Serve the Team: Recent Episodes
Shelly Bischoff
How do we invite and honour humanity in the workplace? Can we foster professional growth, insight and a sense of belonging with human centred approaches?
These questions are the basis of the insightful and authentic conversation I enjoyed with Lorena Krasnai from KLo Human Sustainability. She is passionate about supporting people to flourish and show up authentically in the workplace, which offers organizations the ability to thrive. Lorena focuses on evidence-based strategies and solutions that support psychological safety and improve wellbeing, with a focus on resilience strengthening.
Lorena shares her insight and expertise on the value of human centred approaches in the workplace and how they allow us to be seen, heard and accepted for who we are. We explore the barriers to honouring humanity, nurturing emotionality and engaging the power of choice at work. Lorena shares her thoughts about the fundamental need to prioritize structured time for reflection to develop self-awareness and experience growth. We conclude the conversation with the thought provoking topics of coaching and counselling for leadership practice and the fascinating field of epigenetics. I learned so much and now want to know more. Thank you Lorena!
You can find Lorena at:
https://humansustainability.square.site www.linkedin.com/in/lorenakrasnai
Episode References
"...we cannot afford to stagnate; we are ever-evolving creatures, growing into our own maturity and wisdom" (Slay-Westbrook, 2017, p.114)
Slay-Westbrook, S. (2017). Respect-focused therapy: Honoring clients through the therapeutic relationships and process. Routledge.
Epigenetics - "the study of how certain genes can be activated or deactivated by life experiences" (Shebib, 2022)
Shebib, B. (2022). Choices: Interviewing and counselling skills for Canadians (8th ed.). Pearson Canada.
"...you are the product of ongoing interactions between your genes and your experiences—such interactions are at the core of a field of study known as
epigenetics. But epigenetics isn’t just about you: We now know that the experiences you have during your lifetime can be passed on to future generations. This is a fundamentally
different way of thinking about who we are and how we are tied to both our ancestors and descendants".(Pinel & Barnes, 2021)
Pinel, J. P. J., & Barnes, S. J. (2021). Biopsychology (11th ed.). Pearson.
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
LinkedIn
YouTube
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
A new episode of "Serve the Team" is available! Listen to the dynamic conversation with Sacha Thompson about inclusive leadership. We explore how leaders can connect with their employees and nuanced ways to help people feel they belong and are heard. We discussed what leaders need from their organizations, in order to feel supported in their efforts to be inclusive, and how leaders can build their practice to think about diversity, equity, and inclusion, in a more universal way, rather than in the.narrow perspective typically seen in the policies organization use to check the box that DEI needs are being met.
What was fascinating is how the conversation organically flowed into why self-care is so important for leaders today. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation with Sacha and know you will too. I have added the resources recommended by Sacha to the show notes.
https://offerings.theequityequationllc.com/60DaystoSelfCare
https://a.co/d/iwDHgxj
cover art photo by Alexander Grey on unsplash.com
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
LinkedIn
YouTube
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
The beginning of a new year typically has us reviewing the past year and reflecting on our annual successes and challenges. We set goals and expectations for ourselves and others to achieve over the next year. Do you intentionally reflect on your practice as a leader ? How are you feeling about the impact your practice is having on the team and organization? Have you ever wondered how you missed something that should have been obvious to a leader? Effective leadership involves self-awareness, adaptability, and a commitment to growth and improvement. Reflection offers a unique opportunity to gain awareness and insight into how others experience you as a leader. It also offers you the ability to supports others understand their practice through feedback provided with positive intent.
This episode explores the gift of reflection, how your practice will benefit from the exploration and identify areas of growth to develop. Content includes an example of leadership reflection and the value of seeking feedback from diverse sources for the purpose of enhancing your practice to lead and support the team. Every leader deserves the gift of reflection and must make it a priority to receive it.
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
LinkedIn
YouTube
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Is your team driven to be creative and utilizing innovation in their pursuit for higher performance? Does your leadership style demonstrate commitment to the team taking calculated risks, trialing new patterns of thinking and sharing diver serve ideas. The catalyst for team creativity and innovation is psychological-gical safety. It is the tool that foster open conversation, diverse perspectives and the opportunity to collaborate beyond what has been considered before? This episode explores strategies for leaders to foster higher performance, innovative problem solving and learn from failure. Creating safe space for failure, setting a clear vision, providing autonomy and recognizing innovative thinking are crucial for leaders who want to foster high motivation and accountability for creativity and innovation in their team.
cover art attribution: Tim Mossholder; Unsplash
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
LinkedIn
YouTube
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Join me in a vital and candid conversation with global diversity, equity and inclusion leader Dani Gomez-Ortega, as she explains three basic elements crucial to supporting our transgender community in the workplace. Dani reviews the terminology we need to both understand and honor to respectfully include transgender employees. She shares her passion, expertise and experiences regarding the challenges transgender individuals face in the workplace and important strategies organizations must take to increase the inclusivity and dignity of this demographic. Dani offers valuable insight on how the conditions of psychological safety serve our efforts to ensure those who want not only to survive but also thrive as valued members of our teams. The statistics shared by Dani are alarming and reinforce the need for organizations to prioritize strategies necessary for all transgender employees feel a sense of belonging and safety to bring their diverse and authentic contributions to the table. I am grateful for Dani's support of my own need to grow and understand behaviours that support transgender individuals and know you will also benefit from her approach to diversity, equity and inclusion. The release of this episode coincides with the Transgender Day of Remembrance ( also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance) which memorializes those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia.
