resources:
Join her LinkedIn group:Leaders Thriving in a VUCA World
Power is everywhere in organizations. When building trust, collaborating, negotiating, and more. It’s there whether it’s explicit or not.
That’s what has Kit Krugman intrigued. She’s also interested in understanding why power is so often negatively portrayed, when there’s a lot of good to come from using power to drive things like innovation, change, and purpose.
In this conversation, I appreciate the way that Kit explains the difference between power and authority, helping me understand my own relationship and experience with power (not to mention the power privileges I have, whether I realize it or not).
She also explores how power systems exist in organizations, and what we can do to better understand where power lies and how to leverage it, for good.
In a world where power appears to be held by a few, Kit suggests that every individual has the power to influence and change. It’s just a matter of understanding where that power lies.
This fascinating discussion made me think about power more clearly and positively. It’s a conversation worth continuing as it impacts every aspect of society, not least of which how it makes people feel at work.
About our guest:
Kit Krugman has designed and grown team cultures for over 10 years. She has worked with technology giants, non-profits, and most recently built and leads the Organization & Culture Design at co:collective. Kit’s writing on organization design and transformation has been published in Quartz, INC, and The Huffington Post. She has spoken at DisruptHR, Talent2030, and Adobe’s 99U on women in leadership, innovation, and workplace diversity. Kit holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology & Change Leadership from Columbia University, a B.A. in Literature and Studio Art from Yale University, and is a certified yoga teacher.
You can connect with Kit on Twitter @KitKrugman and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/kit-krugman-7b22a8b.
Resources:
Covid-19 and the welcome collapse of “professionalism”
Do you use the word “love” at work? Not in the romantic sense, but to express yourself to coworkers, support them, and show that you care. Maybe you feel uncomfortable with this idea.
According to Dr. Bruno Cignacco, the humanistic connotation of love, which includes compassion, empathy, support, generosity, and gratitude, is critical for leadership and business success.
In this latest episode of People at Work, Bruno reflects on why we should bring love into business, and what this means for the experience that people have at work. It extends to everything we do, how we speak, how we lead, and what we focus on.
Human beings are the life force of any organization. Much like water and sunshine to plants, love is what helps humans thrive. We must find a way to make love more present at work. Our profits and our purpose depend on it.
About our guest:
Dr. Bruno Roque Cignacco (PhD) has advised and trained hundreds of companies on international trade activities and international marketing for over 20 years. He’s a university lecturer, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and an author of books on business and personal development. His new book is titled “The Art of Compassionate Business: Main Principles for the Human-Oriented Enterprise.” When he isn’t thinking about business, Bruno likes to scuba dive in the deep sea waters all over the world.
You can connect with Bruno on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/dr-bruno-roque-cignacco-sfhea-0609317.
Resources:
Bruno’s Personal website
Human Oriented Enterprise website
The Art of Compassionate Business: Main Principles for the Human Oriented Enterprise
Stress is part of daily life, even more so with the ripple effects of the global pandemic, social injustice, and political unrest. While there’s a lot swirling around all of us, shaking us to the core some days, we can manage this stress.
Nicole Mixdorf has experienced the damaging effects of stress firsthand. She left her corporate career that was literally making her sick from stress, and started a wellness business to help busy professionals take care of themselves.
Nicole helps her clients understand their own stress response, and then teaches them how to take control of it. Whatever the cause of the stress, the first step to getting in the driver’s seat usually involves taking a deep breath.
Doing this not only gives us space between stimulus and response, it helps introduce more oxygen to the brain (70% in fact!) and that opens us up to be more calm, receptive, creative, and in control of our own emotions and physical state.
In this episode of People at Work, Nicole talks about a few simple tools that she uses to control stress, and turn each chronic stress state into an opportunity. Nicole leads us through a breathing exercise (bonus content!) and her key tips on how to change your mindset to “what can I do?” versus “what can’t I do?” when faced with stressful situations.
If you’re listening for yourself, Nicole’s simple approach will help you immediately. If you’re listening as a leader trying to help your team cope with stress, Nicole’s here for you too with thoughts on how best to support your people. Either way, just breathe.
About our guest:
Nicole spent over a decade working her way up the corporate ladder in a global firm until she began experiencing the health consequences of the stressful environment; after healing, she launched Balance by Nature to inspire busy professionals to create more balance and thrive. She believes that success is measured in how much fun she has every day, so you can often find her practising yoga, dancing, kayaking or playing with her two young kids.
You can connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/nicolemixdorf/, Facebook at facebook.com/balance.by.nature.wellness, and Instagram @nicolemixdorf
Resources:
Finding Balance membership (buy one, get one offer!)
Do you have a habit of jumping in to find the answer for someone or solve their problem before they’ve had a chance? Well, stop it!
According to Corry Robertson, it’s your job as a leader to help people find and express the answers that lie within them. Not give them the solution you’d prefer.
In her opinion, if you’re being coachlike, then you should shift from giving advice to being of service, through conversation. Corry says coaching conversations are leadership in action, and we can all learn to be a coach—and a more effective leader.
In this episode of People at Work, Corry highlights how to coach through conversation, so that every interaction is future-focused and results-driven. We also talk about how to create a coaching culture in an organization and what this means for leaders at work.
So, if you’re thinking about what to brush up on as we take on a fresh new year, think about the character of your conversations. Who are you helping when you speak? Can you make a shift to become more coachlike, and be a leader in action? Bring it on, 2021!
About our guest:
Corry is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with a background in change management, reinvention, personality assessment, conflict resolution, conscious leadership, and performance improvement training as well as holistic methodologies including Reiki and Naturopathic Medicine. She lives in Saint-Lazare, Quebec with her husband, two teenage sons, their beloved dog and two cats, and she can often be found at the barn with her horses.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/corryrobertson/, Facebook facebook.com/AliveFrom9to5/, and YouTube.
Resources:
Lumina Spark Personality Assessment
Improve your virtual team meetings
7 hidden pitfalls in your leadership development program
The Coaching Academy for Leaders brochure
There is nothing worse than poor customer service. You know the feeling, being put on hold for hours, having your questions ignored, or simply failing to get the attention of the snobbish sales representative. It never feels good.
That’s why when Obi Omile Jr. set out to build theCut he knew that he wanted his customers to feel a sense of community. He wanted them to connect with him, his brand, and his mission. And the key to making that happen? Just be human, accessible, and authentic. Sounds easy enough but as you grow it’s one of the hardest things to scale.
In this episode, I chat with Obi about how he built his community, how he was fortunate enough to help them out during the pandemic, and what’s up next for him.
About our guest:
Obi is co-founder & CEO of theCut, the largest technology platform modernizing the barbershop experience for barbers and the people who need them. theCut boasts more than 70K barbers, 2M users, and over 15M appointments booked nationwide, disrupting the $20B barbershop market.
Connect with Obi on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/obiomile/. You can also check out theCut on Instagram @thecutapp, Facebook facebook.com/thehaircutapp, and Twitter @thehaircutapp
It’s a fresh new year! Most of us would prefer to hit the gas and leave 2020 in the dust. But, let’s not leave the lessons it gave us behind too.
The rapid shift to remote work that many employees experienced last year created stress, uncertainty, and discomfort for some. This was largely due to the overnight intrusion of organizations into their employees’ homes.
Suddenly kitchens, dining room tables, sofas, and other domestic installations became the proxy for offices everywhere. These settings came complete with all manner of normal human life details, like pets, children, unmade beds, and maybe the odd NFW (not for work) picture on the wall.
One of the biggest lessons for organizations, is that employees are imperfect human beings with lives on the other side of their employee files. That demands employers be more considerate, kind, and caring, especially if people are working remote from their own homes.
Megan Purdy is a strong advocate for giving employees the space they need to breathe and manage their work lives as they choose. In this episode of People at Work we talk about things employers should think about to create harmony and build safe remote workplace environments.
Much of this conversation is about what happened during the pandemic-enforced work from home experience. However, since many organizations will continue to offer location flexibility and possibly even remain fully remote, Megan’s tips and ideas are invaluable even when we get off the corona-coaster.
About our guest:
Megan is a former recruiter and HR blogger who now works to close the gap between global business and Canadian top talent through remote workforce solutions in her role as Marketing Manager at Canadian Payroll Services. She is a longtime movie and comic book critic and a perennially hopeful Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/megan-purdy-0b92aa53/.
Resources:
How to Transition to a Remote First Company: canadianpayrollservices.com/how-to-transition-to-a-remote-first-company/
Survey on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: canadianpayrollservices.com/survey-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-remote-work/
We’re not out of the woods with the pandemic yet, but there’s been a collective sigh of relief around the world as vaccines begin to arrive. Yet, from a workplace perspective, many of us remain together, apart, and the duration of this new mode is unknown.
What we do know is that this year has stretched and tested us in ways not previously imagined. It’s also accelerated shifts in flexibility, leadership mindsets, work/life design, reimagining teamwork, and using technology. In our People at Work podcast we heard from coaches, founders, scientists, longtime WFHers, and many others, to help us fill in the blanks of what’s happening in workplaces today.
As we mapped our own team’s path forward in full remote mode over the past ten months, a lot has changed. We’ve had to adapt and learn to communicate differently, keep our culture alive virtually, hire and onboard remotely, and support individual employee needs. All while keeping the business open and servicing our customers in their time of need. Sound familiar?
We heard about all of these things during our year of podcasting for People at Work. It was interesting to see the shift in focus from reaction to action as the year unfolded. Our near 60 guests came with stories and wisdom, helping us provide relevant and immediately applicable information to our listeners.
We’ve enjoyed every minute of conversation, and appreciate everyone who appeared on the show during this strange yet interesting year. Today’s episode is a little different - for the first time Dustin and Bev interview each other about themes and inspiration coming out of their podcast episodes this year.
We wish you a very merry holiday season! We’ll be back on January 4 with more ideas and voices to help people at work.
Interested in chatting with Bev and Dustin? You can find them on LinkedIn! Connect with Bev at linkedin.com/in/bevattfield/ and Dustin at linkedin.com/in/dustintysick/
What’s your relationship with change? Do you welcome it with open arms or avoid it like your worst fear?
If you’re Liz Lewinson, you seek it out as a way to grow and expand your life experience. Liz went from writer to television to computer science to finance IT, and is still looking for ways to change.
The one constant that prepares her for change is a still mind. By practicing some form of meditation, Liz believes we can surf through even the roughest life swells.
In a world that’s ever-changing, the more prepared we can be, the better. Liz shares her experiences of moving through big and small changes with curiosity.
She also talks about how a life of meditation has given her the tools to enjoy change as an energy boost, not a drain.
I’m certain Liz will help you approach change more wholeheartedly, starting with your mind.
About our guest
Liz Lewinson is the award-winning author of “American Buddhist Rebel,” “Women, Meditation, and Power,” and “The Power of the Loving Man.” A constant learner, she loves being taken on long walks in nature by her two terriers.
You can connect with Liz on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/lizllew/, Instagram @lizlewinson, Twitter @LizLewinson, and Youtube at youtube.com/c/LizLewinson/featured.
Everyone is talking about remote work lately, including us. Lots of tips and tricks on how to remain productive, or how to juggle family and work time now that the lines are blurred.
But a lot of us are lonely. Over 50% of people feel more lonely now after transitioning to remote work. For Millennials and Gen Zers it’s over 70%.
This is why I was really excited to have JJ Caffey as a guest this week. JJ is the Founder and CEO of Order In, a digital platform for leaders of remote work. Her mission is to help build a better workday through a focus on community, and connectedness.
We discussed how this new remote work world is in conflict with many natural human behaviours and how leaders have to be extra intentional now to help people connect and feel part of a community.
I definitely learned a few things I’ll start using right away as I try to figure out leading in a remote-first world.
About our guest:
JJ is the Founder and CEO of Order In, a digital platform for the leaders of remote work. JJ is helping build a better workday through a focus on community, connectedness, and efficiency. JJ’s mission is to revolutionize American work culture.
You can connect with JJ on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/sarahjjcaffey/.
You can connect with Order In on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/order-in-club/, Twitter @OrderInClub, Instagram @orderinclub, Facebook @orderinclub.
Many of us live from the neck up; governed by our brains. We forget about the rest of our bodies, ignoring what else is happening inside us. All we focus on is what’s going on inside our heads.
Jonathan Miller thinks we’re more than a vehicle to move our brains around. He’s a proponent of somatic intelligence, harnessing the connection between mind and body.
In this episode of People at Work, Jonathan takes somatics one step further with embodied leadership. This involves taking cues from our entire body, including our brains, to show up as fully present leaders.
Jonathan shares three practical ways to engage full-body awareness that don’t involve silent retreats or junk science. Because you can’t simply use your brain, you need your body too. Why not make the most of everything you’ve got?
About our Guest:
Jonathan is the Co-Founder of Level 7 Leadership, where he works with social-impact founders to develop their leadership skills with coaching and training so they can stay energized and aligned with their mission to create a world that works for all. In his spare time, Jonathan loves going rock climbing, eating Thai food, and nerding out about his favorite fantasy novels.
You can connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/millerdjonathan, Instagram @mindfulcommunication, and through his podcast anchor.fm/mindfulcommunication.
Resources:
Your Body is Your Brain by Amanda Blake
How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
If I were to ask you “Who’s responsible for diversity and inclusion in your workplace?”, what would your answer be? Unfortunately, many of us would answer “Human Resources” or some other executive function.
That’s because DE&I has historically been viewed as a policy issue; something for management to write down in a handbook or a check box to check.
Having been at the receiving end of exclusion, discrimination, and tokenism based on ethnicity and gender, Vivian Acquah says we need to change this carriage of responsibility.
DE&I isn’t something to do, it’s something to feel. And that responsibility and opportunity rests with every employee.
In this heartfelt episode of People at Work, Vivian shares her motivation for making a tremendous career shift and devotion to more inclusive workplaces. We don’t need policies to improve DE&I at work, we can start by changing our own minds and behaviors.
About our guest:
Vivian Acquah is a workplace wellness and an Amplify DEI advocate. She advises organizations on achieving sustainable employability in a holistic way, including element diversity, equity, and inclusion. The coolest thing Vivian has ever accomplished is creating a healthy cooking show for TV “Cooking Back To Our Roots”.
You can connect with Vivian on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/vivianacquah, Twitter @VivalaViveNL, Facebook @VivaLaVive, Instagram @vivalavivenl, and Youtube at bit.ly/vlvYouTube.
Resouces:
Amplify DEI summit
When was the last time you gave someone advice? It’s easy to fall into that trap because we feel like we’re helping.
But Dr. Marcia Reynolds argues this doesn’t help at all. If we truly want to support someone’s growth and development, we need to stop transacting with advice, and start transforming with coaching.
In particular, we should employ conversational coaching. Here the emphasis is on helping others understand what they know, through considered and safe conversation. This requires vulnerability, trust, and curiosity. The result is sustainable change, not quick fixes of surface irritants.
Conversation implies dialog. The next time you arrive at a coaching moment with someone, check to see who’s doing most of the talking. If it’s you, back up. That’s just one suggestion from Dr. Reynolds. In the podcast, she talks through how to make the most of your coaching conversations, and see long-term change take root.
About our Guest:
Dr. Marcia Reynolds is an award-winning author and world-renowned expert on how leaders inspire change through conversations. Her books include Wander Woman; Outsmart Your Brain; The Discomfort Zone; andher latest, Coach the Person, Not the Problem.
You can connect with Dr. Marcia Reynolds on on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/marciareynolds/, Twitter @MarciaReynolds, Facebook @outsmartyourbrain, and Youtube at youtube.com/user/MarciaReynolds.
Resources:
Coach the Person, Not the Problem
Leaders, I feel for you. It’s been a rough year.
Ordinarily, there’s a ton of pressure on you to build teams, deliver on projects, and keep your people engaged. Now you have to do all that while dealing with the fallout of a global pandemic.
But, it’s not all doom and gloom. According to leadership coaches, Jan and Michelle Terkelsen, there’s a lot to embrace and relish in our changed work world if we know how to be resilient.
It starts with understanding who you are as a leader and being responsible for self-growth and awareness. If you work on yourself and then pay attention to what your team needs, you’ll be set to tackle any challenge that comes your way.
In this jam-packed episode of People at Work, Jan, and Michelle tag-team to share what they’re seeing on the front lines of leadership. They talk about ways leaders can practice self-care and growth, while engaging and caring for their people.
If you’ve been wondering how you’re going to keep up with relentless change and uncertainty, this episode is for you. You may even find yourself thriving if you practice the clarity, kindness, and optimism that Jan and Michelle express.
About our Guests:
Jan Terkelsen has been an executive coach, consultant, and facilitator in corporate Australia for more than 18 years. She’s an experienced personality profiler and behavioral change specialist, who has a deep interest and track record in assisting people with a preference for introversion.
Michelle Terkelsen has been ‘bringing out the best’ in individuals and teams in the corporate environment for almost 20 years. Her coaching specialties include leadership development, creating high performing teams, and building personal resilience.
You can connect with Jan on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/janterkelsen and Michelle at linkedin.com/in/michelle-terkelsen-creating-leaders-of-the-future-a992744/.
Resources
peopleleaders.com.au/resource-centre/ (Free Resources for Leaders)
peopleleaderspodcast.com (Podcast)
When a podcast guest says “This isn’t a fairytale”, I buckle up because I know we’re in for an interesting and useful conversation.
In today’s People at Work episode, Gonçalo Silva, CTO at Doist, tells the story of this fully remote company’s growth and culture journey over the past decade.
Even though Doist is doing a lot right, there are still obstacles in their way and a team to take care of from afar. Oh, and did I mention they’ve also had to adapt to cope during the pandemic? Granted, they’ve had a head start with the remote work gig, but the struggle has been real for them too.
The hero in the story is trust. Everything they do, how they work, how they make decisions, centers on trust. The success of their asynchronous, remote, fully distributed team depends on this.
This interview is real and refreshing, with many insights that can help those of us adapting our workforces to fully remote or hybrid arrangements. Give it a listen and let me know how you enjoyed the ride.
About our guest:
Gonçalo is the CTO of Doist, working remotely on Todoist and Twist. He’s obsessed with building the future he wants to work in, where location is irrelevant to being part of a highly productive team. He loves to work odd hours, but wonders if there’s even such a thing within a fully distributed team.
You can connect with Gonçalo Silva on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/gon%C3%A7alo-silva-006748171/, Twitter @goncalossilva, or Youtube at youtube.com/user/DoistApps
Look around you. There are all sorts of people and personalities at play, some easier to get along with than others. It’s a bit like a tin of cookies - some people are sugary sweet, some are brittle, and some are soft on the inside but tough on the outside.
Genella Macintyre knows this well. She has encountered many different types of people, and specifically, managers, in her career. Most of them fall into a defined character type, that Genella compares to cookies in her latest book, "Soft Skills for Tough Cookies".
Regardless of the type of manager (or cookie) that you’re dealing with, Genella suggests that we learn to focus on and change behaviors, rather than trying to change the person. In this episode of People at Work, Genella offers some suggestions for how to do this.
Whether you’re a manager or not, Genella’s straight up advice will help you navigate up, down, and across your organization and the relationships you have there. Maybe you’ll see yourself in the cookie types Genella bakes up for us—but don’t be disheartened, there is a sweet side to every cookie, after all.
About our Guest:
Genella Macintyre is an author, international trainer and consultant, and President of Partners in Discovery Ltd. She helps organizations, large and small, determine what needs to happen to develop a productive, profitable and psychologically safe workplace. Genella’s latest book, "Soft Skills for Tough Cookies", offers advice for dealing with difficult managers.
You can find Genella on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/genellamacintyre/.
Resource:
Soft Skills for Tough Cookies
Some people are great at interviews. Most people stretch the truth a bit on their resume. Almost all hiring managers have unconscious biases.
So why are many of us relying on these resumes and interviews when it comes to hiring?
I had the chance to chat with Josh Millet from Criteria Corp about how the hiring process is broken, why the emotional intelligence of hiring managers is extra important when hiring remote, and why most of the time you should hire for potential, rather than experience.
Josh made me rethink how I interview and hire people. Give it a listen and see if it makes you rethink your process too.
About our Guest:
Josh Millet is the Founder and CEO of Criteria Corp, an assessment company dedicated to helping organizations make better talent decisions using objective, multidimensional data. In his spare time, Josh is an avid poker player and dreams of winning the World Series of Poker.
You can connect with Josh on Twitter @joshmillet and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/josh-millet-23ba192/,
You can also connect with Criteria Corp on Twitter @CriteriaCorp, Facebook @CriteriaCorp, and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/criteria-corp/.
The world over people are experiencing pandemic-induced anxiety, stress, loneliness, and isolation. Aside from the obvious physical health impacts of COVID-19, the ripple effects are taking a toll on our mental health too.
That’s why this year’s World Mental Health Day on October 10 comes with a strong message: “It is expected that the need for mental health and psychosocial support will substantially increase in the coming months and years. Investment in mental health programmes at the national and international levels, which have already suffered from years of chronic underfunding, is now more important than it has ever been.”
We need society-level investments in mental health. We also need to enable and empower individuals to tend and bolster their own mental well-being. Mark Bunn has made it his mission to do just that. He teaches a shift to conscious living, inspired by wisdom and habits from Eastern cultures.
At the heart of this, is emphasis on the quality of relationships. A sense of community, service to others, and accepting help are key to happiness, Mark has discovered. In this week’s podcast, we’re focusing on what this means for mental health and how it starts with relationships. Mark gently steps through a few simple changes to achieve a greater sense of well-being.
We’re living in a complicated world, where work and life boundaries are all but gone, what was normal is no longer possible, and where clutter and noise distract us constantly. It’s no wonder we’re struggling. I hope Mark’s kind and calming voice will offer some hope and guidance in these trying times. Be well!
About our Guest:
Mark Bunn is a former professional Australian Football player, author of the 3 times bestseller 'Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health', and gives virtual online webinars (with a funny Australian accent) to business groups around the world on all things health, mental health, and the future of business performance.
You can connect with Mark on Instagram @markbunnhealth, Facebook at www.facebook.com/markbunn.ancientwisdom, LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/markbunn/.
Resources
Mark Bunn's Health, Happiness & High-Performance Seminars
Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health
Have you heard the saying “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”? Until recently, I thought this was true.
But my conversation with Catherine Gillespie has made me rethink this notion.
Oftentimes we confuse hard feedback and straight-up conversations that have to be had, with “not being nice”. So we don’t say anything, and in the process we avoid issues and necessary conflict.
According to Catherine, if we want to encourage workplace harmony, we shouldn’t focus on being nice. Instead, we should behave, communicate, interact, and work in a professional manner, and hold each other accountable.
Now, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be courteous, respectful, and interested at work. That’s not about being nice, either. That’s really just about showing up as decent human beings, and working together to achieve the best possible outcomes.
I enjoyed exploring what harmony looks like at work with Catherine. It’s quite a different (and refreshing) conversation than understanding and mitigating conflict in the workplace. Take a listen and see if you shift any of your perspectives too.
About our Guest:
Catherine is a qualified Workplace Trainer, Internationally and Nationally Accredited Advanced Mediator and Senior Experienced Workplace Investigator. She empowers teams and managers to adopt constructive and ethical communication and interaction styles while bringing an holistic, mindful and curious approach.
You can connect with Catherine on Twitter @cath_gillespie, Facebook @workplaceharmony, and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/catherinegillespie/.
Resources
Conflict resolution resources
Workplace Harmony Solutions blog
Workplace Conflict Resolution blog
2020 you’ve asked for a lot. But, to be fair, you’ve given us a few rare opportunities too. One of these is the chance to test how resilient we are. Before you throw more at us to really see how much we can handle, let’s pause there for a moment.
Your pandemic is the perfect set of circumstances to check our capacity to prepare for chaos, change, and adversity. That’s what resilience is. It’s not the ability to bounce back. Neither is this something that’s necessarily innate.
So how do we learn to be prepared for discomfort and uncertainty, at any scale or time? Susan Drumm has been studying and applying various scientific techniques to get to the heart of this, literally. Susan believes there are ways to build resilience through the heart, head, and body.
This involves learning to operate in a coherent state where your heart and brain are aligned and fully in sync. This helps control depleting emotions like fear, anxiety, and anger, and arrive at a state of renewing emotions like gratitude, kindness, and calm, which improve vitality, immunity, and mental processing.
This fascinating topic is the feature of today’s podcast episode. Susan walks us through both the theory and application of techniques like “quick coherence” to achieve this state of optimal resilience. We work together in real time on a 2-minute practice, that everyone can apply and benefit from right away.
With this new knowledge and control, I’m ready for whatever else you’ve got planned, 2020. Thank you for the lessons, but please, can your successor be a little more gracious and kind?
About our guest:
Susan is a CEO Advisor, Speaker and Leadership Coach, who runs a boutique consulting firm, Meritage Leadership. She loves living in Arizona, where her favorite times are spent hiking, exploring the outdoors and playing with her dog, Jasmine.
You can connect with Susan on Twitter @drummleadership and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/susan-drumm-bb09732.
Resources
Benefits of Resilience Guide for People at Work listeners
Do you remember your very first job in an office? When I first started working as a “grown up”, I was pretty much thrown in the deep end and expected to figure things out.
Although that was over 20 years ago (sheesh), and much has changed to improve the employee experience, I suspect that many young people are still encountering what I did.
Even though these new starters are smart and savvy, unless there are guidelines for showing up, responding, making decisions, and contributing, they’re lost and anxious. And waste precious time trying to figure it out for themselves, or not at all.
This might seem obvious. However, Peter Yawitz has spent more time than I’ve been working (does that make us both old?) helping twentysomethings get started and contributing at work. He knows firsthand that many managers and organizations don’t know how to do this successfully.
Peter talks about what to do about this in his latest book “Flip Flops and Microwaved Fish”. We had a few laughs before getting serious on the latest episode of People at Work about how to help, not hinder our youngest employees.
If you’re looking for a quick fix, there isn’t one. But you can start by getting managers to be clear on tasks and expectations, and actually taking an interest at an individual level. There’s much more in the interview, with special tips to help young people be part of your organization in an online world.
About our guest:
Peter Yawitz, founder of Clear Communication, specializes in communication and marketing strategy in a variety of disciplines, including financial services, manufacturing, economics research, technology, consumer products, and marketing. His conversation demeanor lead him to create Advice From Someone Else’s Dad podcast giving advice to young professionals.
You can connect with Peter on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/advice-from-someone-else-s-dad Facebook @someoneelsesdad, Twitter @someoneelsesdad, Instagram @someoneelsesdad, and Youtube at www.youtube.com/channel/UCFgh93ITTHdQCF2xpRFNr3A.
Resources:
“Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish: Navigating the Dos and Don'ts of Workplace Culture” by Peter Yawitz
As the spotlight has intensified around discrimination based on race, gender, and ethnicity, so has the emphasis on some of the root causes of these systemic issues. One of these is unconscious bias.
If you’ve been unpacking your own experiences against the upswell for change, you’ve likely realized that you have unconscious biases too. It’s not enough to acknowledge that we have them though; the call to act is loud and clear.
That’s why Dr. Steve Yacovelli is asking us to flip things around. Let’s not talk about confronting unconscious biases. Instead, let’s be consciously inclusive. This means that we’re intentional and purposeful in helping others belong. This moves us from passive to active engagement, where behaviours actively change along with mindsets, beliefs, and attitudes.