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
LinkedIn
YouTube
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Welcome to a new episode of Serve The Team. Listen in to a conversation focused on exploring how resiliency serves your leadership practice.
Do you feel you are resilient? Do you have the capacity to face the inherent challenges of leadership? and are you demonstrating the behaviors associated with resilience? How important is resiliency in your ability to lead your team and create the conditions for them to work in a safe space and develop their own resilience?
Leaders play a crucial role of role modelling behaviours that demonstrate how looking after themselves enhances their ability to be flexible, emotional available to others and persevere through tough times. Leaders who have higher levels of resiliency are better equipped to manage challenges, adapt to change, effectively handle adversity and maintain a positive outlook. Content includes a case study of a leadership team who must reset after significant setbacks within their teams and collaboratively consider the need and value of enhancing their resiliency skills to face challenges ahead of them, honour their self care and wellbeing needs and regulate their emotions. The availability of psychological safety provided the safe space for the reticent leaders to authentically explore how increased resiliency can serve their individual practice and team capacity. Shelly offers focused questions that can identify areas of resilience that require growth and ultimately expand your ability to serve the team .
Coverart Attribution: https://unsplash.com/photos/Sj0iMtq_Z4w?utm_content=creditShareLink&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
LinkedIn
YouTube
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Does Kindness count in the workplace? And to what degree? Science, research and corporate experiences validate the link between kindness and the availability of psychological safety in teams. Listen in to hear what the research offers, hear the results of a workplace survey and the effects of kindness on our physical and mental wellbeing. Strategies are included to support leaders create a happier more productive team environment using kindness towards others and themselves.
https://kindness.org/work-kind
Everyday prosociality in the workplace: The reinforcing benefits of giving, getting, and glimpsing.
APAPsycnet: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-24716-001
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
LinkedIn
YouTube
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Are you positioning your team to be able to achieve high performance on a sustainable basis? Where does psychological safety intersect with the diversity equity and inclusion on your team? How are you recognizing the diverse perspectives, skills, backgrounds, and abilities of each member of your team? And do you invite everyone to be included in Meaningful ways? Do you provide equal access to growth, advancement, and opportunity? This episode explores how leaders can assess the level of diversity equity and inclusion available to the team and strategies to enhance the opportunity for team success.
Listen in to hear where psychological safety, DEI intersect to support team performance.
Image attribution:krakenimages-Y5bvRlcCx8k-unsplash.jpg
Cast Reference: The 2018 Gallup Report
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/242138/requirements-diverse-inclusive-culture.aspx
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
What does failure mean to you as a leader? Are you open to fostering your team to take calculated risk to achieve greater heights of success?
The episode explores how leaders can encourage their team to take risks, even if it may result in failure can lead to valuable learning experiences and breakthrough ideas in the long run. Embracing a supportive and open-minded environment will motivate your team to explore new possibilities and push the boundaries of what's possible. Failure is often a stepping stone towards success because it provides valuable learning experiences and opportunities for growth. When we fail, we gain insights into what went wrong and what could be improved. This knowledge helps us refine our strategies and approaches, increasing the chances of success in the future. Embracing failure as a natural part of the learning process allows us to build resilience, adaptability, and creativity, ultimately leading to greater achievements and breakthroughs in our endeavours through persistence and learning.
Organizations want the competitive edge, expansion of new lines of business and recognition for innovative problem solving! And it is available to any team led by those with the vulnerability and courage to foster, invite, incite and encourage calculated risk into their team dynamics!
Listen in to learn and hear two stories of how failure served the team!
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
I have an open conversation about the value open conversations offer the work you and your team perform together. Are your teams having open conversations? Are the conversations your team members are having open from the perspective of working better together? How does open conversation relate to the success your team achieves? And ultimately, Where can you foster and invite open conversation to your team?
I want to share my thoughts about how open the conversations serve your team and a story of how two teams came together to engage in open conversation to address challenges affecting the entire operation.
Listen in and share your thoughts and stories with me @
servetheteam.ca
Cover Art attribution: andrew-ridley-jR4Zf-riEjI-unsplash.jpg
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
How do we build trust, collaboration, and effective problem-solving in our team? Should we wonder if those working with us are doing their best? And does our mindset affect our interactions with the team? Reflecting on these questions can begin with the assumption of positive intent. When you assume positive intent, you are more likely to approach conversations and conflicts with a constructive and open mindset. You approach the team members with the belief that they have good intentions, are capable, and want to contribute positively to the team's goals. By adopting an assumption of positive intent, you create a positive work culture where individuals feel valued, supported, and motivated to give their best.
Listen in to this conversation about how assumptions can impact our availability to serve the team.