In this episode of People at Work, Steve provides context for why conscious inclusion is the better strategy for disrupting systemic discrimination. He talks us through a three-step process to shift ourselves out of unconscious bias and into conscious inclusion. This involves thinking in (reflecting), speaking up (vocalizing), and acting out (demonstrating).
There’s beautiful humility, depth, and clarity to this conversation. Steve also brings positivity to a difficult subject, and provides not only practical ways to think about changing yourself, but a great deal of hope. In the workplace and wider society, we need to hear Steve’s advice. And then act, with intent and empathy.
About our guest:
Dr. Steve Yacovelli is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a learning and development, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA. And he’s pretty good with dogs, too!
You can connect with Steve on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli, Twitter @gayleadership, Instagram @thegayleadershipdude, and Facebook @gayleadershipdude.
Resources:
“Pride Leadership” by Dr. Steve Yacovelli
Project Implicit
Mentoring is well known for helping individuals pursue career and other personal development goals. Unlike coaching, which is often driven by the coach, mentoring is mentee-led and focused on their long-term growth.
The benefits of mentoring are many and varied—interpersonal skill development, greater self-awareness, and fine-tuning of life skills. So why not think about mentoring as an organizational strategy, that can be scaled from the individual, to leadership, to the company as a whole?
Lisa Fain believes that mentoring is a critical strategy for some of the key outcomes that businesses strive for: attracting and retaining outstanding talent, gaining trust and contribution at all levels, and building healthy and productive workplace cultures. Lisa and I talk about this idea and how to achieve it in the latest episode of People at Work.
Embracing mentoring as a leadership competency across the organization creates an environment of individual self-empowerment and accountability. It builds workplaces where people are trusted, enabled, and supported. It’s here that ownership is rewarded, recognized, and celebrated. And where all sorts of other key performance indicators are realized.
About our Guest
Lisa is CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence and a global speaker on creating inclusive environments through mentoring. She strives to live by the saying on her favorite t-shirt “If it involves campfires, s’mores or coffee, count me in.”
You can connect with Lisa on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/lisazfain/ and Twitter @lzfain
Resources
Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring
Incubator for launching a virtual mentoring program
There are so many hilarious memes depicting our slide into the blur of work and other parts of life since the pandemic forced many of us into our homes. Not to mention how much fodder this has given the late show comedians (who themselves now produce and present their shows from their attics and living rooms).
Although I’ve enjoyed the comic relief, this has been a tough haul. While the trend of remote work had long begun before COVID-19, many of us went from zero to not-so-hero on this front overnight. We struggled to juggle all the things previously defined as “life outside of work” along with work like pets, kids, spouses, media, meals, schedules, hobbies, and time for ourselves.
It might now be considered normal, but it’s not getting any easier. The drain on our time and attention will continue, and we’re harming ourselves in the process. Fortunately we can follow the advice of thinkers like Steve Rio, who has emerged from his own experience with burnout caused by boundary-blurring.
Steve chats with me about the need to add structure to your life, so that your work and personal life can safely co-exist. There’s more to it though. Along with structure, comes habit change, including our relationship with technology, the things we waste time on, and the ways we stress our brains unnecessarily (I’m looking at you, irregular sleep patterns).
I was fortunate to participate in the alpha trial of one of Steve’s time and energy mastery programs at Nature of Work. This was pre-pandemic, but the tools and habits I took away from the program have helped me cope with the uncertainty and shift in all parts of my life this year.
Our time and attention truly are our most precious resources. By making some simple changes, we can introduce calm where chaos might reside. Steve’s science-based approach starts with embracing the first five minutes of your day to set the tone for what unfolds after that. If you’ve got five minutes to spare each day, listen to what Steve recommends, and start building healthy structures to save your life. And that’s no exaggeration.
PS - Curious about Steve’s approach? Explore Nature of Work and get a 10% listener discount by using code JOSTLE at checkout.
About our Guest
Steve Rio is a social impact entrepreneur, futurist, and transformational coach. He’s the CEO and Founder of Nature of Work, a Work/Life Optimization Program, and the host of NOW with Steve Rio, a podcast that explores what it means to live a good life. When he's away from his desk, you can find him in the woods or the ocean with his wife and dogs, or deep in thought about something obscure and metaphysical.
You can connect with Steve on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/steverio/, Twitter @SteveRio, and Instagram @steverio
Resources
Nature of Work's Programs: natureofwork.co (Get a 10% listener discount by using code JOSTLE at checkout)
NOW with Steve Rio Podcast: natureofwork.co/podcast
You don’t have to go far these days to hear about the change that organizations are facing due to the pandemic. You’ve likely experienced some of these challenges yourself at work.
But, according to Jason Richmond, change can be an opportunity, if we choose to look at it that way. Jason is a culture change consultant who’s seeing first hand how organizations are navigating right now.
Those who see this as a strategic change opportunity to re-calibrate their culture, communication, and engagement rituals, are leading the charge.
Jason speaks to me about what this looks like in practice, from how leaders need to show up (transparent and authentic) to how important cultural connectors are in a business (especially in remote workplaces).
Jump in and learn how you can embrace this time of change, and propel your organization forward beyond this cultural tipping point.
About our Guest
Author of Culture Spark: 5 Steps to Ignite and Sustain Organizational Growth, Jason is an authoritative culture change consultant who helps companies build strong, sustained revenue growth. He recharges his batteries with adventure pursuits from scuba diving to flying planes.
You can connect with Jason on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jason-richmond/ and on Twitter @jason_richmond.
Resources
Culture Spark: 5 Steps to Ignite and Sustain Organizational Growth
Coming out of a toxic workplace with a CEO who saw everyone as a lemon, to squeeze the most out of, Lloyed Lobo knew that he wanted to build a different kind of business. That’s been his mission since he co-founded Boast.AI almost a decade ago.
His people-first approach shines through every area of the company. It’s centered on hiring smart people (who demonstrate empathy, trust, passion and are wildly innovative), and weaving a pay-it-forward attitude into the fabric of the culture.
As authentic as he is open, Lloyed gave me a guided tour to the company’s culture and people practices in this episode of People at Work. It’s not often that you get a look inside a bootstrapped business, to see how it ticks.
In Lloyed’s case, Boast.AI is ticking along well, and it’s because he started by focusing on people, not profits—and continued that course to date. No lemonade here.
About our Guest
Lloyed Lobo runs product and growth at Boast.AI which helps companies in the US and Canada automate the complicated process of claiming R&D incentives from the government. Lloyed enjoys connecting people and bringing them together. His favorite moments are spent chasing after his two little girls in San Francisco.
You can connect with Lloyed on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/lloyedlobo/, Twitter @BoastCapital, and Facebook @BoastAI.
Resources
http://boast.ai/blog
https://boastcapital.com/events/
At one time or another, we’ve all masked our true selves and acted in a way that we thought was expected by other people or circumstances. This isn’t a comfortable place to be.
That’s why Jahmaal Marshall suggests we drop the script. Stop acting for other people, and simply be ourselves.
The catch is—it’s not always that easy, especially when rigid stereotypes and age-old practices stand in our way. And this is particularly pervasive in the workplace.
Jahmaal walks us through how to have the courage to be who we are, at work and beyond. He also has advice for managers and senior leaders on how to create a work environment that supports every employee as their authentic selves.
This calm and uplifting conversation is filled with hope, at a time when we all need to be more real, and respect each other for who we are. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (and be sure to check out Jahmaal’s frequent forest walk videos on LinkedIn for more inspiration!).
About our Guest
Jahmaal works as a global lead for an anti human trafficking agency involved in global outreach. He loves hiking and nature walks as well as listening to instrumental music that calms both mind and heart.
You can connect with Jahmaal on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jahmaalmarshall.
If you’re anything like me, these past few months have shown me that well-run businesses can survive even the most unpredictable of situations. Companies all over the world have had to adapt and make the switch to a remote-first approach. And a lot of these companies now are thinking that they may never go back to being in an office full-time.
Thankfully technology was around to help make this transition possible. Zoom meetings have been an effective alternative to round table discussions, and have even doubled as a virtual happy hour!
In my conversation with Graham Binks, we discussed technology’s importance as a business tool, and how to select the right technology to meet your companies goals.
We also discuss what we think the “new normal” will look like, and what positive changes have come from these times.
Give this episode a listen to learn more about the importance of technology in your workplace.
About our Guest
Graham Binks helps leaders build a better business through technology. His work emphasizes the strategic value of technology to create insight and enable fast, efficient action. Graham lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his family. He used to enjoy travel, and is now content to sit still for a while.
You can connect with Graham on Twitter @grahambinks and LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/grahambinks.
Resources
Website
Blog and weekly newsletter signup
Trusting technology book
It’s fair to say that managing people is difficult. One of my mentors once said to me “the soft stuff is the hard stuff.” I’ve had enough experience in my own manager journey, and have been on the listening end of manager gripes, to know that this is true.
So, what’s a manager to do? According to Ralph Peterson, there’s a way to keep individuals engaged and teams in cohesion. It requires fairness at every level of your organization. The way we achieve fairness is by being transparent. In other words, giving everyone the same information and being open about how each person is treated.
This helps us avoid favouritism and preferential treatment, and makes it clear what the rules of engagement are, at every level.
If you’re having difficulties managing your people, ask yourself if you’re being fair. If you discover that you’ve been enabling some bad habits and behaviours by not being fair, it’s time to change. Ralph’s interview on People at Work provides some no-nonsense advice on fairness. Give it a listen and glue your team together.
About our Guest
Ralph Peterson is the owner and operator of a management development company that specializes in building Five-Star leadership teams. He lives in NYC, is a retired U.S. Marine, and an avid marathoner. He recently earned the title of Iron Man, and will release his third book in October 2020.
You can connect with Ralph on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ralphpeterson08/, Twitter @RalphPeterson08, Facebook @theralphpeterson, and Youtube at www.youtube.com/channel/UC4fvRByp53ywOlxb_B1AIdg?view_as=public
Resources
Congrats! Now Get Over Yourself
Managing When No One Wants To Work
It’s natural to jump into action to solve a problem. Often we do this before we really understand the problem’s true nature and reach. This is particularly common in the workplace, where most of us are making decisions and solving problems every day.
Jane Scudder believes we’re wasting time and energy on rushing to solutions. Rather, we should adopt the approach used in social anthropology, where we simply observe. Like the study of cultures or rituals, corporate anthropology asks us to stop and look at our behaviours and values, to really know our character as an organization.
Once we know ourselves, we can then get down to understanding how to solve problems, big and small. This means the true nature of our organizational culture drives decision making and problem solving, not knee-jerk reactions on an ad hoc basis.
Jane explains in more detail in today’s podcast episode. The concept of corporate anthropology was new to me, but it aligns well with a mindful approach to operating a business and building its culture. Pausing to reflect and consider before acting, is a worthy practice, in any situation.
About our Guest
Jane is a certified coach, corporate anthropologist, facilitator, and speaker. Her work spans leadership and executive coaching, personal development (life coaching), business growth, career transition, and political coaching. She lives and works from her home in Chicago, IL with her 14 houseplants.
You can connect with Jane on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/janescudder/, Instagram @janescudder, and Twitter @JaneScudder.
If there was ever a time to do something radical, it’s now. Especially when it comes to employee engagement. The old engagement playbook just doesn’t work anymore (and let’s be honest, it never really did).
That’s why Dr. Keri Ohlrich wants us to change how we think about employee engagement. Instead of pursuing measures of engagement or layering on perks and pastimes in your organization, it’s time to do something different.
Keri suggests that you simply start by asking your employees what they need. At this moment. Right now. And be genuine about it. Showing that you care about each individual rather than employees enmasse, is going to take you much farther down the road of engagement.
Perhaps this isn’t that radical after all. As managers, shouldn’t we care about our team members anyway, and not as a means-to-an-engagement-end? If this has piqued your interest, Keri has much more to share in the latest episode of People at Work.
About our guest
Keri has a passion for helping leaders and HR reach their potential. She partners with them to uncover the root cause and create solutions that are sustainable. She likes pushing boundaries and challenging norms, as evident by her marriage by Elvis in Las Vegas.
Connect with Keri on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/keriohlrich/, Twitter @warriors_hr, or Instagram @warriorsofhr.
Have you ever found yourself in a position at work where people look to you for advice and support, and you feel vastly under-qualified for it? A feeling that you are not capable of successfully performing your role, and a fear that your co-workers will find out you are not equipped for the position.
This feeling of inadequacy is often referred to as imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is driven by 3 key factors: inadequacy, insecurity, and insignificance.
Mike Kitko is no stranger to dealing with imposter syndrome. Mike spent his time in the corporate world running from this imposter syndrome, which ultimately led to a career and personal meltdown. However, Mike now tells his story to educate others that they too can beat their imposter syndrome.
Mike explains the three most important things to help you get over imposter syndrome:
- Create intentional time to work on yourself
- Your morning is your day. Take the time in the morning to get right in your mind, emotions, and body
- Put yourself first
Give this episode a listen to learn how to silence that little voice in your head that keeps telling you that you aren’t good enough.
About our Guest
Mike Kitko is an executive self-mastery coach, speaker, and published author. Mike lives in St. Charles, Missouri, with his wife, two girls, and their two dogs and two cats.
You can connect with Mike on Facebook @mikekitkoprofessionaldevelopment, Twitter @mike_kitko, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekitko/
Resources
Contributing blogger on Thrive Global and The Good Men Project
During these times of uncertainty, many people are finding themselves without the job security they once had. With this in mind, you may be searching for ways to highlight that you’re a great employee to keep around. One way to do this is by showing your boss that you’re focused both on your work, and on improving yourself professionally.
In this week's episode, Damian Birkel walks us through the three most important things to do while working remotely to increase your job security:
- Keep your boss up to date on what you are working on while remote
- Schedule regular check-in meetings with your boss
- Grow your skills
Damian also discusses what he calls the “pledge of allegiance” to your boss and the pros and cons that come with it. This pledge of allegiance will show your boss that you are there to support them, and not undermine them.
We discuss these great tips, and so much more, so give this episode a listen!
About our Guest
Damian Birkel is the Founder of Professionals In Transition® Inc., a nationally recognized non-profit exclusively focused on the unemployed & under-employed. In his free time Damian has been experimenting with hydroponic gardening.
You can connect with Damian on Facebook @ProfessionalsInTransition and LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/birkel
Resources
Website: https://www.jobsearching.org
https://tinyurl.com/Books-By-Damian-Birkel
As a company grows, sometimes they achieve hypergrowth. Wait...what in the world does that buzzword mean? Don’t worry...I had to Google it too. It’s defined as achieving a compound annual growth rate of >40%. It’s an exciting, chaotic, and hectic time where everything changes very, very quickly.
Especially company culture.
It’s easy to understand the company mission and vision when you’re a 10-person company and can have a conversation about it. But what about when you’re all of a sudden 500 people across multiple offices? It’s pretty easy for your company culture to fall apart during that transition.
I had the opportunity to chat with Brian Manning about what it’s like to go through hypergrowth. He’s seen it first-hand a few times now and shared some great tips on how to keep your people aligned and maintain a strong company culture as you grow. We also discussed how important it is to focus on four specific intrinsic attributes so that you can hire people who are capable of growing with the company. To find out what those four attributes are you’ll have to listen to the episode…
Just kidding.
They are:
- Grit
- Curiosity
- Humility
- Adaptability
But there is so, so much more to this episode so go and give it a listen :)
About our Guest
Brian Manning is Senior Vice President and Head of Growth at PatientPing, a healthcare technology company based in Boston. Brian lives in the South End neighborhood of Boston with his wife and dog.
You can connect with Brian on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/briancmanning/
Resources
briancmanning.com
When Marie Kondo sparked joy in me, I wanted to make changes in my entire home. Tidy, declutter, organize. It was exhausting. I was overwhelmed. And I stopped after one closet.
Sound familiar when trying to make changes in your organization? Starting with grandiose plans to revamp your culture, change the way your teams work, or how you measure performance, only to stop short.
Alexandria Joy (AJ) has seen this many times over. Leaders who start big change projects with the greatest of intentions, but with outcomes that are either non-existent or far from what they imagined. That’s why she turned away from the corporate world and began walking the talk of the 10 degree shift.
This entails small changes that slightly shift direction or habits, so that you slowly move your people and organization towards a more sustainable (and joyful) way of being.
AJ talks about how to achieve this, starting with individuals and expanding outwards into the many layers of the organizational organism. She touches on three areas where 10 degree shifts are possible for anyone: body resilience, clear mind, and emotional connection.
So instead of throwing up your hands and exclaiming “we must pivot!”, consider whether small changes could help you course-correct more meaningfully for long-term success. Now I’ve got a new strategy for dealing with my clutter.
About our Guest
As a minimalist and biophiliac, AJ believes improvements needn't be massive and radical, rather that small shifts at a personal level can over time make a massive impact at a global level.
You can connect with AJ on Twitter @UQPower, Instagram @thejoybox, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Alexandria-Joy-AJ-111519650229317/, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandriajoy/
Resources
Download 10 degree shift tips
Post Covid Bingo
White Paper on Culture
Change happens every day. But it’s during times of crisis, when change—and our response to it—is emphasized. Some of us withdraw and wait for the storm to pass, others walk towards the eye of the storm.
Hernani Alves suggests the latter have a champion mindset. They’re the ones who believe they have the power to overcome any difficulty, because they control their own destiny.
Hernani himself walks toward the storm while thunder is rumbling. He’s no stranger to pivoting and adapting to changing circumstances. He did just that recently when the pandemic turned the world upside down.
In this latest episode of People at Work, Hernani talks about his personal pivot from teaching the stability of balanced accountability for leaders to helping leaders employ a champion mindset. If you’re wondering how to focus on what’s important now, and how you can take back control, this is the episode for you.
About our Guest
Hernani works with business leaders to make the most complex skill in business, awesomely simple. He lives in California and doesn’t like scary movies with witches (especially like the Wizard of Oz).
You can connect with Hernani Alves on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/hernani-alves/, Twitter @HernaniJAlves, and Facebook @balencedIQ
Resources
Balanced Accountability Book
18 Controllables from Top Clients During COVID
Being an interim leader is a position that some of us may end up in at one time or another in our careers and it can be a difficult one to be in. Getting buy-in and trust as the new person is a challenge. Steven Baumgartner has dealt with this multiple times as he’s frequently brought in to companies as an interim leader during times of transition. I had the opportunity to chat with him and pick his brain a bit about what he’s learned when it comes to being an interim or new leader.
He managed to boil it down to three key things: transparency, trust, and time. Be transparent, don’t spin things. Be completely honest and up-front to build trust. And put in the time to listen and talk through plans, and then execute immediately.
It sounds so simple, and it is. But it isn’t easy. If you’re a leader, or if you aspire to be a leader, you’ll get a lot out of this episode.
About our Guest
Steven Baumgartner is a seasoned enterprise B2B sales leader who has spent half his career in sales and marketing consulting and the other half in direct sales and leadership roles. Steve lives in the greater Chicagoland area with his wife and two daughters.
You can connect with Steven on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevencbaumgartner/
Rockstar individual contributors aren’t always the best leaders, yet they’re usually the ones who get promoted. So why is that transition from player to leader such a difficult one? Because it’s an entire mind-shift and you have to unlearn so many old habits.
Will Devlin from MessageGears has been through that transition and made it out the other side, but not without some speed bumps along the way. I had a candid chat with Will about why that transition is so difficult and what you can do to help prepare yourself for it.
We also spoke about why it makes sense for marketing leaders to be a key driver of your internal company culture and why that culture is really the driving force behind your brand.
Give this episode a listen and learn from some of the mistakes Will and I have made along the way.
About our Guest
A 17-year marketing veteran, Will is MessageGears' VP Marketing and has been focused on leading marketing and growing the company since 2014. Will is a huge fan of Atlanta sports, and spends most of his time doing sports and activities with his family.
You can connect with Will on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/williamdevlin/and Twitter @wdevlin and @MessageGears
If you could do one thing to make work better for yourself and those around you, would you do it? What if that one thing was making happiness a priority? Would that change your answer?
Happiness is a nebulous thing. It’s hard to create, understand, track, and measure—all the things leaders are generally asked to do in business.
But Nic Marks disagrees. He’s a statistician and trained therapist who believes that happiness can be intentionally introduced with outcomes that can be measured.
Not only that, there are inherent benefits to leaders by investing in happiness. Not only will you see your own well-being sky-rocket, your employees will enjoy fewer sick days, be more productive, unleash creativity, and more. And that will fuel your own sense of happiness, and let’s face it, make life that much better for everyone.
Sounds like a sound investment to me. And so is the time spent on listening to my conversation with Nic. We talk about the science of happiness, how technology helps make sense of it, and how to find happy moments even when the world seems to be falling apart. Give it a listen and get happy!
About our Guest
Nic was once called a "statistician with a soul" by a client. No doubt because of his interesting mix of hard analytical skills and his soft people ones (he’s a trained therapist). Nic's wife complains that when he has had a drink he always starts giving young people life advice—whether they want it or not!
You can connect with Nic on Twitter @iamnicmarks
Throughout history there are examples of good and bad leadership. Today is no different. The global pandemic has laid bare the quality of leaders around the world. Some are outstanding (New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern comes to mind), many are mediocre, and a few are downright despicable (I’ll let you fill in the blank here).
But what about the future of leadership, then? Can we not learn from the past and present? Adam Mendler believes there is a way forward. It starts by being a truly great person, then you can become a truly great leader.
Adam has spent many hours talking with leaders from all walks of life. He’s gathered insights and made his own observations about what makes a leader great. The importance of character is not to be underestimated—sound character is required whether you’re leading a country, a Fortune 500 company, or the smallest of startups.
I had a chance to dig a little deeper into what Adam means when we spoke on this podcast episode. There’s a lot of change happening in the world right now. If you’re feeling unsure about what you can do to navigate this new world, think about your own leadership, and what you can do to make your character shine. Adam can help.
About our Guest
Adam is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also a nationally acclaimed thought leader, writer, and speaker on topics including leadership, entrepreneurship, and management, and is an avid backgammon player.
You can connect with Adam on Instagram @adammendler and Twitter @adammendler
Resources
Adam’s podcast: www.thirtyminutementors.com
With the current state of the world, a lot of us are in some form of transition. Whether it’s looking for a new job, or just taking the time to reflect and plan ahead. But where do you start?
I had the chance to chat with Stephanie, from Know & Flourish, about the steps you can take to dig a little deeper into your how and why to find out what you really should be doing. I know… that was confusing. Let me give you an example:
Let’s say you’re a sales leader. There is your what. It’s what you do. And oftentimes we confuse that with our how and why. If you dig a little bit deeper you can discover how that makes you different from all of the other sales leaders, and why you show up every day for work. Maybe your true why is that you love working on challenging problems with intelligent people. Or maybe it’s that you like changing people’s lives for the better. Either way, finding your why will help give you clarity on what your next steps should be.
We also talked about what we think the new normal will look like post-COVID and what steps leaders need to take in order to adapt to it.
About our Guest
Founder and CEO, Stephanie Blair is an executive coach and consultant focused on grooming and growing innovative talent through her strategic advisory firm, Know & Flourish. She helps leaders and their teams more effectively communicate to drive business results and more sustainable success.
For more on Know & Flourish visit their website or their instagram (@knowandflourish).
Did you know that we all have an advice monster that lives inside us?
Maybe you don’t know it by name, but you’ve seen it in action. That sudden urge to leap in, take over, and solve all manner of problems for those around you.
This makes you feel good and smart. Helping others, sharing your knowledge, taking care of business. Except it doesn’t make those in the path of the advice monster feel that way.
It makes them feel everything from helpless, to controlled, to coddled. Not empowered, unleashed, or accountable.
The good news is that the advice monster can be tamed. The easiest way to defeat it is with curiosity. Michael Bungay Stanier has been precociously curious his whole life. And it’s what has led to his unique leadership philosophy, a coaching practice, and multiple books.
In this lively chat, Michael shares why giving advice doesn’t work, how to lead with curiosity, and practical tips for changing the way you interact with others, for good.
About our Guest
Michael is the author of the best-selling coaching book of the century, The Coaching Habit. He was banned from his high school graduation for "the balloon incident".
You can connect with Micheal on Instragram @mbs_works and Twitter @mbs_works
Resources
The Coaching Habit
The Advice Trap
Year of Living Brilliantly: https://www.mbs.works/yearoflivingbrilliantlyoptin
What's your Advice Monster?: https://www.mbs.works/theadvicetrap
We Will Get Through This podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1504697992
The Optimist’s Telescope by Bina Venkataraman
Leadership That Gets Results by Daniel Goleman
I like to use a car travelling on a road as a metaphor for my career journey. I pick the car, I choose the speed, direction, and route, and I pick where to stop. The road and services along the way are employers, coaches, and experiences.
Until my recent conversation with David Nielson, I hadn’t clarified what the fuel was for my vehicle, or more pointedly, my career decisions. I now believe it’s self-awareness. According to David’s conscious success model, self-awareness precedes meaningful choice.
What this comes down to is if you want to live an intentional life and achieve success (regardless of how you measure that), start by understanding who you are and knowing what might help or hold you back. That'll make it possible for you to make more informed choices about things like changing course, learning new skills, and improving your relationships.
There’s so much more to this idea. David elaborates, and introduces the other aspects of his book The Nine Dimensions of Conscious Success, in this episode of People at Work. If you’re in need of a turbo boost along your career or life journey, consider the potential of greater self-awareness to take you where you want to go.
About our guest
David, author and executive coach, is a native of Colorado and also has a home in New Mexico. He and his wife, June, share a love of the mountains and outdoor activities. They’ve recently purchased an Airstream camper and are planning adventures with their two boxers, Hondo and Lexi.
Connect with David on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/davidenielson/ or follow him on Twitter @DNAWorldwideHQ.
Resources
Free personal assessment quiz at www.davidenielson.com
Let’s play the word association game. I’ll say a word, and you say the first thing that comes to mind. Ready… “arguments.”
I bet “wonderful” wasn’t the word that popped into your head. I get it. Getting into an argument is rarely a good thing, but when it comes to finding the best idea possible, you need to generate some wonderful arguments.
I had the chance to chat with Natania Mathany, Head of People & Culture at A Thinking Ape, about two of their key values: have wonderful arguments and may the best idea win. Natania is fostering a culture where a co-op student can, and is encouraged to, disagree with the CEO in pursuit of finding the best possible solutions.
But diving into a culture like that can be difficult depending on your personality type and the work environment that you’re used to. That’s why Natania focuses on continually reinforcing those two values for all employees.
Give it a listen and learn how to have wonderful arguments.
About our guest:
Natania is driven by developing authentic People strategies that contribute to maximizing one's potential. She focuses on driving a goal-oriented organizational design and communication architecture that best supports its people.
Connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/nataniamathany/.
Resources:
High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It {HBR Article)
Imagine spending ten years of your life building a $1 billion company with your husband only to be shut out of the company when the laws that govern your industry change.
Now imagine what your next step would be after that roller-coaster of emotion. My guess is that not many of us would immediately dive into another start-up. But that’s exactly what my guest, Lesley Eccles, did. After founding and growing FanDuel for 10 years she realized that what got her through those turbulent times is relationships. It’s also relationships that define success for her.
All of this led to Lesley’s new start-up, Relish, which is the world’s first personal trainer for your relationships.
Give this episode a listen to hear Lesley’s story and learn more about the power of relationships in the workplace.
About our guest:
Lesley is a serial entrepreneur and startup advisor. She was previously the co-founder and head of marketing at FanDuel and is currently the Founder and CEO of Relish, the first-ever relationship training app.
Connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/lesleyeccles/, follow her on Twitter @lesleyeccles, or check out her Instagram @hellorelishrelationship
I think we’re all wondering what our new normal is going to be after COVID-19. Personally, I don’t think everyone is going to go back to the office. Remote work won’t necessarily become the norm, but it’s going to become way more common.
So what can we expect?
SmartBug Media has been fully remote for 10+ years and I recently had the chance to chat with Ryan Malone about all things remote work.
Some key takeaways?
- Being productive is one thing, but you need to actively encourage people to connect on a personal level.
- Some people are just better suited for remote work than others. After hiring for a remote company for 10+ years, Ryan shared some great tips on what to look for.
- Transparency and trust are always important but the importance is magnified when remote.
The conversation ran the full gamut, but an analogy he used really drove home the overall message to me. You know when someone moves away and people will say they drifted apart. Well...most of the time they drifted because they didn’t put in the effort. As a remote company, you need to put in the extra effort.
About our guest:
Ryan is CEO & Founder of SmartBug Media, a leading Intelligent Inbound marketing agency with a unique 100% remote business model. He enjoys the gym, live music, people watching, and playing terrible guitar.
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ryanmalone/
Resources:
How to be a Great Remote Manager (Inc. Article)
SmartBug's Knowledge Centre
The Peter Parker principle states that with great power comes great responsibility. What that means is that Spiderman is the reason we’re all so afraid of power. Curse you, Spidey!
Power is NOT a bad thing and as Ron Carucci discovered during his 10-year longitudinal study of leaders, the biggest misuse of power is not using it. That’s just one of the many interesting takeaways from Ron’s research.
So what led Ron to spend 10 years researching leaders? He had seen first hand that 50% of leaders fail within their first 18 months of appointment and he wanted to know what was causing that. Through his research, Ron also discovered four traits that leaders need to succeed. The catch is you actually need all four of them: context, breadth, choice, and connection.
If you’re a leader or aspire to be a leader within your organization you need to listen to this one.
About our guest:
Ron is Co-founder & Managing Partner, Navalent and has a thirty-year track record helping some of the world’s most influential executives tackle challenges of strategy, organization and leadership. He collects antique doorknobs and door hardware.
Connect with Ron on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/roncarucci/ or follow him on Twitter @roncarucci
Resources:
Leading Transformation: An Owners Manual (Free eBook)
Could we make better decisions if we were able to analyze not only what employees say but how they say it? Researcher Katerina Bohle Carbonell says yes.
By studying the words and phrases people use in the course of work, along with the frequency of symbols like emojis, we can tell a lot about how effective communication is, what people are feeling, and how engaged they are.
Not only that, we can use this information to understand how specific cultural values can connect people and teams, especially those that are geographically dispersed.
In this fascinating conversation, Katerina talks about the importance of data in building meaningful relationships and engagement across employees. We also dig into how data is a key driver in understanding how successful leaders are in creating psychologically safe work environments where people can be themselves, feel high degrees of trust, and make mistakes without fear.
In sum, Katerina believes that without data, we can’t make informed people decisions, for any type of employee, let alone those who are physically remote. If you’re responsible for people decisions, this podcast is a must-listen.
About our guest:
Katerina, People Analyst, NetNigma, can't stop seeing the world as a web of interconnected people, tools, and emotions. She believes everything is constantly in motion, influencing and being influenced.
Connect with Katerina on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/katerinabc/ or follow her on Twitter @katerinabohlec.
Resources:
How well is your team aligned? (Blog post)
Loneliness of the Remote Worker and Cultural Homelessness (Podcast Interview)
How to teach the unknown (Slideshare)
The Future of Work: Remote Companies (Blog)
Our social feeds, the news, and a lot of our work conversations revolve around COVID-19. I’ve seen tons of hacks and tips on how to work from home effectively now that a lot of us are at home with our kids. I know all the information is well-intentioned...but maybe we just need to cut ourselves some slack?
I had Dave Gerhardt on the podcast to discuss what it’s like working from home with two young kids. His advice? This is just a blip in time that we’ll remember one day and we’re all just trying to figure it out. So do the best you can. He did share some great tips though on how to structure your day so that you can get more done with fewer hours.
We also chatted a bit about what it’s like marketing and selling during a pandemic and what we think the “new normal” will be like at workplaces once this is all over.
About our guest:
Dave loves building something from nothing and getting the right people to pay attention; he’s regarded as one of today’s leading brand builders in B2B and is currently CMO at Privy. He lives in Boston with his wife and two kids.
Connect with Dave on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/davegerhardt/, follow him on Twitter @davegerhardt, or join the A-List patreon.com/davegerhardt
Did you know that most of us only listen to 11% of what others are saying? That’s both astonishing and concerning, considering that 84% of us think we’re great listeners.
Fortunately we’ve got listening expert Oscar Trimboli on our side to help improve our listening odds. Oscar is on a quest to create 100 million deep listeners across the world.
In this latest episode of People at Work, Oscar gets into where we’re falling down as listeners, what we can do about it, and what we can expect in return. He also makes it clear that hearing is not listening.
When you become a deep listener, you go beyond what’s said, and understand what’s not said. You’re more likely to learn something new and fully understand the speaker and their intent, if you spend more time listening, and less time hearing.
About our guest:
Oscar is an author and host of the Apple Award-winning podcast Deep Listening; he’s on a quest to create 100 million deep listeners in the world. He lives in Sydney with his wife Jennie and helps first-time runners and ocean swimmers conquer their fears.
Connect with Oscar on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/oscartrimboli/ or follow him on Twitter @oscartrimboli.
Resources
Listening Quiz: Take the quiz to find out which of the four listening villains you are, and join the 90-day challenge to improve your listening
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Things in this world move so quickly nowadays. The people and companies that are going to survive are the ones that are able to change. That’s easy when you’re a really nimble 10-person team trying to find your footing, but as you grow your leaders have to actively design a culture that’s built to lead change. That’s not so easy… especially when things seem to be going well.
I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Grace Lee about what’s required to create a culture of change. The first step is understanding that change is inevitable. Yup… that’s a cliche. But it’s a cliche for a reason because it’s 100% true.
Second, you need the courage to seek out the truth and admit that you may be wrong. If not, you end up just inviting lies and surrounding yourself with yes-people.
Third, understand what your desired end state is.
And finally, be able to communicate that desired end state to everyone and really steer the ship.
Easy enough, right? ;)
Give this one a listen and learn how you can better prepare yourself, and your organization, for change.
About our Guest:
Dr. Grace Lee is founder of Mastery Insights, a global coaching and education company. Grace is on a mission to redefine modern education, teaching men and women how to unlock true vocational confidence and master their professional destinies. When she's not on stage or at a microphone, you can find her in the Octagon hitting pads or her opponent as a Muay Thai warrior.
Connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/docgracelee/, follow her on Twitter @DoctorGraceLee or Instagram @drgracelee. You can also find her on Facebook at facebook.com/docgracelee or watch her on YouTube youtube.com/drgracelee.
Resources
Vocational Confidence Masterclass - Discover how to fast-track your career and life using these 5 shifts from modern Neuroscience – https://careerrevisionist.com/masterclass
I’m hesitant to frame everything I write these days in terms of its utility to cope with our new COVID-induced way of working. It seems like it’s all we read about. But, even though it’s draining, it’s also a tremendous opportunity to learn and improve ourselves, especially how we work. So forgive me, but this short piece will add to this endeavor.
When I spoke with Alexis Haselberger for the People at Work podcast, we were pre-COVID with the luxury of outside adventures, brunches, and vacation plans taking shape. We blissfully engaged in a lighthearted, yet impactful, conversation on productivity and specifically how to use our time at work better so that we can have more time for other parts of our lives.
Now times have rapidly changed. But, the trusted system that Alexis advocates is prescient. We need to prioritize, simplify, plan, and set goals to reduce our mental load more now than ever before. As we all juggle new priorities and demands on our time, we have to find ways to work smarter and streamline everything we do.
Not only is Alexis a time management and productivity expert, she’s also a friendly voice at a time of strife. This episode will help you think about your work day and how you can make it work better for you. If we’re being forced to change our lives, let’s choose to change for good.
About our guest:
Alexis is a time management and productivity coach who helps people do more, and stress less. She knows that it's possible to kill it at work AND have a fulfilling personal life with lots of time for yourself, and she's on a mission to help others get there too.
Connect with Alexis on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/alexis-haselberger/, Facebook at facebook.com/domorestressless, or Instagram @do.more.stress.less.
This is not business as usual. In fact it’s not life as usual. We’ve all been up-ended by COVID-19, and will continue to experience its impact in the months to come. So what does this mean for how we relate to and include our employees, now that we can’t see each other in person?
This is a question best answered by someone who knows a bit about the topic. Rita Kakati-Shah has been forging a path of diversity and inclusion since the early days of her career on the trading floor as a woman of colour. It’s safe to say that she’s scaled a few high hurdles on her journey over the past two decades.
Rita believes that decency is at the heart of making people feel included. If you act like a human being—show empathy, kindness, and concern—then some of the heavy work is already done. This is particularly important now when people are feeling adrift, scared, and anxious.
My People at Work conversation with Rita couldn’t have come at a better time to help managers navigate through these uncertain times with their teams. Listen in for practical ways for how you can include your people and learn how to be more personal, and less managerial. It starts by being decent.
About our Guest
Rita is an award-winning gender, diversity, inclusion and career strategist, speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 companies and Founder and CEO of Uma, an international platform that empowers women and minorities in the workforce. When not travelling for work, she can be spotted sipping afternoon tea around New York City or playing “Freeze” with her two young children.
Connect with Rita on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/rita-kakati/ or follow Uma on Instagram @beboldbeuma or Twitter @beboldbeuma
Companies all over the world have been forced into remote work and a lot of us are still trying to figure out how to make remote work, work.
At Jostle, we made the switch five days ago. We’re in a better position than most to make the switch. Most Jostlers already work remotely occasionally and we use our own internal communication platform so we have the tools in place. But now we’re all isolated in our homes and working hard to try to maintain the culture that we’ve worked so hard to build. That’s the hardest part. We all miss our people.
At BestSelf, they’ve been fully remote for five years. They’re Yoda, we’re mere Padawans. In this episode I had a chance to pick the brain of a remote work vet, their Co-Founder & CEO, Cathryn. Her overarching advice? Get more intentional with your communication, be more flexible, and understand what your daily priorities are. You’ll stay focused, productive, and engaged—all things that are critical to keep work and connection flowing.
With this crazy world we’re living in, you’ll want to give this one a listen.
About our guest:
Cathryn is Co-founder and CEO of BestSelf Co, which grew from zero to 8-figures in less than two years. An Irish immigrant with a standing start and no business experience, she has transformed herself into a serial entrepreneur, creating multiple brands and helping others bring their ideas to life.
You can find Cathryn on Instagram @cathryn.lavery and Twitter @cathrynlavery.
It’s often been said that workplace culture happens whether you intend it to be there or not. That may well be true, but if you have a particular type or tone of culture in mind, it won’t build itself. It’ll need help from you and other leaders in your organization.
This is one of the key ideas that John Stein, owner of sustainable design materials company, Kirei, spoke about with me recently. John created the company 18 years ago and generously shares some of the highs and lows of growing his own workplace culture.
Starting with a laid back attitude of “make it cool, and cool will follow”, John soon realized that he needed to be more intentional. This meant that he had to work at culture each day, just like operations and finances. For him, being intentional means telling people what your culture vision is and then offering guidelines for behaviour, because core values alone don't take care of culture.
This episode is jam-packed with real life examples and tips for building workplace culture from the ground up in a small business. As a sustainability warrior building a sustainable business, John’s story also demonstrates how hard it can be to pursue something with conviction, and yet how satisfying it can be when you stay the course. Culture nerds and small business owners will get a lot from John and his journey to date.
About our guest:
John is the owner of Kirei, a provider of eco-friendly design materials for commercial interiors. John is driven by a mission of “Do well by doing good.” He keeps his surfboard in his office and, if his schedule permits, catches a few waves when he can.
Follow John on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/johnwstein/.
There’s some logic that can’t be overstated when it comes to workplace culture. Since workplaces are created by humans and their experiences, workplace culture is essentially human experience. And that means our work on workplace culture needs to start with humans: individual people who come to work with their complete selves, warts and all.
This is the idea that gets Lorie Corcuera out of bed each day. She’s a strategic culture leader helping individuals and organizations make their work environments more friendly to humans, the world over. This means she spends a lot of time thinking about the importance of experiences, and how we can enable more positive, and even loving, connections at work.
To this end, Lorie and her team at Spark Creations conducted a research project to understand the state and detail of workplace culture in British Columbia, Canada. The outcome of this is the BC Workplace Culture Scan Report, which hits the streets in early Spring.
I had the opportunity to hear firsthand from Lorie about the key learnings and a-ha moments in the data gathered. We talk about this, along with our shared passion for people-centric workplaces, in detail in this episode of People at Work. If you’re looking for inspiration to elevate the experience of people in your workplace, give it a listen.
About our Guest:
Lorie's life purpose is to live WOW and LOVE completely. She's the Co-Founder & Chief Culture Officer at SPARK Creations & Company Inc., a training and development organization that inspires people and companies to create meaningful cultures and workplaces.
Connect with Lorie on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/loriecorcuera/, or follow SPARK Creations on Instagram @sparkcreations and Facebook facebook.com/startyourspark/.
Resources:
BC Workplace Culture Scan Report 2020
Think about the brands that you admire. When it comes down to it, one of the key reasons we admire certain brands is because we trust them. For organizations, it’s much the same. Every interaction with an employee or customer, is like entering into an unwritten contract based on trust.
Jessica Rousset, COO of CURE Pharmaceutical, takes this one step further. She believes that trust is essentially the culture of an organization. When you project your culture (or brand), you’re suggesting what can be expected from you. You’ll only have credibility if what you’re saying or doing can be trusted.
There’s a lot more to this construct, and I dig into it with Jessica in the latest episode of People at Work. In this complicated world of fake news and distrust, it’s refreshing to hear from someone who’s putting trust back as the cornerstone of business.
About our guest:
Jessica has 20+ years of experience in product development, new technology commercialization, and early-stage company growth. She’s committed to mindful leadership focused on creating an honest and safe corporate culture that values divergent thinking.
Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jessicalrousset/.
There are two key traits that are integral to being a successful leader. They are:
-
Emotional intelligence
-
The ability to make difficult, unpopular decisions
In reality, there’s an inherent conflict with those two traits. If you’re high in emotional intelligence and finely attuned to what others are feeling, it can be a struggle to have those difficult conversations.
On the other hand, if you care very little about upsetting people it can be easy to make unpopular decisions but perhaps you’ll struggle with empathizing why this was difficult for others.
It’s pretty rare to naturally excel at both of these traits, which is why coaching is so important. For this reason, Cameron Yarbrough and his company, Torch, are on a mission to make coaching available to a wider audience. If you’re interested in the intersection between behavioral science, technology, and leadership coaching, then this is the episode for you.
About our guest:
Cameron is CEO and co-founder of Torch and a serial entrepreneur with 20 years of operational experience along with an extensive background in mindfulness, psychotherapy, and executive coaching. He’s passionate about helping people unlock their human performance through leadership coaching.
Connect with Cameron on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/cameron-yarbrough-60579948/ or Twitter @yarbroughcam.
Getting stuck in a rut happens to most of us at some point in our lives. It can feel overwhelming, exhausting, and without end. If you’ve been here before, you’ll know what I’m talking about. But, there’s a way to reboot and it’s one of the simplest things you can do.
Dr Allana Da Graca helps people reclaim their energy and bring joy back to their lives, by starting with laughter. Not in a trivial sense, but in a very intentional way that sets the tone for what you want to achieve and then acting on it.
This sounds too good to be true. But the fact of the matter is, laughter is an act of the present, it helps us connect with where we are right now, and releases us to move forward. Now, it’s not just about laughter, says Allana. Once you make the commitment to bring joy back into your life, you need to set tangible goals and master your investment of time, to ensure that you stay on track and remain purposeful.
Allana outlines her practical framework for how to reboot in this episode of People at Work. I took up the challenge of her laughter exercise; a first step to getting comfortable with the idea that joy is something we can create and keep in our lives. Awkward at first, I laughed my way into a better frame of mind, and shared it with others. That’s worth laughing about.
About our guest:
Allana is the CEO of Turning on The Lights Global Institute, a coaching and digital training organization and author. She teaches part-time at Northeastern University and is the founder of the International Women Build Confidence Conference.
Connect with Allana on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/allanatodmandagraca/ or Instagram @drdinspyre.
Resources:
Personal Development Course: #UPML Upgrade My Life Free Course: http://bit.ly/3br0MQH
Turning on The Lights Global Institute Digital Trainings: https://turning-on-the-lights-global-institute.teachable.com/
To sign up for Allana’s updates visit: https://www.drallanadagracaa.com/
Learn more about Allana: http://bostonvoyager.com/interview/meet-dr-allana-da-graca-founder-turning-lights-globalllc/
Allana on Farenheight TV: https://youtu.be/FNz0IUslMIU
Allana's TEDx Talk: https://youtu.be/b2qz35ezu3M
Imagine immediately saying yes to everything. In your everyday life, maybe that isn’t the best decision. If you’ve seen the movie Yes Man with Jim Carrey, you’ll know that things could quickly go off the rails. But what about as a motto for a hospitality business?
“Yes is the answer, what is the question” is more than just a motto for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, it’s what the company lives by. Cameron has built a phenomenal business and it all started with an epiphany in a crowded restaurant when he realized that he wanted to spend the rest of his life in the restaurant business. Then epiphany number two hit when he realized that he wanted to start his own restaurant.
The very first thing Cameron did after this realization was write down the culture and values for his company. Many people would start thinking of themes, scouting locations, coming up with names, but Cameron started with the people and he’s still all about the people 40 years later. Give this episode a listen to hear all about Cameron’s journey from dish room to boardroom.
P.S. If you’ve ever been to one of Cameron’s restaurants you’ve likely seen images of a chocolate milkshake and maybe you’ve even heard The Milkshake Story. Cameron explains why the milkshake is the icon of hospitality for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.
About our Guest:
Cameron began his career in the restaurant industry almost 40 years ago as a dishwasher; a few years later, while working as a line cook, he had an epiphany to start his own restaurant. He lives in Columbus, Ohio with his family and is dedicated to causes such as The United Way, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the Columbus State Community College Foundation.
You can connect with Cameron on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/camsaysyes/.
Resources cited
Yes is the answer. What is the question? By Cameron Mitchell
Yesterday a co-worker sent me a note of thanks. It made me smile because he took the time to craft the note, emphasizing specifically how I had helped him. It was a simple, lovely gesture, and it made me feel good.
This is the kind of fuel that Kerry Wekelo believes is needed to build and boost workplace culture. She puts gratitude at the top of her list not only for those around her, but for herself too. She makes it a daily practice to observe actions and contributions, and extend gratitude whenever she can.
Gratitude is an easy way to show people the impact they’re having, and why that impact is important to an organization. And let’s face it, there isn’t a simpler way to infuse your culture with goodwill, positivity, and humanity.
If you want to find out how to pull the power of thanks into your organization, listen to Kerry share motivation and examples of gratitude for self and others—and learn how far this has catapulted her and her organization towards a more purposeful and meaningful existence.
About our guest:
Kerry is COO of Actualize Consulting, a financial services firm, and author of Culture Infusion, which lead Actualize to being named Top Company Culture by Entrepreneur Magazine and Top Work Place by The Washington Post. She enjoys a good birthday celebration.
Connect with Kerry on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/kerryelam/, Twitter @kerrywekelo, Instagram @kerrywekelo, or YouTube.
Resources
Culture Infusion the book: https://www.actualizeconsulting.com/book.html
Culture Infusion Seminars: http://www.actualizeconsulting.com/seminars.html
Culture Infusion E-Courses: https://www.actualizeconsulting.com/culture-infusion-ecourses.html
To sign up for Kerry’s weekly newsletter visit: http://bit.ly/ConstantContactKW
When you view your people as your product, what does this mean for your business? At Model Teaching under the leadership of Shayna Pond, it means making relationships your highest priority. When your work relationships are healthy, your culture thrives—and so does your business and customer base.
Easier said than done, right? That’s why Shayna has developed an action plan with five key areas to ensure that her business and the people who are part of it, start by building solid relationships. Everything else grows from there.
You can hear Shayna expand on her action plan with examples of how she puts this into practice, and what she’s learned along the way. It’s all in this episode of the People at Work podcast.
About our guest:
Shayna coaches and trains teachers to become better educators through professional development opportunities. Her passion for learning is endless and she, her husband, and her two children enjoy learning new skills like painting, baking, and camping.
You can connect with Shayna on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/shaynapond/ or Twitter @SLPond
What do cash, hand-written notes, and knowledge sharing do for your culture? If you’re Eric Hansen, they make all the difference. Eric is the CFO at Red Peg Marketing, and he’s leading people and nurturing the company’s culture from an unexpected angle.
Known as the “cash and culture guy”, Eric literally gives out cash on the one hand, and steers the Red Peg culture with the other in a very personal way. His fascinating turnaround story of taking Red Peg’s employee retention from 60 to 90 percent over three years is the topic of conversation in this episode of People at Work.
Eric shares his no-nonsense approach to building culture and retaining people, which centres on caring genuinely, having fun together, and involving people as much as possible (oh, and don’t forget the cold, hard cash!). You’ll get a boost from Eric, as he shares his unconventional culture background and his day-to-day rituals that make people front and center in Red Peg’s culture.
About our guest:
Eric is CFO & COO of RedPeg and serves as an all-around community advocate, playing an influential role in many of RedPeg’s workplace internal culture initiatives. He shines in his passion for people and the New York Yankees.
Connect with Eric on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/erichansen28/, and RedPeg in Twitter @RedPegMarketing and Instagram @redpegmarketing.
Resources:
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
This morning I settled into a comfortable seated position and, although I fully intended to meditate, instead I spent 10 minutes chasing tangled thoughts around inside my head. Sound familiar? I really hope I’m not alone in this struggle!
Waking up and focusing my mind is part of why I repeatedly try and improve my meditation practice. So, I was absolutely delighted when I had the opportunity to speak to Stephen Sokoler, and hear his ideas about igniting people instead of calming them down through meditation.
Stephen has a special interest in bringing this attitude into workplaces, and is achieving impressive results with his stress management and mental wellbeing programs, which include meditation as a regular practice.
Stephen believes that mental fitness is as critical as physical fitness, and coaches organizations and their employees around the world with both his on-site programs and new meditation app. If you’re looking for fresh inspiration to begin or continue your mental fitness regimen, start with this episode of People at Work. And I’ll be starting again tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!
About our guest:
Stephen’s life work is to make a difference; he’s Founder & CEO of Journey Meditation, a company on a mission to help people live happier, healthier, and less stressed lives. In his free time, he enjoys exercise, sports, cooking, reading, and travelling, and works closely with several non-profits.
Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/stephensokoler/, Twitter @stephensokoler, and Instagram @stephensokoler.
“I really don’t like being recognized for my contributions,” said no-one ever. Well, maybe some of us don’t like public recognition, but I’m certain that everyone likes kudos in some shape or form from peers or managers.
Matt Thieleman tends to agree. As a leadership coach, he values recognition as one of the most critical things that you can do to improve your relationships and keep everyone on track in your team. And while big milestone celebrations are important, it’s really the day-to-day thank yous, shout-outs, and high-fives that have the most impact.
In this conversation on People at Work, Matt and I talk about the importance of recognition in an engaged workforce, how leaders need to start with self, and the role of values in building purpose-driven cultures with microdoses of recognition. In the spirit of the topic, I’d like to recognize Matt for how he’s helping create happier workplaces, and I appreciate your interest in our podcast!
About our guest:
Matt is a leadership coach who helps leaders and teams unleash their awesome on the world by stepping into their purpose. He's grateful for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for inspiring his journey into mindfulness and meditation.
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mattthieleman/ or Twitter @thieleman1.
Resources:
Matt's TEDx Talk on Why the world needs mindful leaders
If you’ve ever tackled the task of understanding employee sentiment, you’ll know that it’s hard to do. And often we fall into the trap of using our intuition rather than empirical methods to gather and use this information. This can create myriad problems at every level of an organization.
That’s why Dr. Aaron Barth advocates for a scientific approach, which results in the truth rather than simply one person’s biased view of the world. These optics get in the way of understanding the real cause of problems at work, and therefore the solutions to solve them are flawed.
In our latest episode of People at Work, I talk with Aaron about his model for scientific HR in particular. This starts with identifying what you care about, then the intuition-busting step of exploring evidence-based frameworks to solve the problem, and finally, observing actual lived experiences.
If you’re about to tackle your next engagement survey or are trying to uncover what’s at the heart of a problem in your workplace culture, take a listen. You’ll hear great ideas for how to keep the truth at the core of your discovery and force optics aside.
About our guest:
Aaron provides progressive leaders and HR directors the confidence they need to use scientific methods to tackle their hardest people problems. His band, Blind Sages, just released a new album and is embarking on a five-city tour.
You can connect with Aaron on Twitter @AaronBarthPhD or LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/aaronbarthphd/
We all have the same number of hours in a day, so how do some people seem to get more done, and be happier while doing it?
They have more capacity.
On this episode, Robert Glazer explains how you can build your physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional capacity. We also discuss why it’s important to try to keep your capacities in balance and he shares some easy steps you can take to start building your capacity.
Wow...I said capacity a lot.
Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
About our Guest:
Robert is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, the global partner marketing agency. His inspirational Friday Forward posts are read by more than 100,000+ leaders globally each week.
Connect with Robert on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/glazer/ or Twitter @robert_glazer.
Resources cited:
Website robertglazer.com
Performance Partnerships, by Robert Glazer
Elevate, by Robert Glazer
Newsletter 'Friday Foward' robertglazer.com/fridayfwd/
The Elevate Podcast
TEDx Talk: It's time to eliminate two-weeks notice
Working parents want more time with their kids. As companies are starting to realize this, flex-time and parental leave options are on the rise. But historically employees who use these perks are viewed as less committed and are less likely to be promoted. It’s a catch-22.
Creating a family-friendly workplace starts from the top-down and it has to be woven into the fabric of your company culture. I spoke with Ula Mikus from Tinybeans about how they’ve managed to create a truly family-friendly workplace that is more than just perks.
About our guest:
Ula is a people leader with a mindful and playful approach to work; devoted to inspiring growth through self-awareness and acceptance. She doesn’t take life seriously and loves all living beings (except cockroaches and ghosts--they’re too scary).
You can connect with Ula on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ulamikus/. Be sure to check out Tinybeans at tinybeans.com or on Instagram @tinybeanskids.
Resources cited:
https://tinybeans.com/articles/
Everyone loves a good story. But what about the story of your life? How much do you like it, and how empowered do you feel to write a new narrative for yourself? According to Flip Flippen, we all have first, second, and third stories of our lives. It’s the authors of those stories that differ though.
Flip’s new book 'Your Third Story - Author The Life You Were Meant To Live” authored with Dr. Chris J White, embraces the idea that first and second stories are for the most part created for us by others, whereas our third story is ours to write.
I loved reading the book almost as much as I enjoyed talking about it with Flip for People at Work. One of Flip’s ideas that resonated most with me is that there’s no here without a there. This means that we arrive where we are today because of what we’ve lived through but we have the power to make decisions about how to move forward.
Flip’s ideas are relevant to organizations as well as people. If you’re interested in making meaningful change in your life or business, listening to Flip may offer advice and inspiration before you take the leap. It made me pause and then take action, and I wish the same for you!
About our guest:
Flip is a NYT best-selling author, and the founder and chair of Flippen Group, one of the fastest-growing educator training, corporate talent, and team development companies in North America. He and his wife Susan (who is CEO) were named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurs of the Year, the only couple to ever receive this award together.
Connect with Flip on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/flipflippen/, Twitter @FlipFlippen, and Facebook facebook.com/FlipFlippen.
His books and initiatives include:
http://www.yourthirdstorybook.com/
https://flippengroup.com/capturing-kids-hearts
There’s been a lot of talk about how to engage employees over the past decade (or more). Many of us spend countless hours and buckets of money to no avail. So when I come across someone who has a different take on this thorny problem, I’m all ears. That’s why I was so excited to meet Olga Fleming, CEO and founder of Y&R PR.
Olga has been at the helm of her company since 2013, using her two-plus decades of experience communicating and understanding how we interact as humans, to build Y&R PR’s rambunctious culture. Olga’s secret sauce for engagement has a few key ingredients (exact proportions not divulged to protect the recipe!): take care of people, listen, be honest, lead by example, and give more than a paycheck.
This creates a culture that people want to be part of and are excited to contribute to. And there’s more than a dash of fun to be had. Engagement happily happens on its own when you get the right ingredients in place. My conversation with Olga on the People at Work podcast gets into what this looks like in practice at Y&R PR, with real examples of successful (and not so successful) initiatives, practices, and rituals.
If you have an appetite for how to engage your people in a fresh way, I’m certain this conversation will help.
About our guest:
Olga is the CEO of Y&R PR, a dynamic and nimble agency that partners with clients on challenging communications initiatives. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her family and singing Paradise By The Dashboard Lights at karaoke.
Connect with Olga on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/olga-fleming-b764312/ or follow Y&R PR on Instagram @yrprusa.
You’re a mess. Your boss is a mess. Your co-worker two desks down is definitely a mess. It’s safe to say everyone’s a mess. We all make mistakes, take on too many things, forget many more, avoid those hard conversations… you know what I mean. But frankly, it’s not helping anyone. So, what if we could turn our mess into success?
Self-professed serial mess-maker, Scott Miller, has spent 50 of his 51 years working up to his realization that owning your mess is the first step to leadership success. That’s why he decided to write his new book “Management Mess to Leadership Success” which outlines 30 challenges to help each of us own our messes and become an inspiring and confident leader in the process.
The book, like Scott, is honest, relatable, authentic, courageous, and funny. Scott is today’s guest on People at Work and I had the opportunity to hear first-hand about the importance of owning your mess and creating the conditions for others to do so too. You’ll want to get your hands dirty with this one, and please connect with us on Twitter (@JostleMe) or LinkedIn to share any of your own mess to success stories!
About our guest:
Scott is Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership at FranklinCovey, author, host of the “On Leadership with Scott Miller” podcast, and column contributor to Inc.com and Arriana Huffington’s Thrive Global. He was the youngest invitee to the 1988 Presidential Inauguration.
Connect with Scott on Twitter @ScottMillerFC, Instagram @scott_jmiller, LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/scottmillerfc, and Facebook facebook.com/ScottMillerFC.
His books include:
Management Mess to Leadership Success
Everyone Deserves a Great Manager
Resources cited:
How will you measure your life? by Karen Dillon and Clayton M. Christensen
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
If a Sherpa of Purpose asked you what it takes to feel alive, what would you say? I had to answer that exact question recently posed by Chad Gabriel of Tuthill Corporation. Chad is indeed a Sherpa of Purpose, and is very serious about discovering the recipe for aliveness.
That’s why he and his crew are travelling the world filming a documentary series based on interviews with people from all walks of life and cultures. In “The Search for Aliveness”, deep questions are being asked and answered about what it takes for humans to truly feel alive.
Although there are many ideas, Chad is consistently hearing four key ingredients for aliveness: nature, creativity, service to others, and authenticity. I was fortunate to catch Chad between shoots for a People at Work conversation about these four primary themes. We also talk about how this incredible documentary series came about and how it’s helping Tuthill continue their mission to “wake the world”.
Ready to be inspired? Listen in and add your own ingredients for aliveness to the mix.
About our guest:
Chad started at Tuthill 18 years ago in an IT role, he is now their Sherpa of Purpose, furthering Tuthill’s purpose to Wake the World. He’s most alive when spending time with his family, particularly when they go fishing and spend some time in nature.
The Search for Aliveness is a documentary where Chad interviews individuals around the world to understand what it means to be alive, He sees the documentary as a science experiment where, with a hypothesis, the team documents reality to determine a ‘recipe’ for aliveness.
Connect with Chad on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/cgabriel/ or Twitter @AlivenessSeries.
For more on The Search for Aliveness, check out the following:
Website: thesearchforaliveness.com
Facebook: facebook.com/TheSearchForAliveness
Instagram: @thesearchforaliveness
Official Trailer: thesearchforaliveness.com/video/extras/official-trailer/
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=YpAfy9VOO9Q
IMBD: imdb.com/title/tt8991104/?ref_=nv_sr_1
In college, Brian Ford told his professors that he wanted to start a financial education company that would teach in a fun and engaging way.
“Great!” they said, “You can definitely do that.”
Then he told them that he didn’t want to charge the people attending, but wanted it to be a for-profit company.
The mood changed. He was told that it was a naive business model and that he needed to go back to the drawing board.
Turns out they were wrong. Brian made his dream come true with Momentum onUp, an industry-leading workplace financial wellness program.
Financial well-being is a real problem that is likely affecting your workplace; 28% of employees are distracted by finances at work and 70% of employees believe their employer has little concern for their financial well-being.
In this episode, I sit down with Brian and discussed ways companies can improve the financial well-being of their employees and some simple steps that you can take to improve your personal finances.
About our Guest:
Brian is the creator of Momentum onUp, a leading workplace financial wellness program used by over 200 companies, including Home Depot and Hilton. He’s the author of an award-winning children’s book titled Marshmallows and Bikes--Teaching Children (and Adults) Personal Finance.
You can connect with Brian on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/briannelsonford/
Resources cited:
The 8 Pillars of Financial Greatness
Marshmallows and Bikes
Momentum onUp
Middle managers are the most overlooked part of an organization.
Typically, they’re a group of employees least invested in. They feel pressed for time, focused on managing their team and their to-do list. They’re overwhelmed and stressed, so focused on the day-to-day they begin to feel like an island, disconnected from the rest of the overall company and the bigger picture.
But, they’re core drivers of your company culture, acting as a bridge between their team and senior leadership. They’re key to a sense of connection among teams, and their disconnect is hurting your company culture in more ways than you can imagine.
And, (not to hit you while you’re down) but you might not even realize when they’re about to leave your company.
In today’s episode, I sit down with Paul Rubenstein, the Chief People Officer at Visier, to discuss what he calls the “mighty middle,” the middle managers who are crucial to your success.
Paul explains how data can predict which managers will leave. We then dive into ways you can make sure you retain these core drivers of your company’s culture and success.
Resources cited
Link to Visier's Manager Turnover Reduction report: hello.visier.com/people-analytics-drives-manager-turnover-reduction/
About our guest:
Paul spent years advising companies on HR and talent, he now ‘eats his own cooking’ as Visier’s Chief People Officer. He believes that companies should empower individuals and teams to move fast, make great decisions, and take risks. He recently moved to Vancouver from Brooklyn and is learning to speak non-New York English.
You can connect with Paul on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paulrubenstein100/ or Twitter @paulrubenstein1.
Have you ever stopped to think that being a great manager isn’t actually about you (ouch)? That’s the shift in thinking that FranklinCovey’s Todd Davis argues for in his new book, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager. Todd suggests being a great manager is really about everyone on your team, and what their individual needs, hopes, and goals are.
This may seem a bit counter-intuitive, especially considering how prevalent leadership development books, resources, and gurus are these days, with a square focus on self-growth. But don’t confuse the shift from me to thee as a shift away from self-development. Being a great manager requires constant growth and development, but the focus becomes how your skillset benefits your team predominantly, and not just you.
If this feels like hard work, we’ve got you covered. First, listen to Todd talk about his six critical practices (which are field-tested, real, and relatable) on the People at Work podcast. Then, pick up a copy of his book with excellent start-today resources for how to apply each of the six practices. In doing so, you’ll elevate your managerial practice and the level of satisfaction and engagement on your team. Who wouldn’t want that?
About our Guest:
With three decades of experience in human resources and talent development, Todd is FranklinCovey’s Chief People Officer and an author. He once fulfilled a lifelong goal of taking a stand-up comedy course where graduation included a 15-minute warm-up act at a local comedy club.
Connect with him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/todddavisfc/ or follow him on Twitter @ToddDavisFC.
His books include:
Everyone Deserves a Great Manager
Get Better: 15 Proven Practices to build Effective Relationships at Work
If you were asked, “what is the culture of time at your company?” would you have an answer?
Probably not. But it’s such an interesting question.
I had a great time chatting with productivity expert and Bestselling Author Julie Morgenstern about organizing your life from the inside-out and the importance of a company’s culture of time.
P.S. As a bonus for any parents listening, we also chat about how to organize your life to bring out the best in your child.
About our guest:
Julie has spent more than 30 years helping individuals and major corporations overcome disorganization. To decompress she enjoys biking around Central Park, swimming, and bopping along to music wherever it’s piped in.
Her books include:
Never Check Email in the Morning
Time to Parent: Organizing Your Life to Bring Out the Best in Your Child
Meetings. The bane of existence for many.
I get it.
We’ve all been in meetings that should have been an email. Or meetings where it’s someone just repeating numbers that could have easily been sent out as a video recording. But, how do you fix this problem and make the most out of your meetings?
I recently spoke with Darren Chait from Hugo about their limit of 4-hours of meetings per week, and how meetings (specifically, sharing meeting notes openly with your organization) can positively affect your culture.
About our guest:
Darren is the co-founder and COO of Hugo, a connected meeting notes software, and solving some of the pain around meetings is a cause close to his heart. He’s a self-diagnosed coffee-snob, regularly forced to part with $6 for a cup of coffee to get him through his day.
Connect with Darren on Twitter @darrenchait or LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/darrenchait/. For more on Hugo visit hugo.team and read their book 10X Culture hugo.team/10x.
Most people think:
Extrovert = Loud.
Introvert = Shy.
But that’s not necessarily true. Introverts just process information differently and workplaces would be wise to be aware of these differences so that they can really enable introverts to get their voices heard.
In this episode, Dustin talks with Maryna Shkvorets about how workplaces can enable introverts to thrive and shares some tips and tricks on how introverts can get their voices heard in meetings.
We also discuss how to detach from the fear associated with public speaking so that you can deliver a confident, powerful presentation.
About our guest:
Maryna is a public speaking coach helping leaders step into a new sense of confidence and presence, create engaging and persuasive talks, and detach from stage fright. She’s also an adventure seeker who’s into sailing, dance, and powerlifting.
For more on Maryna, visit marynashkvorets.com or connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/maryna-shkvorets/.
A sense of belonging is one of the five basic human needs according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. We want to feel part of something and have an emotional connection to others. This extends into the workplace. To be fulfilled at work, we need to trust those around us, feel a kinship with our coworkers, and be surrounded by those who share the values of the organization.
My recent interview with Camille Nicita of Gongos, Inc. shows what this looks like in action. Camille has spent almost three decades creating an organization that emphasizes belonging over skills. This means that hiring, onboarding, nurturing, and advancement of every team member at Gongos is deeply rooted in the company’s values, the first of which is humanistic.
More than a “people-first” attitude, Gongos’ humanistic approach helps every person feel that they belong. It’s by belonging that employees do their best work, contribute to culture, and help teams and the organization succeed. That’s why Camille believes that hiring to values is more important than skills. You’ll want to listen to her words of wisdom and draw from the lessons Gongos learned along the way to creating a healthy and empowered workforce, satisfied customers, and a prosperous business.
About our guest:
Camille believes that centering operations on customers will produce consistent results and bring together decision-makers. She also believes a great employee experience precedes a great customer experience. Hear how this mom of three, and leader of many, lives out that belief every day.
For more on Gongos, visit gongos.com, and connect with Camille on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/camille-nicita-7280747/.
Brand and culture. At first glance, the only commonality between the two words may be that we all recognize their importance, but that they’re really, really difficult to measure.
But they’re more related than you’d think.
On this episode, I chat with Tyler from Vidyard about how creating and maintaining a strong company culture ultimately impacts your external brand.
About our guest:
Tyler is a passionate content marketer and storyteller at heart who leads the marketing team at Vidyard. When he’s not chasing higher engagement rates he can be found chasing one of his four children or watching Game of Thrones, Ozark, and Dora (yes, she’s still exploring).
Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/tylerlessard/ or Twitter @tylerlessard.
Resources cited:
Interested in using simple webcam or screen capture videos to share internal updates, introduce new team members, or increase employee engagement? Try out the free Vidyard Chrome extension to record and share videos with 2 clicks!
What do Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Workday all have in common? They were all started by entrepreneurs who were more than 50 years old. In fact, 25% of new businesses are now founded by people over 50. With people staying in the workforce longer, 50 is young.
On this episode, Donna Korren discusses why the 50+ age group are the biggest workplace disruptors and how you can harness their wisdom and enable employees of all ages to thrive in an intergenerational workplace?
Hint: Two-way mentoring really helps.
About our guest:
Donna enjoyed a 25+ year career in publishing and advertising sales before launching her digital platform Empty Quester, inspiring empty nest parents to make their next bold move. She is an empty nester herself, but her family frequently meets up and travels together all over the world.
For more on Empty Quester visit emptyquester.com. Connect with Donna on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/donna-korren-8725494a/, follow her on Instagram @emptyquester, or Facebook at facebook.com/emptyquester/.
Resources cited:
Donna's TEDx talk 'The Newest Workforce Disruptors are Over 50!': youtu.be/KxFvPuWBS5A
Empty Quester Podcast
I think most of us can agree that being curious and continuing to learn are key ingredients to being successful. But what happens when you have to unlearn behaviors in order to level-up your career? When you’re forced to change what made you successful in the first place?
Here comes the understatement of the year: change is hard. Especially when you’re used to being a superstar at your company. So how do you make it easier? Spoiler alert - self-awareness helps A LOT.
Listen in as Tae Hea Nahm from Storm Ventures explains why unlearning is such an important concept for leaders as their company grows, and how to make the unlearning process less painful.
About our Guest:
Tae Hea is co-founder & Managing Director of Storm Ventures; currently, he’s interested in AI and SaaS companies. In his free time, he enjoys playing Civilization.
You can connect with Tae Hea on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/tnahm/ or Twitter @taeheanahm.
Resources cited:
Survival to Thrival by Bob Tinker and Tae Hea Nahm
Imagine working for a company that gives every employee 30 minutes of personal time every day to improve and make themselves a priority. Too good to be true? Not so at StayWell, where CEO Nicole Latimer introduced daily “Bean Time” to support individual wellness and personal growth.
This sounds like a tremendous commitment and investment, especially with over 600 employees. But Nicole believes in walking the talk and she’s building a culture of wellbeing, motivation, and self-care. Employees use the time for physical activity, reading, special interest conversations, and much more. The key is that every person does something that matters to them personally.
If you’d like to hear why Nicole believes it’s important to make yourself a priority, and get honest-to-goodness tips on how to start, take a listen to this episode of People at Work. You’ll hear that time and purpose are key ingredients to investing in yourself, and maximizing your health and happiness.
About our guest:
Nicole is the CEO of StayWell where they leverage the science of behavior change as the foundation for improving health outcomes. She’s inspired by Mary Barra (GM CEO) and other women leaders for creating company cultures with work-life balance.
For more on StayWell visit staywell.com or follow them on Twitter @StayWellCompany. You can connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/nicole-dupont-latimer-4097078/.
Resources cited:
Women in Wellness: Improving health outcomes with Nicole Latimer from StayWell by Fab Giovanetti on Medium.
We all have unspoken expectations of our co-workers, significant others, family, and friends. Unfortunately, none of us are mind readers so these expectations often lead to disappointment when people fail to behave exactly as we expect them to.
Max Yoder joins us on People at Work to explain how getting agreements, even 1% at a time, contributes to a culture of accountability and responsibility. And, ultimately, a more loving and supportive culture.
Re-upload correction: A previous version of this episode had an audio break of several minutes. Our apologies!
About our guest:
Max Yoder is the CEO and co-founder of Lessonly, the powerfully simple training software that helps millions of people learn, practice, and Do Better Work. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Jess.
For more on Lessonly visit lessonly.com. Connect with Max on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/maxyoder/ or on Twitter @maxyoder. Check out his book, Do Better Work, at dobetterwork.com.
There are certain inflection points in a company’s growth where the culture can change. At first, it’s one tight-knit group. Then, as you grow, you see someone walking around the office and you have no clue if they’re an employee, a partner or a complete stranger. How do you maintain real, authentic human connection as your company scales?
Dan Manian joins us today to chat about how technology can be used to help scale personal interaction and why it’s so important to help people build real connections. Especially for remote or dispersed teams.
About our guest:
After spending years working in product at fast-growing startups, Dan co-founded Donut (where he's CEO) to help teams foster cultures of connectivity and collaboration. When he’s not working on Donut, you can find him playing music for business with his band, Mobile Steam Unit.
For more on Donut visit donut.com and connect with Dan on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/danielmanian/.
Erin Hatzikostas is paving the way for others to discover what it means to be a leader with positive impact. She’s not afraid to make bold calls and be herself, especially in the face of organizational change and transformation. And she knows that an unexpected dance move can unite and excite those around her.
Intrigued? So was I. That’s why I interviewed Erin on People at Work. What unfolded was a fast-paced conversation crammed full of hard leadership lessons learned, tips for being an authentic leader, and lots of sass and humor. If you’re working on how to up your leadership game to be more effective, memorable, and inspire curiosity in those around you, take a listen. Dancing is optional.
About our guest:
Erin is a former CEO turned entrepreneur; her company is focused on helping people rise in their career without selling their soul. She’s most regarded for her Midwestern-inspired, unpretentious, witty, authentic style… and her mean Running Man dance.
Registration for her b BRILLIANT online career course is open from September 9 to 25, 2019, head to bauthenticinc.mykajabi.com/bBRILLIANT for all the details.
Hear more from Erin (and her friend) on her Podcast, b CAUSE (bauthenticinc.com/podcast). And, if you’re looking for a little fun, find out what kind of dog you are at work with her quiz: bauthenticinc.com/dog-quiz.
For more on b Authentic visit bauthenticinc.com. You can find Erin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/erin-hatzikostas/, Facebook at facebook.com/bAuthenticInc, and Instagram @b_authentic_inc.
Think about the conversations that really impact your life. How often do you feel that you’ve given them your all? According to Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry, we regularly neglect the last 8% of conversations. That means we’re avoiding the hard stuff, deferring conflict, and ultimately compromising our relationships. In this episode of People at Work, JP lays out a clear plan for making the most of your interpersonal interactions. You’ll learn about how preparation and courage can help you on your way to achieving 100% in every conversation. And you’ll discover that often the only thing holding you back is yourself.
About our guest:
JP’s curiosity and passion has driven his research-based approach to develop skills and tools required to build a culture of exceptional leadership. When he’s not travelling the globe, he can be found reading, out dancing, or cherishing time with family.
You can find more on JP at jppawliw-fry.com and the Happiness Sweet Spot at ihhp.com. Head to linkedin.com/in/jp-pawliw-fry-8226355 to connect with JP.
What do you get if you combine purpose, strengths, and compassion? You hit the “happiness sweet spot”. This is what makes Lars Kure Juul get up in the morning. He believes that by changing how you view your people, and by focusing on each person’s superpower, you achieve a state of being that gives your organization a serious competitive advantage. If you’re looking for practical advice on how to take your business to the next level by connecting and caring for your people, this conversation is worth your time. You may even discover your own superpower in the process!
About our guest:
Lars is an experienced international trusted advisor and author; his book Organizational Happiness is a #1 bestseller on Amazon. When he’s not writing, advising, or speaking he swims in the ocean as often as he can.
You can find his work at thehappinesssweetspot.com, on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/larsjuul/, or on Twitter @freakwave.
The employee engagement problem remains largely unsolved. But fortunately there are people hard at work finding ways to overcome it. One of those people is Shawna Stewart. For Shawna, engagement starts with purpose. When you combine that with strong leadership and thoughtful feedback, engagement follows. If you’re stuck on how to engage your people, and are hungry for practical examples of what to do you in your organization, you’ll come away inspired and ready to act after this conversation.
About our guest: Shawna is the Head of People and Operations at PostBeyond (postbeyond.com). Shawna is a people-focused leader who uses her passion, grit, and creativity to drive her team towards an employee experience that’s inclusive, supportive, and purposeful. Her secret sauce? A mix of strategy, innovation, empathy, a dash of wit, and a boatload of patience.
You can find her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/shawna-stewart-73230a127/ and PostBeyond on Twitter @PostBeyond.
According to Mark Britz, a leading learning strategist, many leaders are stuck in the Industrial Era, thinking learning and development belong to a specific department. In this episode, Mark shares why this needs to change. He reasons that new ways of thinking about organizational design, coupled with the transformation of managers into primary learning leaders, is spurring a new kind of learning environment that results in greater engagement and development for people at work. If you’d like to know how to achieve this in your organization, listen in. I’m sure you’ll learn a thing or two.
About our guest: Mark is the Sr. Manager of Programming at The eLearning Guild & Chief Strategist of ThruWork where he helps businesses increase collaboration and maintain a connected culture. He lives in Syracuse, NY and is an avid runner and cyclist, raising money for several local medical causes. Read his blog at markbritz.com! For more on ThruWork visit thruwork.com and find Mark on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/markbritz and Twitter @britz.
Resources cited:
Friction of Logic by Mark Britz;
Gary Vaynerchuck;
Good to Great by Jim Collins;
Dave Snowden; and,
Drive by Daniel Pink
We hear a lot about authenticity these days. But what does that actually mean—especially in the workplace? In this episode of People at Work, Julie Einarson shares her view of what authenticity is, why this matters, and why communication is critical. Listen in for tips on what true authenticity looks like, and how it benefits individuals, teams, and organizations. If you’re interested in improving yourself or your workplace, you’ll want to get real with Julie.
About our guest:
Julie is a Communications and Connection Advisor who has learned from experience that authenticity drives successful teams. She believes organizations that foster authenticity through action and communications accomplish more. Her second favorite word is "possibilities" and she approaches life with gratitude and humor.
You can find Julie on Twitter @Jule_E or connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/julieeinarson/
Resources cited:
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
Do you want to be happy? Look at your habits! In this episode of People at Work, Nate Klemp, Ph.D., makes the connection between habits and happiness. Nate talks about how habitual actions often happen without a thought. The key to happiness is to assess which of these habits are serving you and which aren’t, and then, change. His pragmatic, life-learned framework will help you improve your emotional fitness and get happy—especially at work.
About our guest:
Nate is a writer, philosopher, and entrepreneur who helps customers in law enhance employee engagement by using mindfulness and wellbeing to improve work performance. He loves to hike the mountains of Boulder Colorado with his family.
To learn more about LIFE XT visit lifecrosstraining.com; and find Nate on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/nate-klemp-phd-6901b72b/. Along with Eric Langsure, Nate is co-author of the NYT bestseller “Start Here: Master the Lifelong Habit of Wellbeing”.
Resources cited:
David Sinclair on the Rich Roll Podcast (Ep 436)
All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior
Free Will by Sam Harris
If you could impact your employees for good, why wouldn’t you? Shelley Underwood regularly asks this question. She’s identified three ways to meaningfully impact others in the workplace: focus on the whole person, practice empathy, and seek success not happiness. In this episode, Shelley and Bev have an uplifting conversation about these themes that’s sure to spark fresh ideas about what people need to be fulfilled in work—and life.
About our guest:
Shelley works with small businesses and startups innovating in the areas of hiring, retention, engagement, and organizational structuring. She loves living in Georgia where her favourite times are spent with her boys and running by the beautiful Savannah River.
For more on Competency Based Consulting visit competencybc.com; and find Shelly on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/shelleyeunderwood/.
Resources cited:
Brene Brown on empathy
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly
How do you completely rewrite the playbook for the recruiting industry while rapidly scaling your business? You focus on your values to help your people be the best they can be. That’s exactly what Gill Buchanan, COO, at Pure set out to do with her two partners, Lynn and Ian Walters. With their core values in hand (and evident everywhere in the company), they’ve created a people-centric workplace culture that really does put people first. Listen to Gill share how and why this works at Pure.
About our guest:
Gill has worked in the recruitment field since 1988 and co-founded Pure Resourcing. She continually ensures that Pure’s core values underpin their operations and make it a rewarding and positive place to work.
For more on Pure Resourcing visit prs.uk.com; and find Gill on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/gillbuchanan/
Enrique Rubio is an unstoppable force out to change Human Resources and its purpose in organizations. Founder of the Hacking HR movement, Enrique has strong opinions on what needs to change to improve the experience that people have at work—and it starts with HR. If you’re ready to be inspired and equipped with fresh insights on an age-old problem, listen to this episode!
About our guest:
Enrique is an HR & Tech Evangelist, founder of Hacking HR, and Fulbright Scholar. He discovers his best ideas and inspiration in the mountains while preparing for his 100 mile trail racing adventures.
For more on Hacking HR visit hackinghr.io; and find Enrique on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/rubioenrique/
A new way of leading is long overdue, and Laurie Bennett, Founding Partner at Within People, has an idea to make this happen. First, we must unlearn what we’ve come to know and accept about leadership. Then we must draw on innate human qualities like courage, curiosity, and patience, to become leaders who build wholehearted organizations. It’s within reach for all of us and in this podcast, Laurie tells us how.
About our guest:
Laurie works with leadership teams the world over to embed purpose and values into their brands and businesses. He lives at the foot of Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver with his wife and young son.
For more info on Within People visit withinpeople.com; and find Laurie on Twitter @lauriewithin and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/laurie-bennett-within/
Bev chats with Don Bell about the importance of fun and how that leads to engaged employees and happy customers. Don believes in aligning employee and employer interests and being proactive about finding ways to inspire employees. He ascribes his success to creating a “fun first” culture, where everyone acknowledged the need to make a profit, but they chose to get there in a very different way from the rest of their industry.
About our guest:
Don co-founded WestJet; his vision, ideas, and leadership were instrumental in creating a powerful company culture based on employee engagement and empowerment. He enjoys skiing, spending time with his family, and flying planes.
Connect with Don on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/don-bell-9040b6a/
Jeff Smith combines coaching and yoga with strong business acumen to help him on his mission to put an end to low employee engagement. He shares how his people-centric approach not only helps leaders be more effective, but improves outcomes for everyone they work with.
About our guest:
Jeff has over 20 years experience in sales, finance, people, culture, and operations, all of which led him to start SupportingLines Institute. There he helps leaders create stronger teams and better outcomes. He enjoys family time, coaching hockey, and (of course) teaching yoga.
For more info on SupportingLines Institute visit supportinglines.com; and find Jeff on Twitter @jeffcyo and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jeffcyo/
Listen in for a series of conversations with individuals leading change to create extraordinary workplaces. We get real about common workplace issues like engagement, teamwork, leadership, and culture, and discuss practical ideas for making change happen. Hosted by Bev Attfield and Dustin Tysick of Jostle.