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Join me in a dynamic and fun conversation with Dr. Christie McMullen as we discuss how we can recognize diversity to validate the differences and value our personalities bring to our work together. Christie’s shares her thoughts on the ways leaders can authentically support their teams using reflection to lead from a non reactive approach. We also learn how Christie advocates for the need to make work safe, logical, fun and memorable to optimize the employee experience.
Christie is a best-selling author and 24-year educator turned entrepreneur who can help you make work fun! She has worked with thousands of adults in multiple industries at organizations like Aetna, ReMax, Solaris, and RISE to improve human interactions. With a masters and doctorate in Educational Leadership and two and a half decades of practical experience she is able to connect with CEOs, directors, educators, salespeople, and everyone in between.
servetheteam.ca
Show References
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath.
Denise Rupert: drupert@icueonline.org
You can learn more about Christie and her work on her website: www.aimwithus.com
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
By embracing the power of inquiry, leaders can create an environment where individuals feel heard, respected, and valued. Through thoughtful questioning and active listening, leaders can uncover insights, perspectives, and diverse viewpoints within their teams. This fosters a culture of open dialogue, trust, and collaboration.
Inquiry allows leaders to better understand the needs, concerns, and aspirations of their team members. It encourages them to empathize, validate, and acknowledge the experiences and emotions of others. This, in turn, nurtures a sense of psychological safety, where individuals feel comfortable taking risks, sharing their ideas, and expressing their authentic selves without fear of judgment or reprisal.
Furthermore, the power of inquiry enables leaders to uncover hidden opportunities, identify potential challenges, and generate innovative solutions. By asking probing questions, leaders can stimulate critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills within their teams. This not only enhances productivity but also cultivates a culture of continuous learning and growth.
Overall, the transformative and essential nature of inquiry as a leadership tool lies in its ability to create a psychologically safe space where individuals can thrive, collaborate effectively, and contribute their best to organizational success.
Reference
SCHEIN, E. H. (2021). Humble inquiry: The gentle art of asking instead of telling. BERRETT-KOEHLER.
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
When teams are unable to achieve performance expectations, the leaders are often perceived to be the problem. But, they're most often not equipped to serve their teams. In order to develop their leadership practice, we need to recognize that leaders require the same psychological safety we expect them to create for their teams.
Neil Pretty, Co-founder and CEO of Aristotle Performance, joins Shelly to discuss the need for leaders to access psychological safety to gain awareness and insight into their practice and understand how they can create the conditions to have deeper connections and authentic relationships with their teams. Neil highlights how the discovery process enhances the ability to know the clients they are going to work with and the importance of developing relationships to achieve outcomes which, ultimately, best serves those clients.
Listen as Shelly and Neil have a candid conversation about industry trends related to supporting organizations and leaders in the workplace.
________________
Abilene Paradox - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abilene_paradox
Neil Pretty:
Website - https://www.aristotleperformance.com/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-pretty/
Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Leaders are often labeled as the barrier to high performance in teams. The irony is leaders need the very psychological safety we want them to create in their teams to foster strong leadership practices.
The skills and abilities required to meet performance expectations, engage with their teams, and earn the trust necessary for high performance are not provided by the promotion. They need to be established, implemented, and revisited to ensure your leader is setup for success.
In this episode, Shelly focuses on how organizations need to better support their leaders in the workplace. She explores the value of organizations stepping back and considering the need to empower leaders by offering safe spaces for them to grow, learn, and develop their authentic practice.
Photo by Tom Parkes on Unsplash
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Culture plays a significant role in workplace psychological safety. As organizations stabilize and re-engage their workforce, following the last three years of disruption due to the global pandemic, they have an opportunity to assess the elements of culture in their teams. Strong leaders must approach these culture changes from a perspective of inclusion; inviting employees to actively participate in conversations about the kinds of culture necessary for them to perform at optimal levels.
Join Shelly as she shares the story of one organization’s journey to understanding the impact of culture and how it takes leading by example to be successful. She also has a take away exercise for leaders who want to explore the current elements of their culture in comparison to the values, beliefs, and behaviors they want to see in the culture that's supporting their team.
Photo by Praewthida K on Unsplash
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Facebook
LinkedIn
servetheteam.ca
Instagram
Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Google reference:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html
Stock Music provided by ikoliks, from Pond5
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Facebook: www.facebook.com/servetheteam
Twitter: twitter.com/@STTeampodcast
Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/servetheteampodcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellybischoff
A reminder to listen in the first episode is being released on February 21!
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Facebook: www.facebook.com/servetheteam
Twitter: twitter.com/@STTeampodcast
Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/servetheteampodcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellybischoff
I am excited to announce the launch of my podcast. I will explore how psychological safety enables employees to authentically contribute at work. Content will highlight opportunities for leaders to empower high performance in their teams.
Thanks for listening! Send your feedback, questions and podcast ideas to shelly@servetheteam.ca or follow me @
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Facebook: www.facebook.com/servetheteam
Twitter: twitter.com/@STTeampodcast
Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/servetheteampodcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellybischoff