Team Anywhere Leadership Podcast

#172 - IRS vs. DOD: Diverse Strategies in Teleworking and Employee Management

Mon, 13 May 2024 08:56:15 GMT

In the latest episode of "Team Anywhere," hosts Mitch Simon and Brett Putter delve into contemporary challenges in organizational cultures, specifically focusing on human-centric leadership. They discuss the contrasting telework policies of the IRS and DOD, highlighting the DOD’s push towards flexible work arrangements to attract talent and stay competitive. The episode emphasizes the need for training DOD managers in outcome-based leadership and maintaining effective communication in remote settings. The hosts also explore the implications of the IRS’s mandatory office return policy, probing its impact on work-life balance, leadership trust, and organizational culture, underpinning the vital role of human-centric leadership in modern workplaces.

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► https://youtu.be/ZtIkWy-Va5Y

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#171 - The Role of Joy in Attracting and Retaining Gen Z Workers

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 07:00:25 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, hosts Mitch Simon and Brett Putter delve into the increasing need for human-centric leadership, particularly for Gen Z who seek purposeful work. They highlight how 54% of Gen Z workers feel disengaged, urging leaders to infuse joy into the workplace to retain young talent. Through frameworks like Task Relevant Maturity (TRM), they explore how intentional leadership and mentoring can enhance job satisfaction and performance. The episode emphasizes cultivating a work environment where tasks are interesting, challenging, rewarding, and fun, and the importance of understanding the team needs to foster a sense of fulfillment and collaboration.

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA171

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► https://youtu.be/zgfVqforVaw

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#170 - Building Strong Culture in Hybrid Team Environments

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:00:44 GMT

In this episode of “Team Anywhere,” hosts Mitch Simon and Brett Putter delve into the essential role of human-centric leadership in remote work. They uncover how the best remote managers serve as facilitators and coaches, nurturing environments where individuals thrive autonomously. Emphasizing the shift in workers' roles, they discuss Brett's Inspire Teams course, aimed at empowering remote team members with enhanced cultural and collaboration skills. Exploring challenges like "hybrid work friction," Brett and Mitch advocate for clear leadership strategies that align culture and responsibility, crucial in a successful remote work dynamic. Tune in for insights on navigating hybrid team management with a people-first approach.

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA170

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► https://youtu.be/-_hcPuisLyc

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#169 - The Hybrid Work Revolution: Balancing Family, Work, and Connection

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 12:47:19 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, Mitch and Brett highlight the critical role of human-centric leadership in thriving hybrid workplaces. Brett Putter reveals how connectedness is fostered through strategic structures rather than just physical presence. Focusing on emotional proximity, they explore one-on-one meetings as a trust-building tool and the importance of managers knowing their team members' personal and professional landscapes. The episode underscores intentional engagement, celebrating "moments that matter," and understanding the human aspect of remote work. Successful hybrid strategies emphasize leaders' efforts in relationship-building, recognition, and strengthening social capital for high-performing teams.

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► https://youtu.be/9et-d0ySUQQ

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#168 - The Essentials of Trust in High-Performing Teams: A Practical Guide

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:00:39 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon interviews Greg Spira, a business advisor with Oliver White, about building trust in high-performing teams. Greg shares insights from his book, "Trust the Plan, Demand Management for Business Leaders," emphasizing the importance of trust, reliability, and predictability in team dynamics. He discusses the impact of legacy perspectives on leadership and the need for leaders to prioritize building trust in the workplace. Greg offers practical tools and examples to help leaders foster trust in virtual and hybrid work environments and highlights the essential connection between vulnerability and trust in effective human-centric leadership.

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA168-greg-spira

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#167 - The Competitive Edge of Shorter Work Weeks

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 08:00:38 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon chats with Jake Kurtz, CEO of Brick Media, about his revolutionary implementation of a 4-day workweek. Focused on human-centric leadership, Kurtz shares insights on how prioritizing employee well-being led to remarkable business growth and a happier, more committed team. This episode delves into how Brick Media's approach challenges the conventional 5-day workweek, fosters work-life balance, and positions the company as an attractive employer while maintaining client satisfaction.

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA167-jake-kurtz

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#166 - How to Build Happy & Productive Remote Teams

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:00:22 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, Mitch Simon converses with Melissa Romo, seasoned business leader and author, delving into the essential qualities of human-centric leadership for remote teams. Melissa shares insights from her book "Your Resource is Human," advocating for empathy, joy, and connection—vital elements that foster innovation and productivity remotely.

She underscores the role of emotions in leadership, emphasizing emotional contagion and the value of companionate love that boosts team performance. Throughout the episode, Melissa and Mitch explore strategies for overcoming remote work challenges, showcasing the transformative power of empathetic leadership in a distributed workforce.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
0:40 - Introduction
2:31 - Learnings from Working Remotely
4:55 - What Made Melissa Write Her book?
8:14 - Emotions in a Remote Setting
13:27 - How can Companionate Love Impact You Virtually?
19:12 - Follow & Subscribe to the Podcast!
19:31 - Belonging: How to Create It & the Dark Side of It
22:42 - The Dark Side of Joy
27:45 - It’s Actually Distributed Work
29:18 - The Brainstorming Myth
31:51 - Where to Find Melissa Romo & Her Book?
33:36 - Thanks for Watching/Listening!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA166-melissa-romo

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► https://youtu.be/7e1b8xNScGw

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#165 - Fueling Success: How Happiness Impacts Your Workday

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 08:00:49 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, I interviewed Jessica Weiss, a TEDx speaker and happiness expert. Jessica emphasizes the importance of human-centric leadership within organizations, particularly in the context of hybrid and virtual team management. She highlights the essential role of fostering friendships at work, aligning individual strengths with meaningful work, and recognizing the importance of making progress for generating happiness and productivity. Jessica also candidly shares her own happiness journey, including her insights on delivering a TEDx talk.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
1:10 - Introduction
1:54 - Jessica's Story of Happiness
5:14 - Is Jessica Happy?
5:47 - How to Build Happiness
8:27 - Be Happy, Be Productive!
13:49 - Follow & Subscribe to the Podcast!
14:10 - Building Connections is Work!
21:57 - How are Companies Measuring Happiness
23:18 - Jessica's TEDx Experience
26:03 - Where to Find Jessica Weiss
27:17 - Thank you for Listening/Watching!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA165-jessica-weiss

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► https://youtu.be/pqIu2-rcbFk

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#164 - How to Lead with Humanity and Create Workplace Harmony

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 08:00:18 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, guest Steven Howard, author of "Humony Leadership," shares insights on the importance of human-centric leadership. Steven emphasizes the need to unlearn traditional management approaches and relearn to lead with a focus on people. He discusses the impact of the pandemic on leadership, highlighting the need for leaders to prioritize their team's well-being and individual responsibilities. Steven also explores the components of human-centered leadership, including humanity, harmony, and the measurement of workplace harmony. Listeners gain valuable insights into fostering a harmonious and people-centered work environment in an increasingly remote and hybrid work landscape.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
0:42 - Introduction
2:16 - Who is Steven Howard?
3:05 - Where Leadership is Focused Today
4:12 - Anxiety is Affecting Leadership
7:59 - Steven's Inspiration for the Book
13:17 - 3 Parts to Leadership
15:27 - Subscribe & Follow the Podcast!
15:44 - Back to Episode
18:28 - What is Harmony in the Workplace?
21:32 - How to Create More Harmony
25:12 - How to Find Steven Howard
26:09 - Thanks for Listening/Watching!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA164-steven-howard

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► https://youtu.be/0QwqefcugU8

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#163 - How Inspired Teams Transformed Centura Wealth Advisory’s Company Culture

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 08:00:34 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, Centura Wealth Advisory joins host Mitch Simon to share their experience with the "Inspired Teams" program and its impact on their company culture. The team at Centura discusses the importance of human-centric leadership, transparency, and open communication in creating a positive work environment.

They emphasize the value of individual development, authentic conversations, and emotional intelligence in attracting and retaining top talent. The program's focus on empowering employees to take responsibility for team and company success, as well as fostering transparency and broader engagement, has led to better client outcomes and increased interest from potential candidates.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
1:19 - Special Message
2:47 - Introduction
4:35 - What Makes Centura Wealth Different
5:32 - What is the Inspired Teams Program?
7:03 - How Inspired Teams Help Hybrid Teams
7:57 - Results from the Inspired Team Program
11:32 - How New Hires Benefited from the Program
16:32 - Follow & Subscribe to the Podcast!
16:49 - Retaining and Attracting Top Talent
23:03 - How Effective is Inspired Teams?
27:10 - Impacts on Centura's Clients
28:39 - What Sets Inspired Teams Apart
31:41 - Where to Find Centura Wealth
32:06 - Thanks for Watching/Listening!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA163-centura-wealth

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► https://youtu.be/OntpURpi76g

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#162 - Figuring Out Your Next Steps: Exploring Life's Big Question

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 16:00:59 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon speaks with father and son duo, David and Colton Chorpenning, about their book "What the F is Next: The No BS Guide to Getting What You Really Want." The Chorpennings share their research-based, step-by-step process designed to help individuals identify their passions, set intentions, and achieve success in their personal and professional lives. With a focus on appreciative inquiry and intentionality, they illustrate how their process has helped individuals find clarity in their desired paths.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
0:39 - Introduction
1:12 - Episode Starts
2:29 - What Inspired the Book?
6:34 - The Book’s Philosophy
12:00 - Real Examples of Their Process
13:45 - Subscribe & Follow the Podcast!
14:24 - Colton on Becoming A Coach & Author
15:14 - A Special Offer
18:03 - How Their Book will Improve Your Life
21:55 - David’s Favorite Chapter
25:30 - Life Biggest Question
26:23 - Where to Find David & Colton?
26:38 - Thanks for Watching & Listening!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA162-the-chorpennings-interview

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► https://youtu.be/QNnf9XmND_8

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#161 - How to Build Trust & Nurture Distributed Teams

Sun, 26 Nov 2023 16:00:23 GMT

In today’s episode of Team Anywhere, I interviewed Amy Anderson, the co-founder of Wild Coffee Marketing. Amy shares her insights on building engagement and a strong company culture in a distributed team. Through her human-centric approach to leadership, Amy demonstrates the value of genuinely caring for employees and creating a supportive work environment.

Chapters:

0:00 - Episode Trailer
0:40 - Introduction
1:13 - Episode start
2:26 - Why Trust is Dying
3:20 - Creating a Great Remote Culture
5:40 - What is an Employee-led Economy
6:47 - The Story Behind Wild Coffee Marketing
10:15 - How to Manage a Distributed Team
14:12 - Subscribe & Follow the Podcast
14:29 - Accountability Conversations
20:09 - Activities to Keep the Company Engaged
24:19 - Create Your Rituals Early On!
26:36 - What Great Leaders Do
27:49 - Where to Find Amy Anderson?
28:39 - Thanks for Watching/Listening!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA161-amy-anderson

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► https://youtu.be/ZB-jeXp7SFM

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#160 - Building Engagement through Authentic Dialogue with Employees

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 16:00:54 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, Mitch Simon interviews Ollie Lingwood-Craddock, the CEO of Rungway, a platform that promotes effective communication and authentic dialogue in organizations. They discuss the importance of human-centric leadership and how Rungway's employee listening platform helps leaders connect with their workforce and understand what is really happening in their organization.

Lingwood-Craddock emphasizes the need for leaders to step outside their normal network to gain a broader perspective and address emerging issues. The conversation explores the value of anonymity in enabling employees to share their experiences and ideas, ultimately creating a more inclusive and engaged workforce.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
0:35 - Intro
1:08 - Episode start
2:07 - What is Rungway?
3:54 - Why is it called Rungway?
4:59 - Ollie’s journey to leading
5:56 - Authenticity & Transparency
9:30 - How Rungway identifies issues
11:18 - Is there reluctance in knowing issues?
14:01 - Use cases for Rungway
17:05 - Subscribe & Follow the Podcast!
17:22 - Positive trends happening
20:01 - Rungway encourages organic feedback
21:10 - How to engage people to use company tools
24:08 - Who Rungway has worked with
24:45 - Remote work satisfaction & dissatisfaction
26:47 - What companies need to do right now
28:28 - Where to find Ollie and Rungway
29:05 - Thanks for Listening!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA160-ollie-lingwood-craddock

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► https://youtu.be/zOtDkQTVKyo

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#159 - Overcoming Loneliness & Building Connections in Today's Workplace

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 07:00:32 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, we explore the power of human-centric leadership with guests Three Carpenter and Jackie Carpenter. They discuss the importance of creating a culture where individuals feel valued and connected, rather than just focusing on productivity.

From improving team dynamics to fostering a sense of community, the speakers share their experiences in transforming workplace cultures. They delve into the topic of loneliness in the modern world, particularly in virtual environments, and the need for companies to address this issue. Discover the impact of human-centric leadership and how it can lead to happier, more engaged employees.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
0:41 - Introduction
1:13 - Episode start
2:27 - How Three & Jackie got into country clubs
3:25 - How did the two meet?
4:26 - Origins of their names
6:29 - Going deep into the loneliness epidemic
11:20 - An example of reconnecting employees
15:56 - The elements of a community
20:43 - Like & Subscribe to the Podcast!
21:12 - Are companies supposed to help employees with life?
25:22 - How to create belongingness in your company
28:57 - Mitch summarizes loneliness in a nutshell
30:24 - About the People F1rst book
31:31 - Where to find the Carpenters
31:58 - Thanks for Watching/Listening!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/three-jackie-carpenter

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► https://youtu.be/na1b0y7vY6A

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#158 - Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Be Better Communicators

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:00:45 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, Mitch Simon welcomes guest Matt Abrahams, a renowned strategic communication expert and host of the podcast "Think Fast, Talk Smart." Matt discusses his journey into the world of communication, from a 14-year-old boy facing a public speaking mishap to becoming a lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. They dive into the importance of managing anxiety in communication and how great communicators focus on serving their audience. Matt's upcoming book, "Think Faster, Talk Smarter," offers practical tips and stories to enhance communication skills. Tune in to learn how to become a more effective and human-centric leader in any communication setting.

Chapters:

0:00 - Preview
0:38 - Introduction
1:11 - Episode starts
3:14 - Why Matt became a communication expert
4:22 - Matt's Karate Story
7:28 - Why are people held back from being communicators?
8:04 - How to deal with anxiety to communicate with people
9:16 - There's an increase in anxiety today
10:17 - Matt and his students at Stanford
12:16 - How to succeed in spontaneous speaking
14:42 - How to successfully connect with people
19:23 - What's inside Matt's 2nd book?
21:18 - What do Matt's students say about his course?
22:40 - Where to find Matt Abrahams?
23:27 - Thanks for Listening/Watching!

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► https://simonleadershipalliance.com/TA158-matt-abrahams

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► https://youtu.be/xwuBn1VM1B0

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#157 - The Power of Vulnerability: Building Trust and Creating Authentic Connections

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 16:00:11 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon explores the concept of human-centric leadership with guest Jacob Morgan. They dive into the importance of vulnerability in leadership, discussing how being genuine and authentic can build stronger connections and trust within a team. Jacob shares insights from his research and interviews with CEOs, highlighting the shift towards embracing vulnerability in the modern workplace. From climbing the vulnerability mountain to intentional sharing and building relationships, Jacob and Mitch provide practical strategies for leaders to cultivate human-centered leadership and create a more supportive and inclusive work environment.

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#156 - The Omni-working Revolution: Hybrid Strategies to Thrive in the Modern Workplace

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 13:05:42 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere with Gwen Stirling Wilkie, we delve into the importance of human-centric leadership in hybrid work environments. She discusses the need for setting boundaries and flexibility within senior teams, sharing examples of how organizations have reimagined their workspaces and strategies. The guests explore the concept of "omni-working," emphasizing the importance of creating inclusive and thriving work environments. She also discusses the paradigm shift in leadership, highlighting the growing need for co-creation and active leadership as we Team Anywhere.

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#155 - Redefining the Office: Balancing Remote Work Collaboration and Innovation in Modern Organizations

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:41:23 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon welcomes Libby Sander to discuss the importance of human-centric leadership in remote work and office environments. They explore how our physical environment impacts productivity, collaboration, and well-being, emphasizing the need for diverse and flexible workspaces. The discussion also highlights the changing expectations and priorities of today's work. The episode calls for a shift in leadership approaches and office design to meet the evolving needs of employees and create environments that foster creativity, engagement, and success as we Team Anywhere.

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#154 - Creating Inspiring Work Environments: Exploring Motivational Work Design

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 11:02:31 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon is joined by David Henkin and Thomas Bertels to discuss human-centric leadership and its impact on job satisfaction and productivity. They explore the history of organizational development, highlighting the importance of meaningful work, autonomy, and knowledge of results. The speakers also delve into the challenges posed by technology and the need for self-managing teams. They emphasize the benefits of involving people from various functions and encourage managers to transition into coaching roles as we Team Anywhere!

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#153: Fostering Human Connection: Importance of Civil Discourse in the Remote Age with Milan Kordestani

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 12:10:05 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we delve into the power of storytelling to promote empathy and connection. Milan Kordestani, a writer and founder of the anonymous publication The Doe, shares their experiences and insights on the importance of civil discourse and mental health in our digital age. From discussing the loneliness epidemic to cancel culture, Milan offers thought-provoking perspectives on how we can foster better connections and have meaningful conversations. So sit back, relax, and get ready to explore the world of storytelling and its impact on our society as we Team Anywhere!

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#152 - Leading with Intention: Balancing Management and Leadership for Success

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 00:41:24 GMT

In today’s podcast episode our guest, Perry Maughmer, shares his insights on how to effectively manage oneself and others. He introduces a unique framework based on exploration, experimentation, and evolution, emphasizing the importance of connecting with individuals and building trust as a leader. Perry also dives into the concept of "hostage groups" and the power of peer advisory for leadership growth. Join us as we explore the challenges of change, intentional leadership in a remote work environment, and the key to establishing meaningful connections with employees as we Team Anywhere!

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#151 - Exploring Ethical AI Strengthening Productivity and Engagement in Remote Teams

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 11:13:20 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, guest Yoav Schlesinger, architect of ethical AI practice at Salesforce, joins the conversation to discuss the use of AI to strengthen productivity and engagement in the virtual and hybrid world. Yoav highlights the importance of human-centric leadership when incorporating new technologies, emphasizing the need to augment human potential rather than replace it.

The discussion dives into the ethical dilemmas arising from advanced AI tools, the role of responsible innovation, and the risks associated with AI, including accuracy, bias, privacy, sustainability, and societal disruption. Tune in to discover how to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of AI with a human-centric approach as we Team Anywhere.

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#150 - Be Human, Lead Human: Redefining Leadership for a New Era with Dr. Jennifer Nash

Sun, 06 Aug 2023 22:44:27 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon welcomes Dr. Jennifer Nash to discuss the importance of human-centric leadership. Dr. Nash shares her insights on understanding and valuing employees, building relationships, and creating an environment where people feel seen and appreciated. Drawing from her research and book, "Be Human, Lead Human," Dr. Nash highlights the power of empathy, authenticity, and curiosity in leadership. She emphasizes that leaders should prioritize the well-being and growth of their team members, creating a culture of trust and psychological safety. Tune in to learn how human-centric leadership can drive performance, productivity, and personal growth as we Team Anywhere!

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#149 - Loneliness Management 101 for Leaders with Laura Terrell

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 14:08:55 GMT

In today's episode, we have a fantastic guest joining us, Laura Terrell, an executive coach and practicing attorney with over 25 years of experience. Laura knows firsthand the challenges professionals face when it comes to feeling lonely and unsupported during transitions and changes in their lives. In this episode, Laura shares her insights on the power of personal connection and the importance of taking intentional action to combat loneliness.

From her own experiences of traveling to meet clients, to building meaningful relationships with colleagues and loved ones, Laura provides practical strategies and advice that will resonate with everyone. So sit back, relax, and get ready to dive into this enriching conversation on the value of human interaction and the transformative impact it can have on our lives. Let's get started with Laura Terrell on Team Anywhere!

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EP #148: Overcoming Workaholism in the Virtual Workspace with Bryan Robinson

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 13:26:18 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, host Mitch Simon sits down with guest Bryan Robinson, best-selling author of the book, Chained to the Desk (Third Edition): A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them. Get ready to dive into the riveting world of workaholism as Bryan shares his personal journey and the detrimental effects of being chained to the desk.

Discover how overworking impacts productivity, relationships, and even your health. With mind-blowing insights and practical tips, Bryan reveals the secrets to achieving work-life balance and finding fulfillment beyond the grind. Don't miss this eye-opening episode that will forever change your relationship with work as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #147: Cultivating Collaboration: Keys to Fostering High-Performing Leadership Teams with Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 13:53:17 GMT

In this episode of the Team Anywhere podcast, join Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo Co-Authors of the Book, The Next Leadership Team: How to Select, Build, and Optimize Your Top Team as they dive into the fascinating world of CEOs and leadership teams. Discover why Thomas and Marianna are so captivated by these individuals and their stories, and how they transform these stories into valuable research and insights.

Gain insights into the secret of choosing great leadership teams and the different types of teams they have observed, ranging from cohesive units to high-performing "stretch teams." Explore the challenges and requirements of forming and managing stretch teams, and learn about the importance of clear norms and adaptable individuals. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation that sheds light on effective leadership team dynamics and strategies as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #146 - The Skillset of a Successful Remote Work Leader with Sean Campbell

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 04:56:15 GMT

In this dynamic podcast episode with Sean Campbell, CEO of Cascade Insights, he shares the skillset of a successful remote work leader. Sean highlights three key skills for modern remote leaders, including the importance of strong writing skills, the need for shorter and more focused virtual meetings, and the significance of creating a culture where employees feel comfortable expressing their ignorance. The discussion also delves into the challenges of addressing childcare arrangements and managing employee distractions.

Additionally, Sean shares insights on the skillset of a thriving team member, emphasizing the ability to interrupt your boss, choosing the right communication channels, and effectively shining through communication. Tune in to gain valuable tips for navigating the remote work landscape and fostering productive and balanced work environments as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #145: Karith Foster - Overcoming Bias and Creating Inclusive Workplaces

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 05:54:32 GMT

In this episode of the podcast, we talked to Karith Foster, CEO and Founder of INVERSITY Solutions, about unconscious bias, diversity, and connection. Foster shared her insights on how to be more aware of our own biases and how to mitigate them. She also talked about the importance of being comfortable with being uncomfortable and how it can lead to growth.

We also discussed the importance of diversity in the workplace and how it can help us to be more understanding and accepting of different cultures and practices. Finally, we talked about the importance of curiosity and connection in today's world. Foster believes that we need to be more intentional about creating opportunities for connection, and that we need to be more curious about each other as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #144: Hilary Scarlett - The 6 Six Factors of a Brain Friendly Workplace

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 12:12:02 GMT

Join us for an insightful episode of the Team Anywhere Leadership podcast as we interview Hilary Scarlett Founder and Director at Scarlett & Grey and a renowned expert in workplace dynamics and resilience. Hilary reflects on the adaptability and resilience displayed by individuals during the rapid shift to remote work. We explore the positive impact of flexible and hybrid working models and the significance of trust in enabling remote productivity. Discover the importance of social connection, setting short-term goals, and the six factors of a brain-friendly workplace that enhance employee engagement. Tune in for an inspiring conversation with Hilary Scarlett on building successful teams in the modern work environment.

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EP #143: Projjal Ghatak - "Collaborative Team Development (CTD): Revolutionizing Team Leadership”

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 15:33:11 GMT

In this refreshing episode of the Team Anywhere Leadership podcast, join us as we interview Projjal Ghatak, CEO & Co-founder of OnLoop. Projjal shares surprising insights from his journey as a founder, highlighting the importance of mental fitness and agility in the startup world. He introduces Collaborative Team Development (CTD) and its unique approach to driving team growth. We delve into the significance of feedback in professional development and the shortcomings of traditional performance management systems. Discover how OnLoop's AI-powered platform revolutionizes the feedback process, fostering behavior change and individual development within organizations as we Team Anywhere.

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Episode #142 - Key Lessons on Inclusive Leadership and Overcoming Biases

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 16:27:37 GMT

Join us today in an episode with Tammy Heermann, author, speaker, and advocate for women's advancement, as she shares her insights on various topics. Discover what surprised Tammy over the past three years, including the interconnection between our personal and professional lives. Explore the importance of meaningful check-in conversations and the value of sharing wins and successes.

Tammy also highlights the need for leaders to be aware of their biases when evaluating traits like flexibility, potential, and confidence, particularly in the hybrid work environment. Gain valuable perspectives on fostering inclusion and creating a successful workplace for all as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #141 The Remote State of Mind Guide for Leaders with Ali Greene

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 07:00:52 GMT

In this invigorating podcast interview, we dive into the world of remote work with Ali Greene, Co-Founder of Remote Works. Drawing from her extensive experience in distributed workplaces, Ali shares surprising insights on the shift to remote work and the challenges faced by leaders and managers. Discover the remote state of mind and the transformative thinking needed to create a thriving remote work environment. Explore the three non-negotiables—intentionality, trust, and autonomy—that make remote work possible as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #140: Bob DeKoch and Phil Clampitt - Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: A Leader’s Guide

Mon, 22 May 2023 13:58:28 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we interview Phil Clampitt and Bob DeKoch, Co-Authors of the book, Leading with Care in a Tough World, as they share their surprising discoveries and valuable insights from the past three years of leading teams in hybrid and virtual work environments. Discover the untapped potential of virtual collaboration, the significance of face-to-face interactions, and the challenges leaders face in fostering engagement post-COVID.

Dive into the meaning of leading with care, beyond surface-level empathy, and explore the beliefs and practices that drive exceptional leadership. Gain practical strategies for building strong relationships, addressing challenges authentically, and enhancing employee engagement in this thought-provoking conversation as we build Teams Anywhere.

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Episode #139 - Wanda Wallace: Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: A Leader’s Guide w

Mon, 15 May 2023 13:28:09 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we interview Wanda Wallace, Managing Partner of Leadership Forum & Host of “Out of the Comfort Zone” as we delve into her surprising revelations over the past three years. Wanda discovered that the biggest barriers her clients are facing include stress, time management, and giving meaningful feedback to peers, subordinates, and superiors. Discover Wanda's tips on how to get out of your comfort zone by starting with small experiments and dealing with uncertainty by focusing on what you “do” know and your core values as we Team Anywhere.

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Episode #138 - The Power of the 10-80-10 Principle in Leadership

Mon, 08 May 2023 08:32:37 GMT

In this podcast episode we interview Sunjay Nath, Professional Speaker and Author of the book, The 10-80-10 Principle. Sunjay talks about his insights on transitioning to hybrid work and empowering employees through authentic communication and engagement. Sunjay also shares the 10-80-10 principle, which can be applied to any group of people, and provides examples of how it affects human behavior. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on the top 10% of employees who exhibit desired behaviors, and creating a dominant force for a healthy organizational environment. Tune in to learn how to create an engaging and healthy culture in organizations as we Team Anywhere!

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EP #137 - Darryl Stickel - Building Trust in Hybrid Work Teams

Mon, 01 May 2023 13:18:31 GMT

In this podcast episode we interview Darryl Stickel, Leader and Founder at Trust Unlimited. Stickel discusses the decline of benevolence and the increase in fabrication in virtual work teams in the last three years, emphasizing the importance of benevolence as a critical lever in building trust. He also shares insights on how to build trust in hybrid work teams by reducing miscommunication, increasing transparency, and understanding the meaning of benevolence, integrity, and ability. Stickel notes that vulnerability takes courage, and organizations can increase trust by making themselves more predictable and intentionally reducing uncertainty as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #136: Dan O'Connor & Jeffrey Katzman- Improving Workplace Relationships through Improv

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 12:16:30 GMT

In this podcast episode we interview Dan O'Connor and Jeffrey Katzman, Co- Authors of the book, Ensemble, Using the Power of Improv & Play to Forge Connections in a Lonely World. Today’s podcast topic discusses the various aspects of applied improvisation and its role in work, relationships, and mental health. They highlight the importance of active listening and how improvisation can help people become more present in their interactions. They note that improv can help individuals see each other as full human beings rather than just the roles they play in the workplace as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #135 - Discipline and Personal Growth: Navigating Leadership Struggles with Chad Brown

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 07:00:00 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we interview Chad Brown, Leadership Coach and Associate Partner at Take New Ground. Today’s topics focus on managing behavior vs. managing results in remote teams, embracing conflict for building connections, overcoming imposter syndrome through pushing beyond comfort zones, and adopting an attitude of practice in struggles with discipline. Chad Brown offers valuable insights on leadership and personal growth as we Team Anywhere.

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Episode #134 - Deb Mashek: Collaboration Techniques for Hybrid Virtual Teams

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 14:40:23 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we interview Dr. Deb Mashek, PhD, founder of Myco Consulting LLC, and author of the book Collabor(h)ate. Today’s podcast topics aim to share tips for improving relationship quality in the workplace, emphasizing the importance of communal norms, reciprocal information exchange, and interdependence in collaboration. Deb also discusses challenges of virtual and hybrid collaborations, stressing the need for high relationship quality and collaboration training as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #133: Chris Deaver and Ian Clawson - The Co-creation Ecosystem for Hybrid Work Teams

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:57:10 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we interview Chris Deaver and Ian Clawson, Co-Founders of BraveCore. Today's topics are focused on discussing the origin story of their company, BraveCore, and the concept of co-creation. They delve into the challenges faced by companies with deeply established cultures and the need for innovation and collaboration to adapt and thrive. They also explore the key ingredients of a brain trust, including transparency and amplifying the voices of those willing to co-create. Finally, they share their definitions of being a brave leader, emphasizing the importance of facing fear and taking risks which will help guide team members as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #132: Paul Mastrangelo - Leadership Myths Debunked!

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:59:39 GMT

In this episode we interview Paul Mastrangelo, Owner & President of First Domino Consulting. Paul shares his reflections on the “great social experiment” of the past two years. He points out that having to manage the Covid crisis forced innovation and consideration of the feelings and reactions of employees. Search for quick fixes failed. He also debunks three leadership myths: people dislike change, employees leave bosses they don’t like, and creativity is greater when in-person.

Paul shares practical strategies for involving employees in decision-making and fostering collaboration, both in-person and virtually. He emphasizes the importance of creating a positive work culture to retain good employees. This episode provides valuable insights and actionable tips for leaders navigating the challenges of remote and hybrid work as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #131 - Elena Agaragimova: Awesome Leadership Guide for Hybrid Teams

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 07:00:00 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we interview Elena Agaragimova, Talent Development Specialist at Bessern and author of the book, The Rough Guide to Awesome Leadership: A Brain Friendly Approach to Take Action and Be an Inspiring Leader. Elena discusses the importance of accepting failure as a pathway to resilience, as well as the significance of building strong relationships with team members in remote settings.

Elena shares resiliency tips for managing emotions, including auditing sleep, movement, and food habits. She also describes the TADA acronym for supportive leadership behaviors: Transparency, Empathy, Diversity, and Amplifying. Tune in to learn how to cultivate successful hybrid work teams and create a psychologically safe work environment as we Team Anywhere.

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EPISODE #130 - Execution Management in Hybrid Work Teams with Monte Pedersen

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 17:56:33 GMT

In today’s podcast episode we interview Monte Pedersen, Principal Consultant at The CDA Group LLC. He highlights the importance of aligning daily tasks and activities of team members with the organization's strategic objectives by using the KeyneLink Performance Methodology.

Additionally, Monte discusses how to successfully manage employees in a hybrid and virtual environment and emphasizes the importance of culture in execution management of strategy.He shares how KeyneLink's system is designed to surface problems and issues within an organization, promoting transparency and eliminating drama and politics as people Team Anywhere.

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EP #129 - Shannon Hughes: Building Brave Spaces with Improv Mindset

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode we interview Shannon Hughes, founder of Enlivened Studios, to discuss how companies can build a "brave space" and an energetic culture through an improv mindset and practices. Shannon shares her insights on creating a culture that promotes open communication, collaboration, and trust. She emphasizes the importance of creating a safe space where team members can be vulnerable and take risks, which is crucial for building psychological safety in virtual and hybrid teams.

Shannon also shares her approach to teaching communication practices inspired by the key tenets of improv theater. She believes that these practices help teams to build empathy, listen actively, and collaborate effectively as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #128 - Gustavo Razzetti: Tools for Fearless Remote Workspaces

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today’s podcast episode, we explore the topic of building great remote teams with Gustavo Razzetti, author of the book Remote Not Distant and CEO of Fearless Culture. Gustavo's book provides a valuable resource for leaders who want to create a virtual space that promotes open communication and collaboration while driving fear out of their organization.

We discuss the key elements for building a fearless culture within remote teams, including creating an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, even if they're uncomfortable or controversial. Gustavo shares his insights and tools for cultivating trust and psychological safety in remote teams, and offers practical tips for leaders to implement in their own organizations as we Team Anywhere.

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EP #127 - Tifanny Cheng: Leadership Framework for Effective Communication

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today's episode we interview Tiffany Cheng, Leadership & Career Coach and Founder of Inspire My Day. Tiffany’s company helps middle management in large organizations get top leadership positions through influence, so they can “make more, impact more, and become more.” Today’s podcast topics are focused on the three levels of resistance to organizational change; namely, I don’t understand it, I don’t like it, and I don’t like you. There is further emphasis on the leader’s framework for effective communication; namely; connect, create, and communicate which will help send the message directly home to your Team Anywhere.

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EP #126 - Perrine Farque: The Four Pillar Framework for Successful Hybrid Work Teams

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 12:00:00 GMT

In today's episode we interview Perrine Farque, award - winning diversity and inclusion expert and author of the book, The Successful Hybrid Team: What the Best Hybrid Teams Know About Culture that Others Don't (But Wish They Did). Today’s podcast episode topics are focused on the “four pillars framework” for successful hybrid work teams: creating a unified hybrid leadership team, extreme transparency, overcommunicating through old and new channels, and unifying cross-cultural hybrid teams through cultural awareness.

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EP #125 - Emma Giles: Maintaining the Remote Workspace Culture with SoWork

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today's episode we interview Emma Giles, Co-Founder of SoWork. SoWork provides support for virtual teams to push work forward together–no matter when, where, or how they work. SoWork is a virtual office wherein team members from across the globe can interact, engage, connect, and collaborate all about work which will greatly help employees as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #124 - Helen Fanucci: The Core Principles for Loving Your Remote Team

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today's episode we interview Helen Fanucci, Transformational Sales Leader at Microsoft and author of the book, Love Your Team: A Survival Guide for Sales Managers in a Hybrid World. Today’s topics are focused on the leadership conversations to fully love your team, the core principles in building loving and successful remote teams, and building connections with team members as they Team Anywhere.

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EP 123 - Tanyette Colon: Trust Building Ecosystems for Remote Teams

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today's episode we interview Tanyette Colon, Head of Partner Ecosystems at Overpass. Tanyette’s company is on a mission to remove any obstacles to working remotely. They provide the platform to hire the best sales experts, engage and maintain amazing customer relationships, and effectively manage remote teams from anywhere in the world. Today’s topic is focused on how to create an ecosystem that fosters the sense of trust especially among Gen Z team members as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #122 - Don Schmincke: Crafting Leadership Belief Systems For Remote Teams

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today's episode we interview Don Schmincke, Award-Winning Speaker, Researcher, and Founder of the SAGA Leadership Institute. For over 35 years–and with in-depth study of human group behavior and leadership at MIT and Johns Hopkins–Don and his team have consulted and trained executives in North America, South America, Europe, and India. The purpose of today’s podcast focuses on how to reject traditional leadership myths and then craft leadership belief systems that help employees as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #121: Dre Baldwin - The "Work on Your Game System" For Remote Teams

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Dre Baldwin, CEO and Founder of Work On Your Game Inc. Dre’s company specializes in helping professionals and rising talent earn a living following your passion and helping others.Today’s topics are focused on Dre’s journey from a struggling young athlete to a successful content creator and motivational speaker. Dre’s company inspires people to “work on their game,” realize their goals, and Team Anywhere.

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EP #120 - Farah Harris: Leadership Tools for Non Toxic Hybrid Workspaces

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 08:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Farah Harris, CEO at WorkingWell Daily, LLC. Farah’s company educates clients in the areas of well-being, leadership development, and engaged workplaces. Today’s podcast focuses on the tools and behaviors necessary in creating a sense of belonging as your employees Team Anywhere.

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EP #119 - Erica Reed - Trauma Informed Leadership for Hybrid Workspaces

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 08:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Erica Reed, Trauma Informed Leadership Expert at ENR Training and Consulting. Erica’s company offers training, consulting, and therapy for managing and implementing workplace wellness. Today’s podcast focuses on the recognition, awareness, and tools associated with trauma informed leadership–techniques which help teams work effectively from Anywhere.

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EP #118 - Mark Crowley: A Leader’s Guide to Heart-Centered Leadership

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 08:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Mark Crowley, Author of the book, Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership for the 21st Century. Mark spent 25 years of his life guiding individuals and teams to achieve record-breaking sales and profitability in the financial services industry. He focuses on leadership development as the most authentic driver of human engagement. Today’s podcast episode is focused on the importance of heart-centered leadership, the heart-centered approach in bringing teams together, and embracing emotional connection as organizations Team Anywhere.

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EP #117: Leigh Ann Rodgers - Promoting the Sense of Happiness in Virtual Teams

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 08:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Leigh Ann Rodgers, Founder and CEO of Better Teams. Better Teams is a company that offers services in team facilitation, team building , executive coaching, learning & development, virtual meeting facilitation, and leadership and communication training. Today’s topics are focused on promoting the sense of happiness in virtual teams, three keys to maintaining productive work teams, and activities to improve employee engagement and retention for teams as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #116 - Alex Budak: The Complete Changemaker Guide for Leaders

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 08:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Alex Budak, Author of the new book, Becoming a Changemaker and faculty member at UC Berkeley Haas. Alex’s book teaches the specific methodologies in order to become a catalyst for change or a changemaker inside the organization. In today’s episode, topics are focused on the changemaker mindset, the 5 influence superpowers, how to teach leaders to fail forward, and seizing those leadership moments which will help manage team members from Anywhere.

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EP #115 - Bill Treasurer: The Three Elements of Leadership Fitness

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 08:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Bill Treasurer, Chief Encouragement Officer of Giant Leap Consulting and Author of Leadership Two Words at a Time: Simple Truths for Leading Complicated People. Giant Leap Consulting offers a variety of services including leadership development, strategic planning, team building, meetings and retreats, and training courses. Today’s topic is focused on the three essential elements of leadership fitness: leading yourself, leading people and leading work–and using two-word phrases to improve and to effectively lead teams from anywhere.

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EP #114 - Sam Kolbert-Hyle: Leadership Communication Tools to Increase Employee Engagement

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Sam Kolbert-Hyle, President and CEO of Brandlive. Brandlive helps the world’s best brands create experiences that move people — from town hall-style internal meetings with soul to major marketing events that drive revenue. Their process takes content and transforms it in ways that present key messages in dynamic styles and formats. In this podcast, Sam shares how to increase employee engagement through videos and meetings based on good content, dynamic story-telling that inspires commitment and trust, and the creation of dramatic events for team members as they Team Anywhere.

Topics inside:

The Shift to Hybrid Work: A Prologue to Video Content Consumerism
Why Are Team Members Getting Less Engaged at Work?
A Deep Dive Into Sam's Company — Brandlive
Putting On a Very Dynamic Show For Your Team Members

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EP #113 - Mark LeBusque:Tools and Tips to Become a Leader with Humanity

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode we interview Mark Lebusque, Purposeful Provocateur and Founder at marklebusque.com and author of the books Being Human and The Little Book of Human. Today’s podcast episode is focused on what it means to become a human leader and how to implement humanity-based leadership in a virtual work setting as team members Team Anywhere.

Topics inside:

What Mark Learned Over the Past 2 Years
What Does It Mean to Become a Human Leader?
How to Implement Humanity-Based Leadership in the Virtual World?
Mark's Advocacy in Work-Life Balance (Life Design)

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EP #112 - Kimberly Janson: Scouting Future Organizational Leaders Using the Four Predictors of Leadership Potential

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode, we interview Kimberly Janson, CEO of Janson Associates and co - author of the book, Determining Leadership Potential: Powerful Insights to Winning at the Talent Game. Today’s topics are focused on the four predictors of leadership potential, assessments organizations can use to find future leaders which will improve company growth, employee engagement, and talent retention as organizations Team Anywhere.

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EP#111 - Stephan Wiedner: Leadership Skills to Foster a Psychologically Safe Workplace Environment

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode, we interview Stephan Wiedner, Psychological Safety Expert at Zarango. Today’s topics are focused on the definition of psychological safety, its importance, and the leadership skills that support psychologically safe environments, helping team members as they Team Anywhere.

Topics inside:

What Surprised Stephan Over the Last 2 Years
What is Psychological Safety and Why is it Important?
Leadership Skills to Foster a Psychologically Safe Workplace Environment

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EP #110 - Darrin Jahnel: Promoting a Connected Culture for Remote Teams

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode, we interview Darrin Jahnel, CEO and Founder of Jahnel Group. Today’s topics are focused on promoting a sense of connectedness, establishing a unique working culture, utilizing a servant leadership mindset, maintaining a high growth company culture, and taking care of team members daily as they Team Anywhere.

Topics inside:

What Surprised Darrin Over the Last 2 Years
A Dive into Jahnel Group's Unique Working Culture
Promoting a Connected Culture for Remote Teams
Maintaining Jahnel Group's High-Growth and Company Culture

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EP#109 - Keith Mercurio: Eliminating Workplace Uncertainty Using the Ethical Influence Model

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In today's podcast episode, we interview Keith Mercurio, CEO and Founder of Ethical Influence Institute and Ethical Influence Global. Today’s topics are focused on the 4 Quadrants of the Ethical Influence Model: awareness of self, influence of self, awareness of others, and influence of others. This will help leaders support team members in dealing with uncertainty as they Team Anywhere.

Topics inside:

What Keith Learned Over the Past 2 Years
How Uncertainty Can Take Organizations into New Heights
The Four Quadrants of Keith's Ethical Influence Model
Utilizing the Implications of a Leader's I-Am-Statements

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EP #108: Steve Prentice - Leadership Strategies for Eliminating Workplace Fear

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Team members are often afraid of one thing: screwing up in their job. Ironically, team members fear losing their jobs and leaders fear losing their best team members! With that being said, leaders should focus on implementing organizational policies that eradicate fear and build trust.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Steve Prentice, speaker, journalist, university lecturer and author of the book, The Future of Workplace Fear: How Human Reflex Stands in the Way of Digital Transformation. Today’s topics focus on how fear can become a driving force behind emotions and actions, how leaders can empathize and talk about fear with team members, and how using a specific style of individualized management can improve employee engagement in today’s rapidly changing workplace as team members Team Anywhere.

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EP#107 - Eleni Pallas: A Leader’s Guide to Using the Human-Centric Leadership Model

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Leaders often struggle when leading organizations in the hybrid-virtual working environment. Team members get less engaged because leaders unknowingly fall into the trap of micromanaging in virtual situations. With that being said, leaders should take into consideration the underlying emotions and psychology of team members and not treat them like a replaceable cog in the machine.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Eleni Pallas, Executive coach and Champion of Human-Centric Leading of Leaders For Good. Today’s topics are locked-in on the 5 lenses of the Human-Centric Leadership Model which are: mindset, context, emotions, needs, and wisdom which will greatly help manage team members as they Team Anywhere.

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EP#106 - Richard White - Creating Noteworthy Meeting Experiences for Remote Teams Using Fathom

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT

The use of Zoom spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic allowing organizations to have meetings virtually. Studies have shown that team members take notes in meetings, but only 10%-15% of the meeting content is considered noteworthy. Leaders and team members now have the option to use digital solutions that capture pertinent content and translate it into dynamic and effective content.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Richard White, Founder & CEO at Fathom.video. Today’s topics include how Richard built his company from the ground up, actionable tips for good leadership in the virtual world, and noteworthy meeting experiences using the Fathom app so that you can Team Anywhere.

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EP #105 - Mike Mears - A Leader’s Magic Formula to Stimulate Organizational Change

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Implementing organizational change has been a part of leadership textbooks and conferences for a long time. Best practices for organization change have risen to an all time high because of COVID and the cascading shifts throughout the work world. Many leaders are frustrated because they “keep pulling the levers for change but nothing really ever happens.” With that being said, leaders are seeking ways to create less painful change in everything from motivating teams to changing culture.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Mike Mears, retired CIA HR Chief and CEO of Mears Consulting. Mike explores a new approach to overcoming innate employee risk aversion. It stimulates organizational change by using a “magic brain visualization formula” –a process that utilizes “insight prompts” to foster “aha” moments for team members as theyTeam Anywhere.

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EP# 104 - Robert Mixon - Eliminating Uncertainty in Organizations Using the Big 6 Leadership Principles

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT

For the past 2 years, the work world has experienced chaos and uncertainty because of the pandemic and the Great Resignation. Leaders struggle with team members who are less confident and engaged in the workplace. Consequently, leaders are developing and adopting new solutions to manage the virtual and hybrid space.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Robert Mixon, Senior Executive Leader and Founding Partner of Level Five Associates and Co-author of the best-selling book on Amazon, Cows in the Living Room: Developing an Effective Strategic Plan and Sustaining It. Today's topic is focused on the following Big 6 Leadership principles: set the azimuth; listen; trust and empower; do the right things when no one is looking; when in charge, take charge; and balance the personal and professional. These six principles will help team members deal with chaos and uncertainty inside the organization as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #103 - Rebecca Ahmed - Leadership Techniques in Raising Energy Levels in Hybrid Work Teams

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Employee engagement has become front and center for many companies these days. With the hybrid work setup and the ever-rising attrition rates from quitting employees, leaders must be able to properly balance bottom-line concerns with team member flexibility and needs.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Rebecca Ahmed, CEO of Energetic Impact. Today's topics are focused on fostering energy and vigor in teams. Rebecca covers the seven levels of energy required to raise energy levels in hybrid teams and allow them to Team Anywhere.

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EP #102 - Alena Sviderskaia - Building High-Performance Hybrid Work Teams Using the 3S’s Framework

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Because they tend to focus on bottom-line results, some leaders overlook the importance of engaging with team members and taking the time to understand their individual strengths and motivators. However, since the pandemic and the Great Resignation, employees have more leverage in choosing the kind of company they want to work for. This new dynamic is forcing leaders to create cultures that foster employee growth and welfare.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Alena Sviderskaia, leadership coach and facilitator in her own company, Alena Sviderskaia Coaching & Consulting. Today's topics are focused on building high-performance hybrid work teams using the 3S’s (synergy, support and sense of fairness) framework, drafting team guidelines, establishing clarity on working agreements, and developing effective techniques to Team Anywhere.

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EP #101 - Team Anywhere Toolkit #2: Keys to Create A Working Environment of Empathy and Genuine Connection

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In this special episode of Team Anywhere, Mitch and Ginny recap lessons they have learned from previous podcast guests and well-known leadership personalities, and share insights and tools that can be immediately put to use. Dubbed as the “Team Anywhere Toolkit,” this guide provides leaders with actionable items that can truly impact their organization as they team anywhere.

In the second Team Anywhere Toolkit, Mitch and Ginny discussed the important tips to create a working environment of empathy and how to create genuine connection with team members. These actionable tips are based on their research data, leadership concepts derived from Brené Brown, Sara Noll Wilson, Marcus Buckingham and previous podcast guests.

Read the FULL Summary here!
Download the Team Anywhere Toolkit #2 here!

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EP #100: Marc Refeinrath - Implementing Core Values and a Conducive Culture for Virtual Teams

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Leaders have a tendency to overlook the company's core values posted on their walls or website. What they do not realize is that implementing those core values greatly improves an organization's productivity, employee engagement, motivation, client attraction, and client retention. Implementation of core values is also vital in creating a company culture that supports the organization’s vision and goals.

In today's podcast episode, we interview Marc Reifenrath, Founder and CEO of Spinutech, a national digital marketing agency which is included in the Inc. 5000 list of high-growth companies. Today's topics are focused on implementing company core values, creating a conducive work culture through feedback, and focusing on team members’ growth every single day as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #99 - David Garcia - Company Rituals in Creating Positive Work Culture

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Being a leader in a remote work environment is not just a walk in the park. It takes a lot of learning and dedication to improve a company’s work policies, promote a positive work culture, and foster employee engagement, motivation and retention.

In today’s episode we interview David Garcia, CEO of Scout Logic. Today’s topics are locked-in on the design and application of effective company rituals that support an organization’s human spirit, lead to immediate problem solving and conflict resolution, build connections, and allow employees to Team Anywhere.

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EP #98 - Cody Hall - A Leader’s Model to Building A Remote Work Culture

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Leaders have long been focused on bottom-line results. However, with the emergence of virtual and hybrid teams, meaningful and engaging touchpoints have become necessary for results to happen. By establishing sound work cultures, leaders are learning how to use engagement as the cornerstone of organizational success.

In today’s episode we interview Cody Hall, Founder and CEO of Octiva Healthcare. Today’s topics are focused on building a remote work culture, making meetings more engaging, and promoting a sense of accountability among team members as they Team Anywhere.

Read the FULL summary HERE

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EP #97 - Kevin Eikenberry - Trust Building Activities and Meaningful Interactions for Remote Teams

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

One former leadership style supported leaders to rule with authority. More progressive leadership approaches have demanded more engaged approaches with an emphasis on inclusion. The entire remote work movement has pushed the style curve further into the need to develop team member trust to foster organizational success.

In today’s episode we interview Kevin Eikenberry, Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, and author of the books, The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership and The Long-Distance Teammate. Today’s topics are focused on communication with the intent of being understood–building and fostering trust so team members can interact effectively as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #96 - Brian Glibkowski - Keys to Creating Influence and Effective Communication Using the AQ Framework

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

A leader’s role to gain influence from team members, clients, and other people with their words is challenging. Using powerful questions to foster more engagement is a skill set leaders are more actively using. However, providing the correct answers to the questions asked is most often overlooked.

In today’s episode we interview Brian Glibkowski, PhD, Answer Intelligence (AQ)™ Creator, and author of the book, Answer Intelligence: Raise Your AQ. Today’s topic is focused on creating influence and effective communication among team members using the AQ Framework as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #95 - Mike Kelly - A Leader’s Guide to Regaining Employee Engagement

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

The greatest challenge leaders are facing today is building and maintaining engagement. With the shift into virtual and hybrid work, leaders need to be clear on how they are addressing employees who are minimally contributing. Not giving resolution to this issue will only affect the overall team’s productivity and performance.

In today’s episode we interview Mike Kelly, Managing Partner of Right Path Enterprises and author of the book, Leaderfluence. Today we focus on getting employee feedback, checking-in on checked out team members and regaining employee engagement as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #94 - Tara Powers - A Leader’s Digest on Promoting Success in Virtual Teams

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Amidst the past 2 years, organizations were forced to find ways to allow virtual and hybrid work to adjust to the pandemic protocols. However, the challenge is on for leaders in terms of building trust, effective communication and deep connection with their team members.

In today’s episode we interview Tara Powers, CEO of Powers Resource Center LLC and author of the books, Virtual Team for Dummies and Working from Home for Dummies. Today’s topics are focused on the ideal model of remote teams (virtual and hybrid); and also on the importance of technology, communication, connection and vulnerability which will help team members as they Team Anywhere.

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EP #93 - Lori Michele Leavitt - An Organization’s Path to Aligned Momentum and Clarity

Mon, 30 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Organizations develop strategic plans towards their future. However, many plans end up being divided into tasks that are distributed throughout the organization without a unified thread. This leads to a lack of focused action and clarity. In this age of ceaseless change and innovation, clarity is mandatory for high-growth outcomes.

In today’s episode we interview Lori Michele Leavitt, President and CEO of Abrige Corp. and author of the books, The Pivot: Orchestrating Extraordinary Business Momentum, and new release (April 2022), Pivot to Clarity. Today’s topic is locked-in on the concept of aligned momentum; specifically, the clarity and mindful implementation of change as organizations Team Anywhere.

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EP #92 - Deanna Figurito - Fostering Employee Engagement and Talent Retention Through Employee Resource Groups

Mon, 23 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT

The past 2 years have been a challenge for leaders to engage and motivate their team members. The great resignation proved that employees have the option to choose their desired career paths. Thus, organizational leaders should devise ways to prevent turnover and keep employees.

On today’s podcast episode we interview Deanna Figurito, Founder and Lead Coach of DFig Connects Coaching and Consulting.Today’s topics are locked-in on the implementation, benefits, and significant effects of ERGs or Employee Resource Groups to improve employee engagement and talent retention.

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EP #91 - Nancy Murphy - Effective Leadership Strategies in Implementing Organizational Change

Mon, 16 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Leaders have the challenge of implementing organizational change. Typically team members react differently to change. The main question that leaders need to answer is how can they implement organizational change effectively, make it stick, and not lose key players in the process?

On today’s podcast episode we interview Nancy Murphy, CEO of CSR Communications and Creator of Intrapreneurs Influence Lab. Today’s topics are locked in on effective change strategies, best leadership characteristics for influencing change, and techniques for managing resistance.

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EP #90 - Arkadiy Baltser - The Future of Hybrid and Virtual Workspaces

Mon, 09 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT

For the past 2 years organizations struggled with pandemic restrictions because of the social distancing requirement imposed in office spaces. That led to the innovation of virtual and hybrid workspaces. The main question is, are we ready to replace the physical office with the virtual office?

On today’s podcast episode we interview Arkadiy Baltser, Founder and CEO of Plutoview, an organization that is pushing barriers, allowing team members to use cutting edge technology to work collaboratively anytime and anywhere. Today’s topics are locked-in on the future of virtual and hybrid workspaces and the exciting super-technology that is going to allow organizations to Team Anywhere.

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EP #89 - Deanna Singh - A Complete Guide to Creating Inclusive Workplace Environments

Mon, 02 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Organizations have seen talent being mobile, especially in the Great Resignation. Attrition rates have reached their all-time-high. Employees have opened the doors to different opportunities and work arrangements in the creation of “culturally fit” organizations. Leaders should be able to improve the company’s talent retention processes by making their team members feel “included” as future work is being redefined.

On today’s podcast episode, we interview Deanna Singh, Managing Partner of Uplifting Impact and author of the upcoming book, Actions Speak Louder: A Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming an Inclusive Workplace at a High level. Today’s topics are locked-in on creating inclusive workplace environments to improve employee engagement and talent retention.

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EP #88 - Dan Gray - Fostering Company Growth Through Effective Communication Flow

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Most organizations think only about generating profits to drive company growth. As leaders in today’s environment, it takes more than profits to drive growth. Instead, processes supporting prioritization, accountability, and documentation are necessary to improve communication and productivity towards growth. Leaders should also be able to keep their team engaged virtually and in-person by improving their sense of why they are working for the organization.

On today’s podcast episode, we interview Dan Gray, General Manager of KOTN Supply Inc., who is experienced in scaling companies from small to large. Today’s topics are locked-in on the use of effective communication flow in organizations (prioritization, accountability and documentation), the best company culture, and keeping employees engaged to foster company growth.

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EP #87- Andrew Bartlow - A Leader's Guide to Creating High-Growth Organizations

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 07:00:00 GMT

There are few organizations who don't want growth. For the past 2 years, leaders have been struggling with growth due to shifts towards virtual and hybrid. Talent retention has also been difficult as seen from the Great Resignation still taking place. The best employees now have the option to choose employers with enriching cultures that fit their needs.

On today’s podcast episode, we interview Andrew Bartlow, Founder and Managing Partner of Series B Consulting and co-author of the book, Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High-Growth Organizations. Today’s topics are locked-in on how to prepare your organization to take the next steps towards high-growth.

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EP #86: Effective Leadership Conversation Techniques

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Disagreements can go on for years in an organization–simply because something went wrong in the conversation. Leaders should be able to step up and be able to learn how to effectively dig deeper in conversations with their team members. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the addition of virtual and hybrid meetings, it has become tougher for leaders to get messages across within new worldviews and standards.

On today’s podcast episode, we interview Rose Fass, Founder and CEO of fassforward and author of the upcoming book, The Leadership Conversation: Make Bold Change One Conversation at a Time. Today’s topics are locked-in on effective conversation techniques for leaders. This is a must-have skill for a leader to engage in meaningful and deeper conversations with their team members.

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EP #85: Team Anywhere Toolkit #1: Fostering A Psychologically Safe, Healthy & Human Work Environment

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In this special episode of Team Anywhere, Mitch and Ginny recap lessons they have learned from previous guests, and share insights and tools that can be immediately put to use. Dubbed as the “Team Anywhere Toolkit,” this guide provides leaders with actionable items that can truly impact their organization as they team anywhere.

As Mitch and Ginny introduce their first-ever toolkit, they reflect on the lessons shared by David Mead (Episode #78) and Jennifer Moss (Episode #79) on being honest, humble and human, and on building social and emotional health that energizes teams through meaningful events and inclusive conversations.

Topics inside:

The Team Anywhere Toolkit
Being Honest, Humble and Human
Listen First, Speak Later
What is Social Emotional Health?

Read the FULL summary here!

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EP #84: Essential Leadership Skills on Facilitation and Negotiation

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Amidst the pandemic, leaders are forced to manage their teams in-person and virtually. The phenomenon of moving to virtual and hybrid teams–and then guiding employees through an international pandemic–has surfaced the need to manage with empathy, authenticity, and engagement. The traditional “command and control” is no longer tolerable. Leaders must engage and build participative communities. Having to work from home for two years, professional employees have gained a voice in how they wish to be treated and led. Managers who still try to boss employees around are watching their workforce walk out the door.

On today’s podcast episode, we interview Adam Kahane who is the author of Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together. Today’s topics are locked-in on the importance of facilitation and negotiation. These are two core leadership skills that keep employees engaged, and help maintain equitable contribution and connection.

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EP #83: Leader's Guide to Cognitive Budgeting

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Actions are a product of our thoughts. Amidst the pandemic, leaders tend to overthink rather than take necessary actions in the workplace. Instead of focusing on leading, a leader’s mental energy and time is often consumed by ruminations— negative cycles of thought that lead to nowhere, and can affect how the leader performs.

On today’s podcast episode, we interview Jordan Birnbaum, Chief Operating Officer of BEESY, Industrial and Organizational Psychologist and Behavioral Economist. Today’s discussion is locked-in on his article published in MIT-SMR (Sloan Management Review), “Building the Cognitive Budget for Your Most Effective Mind.” It focuses on topics related to creating a cognitive budget, infusing reflection, eradicating rumination, and building mental practices that can help create powerful employee engagement.

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EP #82: Keys to Strategic and Realistic Innovation

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In a world wherein change is constant, products and services are continuously improved every year. Amidst the pandemic and other times of crisis, how does your organization keep up with the competition? Does your organization have the right strategies, tools and resources ? Does your organization have what it takes to keep your competitive edge alive in ever-changing market conditions?

On today’s podcast episode, we interview Elvin Turner who is the author of Be Less Zombie: How Great Organizations Create Dynamic Innovation, Fearless Leadership and Passionate People. Today’s topic is locked-in on realistic and strategic methodologies on innovation–an important and essential characteristic of many successful organizations who are making a mark in this fast-paced world.

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EP #81: Hybrid Meeting Management Techniques

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 08:00:00 GMT

Meetings are vital in every organization. Due to the pandemic, we are forced to become more flexible in terms of meeting types. Hybrid meetings are a simultaneous mixture of in - person and virtual meetings. The main challenge in leading such meetings is how to conduct engaging, conducive and productive meetings with some people in the room and some joining remotely.

On today’s podcast episode we have Karin Reed–CEO of Speaker Dynamics, an Emmy Award-Winning Journalist, and co-author of the book, Suddenly Hybrid: Managing the Modern Meeting. In this podcast, Karen shares key strategies for implementing and managing hybrid meetings.

Read FULL summary here!

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EP #80: Effective Leadership Strategies in the Face of Uncertainty

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 08:00:00 GMT

Due to the pandemic, the world is put on a status of uncertainty. Leadership roles in workplaces– whether on-site or remote– have been challenging. Leaders struggle on how to become stronger and effective because of these challenges.

On today’s episode, we're privileged to have Tom Kolditz, a retired Brigadier General who led the department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point for 12 years. You will learn how to become an effective leader in the face of uncertainty, and also learn methods for building trust, staying outwardly focused, being seen as human, and building hope among your team members.

Read the FULL summary here!

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EP #79: Employee Burnout is Real! - Secrets to Motivation and Retention

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 14:00:00 GMT

Burnout is real. It is officially identified by the World Health Organization as an occupational phenomenon. At the root of burnout are broken and unfair policies, and it can't be fixed by wellness and meditation practices. That's like putting a bandaid on a failed artery.

In today’s podcast, we have Jennifer Moss, the author of the Burnout Epidemic and Unlocking Happiness at Work. Jennifer is an international speaker and expert on burnout and an award-winning journalist and syndicated radio columnist. If you run a company or a team, you have to listen to this podcast so you can prevent burnout as you Team Anywhere.

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EP. 78: The 3 Characteristics Leaders Need to Practice in Today's Environment

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 08:00:00 GMT

Virtual teams are becoming more and more prevalent in business today. Many companies have employees working from multiple locations. When email and video conferencing become your main modes of communication, it can be a struggle sometimes to make sure everyone is on the same page.

In today's podcast, we interview leadership and culture consultant David Mead. David co-authored the book, Find Your Why, with Simon Sinek. Today we learn how leaders can build greater connections through genuine feedback, solid appreciation, and brutal responsibility while creating meaningful engagement as you Team Anywhere.

Topics inside:

What David Has Learned in the Past 2 Years
3 Characteristics Leaders Need to Practice
How to Show Your Employees You Value Them
Dealing with Low Performance Members

Read the FULL summary here!

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EP 77: Strategies to Keep Employees Engaged Throughout the Great Resignation

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 08:00:00 GMT

The great resignation is upon us. Workers are leaving their jobs in droves as they retool and seek lives full of passion. Leaders are left wondering what went wrong and are wondering how they can retain their employees. So what does a leader do in times like this?

On today's podcast, we interview Raj Subrameyer, tech career strategist and author of Skyrocket Your Career. Raj breaks it down and offers four solutions that provide the key to keeping employees engaged. All of them are based on transparency and clear expectations.

Topics inside include:

Why are People Leaving Their Jobs?
What People are Realizing Now
4 Things to Do to Improve Remote Working Balance
Focus on These 3 Aspects

Read the FULL summary here!

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EP 76: Make Memorable Team Events using Experience Design

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT

As team leaders, business owners and managers, we have a new responsibility when we bring our employees together and that's to make those gatherings effective, memorable, and frankly, worth the effort to drag our team members from their homes to the office. Yet there are limited resources on how to create those gatherings.

On today's podcast, we interviewed a returning guest, Carolene Méli, an Experience Strategist, who has created a tool to help anyone design a gathering that your employees will never stop talking about. The tool that will help leaders Bring Back the Buzz.

Topics inside:

Plan Your Team Experiences
Experience Planning is More Important Than Ever
Storytelling is Key to Your Experiences
Resources to Help you Plan Experiences

Read the FULL summary here!

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EP. 75 How to Create Culture Change in Your Company

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT

Only 15% of companies that try to make a culture change are successful. Yet culture, according to Satya Nadella at Microsoft, is the biggest predictor of future success. The main reason that culture change rarely ever works is because it's really, really hard to change. That's why if you're trying to change your culture, you'll want to read Kevin Oakes' book, "Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakable Company."

In today’s episode, we interview Kevin Oakes, the CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity, the leading capital research company on human capital, focusing on the people practices of high performance organizations. In this discussion, you will find out why renovation to build an unshakable company beats transformation every time.

Topics inside:

Why Do Most Companies Fail to Change Culture?
How to Plan A Cultural Renovation
Microsoft’s Shift in Company Culture
Leaders Need to Lead by Example

Read the FULL SUMMARY here!

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EP. 74 6 Practices for Leading a Remote Team

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT

When it comes to gainful employment, it’s a buyers market. Power has shifted to employees and now companies require the best from their leaders to create the conditions for high engagement.

In today’s episode, we interview Scott Miller, leadership expert and podcast host of FranklinCovey on Leadership with over 7 million downloads per week, and author of Wallstreet Journal Bestseller book, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager.

You’re going to learn why people quit their jobs, what they are focusing on more in the post-pandemic environment, and the six critical practices for leading a team from anywhere.

Topics inside this episode:

Practices for Leading a Remote Team
Company Culture with Remote Employees
Best Practices for Hybrid Work
And what surprised Scott the MOST over the past 18 months!

Read the full summary here!

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EP. 73 Remote Work Trends: A New Location to Team Anywhere

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 16:00:00 GMT

Currently, you can drive to the local coffee shop whenever you want and kind of get your work done. But the challenges you’ll face include noise, lack of equipment like printers and projectors, and no private meeting rooms. What if the coffee shop was set up to provide the ideal workspace that you could rent by the hour? The concept is called VEL.

On today's podcast, you'll meet Mo Hamzian, CEO at VEL, a work cafe that merges the best of Starbucks and WeWork but with the price and flexibility that you need to Team anywhere.

Topics inside this episode:

The Work From Home Rut
Places to Work Remotely From
Is remote work here to stay?
A new place to work remotely

Read the full summary here

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EP. 72 How to Build Trust in the Hybrid Workplace through Managing Change

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 16:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, we speak with Ket Patel, a certified Change Management Master Practitioner who teaches us how to build trust in the hybrid workplace through managing change. When it comes to managing change, Ket walks us through two main areas of pain when it comes to leading a team from anywhere: the people side and the technology side.

Change Fatigue in a Hybrid Work Environment

People experience change fatigue when they have to take a normal habit, change that normal habit with an alternative, and then have to keep repeating the alternative habit. For example, many of us grew fatigued with having to use zoom during Covid. To avoid change fatigue, Ket recommends leaders of hybrid teams keeping things fresh by adding in different activities. One of the best things leaders can do is inject a range of alternative activities to move teams away from daunting, repetitive tasks.

For example, Ket’s kids were feeling the weight of change fatigue while they were doing school online, so Ket came up with new activities to make learning more fun.

Fatigue isn't just about the volume of change, it's actually about the volume of repetition.

Control over repetition and fatigue can be gained by breaking down activities into smaller chunks.

Managing Change from the People Side
When it comes to managing change, leaders lead from two sides--the people side and the technical side. Leaders who were successful in the People Side in the office, didn’t necessarily know how to carry that strength into the virtual world.

Prior to the pandemic, most people experienced a physical boundary between work and home. With the shut-down, work and home lives became more blended and the role of leadership changed. The true challenge for leaders and companies after the pandemic is not adapting to new technology; rather, the real challenge is putting a deeper focus on the People Side of leadership.

What a People-Focused Leader Does Differently

When a new person enters leadership, their first instinct is to listen to and prioritize the needs of the leaders above them. People-focused leaders do the exact opposite of this. Instead of listening to the needs and desires of their leadership, people-focused leaders listen first to their new team members.

New leaders can be successful by simply speaking to enough people, asking the right questions and getting a picture of the state of their team. By doing this, they get a systems view of the context, activities, and expectations of their team.

Read the full summary here.

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EP. 71 How to Give Memorable Recognition to Employees on Your Hybrid Team

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 08:00:00 GMT

What if you can measure team interactions and use that data to give memorable recognition and rewards to your hybrid team? What if you could build a culture that gives employees the one thing they’re begging for: consistent and authentic recognition?

On this week’s podcast, we interview Dan Kasper, CEO of Wishlist, an HR tech company that focuses on engagement and culture.

Wishlist is an app with both a marketplace and social media feed that allows employers and employees to give recognition and rewards that go beyond earning plaques and badges. Employees can choose personalized and memorable experiences as rewards that they earn through receiving workplace recognition.

Inside this episode:

How did the pandemic fuel change between organizations and employees?
What do your employees want when it comes to rewards and recognition?
Ideas for meaningful work reward
Tracking Workplace Recognition [Metrics]
Wishlist Case Study

About Dan Kasper

Dan is a growth architect and innovator with a passion for building high-performing teams and deriving long-term results by leveraging the power of technology and challenging the status-quo.

Dan served for six years in the United States Navy as an Officer within Special Operations (EOD) with deployments to the Middle East with SEAL Team Five.

After leaving Active Duty, Dan began working for Airbnb where he initiated and executed global expansion for the Trust and Safety teams in the Americas and Asia Pacific.

He is currently the CEO of Wishlist, an HR technology Organization which helps build cohesive cultures and engagement within workforces.

Outside of work, Dan chases any and all adventures that give him a chance to tell an unforgettable story.

Full Summary

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EP. 70 How Diversity and Inclusion Work Improves Hybrid Teams

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 08:00:00 GMT

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a commitment. It’s a way of being and a way of leading. It's a continual commitment to make it safer, have better conversations, deeper conversations, and continually raise awareness of the different experiences all of us are having.

Today we interviewed Annemarie Shrouder, an expert on DEI shares with us how to make your organization more caring, more empathetic, and more inclusive as you Team Anywhere.

Diversity & Inclusion Meaning

For business, Diversity and Inclusion is an organizational commitment to ensure that all employees feel included, valued and an essential part of the team regardless of background, religion, race or sexual preference. Most leaders think of diversity and inclusion as just another program, but it is more than a program - it is a commitment. It’s the type of commitment that empowers all employees to be their most authentic selves so that they can perform at their highest level.

Diversity and Inclusion work requires two elements: a growth mindset and working from the heart - something that is extremely difficult in many corporate environments. Inside Diversity and Inclusion work we understand other people better, get to know each other more, and use that awareness to create a greater sense of belonging, connection, and community. This is why Diversity and Inclusion is heart work. Heart work is building the skills of connection, compassion, and empathy.

Why Diversity & Inclusion is Important

When it comes to Diversity and Inclusion, one of the most important elements of achieving strong results is ensuring buy-in from all stakeholders. Many people, especially leaders, are often not bought-in on the real value of Diversity and Inclusion work.

A common response Annemarie gets is, “We ARE inclusive; everyone is welcome here; why do we have to talk about it?” Annemarie explains that although leaders might have this perception, they need to remember that two people can be in the same situation and have a completely different experience.

Depending on who you are in the world, how you show up, and your level of power and privilege, it's very easy to assume that you have an inclusive environment because it's a space that's safe for you. When it’s a safe space for you, it’s easy to make the assumption that everybody else feels the same way.

The D&I Conversation Remote Vs. In-Person
Remote Diversity and Inclusion meetings create a layer of removal that--when used well--can have positive results. Since COVID, the mission and purpose of Diversity and Inclusion remain the same, but the execution of it is now different.

Remote conversations provide a layer of safety for some people, especially when it comes to hard conversations. When in our own environment, we can mute ourselves or turn off our video if we’re feeling strong emotions and don’t feel comfortable showing them. The remote atmosphere allows people to lean into difficult conversations - and take breaks when needed.

Additionally, remote video meetings have allowed us to really see inside people's lives. This new information creates a level of space that allows vulnerability.

Read the full summary here.

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EP. 69 What Psychological Safety looks like in a Hybrid Workplace

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 08:00:00 GMT

Safety? Empathy? Comedy? To build thriving hybrid teams, leaders must create psychological safety, demonstrate empathy, and have a sense of humor. Discover what psychological safety looks like in a Hybrid Workplace.

Today we interview returning guest and author of The Human Edge, Greg Orme. Greg teaches us what we need to know about psychological safety in the hybrid environment so we can Team Anywhere.

What is Psychological Safety
Psychological Safety is the foundation of any high-performance team. This is known to be one of the biggest ideas in leadership and teams over the last 15 years. Psychological Safety creates a culture where team members feel safe speaking up on a team and gets equal time speaking.

Many people misinterpret “psychological safety” because a lot of people think about it as just a safe environment. But Psychological Safety is specifically the feeling that it’s safe for me to take an interpersonal risk. Additionally, Psychological Safety creates a space where it is okay for me to speak up, challenge, ask questions, and make myself vulnerable–without judgment. As a result, a Psychologically Safe environment is where people can express themselves and even have creative conflict to disagree with each other. This requires high levels of empathy and authenticity on the team.

How to Tell If there Is Psychological Safety
When there is Psychological Safety on a team a risky issue surfaces and team members freely oppose it. Team members challenge each other, disagree, move toward an outcome, and then act upon it. Teams that lack Psychological Safety will not fully consider disagreements.

As you get to know your team, you get to know their opinions pretty well. As a team member, you can see that a person’s silence can be a clear sign of discomfort. To encourage psychological safety, it is wise to encourage them to share their thoughts.

Disclaimer: This works well on teams that have already established strong Psychological Safety. If your team does not have strong Psychological Safety, the team member will likely share a “politically correct” response. Building a strong foundation of psychological safety needs to happen first to begin having strong discussions with competing opinions. This gives the team permission to be vulnerable and work through the issue.

Signs of Psychological Safety discussed inside this podcast:

Authenticity
Empathy
Humor

See the full summary here.

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EP. 68 How a Covenant of Work Will Strengthen Your Hybrid Team

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 08:00:00 GMT

What if every leader in your company created a contract or a covenant that stated their obligations to their team? What if every team created a covenant where they shared their obligations as a team with their manager?

Certainly, the employee working 1000s of miles from the home base would feel more taken care of since he or she would know exactly what to expect from the leader. They would also have the ability to share with their leader just how the leader is doing.

On today's podcast, you will learn how a workplace covenant will strengthen your hybrid team in a way that ensures mutual accountability and success between leaders and Team Anywhere.

Hear the full story here.

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EP. 67 Successful Business Leaders Make Decisions Based On Employee Supremacy

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 08:00:00 GMT

When making strategic decisions, who's supreme? Shareholders or employees? On today's podcast, Andy Alsop, CEO of The Receptionist, shares his enthusiasm for building a truly hybrid company where the focus and attention is on prioritizing employees over shareholders.

What is Employee Supremacy?
Shareholder supremacy, a term coined by Milton Friedman in the 70’s and 80’s, was basically about decision making. Under shareholder supremacy, leaders are responsible for increasing the value of shares to each one of the company's investors, and every decision is based around that mission.

For example, under shareholder supremacy, if you're trying to determine how much to invest in employee benefits (an expense that is seen as primarily negatively impacting the bottom line) you naturally want to drive the cost of benefits down to the lowest possible amount. You would choose the bare minimum necessary to continue to attract employees so that you can increase profits and thus shareholder value.

Alternatively, with an Employee Supremacy mindset, you want to increase the amount of benefits that your employees have. Doing this helps your employees feel secure, feel that thecompany trusts them, and gives them a sense of ease knowing that they aren’t going to have to worry about whether they can make ends meet in the case of an emergency because those benefits are there for them.

The result: your employees feel valued, safe and have greater trust in the company they work for. And when employees feel trusted and trust the company, they make decisions that are in the best interest of the company, allowing them to better serve their customers.

Under the employee supremacy mindset, when leaders make decisions, they increase productivity with their company, give better service to their customers, and create trusting teams that help achieve their company’s mission and goals. In the end both methods drive shareholder value but focusing on employee supremacy drives shareholder value more quickly.

Decision Making Examples from an “Employee Supremacy” Mindset

When COVID hit, Andy and his leadership team did three things:
Implemented a COVID Family Travel Program

--The company paid to send young, single workers to fly home to their families,
Improved Health Benefits

--They eliminated insurance premium contributions for employees, and increased the contribution towards families.

Instituted the company’s Just Cause

--Focusing on the company’s employees and its community, they have changed how the leaders make decisions.

Because of these three decisions based on “Employee Supremacy,” they learned that making all of these decisions during a pandemic the team knew they were with a company that was focused, not on short-term results, but on the “long game.” They created what Simon Sinek describes as “Trusting Teams.”

The Role of Company Values and a Just Cause in Employee Supremacy

At The Receptionist, their values are an acronym called FABRIC (Fun, Authentic, Bold, Respectful, Innovative and Collaborative). Andy says the important part of core values is you actually have to live them. Could potential candidates who are seeking a position at your company actually see those values being lived out? During the pandemic their company chose to fall back on those values and really focused on making sure that these values became a part of daily-life working at their company.

Read the full summary here

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EP. 66 The Key to A Successful Hybrid Organization is Simply Being More Human

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 08:00:00 GMT

When it comes to business in 2021, we need to resonate on a human level. How many of us actually ask ourselves how well we are interacting and impacting other human beings? In today’s hybrid and virtual environment, creating human connections is something that must be strategically planned and measured.

In today’s episode, we interview Zach Giglio, Founder, and CEO of GCM, where he creates human connections through communicating and marketing. Zach has found that companies that are leading in this new virtual and hybrid environment are clear about their identity as a company, and are deeply purpose-driven.

Zach has been surprised by the fact that companies have not been able to more dramatically increase human connection through technology. Although we’ve done an amazing job at creating human experiences in the virtual environment, the element of interpersonal human connection is still weak. Zach believes we need to be extremely intentional in fostering human connections with our technology. Humans are hungry for connection on a level that technology hasn’t been able to fulfill yet.

At the onset of the pandemic, we underestimated the amount of work needed to keep human connections within our teams and companies alive. Leaders have realized that they have to carve out time and create a strategic plan to deepen interpersonal connections as part of day-to-day work.

Connecting Purpose to Company Identity

Consumers and the general public are expecting a lot more from companies when it comes to purpose. They want to support purpose-driven companies. First, leaders need to take a step back and identify who they are as an organization and determine a purpose that goes beyond what they do. Then each leader needs to get clear on how they individually identify with that purpose. After these two things are clear, the company and the leaders are able to make purpose-driven decisions. Purpose is an action. When companies are clear on purpose, they can work towards that purpose in an authentic way.

We are hardwired to associate our identity with what we do - but this shouldn’t be the case.

Getting clear on your purpose as an organization or a leader has to do with “what you are about” not “what it is you do.”

Leaders who understand the importance of having a strong organizational identity are a lot more willing to be vulnerable. When leaders are extremely serviced or product-oriented, they tend to downplay the importance of having a clear organizational purpose and value proposition. But the leaders who are brave enough to dive deep into vulnerable conversations about their organizational identity are the ones who believe that it’s their people who move the needle and make progress towards their purpose and organizational success.

Identity Statement Example

GCM - is a family-founded global communications and marketing firm that believes in the power of human connection and business as a force for good. We get to know our clients from the inside out to create thoughtful communications and marketing campaigns that resonate on a human level.

Making an Identity Statement Come Alive

It’s important to not only create an identity statement but to also use it as fuel to make it come alive within your company. For example, let’s say inside your identity statement, you have a part that says “we’re a family.” Now you need to live that out through talking about and caring about others in your company as if they were your family. You create the energy of an ideal family on your team and in your culture.

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EP. 65 5 Elements to Focus on During A Company Culture Change

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 08:00:00 GMT

Company culture and change is one of the most important discussions today. With the hybrid work challenges, and as some companies work through mergers and acquisitions, leaders need to get very clear on certain elements to help build a solid foundation so that they can Team Anywhere.

Today on the podcast, we interview Kim Clark Pakstys, thought leader and strategic advisor on mergers and acquisitions. Kim shares with us her experience with successful leaders who've been managing difficult mergers with patience, resilience and empathy. When two company cultures are merging, Kim shares five elements that leaders need to focus on to ensure a smooth change. These elements include leading with empathy, being clear on decision making and role clarity, coming up with a common language, and listening to the needs of your hybrid team.

Some industries have made more mergers and acquisitions since COVID than they ever had in history. Alternatively, other industries have paused mergers and acquisitions all together.

Prior to COVID, the conversation around whether the company was remote or in person was not a consideration as most had an office centric culture. Now, with so many companies adopting a “virtual-first” philosophy, it’s another critical consideration as leaders move forward with mergers and acquisitions. In a virtual first environment, it is difficult for new and newly acquired employees to assess culture. Leaders need to be extra cautious about the culture of their company and the implications on leadership alignment, accretion, value creation, and fit following an acquisition.

When two cultures are merging, there are five elements that companies need to focus on to adapt to a change.

Read the full summary here.

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EP. 64 Find New Ways to Communicate To Strengthen Relationships on Your Hybrid Team

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 08:00:00 GMT

The way we communicate is more diverse than it ever has been. Or is it really? If you think about it, since the dawn of time, the two ways human beings have had to communicate are print and verbal communication. Today, we see those in perhaps newer ways through our email, chat groups and DM’s. Communication avenues haven’t changed much since the beginning, yet today, communication is getting increasingly more and more complicated. This begs the question, are these avenues we currently have truly enough to allow us to Team Anywhere?

On today's podcast, we interview Josh Little, a serial entrepreneur and founder of 4 remote businesses. Josh is on a serious mission to create a team communication platform that sucks less. While trying to collaborate with his remote teams, he discovered the true challenges of remote team communication. This led him to realize that it’s time to combine the richness of face-to-face interaction in an asynchronous time period, without the burnout of a Zoom Call. This led Josh to founding his fourth company, Volley.

The Volley App allows you and your team to send authentic video messages asynchronously. Think of it as having a face-to-face conversation that you don’t have to schedule. Volley can make your Daily Standups more productive, deepen relationships among team members, and make communicating remotely a lot more fun.

Building Business Relationships Post-Pandemic

In a hybrid and virtual work environment, developing relationships with your teams, colleagues and leaders is much harder. Leaders and teams are faced with the challenge of building relationships and trust through a screen, something much easier said than done.

The downside to a remote and hybrid work environment is the lack of spontaneous conversations that would typically occur in the office. These spontaneous conversations in the office allowed leaders to establish their leadership presence, and build trust fast. In hybrid and remote work, these conversations are now missing. Volley fills that void because it creates a more spontaneous, natural and authentic conversation you might otherwise have with someone in person. With Volley, your conversations flow more similarly to real time face-to-face conversations, allowing you to connect, communicate, build trust and deepen relationships.

Why Conversation Is Important in the Hybrid & Remote Work Environment

The objective of communication on a remote or hybrid team is to allow communication to flow as freely, or more freely as it did in the office.

Communication occurs two ways: through type or print (Slack, chat, or email) or verbally (in-person, Zoom, or phone call.)

Research has shown, typing is seven times slower than speaking verbally. Because of this, we tend to delay communication until we speak in person.

For remote and hybrid teams, this creates communication disasters. Team members end up going back and forth in Slack for way too long, write emails that could be a book, and end up realizing that they just need to talk. Before Volley, this meant that team members needed to schedule a time to talk together. This led to scheduling back-to-back Zoom meetings, ultimately creating Zoom Burnout.

Benefits of Verbal/Video Asynchronous Communication

More Time to Mindfully Respond
Creates Psychological Safety At Work
Increase Conversational Turn-Taking
Asynchronous Communication Helps Your Introverts

To read the full summary, click here.

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EP. 63 How Hybrid Leaders Make Teamwork Fun

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 07:00:00 GMT

The difference between a good company and a great company.... is fun. Fun is the number one factor between the companies that made the 100 Best Companies to Work For list and those that didn’t. In the companies that made the list, 82% of the employees said that they have fun at work. Alternately, that number was closer to 60% for those companies that didn’t quite make the cut.

Today on the podcast, we have Dr. Bob Nelson and Mario Tamayo, authors of Work Made Fun Gets Done. Dr. Nelson and Mario Tamayo share tips for how to make your team and your organization less dull and more engaging. To lead a vibrant hybrid or virtual organization, one of the best things you can do is find out what your team members need for their own work to be fun.

Why Fun at Work Matters

Even if we do our best to avoid it, today we are constantly bombarded with negative news. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to combat the negativity that your employees are facing. Many leaders higher up in the organization can have the misperception that fun is a waste of time and money, and is an impediment to business outcomes. But these leaders are highly mistaken.

Especially since the pandemic, our work lives and home lives have never been so intertwined before. The leaders that deeply understand how their employees are balancing work and home life, also understand the value that fun plays in establishing the right mood for work. Leaders today need to understand that with this new hybrid work, it doesn’t matter where employees are located. Rather, what matters is incorporating fun into the work process from where you are.

Dr. Bob Nelson and Mario Tamayo recommend that leaders and team members bring the proper data to their executives to discuss the results of having more fun at work. They explain that it’s important to speak the language of your executives and discuss the impact fun has on recruitment, retention, healthcare, and cost savings.

Recent research conducted by Dr. Nelson included looking at whether the work location of employees mattered in relation to their levels of work pride and organizational pride. (See https://workproud.com) The results proved that there was no significant difference between where people worked and their level of work and organizational pride. This supported the notion that you don’t have to “go into the office” to get the company culture. In fact, the data showed that remote employees actually had slightly more pride than those who worked in the office. This could be in part because their organization trusts them to have the flexibility to manage work within the context of their own life.

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EP. 62 5 Elements Required to Prevent Business Disruption

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Today we interviewed Brant Cooper, author of the newly released book Disruption Proof. Brant suggests in a time of continuous disruption, we must spend more of our time innovating in what he calls “exploration mode”. Leaders need to be more open to trying things out, experimenting, exploring and finding solutions to near-term ever-changing problems. As companies innovate, they must work towards building a “RAD” organization (Resilient, Aware, Dynamic) so that they can empower their teams, and create an organization that embraces uncertainty and agility.

In a post-pandemic era leaders need to rethink their roles. Instead of thinking about a five or 10 year horizon, leaders must empower their teams to deal with uncertainty and solve near term problems. This approach allows leaders and teams to be exceptionally skilled to Team Anywhere.

Why are Leaders having such a Hard Time Accepting a Hybrid Style of Work?

Many leaders are still using an Industrial Age mindset, one that believes the leader should know all the answers. This outdated mindset focuses on a centralized, top-down decision making style that causes leaders to think are the only ones responsible for solving the problems.

Today, COVID has increased uncertainty in business at astronomical levels and the way of doing business is now radically different. Today, successful companies are depending on their front line teams to be heavily involved in both making decisions and implementing change. This approach is completely opposite to what many executives and leaders understand, but this is where true transformation happens.

Embracing Uncertainty Requires More Time in Exploration Mode

Executives and leaders need to step out of their mid or long-term outlook to spend more time exploring near-term problems. Your leaders can’t buy into a long-term vision if they are crippled by current issues. In order to do this, leaders and executives need to step into more exploration work.

In the pre COVID era, work and leadership was centered around certainty. An average team would roughly spend 95% of their time in execution mode and 5% of the time in exploration mode. This worked in the pre-COVID era, but with so much uncertainty now, this approach no longer works. Today, leaders need to spend more time in exploration mode and use their innovative mindset to be able to solve near-term challenges.

The Shift from Managing to Empowering

When leaders rely on their teams to find solutions, they empower their teams. This gives the leader more space and time to remove obstacles in the way of the team. When teams are empowered to exercise their intelligence and their creativity, they are more engaged, enjoy their job, and look forward to coming to work. Leaders can begin to empower their teams by trusting them to solve problems that are low risk and create near term impact. Empowering teams in this way helps the teams demonstrate their ability to solve those problems.

5 Elements of A Disruption-Proof Business

To build a Disruption proof Business, Brant explains that it’s important to build a RAD Organization (Resilient, Aware and Dynamic). A RAD organization is much like a palm tree that bends as it weathers a storm but doesn’t break. RAD organizations are flexible and strong. These organizations continuously gather data, collate themes, formulate external and internal trends, expand perceptions, and transfer this dynamic knowledge into strategic planning and everyday work. These organizations are able to quickly change based upon that new information.

1. Empathy

2. Exploration

3. Evidence

4. Equilibrium

5. Ethics

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EP. 61 3 Relationship-Centered Goals for Leadership Development in a Hybrid Work Environment

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Today on the podcast, we have David Nour, a trusted adviser to global clients, corporate leaders, and rising entrepreneurs and the author of the recent book, Curve Benders. David is an expert in Relationship Economics: how to build enduring relationships that last a lifetime. Inside this episode, David shares how deepening relationships is the way to succeed in today’s distributed workplace.

David proposes three relationship-centered goals for leadership development in a hybrid work environment that allow leaders to both deepen their relationships and stretch the true potential of their teams no matter where they are.

Relationships: Your Company’s Biggest Undervalued Asset
Companies rarely tap into their biggest undervalued asset: relationships. Strategic relationship planning is the most important part of a business strategy, yet is often overlooked.

The question for leaders today is, how do you build that relationship-centric team, especially now where many teams are not getting together physically?

Goal #1 Relationships Before Business

Early in David’s career, he thought about how he could combine the art and science of relationships to teach people how to identify, build, nurture, and sustain valued relationships beyond the inauthentic “networking” lessons. David wants to teach the following practices.

Unlike typical - and often ineffective networking approaches--David talks about the value of relationship deposits, where you cannot ask for a favor until you've earned the right to do so.

With his experience living in several cultures, David was able to see the vastly different ideologies within relationship economics in different countries compared to America. In other countries like Iran, Asia, and Latin America, relationships are built first before two people conduct business.

Unfortunately, we as Americans are so focused on the business first, that we typically don’t focus on relationships until after there is a good business fit. Once the business part works, we then begin forming relationships.

But when it comes to having a successful business, leaders must remember that people will prioritize who they will invest in based on their relationship with you. Their relationship with you is based on four considerations: know, like, trust and respect. Relationships must be first, you must get other people to know, like, trust and respect you before you engage in business. Trying to bypass these four factors rarely works. To be an effective leader for your hybrid teams and for your customer, it is so important to build relationships first before doing business.

Goal #2 Build Relationship Centric Teams
Relationship centric teams have three characteristics:
1. A defined set of personal characteristics

Relationship-centric teams need a clearly defined set of characteristics that they know are required for that team to succeed. The team then needs to be clear on further developing these characteristics. Many teams look for characteristics such as grit, personal accountability, responsibility, and proactiveness.

2. Trust.

Trust is easy to talk about, but incredibly difficult to build, nurture, and sustain. Trust takes years to develop, and an instant to destroy it. When it is destroyed, it’s often because one is Pennywise and pound foolish. Relationship-centric teams are skilled in developing trust and having conversations around when trust is broken.

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EP. 60 How The Post-Pandemic Workplace Creates Meaningful Gatherings in New Space Designs

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 22:00:00 GMT

The post-pandemic workplace is not going to be like it was when you worked in the office before 2020. As companies grapple with their hybrid work plans, leaders are taking this moment to refresh and reset. Leaders need to think consciously about creating a post-pandemic workplace that creates meaningful gatherings in new space designs.

In today’s episode, we interview Tracy Brower, a PhD sociologist, author and a principal with Steelcase Applied resource and consulting group. Tracy explains that instead of “getting our employees back to the office”, we need to talk about how we are going to make our return to the office more compelling.

Meaningful Gatherings
Your employees want to be together, but they’ve likely made it clear that they desire to gather in person only when it makes sense. They enjoy gathering in person because they want to connect with their colleagues.

Meaningful gatherings mean identifying and creating significant mini-events that purposefully require in-person presence. These in-person gatherings must be meaningful according to the people attending - not just according to the leadership. These in-person experiences need to create awe. Awe is when we feel like we belong to a part of something that's big and awesome.

Meaningful gatherings create employees who are happier because these gatherings recognize their contributions. When employees see the link between their work and how it serves the purpose of the company, they feel a sense of joy. Organizations need to be really clear in sharing this link during these in-person experiences.

Talk to your employees about how meaningful gatherings give people the proper recognition, feed the company's purpose, and allow for proper planning and reflection. These conversations will help compel your employees to understand the role of returning to the office.

Planning & Reflection

Planning and reflection are two activities that need to be meaningful in-person gatherings. In our North American culture, we don't take a lot of time to reflect or to be intentional. We like to do things without planning and ignore reflection.

Planning and reflection are two critical activities in a successful organization. Planning and reflection help feed a sense of team belonging and encourages a growth mindset. These gatherings allow employees to develop and stretch which is directly correlated with employee happiness.

Stakeholder-Focused Gatherings

Bring in your customers or stakeholders for a small event to share stories with potential customers or employees. For example, host an event where you invite your current customers and your potential customers and let your current customers share stories about their success with your organization. This gathering creates more unity between not only your current and potential customers, but also between your employees as well.

Alone, Together

Many organizations are now using their work cafés for remote workers who need to do focus work, and also want to be around other people. Unlike a productive work-from-home space, Alone Together is a gathering similar to an internal We-Work. These office spaces allow remote workers to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, even if they’re not working with the other people in the space.

Celebrations

There are many meaningful reasons to celebrate inside your organization. When celebrating, some companies use an artifact, like a cart, to use for their celebrations. This cart gets rolled out for events like baby showers, cocktail hours, and honoring employees.

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EP. 59 To Build a Hybrid Work Model, Propose Scenarios and Listen to Everybody

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMT

In today's special episode we interview Rachel Casanova for our second round discussion on how to build a hybrid work model. Who is accountable for designing the hybrid work plan? If we leave it exclusively up to leadership, we may disenfranchise the employees and frankly, they'll leave. If we leave it up to the employees, will they have the best interests of the company in mind?

Rachel recommends that this be a collaborative quest where leaders partner with their employees to come up with several possible hybrid scenarios. Companies that focus on the solutions rather than the problems will collaboratively create viable options to Team Anywhere in ways that work best for everyone.

The Problem: The Organization vs Employees
Inspired organizations describe their future vision and challenge their talent to bring what they have to the table to achieve their vision. These inspired organizations are not rules-based organizations. Rules-based organizations will only get out of their people what their job description says, which is far less than what their people are capable of. Most companies are rules-based organizations and since the onset of the pandemic, the rules are up for grabs.

Now organizations are experiencing tension with their employees. There have been many examples where employers have said, “we need you back,” and employees have responded with, “we're not coming.” Several organizations have been focused on proposing hybrid work models. Perhaps these organizations and their employees are inspired by the same outcome.

Organizations are faced with both the war for talent and the fear of employees quitting if they don’t get what they need. Thus, organizations have been willing to be flexible, perhaps because they have no choice. Both organizations and employees want to get to an ideal state where pandemic issues are behind them; and fortunately, it seems organizations are more willing to remain flexible.

Accountability

Accountability on certain subjects between the employee and the employer is also creating rising tensions. Both the employee and employer have their own individual mission, vision, and goals, and they need to get into a place where they can have those conversations to find alignment.

Accountability in many areas has pivoted toward putting more accountability on employers. What is an employer going to do for their employees? What is the employer going to do to make the return-to-office easier for the employees? Employers are still faced with identifying who is accountable for things like vaccine mandates and the overall mental health of employees.

The Solution: Prototype Several Hybrid Work Models Collaboratively

What does hybrid work mean? Before the pandemic, hybrid work was not a mainstream conversation. Today, discussions fall under this bucket of hybrid work, as if there is only one “right” hybrid work model.

Have the Right Discussions
By having the right discussions and listening to all of the stakeholders before coming to a decision, leaders can come up with better hybrid scenarios. Organizations need to listen to employees, front-line managers, leadership, focus groups--and hear from external consultants and stakeholders.

Having the right discussions with the right people allows organizations to create a hybrid work model that works for everyone without it being at the expense of a certain part of the organization. Employees are more open to speaking when the leader/owner isn’t in the room, so including expert dialogue consultants can break down that leadership influence to create great discussions.

To read the rest of the summary, click here.

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EP. 58 3 Steps to Create Your 2022 Strategy Despite Uncertainty

Sun, 26 Sep 2021 19:00:00 GMT

Most return-to-office conversations begin with a binary perspective: are we in the office or are we out of the office? This question leads companies into discussing a hybrid strategy. But when leaders don't clearly and explicitly describe what their hybrid model will really mean and fail to create a clear strategy, they end up setting themselves up for more trouble. So is this question about “returning to the office” really the right question leaders should be asking? Tara explains that leaders need to start thinking more strategically about what they mean inside this topic.

Inside this week’s episode, Tara walks us through a three-step process to help create this strategy in this time of uncertainty. Tara explains that the pandemic has given us all the opportunity to become more precise and visionary. As we build strategies into the future, she advises that we start with the destination, focus on value, and then build on what's working. She refers to mindful and strategic tools from her book, Charting the Course: Tools for CEOs to Align Strategy and Operations.

Start with a Destination
Tara defines strategy as a set of decisions and actions you need to get you where you want to go. So before you can consider how, where, or when your employees will be working, you have to start with the question “to what end?” That’s your destination. You have to set a clear destination for your strategy. In the return to office topic, what is it that you're trying to achieve?

Starting with a destination allows you to get out of our current world and start expanding your thinking. A vision board is a wonderful tool for showing that expanded thinking visually. Unlike a vision statement, a vision board is not just the words on the page that describe your vision. A vision board helps others see what your end vision looks like. When digging into your vision, it’s important to consider your external landscape to be sure the vision is compelling and fits within your business context.

Focus on Value
Whatever business you're in, you have to deliver value in order to succeed.

If you can't precisely identify what value you add and deliver on it, it’s going to be hard to sell your future strategy. This doesn’t mean you have to be doing charitable work to add value to the world or to your customers. Rather, it means you need to get clear on how your future strategy adds value to all of your stakeholders. Without the value component, it’s harder to sustain success. In Tara’s experience, most people want to feel the work they do matters - to customers, the community, or the environment. Thus, connecting value to the vision also makes it easier to motivate your team to reach the destination.

Build on What’s Working
Once you’ve clarified or affirmed your destination and described the value that you provide and can continue to create, it’s time to build on what’s working.

Start thinking about what worked, what could be improved, and what could change or be done in more innovative ways. Over the past 18 months, your company has learned a lot. Now, you have the chance to think carefully about what has changed for the better and enhanced your ability to deliver value for customers and staff. What happened in the last 18 months that really worked well and how can you build on that? Find dialogue questions inside Tara’s book.

One caution: Rationalizing your return to office decision as grounded in your culture may be a trap. You may not want to blindly retain the culture you “had”, even if it worked well in the past. Why? Looking forward, the culture you had may not be the culture you NEED to achieve your objectives. See full summary here.

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EP. 57 How Leaders Can Actually Have an Effective Return-to-Office Conversation

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 17:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, we interview Liane Davey, a New York Times bestselling author and contributor at the Harvard Business Review.

Some of the nicest, most empathetic, most wonderful managers are making the biggest mistakes in planning their back to the office agenda. They're trying to be empathetic and nice and wonderful. They're asking their employees, “what are you thinking about return-to-office?” The only problem is that trying to be nice and fair just isn't working. How can you be fair to everyone? You can't.

In the podcast that you all have been waiting for, Liane Davey deals with the top three problems of the return to office conversation. Number one is going in with no boundaries or guidelines. Number two is getting all hung up on fairness; and number three is optimizing for individuals rather than optimizing for the team overall. Spoiler alert: you need to have an established baseline of non negotiables before you just let everyone decide.

Prepare the Conversation

At the senior leadership level, leadership teams need to discuss and identify boundaries and non-negotiables to guide the conversations. Such guidelines prevent pitfalls as plans and conversations with employees are rolled out. The guidelines provide a win/win--flexibility for employees while also meeting the needs of the organization.

Without such preparation, conversations can become confusing and too open-ended.

Identify Organization and Team Boundaries

If you’re in a senior leadership team, you will likely be creating (or have created) boundaries in your strategy meetings. It is prudent that leadership teams spend time digging into these boundaries--the reasoning and all implications. Those just below the top team need to check-in and make sure communication is flowing from the top and from HR so they can successfully hold conversations throughout the organization. In this way, they can identify what is true versus the story they’ve been telling themselves or what employees have been assuming.

This is the time to be mindful and identify the guiding principles that are going to be at the core of these difficult conversations. Once again, identify at least a few non-negotiables that are going to be true for the entire organization. When identifying boundaries and non-negotiables, leaders need to stay customer-focused and consider the impact on culture.

Stay Customer Focused

The customer should be in the center of tailoring clear boundaries and non-negotiables. Get clear on what your customers need and when your team needs to be physically together to achieve customer success. Ask yourself, “Will the customer experience change in different scenarios regarding the amount of time our teams will or should spend in-person?”

Consider the Impact on Culture Consider how culture is affected by whether your team spends more time together in person or not.

When it comes to this, companies are going in very different directions. Some companies are saying, “Look, there’s culture, there’s collaboration, and then there's the sparks of innovation that we believe won't happen if people aren't physically together. So, we're going back to the office most of the time.”

Other companies are saying, “Roughly 20% of what we do is beneficial to do in person. The rest of our work can be done just as easily or even more productively at home because of in office distractions and long commutes. So, we are going to go hybrid and only get together for gatherings and special projects.”

To read the full summary click here.

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EP. 56 How the Pandemic is Redefining the Future of Your Organization

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 17:00:00 GMT

In this podcast, Renee McGowan states that success in a virtual or hybrid environment depends on getting clear on the new and ever-changing expectations of employees. Spoiler alert: if you don't find out what those expectations are, you will be toast! In today's world, you will need to master empathy, vulnerability, and even deeper levels of trust. With these new practices and a greater appreciation for agility and flexibility, you will truly succeed as you team anywhere.

The level of organizational change that has occurred in this pandemic is one that will be talked about in history books for a long time. When the pandemic started, the entire globe experienced a sudden organizational shift as companies went 100% remote with zero time to prepare.

Organizational Design and Leadership
Today, after going back and forth on whether companies will be 100% remote or going back to work in the office, many leaders have realized that it’s unlikely that we won’t have a world where people come together at least some of the time. Renee points out that we’ve seen the value of in-person culture collaboration and the value of remote work, and we’re all trying to discover the perfect balance between both of them that fits our organization and team members’ needs.

Today, and in the future, organizational design is going to be about hybrid work and remaining flexible.

Organizational Design Questionnaire
If you are like most leadership teams right now and searching for an ideal hybrid work model, Renee recommends using these questions to begin your process and to seek anonymous feedback from your entire team.

How do we want colleagues to work and interact?
Do we want them all working at the same time?
Do we want them to be all working at the same time of the day?
What types of communications will be used?
How do we remove things that are time-wasting and spend time on things that are valuable?
How do we make sure that we're getting all of the richness that comes with people coming together?
What level of flexibility is possible in our business?

Renee shares an example about product engineering roles. Product engineering roles can be done remotely, and many engineers have been doing so. But, is it optimal for collaboration, creativity, sitting down and reviewing blueprints, prototypes, etc?

After leaders know what flexibility is possible, then they should look at what flexibility is actually desirable. How much do you actually think people need to come together in person versus working on their own? What amount of flexibility is sustainable? Then consider, what's the role of the office? What technology have you got that's enabling it? Do you have the right job descriptions or the right performance management descriptions that support workers being successful in their roles?

Organizational Design is Different Today

You have to take stock of all the ways work has changed. Leaders tend to focus on hybrid or remote but overlook that other things have changed as well; both leadership styles and employee expectations have changed. The biggest risk factor is satisfying new employee expectations, but then not being able to create the employee experience or energized workforce needed for a sustainable organization today. There must be a balanced solution.

To see the full summary, click here.

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EP. 55 How Hybrid Leaders & Teams Promote Inclusion in the Workplace

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 14:00:00 GMT

Hybrid work has changed the way businesses operate and radically changed the way teams operate. For many organizations, hybrid work is here to stay and a lot of industries are embracing operations in a hybrid environment. So today, there is a responsibility for those leaders and teams to figure out how they are going to operate in a hybrid environment and how to create an inclusive culture when team members are often dispersed.

In today’s episode we interview Perrine Farque, Author of Inclusion: The Ultimate Secret for an Organization's Success. Perrine agrees with and shares the work of recent studies from HBR and McKinsey, which prove that diverse and inclusive teams push the limits to perform better.

What is the Meaning of Inclusion?

Inclusion is being heard and seen and valued for who you are. At work, you feel included when you are greeted by your name, people listen to your ideas, and your feedback is valued. A leader who creates inclusion recognizes the presence of every person on their team, remembers details about each person's life, and asks questions that allow for meaningful connection.

Defining Belonging

Belonging is the ultimate level of where people feel like they belong to their team. They see their team as a tribe, as human beings wired by a sense of belonging. This desire is present for all of us--at home, at work and in our communities. Thus, keeping this sense of belonging alive in hybrid environments is essential.

How to Improve Inclusion in the Workplace

As a Team Member

Understand and Notice the Difference between Appreciation vs. Depreciation at Work

A lot of managers depreciate their team members and they don’t even know it. Depreciation is the opposite of appreciation. When team members are depreciated, they do not feel heard, valued, or respected. Team members feel depreciated when they are not asked for their opinion in meetings or are asked at the last minute when time is running out.

Leaders might not even notice this is happening. In extreme cases of depreciation, this could be seen as bullying or a form of toxic leadership. Depreciation leads to disengagement, lack of trust, and lack of creative thinking.

If You Don’t Feel Appreciated At Work

Establish trust with that person. If it’s a toxic leader, you might be able to build trust by channelling their inner motivation to compete. Many leaders are very competitive, so you can build rapport and then leverage their competitive desire. To do that, you can give them tips on how to improve their career or achieve goals through the trusting support and partnership you are offering.
Encourage other employees to give the leader feedback to create awareness and help them understand the undesired consequences of their behaviors.
Develop explicit standards for inclusive leadership. For example, “We don’t tolerate toxic leadership, bullying or harassment; we don’t tolerate public shaming.”

If You Don’t Feel Like You Belong to Your Team or Company

If, as a team member, you don’t feel like you belong, what should you do? Perrine recommends that you begin by taking ownership of your feelings, and muster the courage to reach out.

Take Ownership

As a team member who doesn’t feel a sense of belonging, sharing how you are feeling is a way for you to take responsibility for the relationship. You can't expect your team members or leaders to read your mind. By reaching out and instigating a two-way dialogue, you can share your challenges and also learn what challenges others are dealing with. This creates a bond of inclusion.

To see the full summary click here.

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EP. 54 Successful Hybrid Teams Have More Conversations than You Think

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 16:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode we interview Dave McKeown, author of The Self-Evolved Leader. In this week’s episode, Dave talks about how successful hybrid teams need to have more conversations than they might think as we figure out the hybrid work environment. Additionally, Dave discusses how the pandemic shifted what leadership styles are working. The old “here’s my vision, follow me” approach no longer works as leaders are called upon to embrace the unknown and create a unified vision with their team.

Successful hybrid teams will have to view the unknown future as a growth opportunity for themselves and their team members. These teams will recognize that embracing uncertainty is the best environment for everyone to develop. When these team members become Self-Evolved leaders, they will take the opportunity to reach out, ask questions, and challenge their team members as they all grow together and navigate teaming from anywhere.

Leadership Styles Changed in 2020
Even before the brink of the pandemic, the older leadership style of the powerful and confident leader with the strong vision that called for others to follow was becoming less effective. The older style of “I know what the future is, follow me” caused a form of skepticism from realistic employees. With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, that leadership style became irrelevant almost overnight. As employees began to work from home, not a single leader could say they knew what the future held.

This caused a new leadership style to become more powerful - a leadership style that is more authentic and that embraces the fact that leaders don’t always know everything. The leaders that became more successful were the ones that were asking “How are you really doing” and “How can I help you right now”. The Servant Leadership style instantly became the new norm.

Leadership today is about not being able to lead with true certainty. Leaders need to know how to lead with a degree of uncertainty and create a shared future over being the one with the vision.

In the hybrid workplace, our leaders need to focus on achieving goals and making sure team members are developing. Balancing these two focus areas is harder with remote work. Leaders need to be highly intentional about creating symbiotic conversations that create mutual relationships between remote and in-office employees. Leaders need to avoid the easy approach of returning to the office and then tagging on remote workers. Leaders are called upon today to create a whole new design for work.

They Have Conversations that Create Team Flow
Conversations that create team flow should encourage teams to take on new tasks so that the leader can shift into a more strategic mode. This allows team members to take the load off the leader's plate, and therefore allows the leader time and space to add value right back to their team members. Leaders should consider what tasks they can give away—even if it involves spending some time coaching others—in order to then gain more strategic space.

What tasks can give away, even if someone needs a little support so that they can grow, allowing you more time in the strategic space?

They Have Conversations that Create Shared Responsibility

The hybrid work environment simply can not rely on email. Hybrid teams must ensure they have good tools and systems in place. The work has to be looked at, talked about and executed in a way that everyone can access at any time. In this way, there is a shared responsibility to get things done and fill in the gaps.

To read the full summary, click here.

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EP. 53 New Rules for Successful Hybrid Teams

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 19:00:00 GMT

The rules have changed. What used to work for you as an employee, as a manager, or as an organization isn't going to work anymore.

Today on the podcast we have Vice President of User Experience at RingCentral, Michael Peachey. Michael has been at the forefront of Human Centered Design, especially looking at how teams collaborate from anywhere. In this episode, we explore the rules that change and your new responsibilities as an organization, a team leader, a team member.

If you're remote, or if you're on a hybrid team in the office, you need to go out of your way to connect to your team. It's always been an obligation, but it's now more crucial for you to take on that responsibility so that you can thrive as you Team Anywhere. As teams continue to evolve, follow these simple rules to help you succeed as a hybrid team.

New Rules for Successful Hybrid Teams

Fully Appreciate & Design Around Reality
Focus MORE on Strengthening Relationships
- As a Leader:
  A leader’s main focus is getting their team members to perform at their best. And to get the most out of your people, you need to connect. If someone is not connecting, leaders need to reach out.
- As a Team:
  In a hybrid meeting, particularly a larger one, assign a specific person on the team in the office who is responsible for making sure the remote people are engaged. This person has the authority to interrupt and advocate for the remote employees. This keeps remote attendees connected, engaged and participating.
- As a Team member:
  In today’s work environment, most people don’t get work done all by themselves. Most of us have to work with other people. Folks don’t necessarily love attending meetings, but well-run meetings increase engagement, collaboration, and communication.
- As a team member, you need to recognize that you need connection for social and emotional nurturing. Work relationships are important. The people you work with are an important part of your social and emotional systems.
Foster a Remote-First Culture
Create and Follow a Strong Hybrid Meeting Etiquette

See the full summary here.

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EP. 52 Forget the Hybrid Work Schedule and Focus on This Instead

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 19:00:00 GMT

Have you created the perfect hybrid work schedule yet? On today's episode, we interview Sam Palazzolo, Founder and Managing Director at Tip of the Spear Ventures and we learn how leaders need to be focusing more on what has worked and not worked in the past rather than their hybrid work schedules.

When leaders focus on the right things, it allows space for innovation on their hybrid team. Focusing on over communication, creating a collaborative vision, increasing clarity and continuing to seek new perspectives on your business, will help you continue to lead your hybrid teams from anywhere.

Over Communicating (Seriously, Keep Doing That!)

Over communicating is a habit many companies chose to pick up in the pandemic. Without having their employees in the office full time, companies felt a greater need to over-communicate with their staff. This is a habit that needs to continue. Ironically, there is a false assumption that extra communication worked with teams because the pandemic required an influx of communication. But the truth is that over communication is an underrated habit that companies and leaders need to demonstrate in all environments--pandemic or not.

In terms of communication, team members need to see what Sam calls the “face of the business.” Leaders at all levels are the face of the business and they need to continue to be aware of their leadership presence. Leaders with the right amount of presence will communicate crucial details to their teams as the communication flows through the organization.

Creating a Collaborative Vision Versus a Top-Down Vision

If your people are your most valuable asset, what are you actually doing to make them successful? It’s one thing to have an executive team attend a retreat and come back with a shared vision. But, it's another thing to transform vision into reality. In order to make a vision actually work, leaders need to have conversations about their vision with employees at all levels of the organization to reality test that vision.

A huge source of frustration occurs when team members hear a leader share a big picture vision that seems impossible to actually achieve. Conversations around your vision should be collaborative, encouraging perspectives and details from those on the front line.

Building Clarity Around What is Working, and What Isn’t Working

The leaders most often needed in times of crisis are very clear on where the organization is supposed to go. For leaders, the challenge today lies in asking themselves the question, “Is what we did in the past, the right thing to do in the future?” The answer to this depends on a lot of variables. Having these conversations with your team and seeking their feedback is going to help you get the information that you need.

Get Perspective from a Higher Altitude to Expand Your Vision

Leaders are going to be challenged to view the landscape of the business from a higher altitude to expand their vision. At this higher altitude, leaders should look to expand their vision both internally and externally within the company. An expanded vision gives greater clarity to the day to day business.

Leverage Masterminds

Every leader doesn’t have the answers all the time. As leaders, it can feel lonely at the top and it can feel like you have no one to turn to. Meeting on a regular basis with other business owners or leaders to share your challenges and opportunities can add a level of accountability.

During this time, leaders can gather input from their peers and formulate an action plan. During the next mastermind, leaders can share implemented ideas, results, and next steps. If you want to be really successful with a hybrid team, bring in outside perspectives on your company.

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EP. 51 New Perspectives for Fostering Collaboration & Teamwork on a Hybrid Team

Sun, 08 Aug 2021 19:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode we interview Phil Simon, author of Reimagining Collaboration: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and the Post-COVID World of Work. While many leaders are focused on how to go back to the office, Phil cautions that instead of focusing on when or how to go back, we should instead focus on how best to collaborate.

It is possible to collaborate in a hybrid environment effectively and efficiently, but it will require curiosity and experimentation. Leaders will focus on culture and priorities first, and then choose their collaboration tools to design the best ways of working. The winners in the future will build engagement and grow profits through maximizing collaboration to Team Anywhere.

What is Hybrid collaboration?

Success begins with a common understanding of terms. What do we mean by collaborating on a hybrid team? Is it the same as productivity? Having these kinds of conversations with your teams is going to open up opportunities to see new perspectives and expectations as to collaboration.

Collaboration vs. Productivity

Collaboration and productivity are not the same. An independent team member can work alone and be very productive. Alternatively, several team members can collaborate poorly and thus hinder productivity. Consequently, it is important to clearly define both concepts--what does collaboration look like for us? What does productivity look like? Let’s make both happen.

In terms of Collaboration, We’re Never Going Back

Before the COVID pandemic, collaboration was different. There was much more synchronous and in-person collaboration. The pandemic taught leaders and teams that remote work and collaboration was possible. Many employees have liked the ability to work from home and they want to continue their remote work. After a year and a half of learning to collaborate remotely - many teams and companies have realized that there really won’t be going back to the way collaboration was before the pandemic.

Create Curiosity when there’s a Resistance To Change

When it comes to making changes to how you collaborate, there’s bound to be resistance to change. Sometimes it's a team or team member, and sometimes it's the leader. It can be hard for team members to speak up and encourage their leaders to leverage, purchase, and actively learn collaboration tools. Fortunately, when most leaders realize the benefits of company-wide collaboration tools, they can’t believe they didn’t embrace the change earlier.

We Need to Reimagine Collaboration and Teamwork in a Different Way

Much thought is needed to re-imagine collaboration and teamwork as we move into an increased hybrid environment. Leaders are asking questions, such as, “How do you evaluate employees?” “How do you look at workflow in terms of collaboration?” “What part of the performance review measures collaboration?” If collaboration is important, it should be connected to performance check-ins and used to support an entire high performance culture

Collaboration isn't just about tools; rather, it should be the infrastructure of our emerging work world. It is the glue for business processes, organizational culture, hiring, change management, and engagement.

Click here for the full summary.

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EP. 50 The Leadership Mindset Shifts to Make in 2021

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 19:00:00 GMT

Today's leadership in the virtual and hybrid world requires a new leadership mindset. Leaders must be flexible and willing to work with ambiguity. It's very much about collaboration and the process of inquiry. On today's podcast, we interview Laila Tarraf, Chief People Officer of Allbirds and learn about her journey and her powerful new leadership book, Strong Like Water™ How I Found the Courage to Lead with Love in Business and in Life

Laila Tarraf will show you how to open your heart and step into the type of leadership that is required in today's chaotic world where no one has the map of what the future brings. Laila encourages leaders to strike a balance between using their heads and their hearts, a place where Laila believes the magic happens. In this episode, you'll hear Laila’s incredible story where connecting to her heart allowed her to strengthen her leadership.

Leadership Mindset Shifts

From “Just keep Going” to “Stop, Process, & Feel”
From Having Your “Edge” to Being “Soft” is a Strength
From Leadership is an “Outside-in Job” to an “Inside-out Job”
From “Be Unrealistically Hard On Yourself” to “Love Yourself”
From “Have All the Answers & Do It On Your Own” to “Tribe Mentality”
From “Leading Blindly” to “Principled Leadership”

To learn more about the details behind these leadership mindset shifts, see the full summary here and listen to the podcast.

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EP. 49 7 Crisis Leadership Strategies from a Leader Who’s Experienced 3 Major Crises

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 07:00:00 GMT

The tempo in our return to office plans should be much slower than it was when the pandemic started and everyone went home to work. When the pandemic started, the pace of getting employees to work from home was like running. It was a crisis. Now, a year and a half later, the crisis is still showing uncertainty. As employees begin to move back to the office, great leaders know that the way back isn’t to run. Leaders need to set a tempo that’s more like walking.

In this episode, Rob LoCascio, CEO of live person, shares with us that the greatest leaders today must be the type that set a walking pace, provide certainty and clarity, and remain authentic - even in the most challenging times.

This is the time for leaders to acknowledge that no one knows what the future holds. The best way forward is for leaders to share the truth about what they do know, rather than pretending they have everything figured out. Instead, leaders must listen to their employees to find out what their employees need in order to Team Anywhere.

Leaders Should Give Themselves a Break

Leaders can be very hard on themselves. They have had to navigate immense amounts of uncertainty without having much control over it. As humans, we tend to get angry when we feel we are losing control. The pandemic has caused leaders to feel frustrated, angry, and helpless as they try to navigate the return to office plans moving forward. The lack of ability to control the situation can be aggravating and defeating. We all get it, and we all feel it.

But at the end of the day, leaders have to give themselves a break and realize that they are doing their best. Every company is dealing with the same issues and no one has the right answer right now. Give yourself a break and focus on accepting that there are things occurring right now that you can’t control.

Walk - Don’t Run

Our natural tendency is to run, when right now, we need to walk. It is extremely important that leaders slow down and listen to what their employees are thinking, saying, or not saying. This advice is similar to the concept from the book, The First 90 Days. Inside this book, the author, Michael Watkins, recommends that new leaders spend the first 90 days at a new company just listening and not making any changes. By taking the time now to slow down and really listen to your employees--without rushing to make changes or decisions--you can get a lot of valuable information that is going to be needed when it is time to solidify a plan.

To learn more crisis leadership strategies like the tips below, see the full summary.

Be Authentically Empathetic

Make a Safe Environment For Employees

Schedule Diligently

Be Extremely Clear

Apologizing Gives You The Power to Move Forward

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EP. 48 Lead Virtual Meetings People Actually Love with these 7 Tips

Sun, 18 Jul 2021 07:00:00 GMT

There is nothing worse than that sinking feeling when you start to see camera after camera turn off inside your virtual meeting. Leaders know this feeling all too well as they have struggled over the past year and a half with keeping the engagement of their meeting participants. When it comes to keeping people engaged, competition is tough. Major industries spend billions of dollars to fight for people’s attention and engagement and inside your meeting; it’s you versus them.

When it comes to leading virtual meetings that people will actually love, you have to up your game. You have to be able to build the skills to make and keep the meeting personally engaging, and keep your participants active. In this podcast, Ivan Wanis Ruiz, founder of Public Speaking Lab, shares seven tips that will help you lead meetings that people will actually love. The great news about leading these types of meetings is that it isn't complex. These are tactical tips that you can use right away in your next meeting.

1. Have one meeting to establish the rules of the meetings.

Have a meeting that gets your team to create and agree on a set of rules or norms for everyone to follow in the future meetings. Creating verbal and written social norms helps meeting participants know what to expect from others, how to behave themselves, and how to courageously declare breakdowns when that set of norms isn’t being met.

2. Create Visual Engagement that Engages Your Participants’ Attention.

Your participants are used to watching engaging media on their screens ranging from thrilling movies to TikTok. They are used to the visuals on their screens constantly changing. Because of this, it’s important to re-engage your participants often.

One way to do this is to toggle your camera between the PowerPoint you are presenting and you, or depending on what tools you are using, push certain buttons to make the screen go black or white. In Microsoft Teams, you can use the “B” button to make the screen go black, or the “W” button to make it go white. To illustrate, you can show a slide of a question that you want to ask your audience, and then make the screen go blank to give people the visual space to think about their answers creatively.

Another tactic is to make people do things. Ask your attendees to put something in the chat or ask them to share an emoji to react to something that was said. Ask them to take a big breath and stretch for a minute. Keeping your audience engaged by keeping them moving can help you create a meeting where they feel heard and are adding real-time value.

3. Give Everyone The Opportunity to Speak with The HIPPO Rule

A HIPPO is the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. Typically, at the end of the meeting the idea that always wins is the HIPPO. This does not make for an engaging meeting, and does not make the attendees feel like their voice matters. So how can you make everyone feel like their voice matters? Create a rule inside your meetings that the HIPPO always speaks last. As the HIPPO, ask a question and listen to feedback from every attendee in the meeting before sharing your opinion. Give people credit and recognition for the ideas that they shared, and determine how you are going to reach a decision inside the meeting. Not all decisions need to be made by the HIPPO.

For details on the following seven tips see the full summary

4. Do BreakOut Rooms Differently
5. Encourage Conversations Outside Meetings
6. Ease in the Newbies With One-on-One Meetings
7. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Your Attendees to Turn Cameras Off

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EP. 47 Take a Step Back, Embrace the Unknown and Listen to Your Hybrid Team

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 07:00:00 GMT

The pandemic has demonstrated that people are more capable of change than they ever imagined. Today, workers are changing their priorities given their new post-pandemic perspectives, and leaders and companies are looking for solutions to manage their hybrid teams.

In today’s episode, Michael Seaver, author, speaker and founder of Seaver Consulting, encourages us to use this time for teams and employees to come together to build more authentic and sustainable solutions. Right now is not the time to pretend we have the solutions, but for us to focus on and embrace what we don’t know. Now is the time for leaders and teams to focus on their uniqueness, resiliency, and core values to successfully team anywhere.

The Outcome of the Pandemic
The pandemic gave everyone space to assess if they are living their most authentic lives. The outcome of this is we’re seeing The Great Resignation, more people quitting their jobs than ever recorded in history. So what is causing this and what are leaders doing about it? Keep reading as we explore the employee and leadership perspectives that are leading up to this, as companies are trying new ways to retain their valued employees and manage hybrid teams.

New Personal Perspectives
The pandemic taught us that we are far more capable of change than we believed. With this change, we all stretched our ability to adapt to change, to stay resilient and to begin to create new habits. Virtually overnight, we went from working in an office, commuting 30+ minutes to get to work, and now all of a sudden we're doing many things from our own home ranging from homeschooling to work and exercise. We were no longer getting in a car or subway, and spending hours commuting to and from work. Commuting time limits time with family, hobbies, and relaxation. Through the pandemic, nearly all non-essential workers experienced work without that dreaded commute.

Though many people don’t have a choice, others questioned their commutes and their very jobs. Now workers across the nation are questioning this. Is the commute worth it? Could I get another job and be closer to home? Even if it pays less, is it worth it?

Now people are weighing the pros and cons of working from home, in the office, or in a hybrid arrangement. As they weigh these outcomes, they are questioning if their work is aligning with their most authentic selves. With this in mind, whichever way someone decides, they should remember that we all are way more capable of adapting to change and dealing with the unknown than they were 12 months ago.

New Leadership Perspectives

If leaders repeated the behaviors that might have existed in 2019, they have not learned or grown very much from this world-wide upset. What has occurred over the past year and a half has created a transformational change in every industry and leadership role. As we experience the biggest worker transition in history, leaders across the nation are trying to keep up with creating companies, cultures, teams and atmospheres that will attract and retain top talent.

Solutions that Work: Ask the Right Questions and Listen Closely

One firm Michael works with made changes in the way their leadership assesses outcomes by making the transition from billable hours to becoming a results driven company. This is a big shift to make mentally and culturally inside an organization.

Click here for the full summary.

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EP. 46 How to Equalize Remote & In-Office Workers

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 07:00:00 GMT

DISCLAIMER: This episode is not sponsored by Mentimeter, we just love the product and know that more leaders can use this to raise engagement in their meetings whether they are virtual, in person or hybrid.

Are we moving from the world of Zoom Fatigue to a world of Zoom Segregation as we move to hybrid work? Are there solutions out there to equalize and engage remote and in-office workers? Yes, we believe there is. In today’s episode, we interview Oscar Svernlöv, the community content creator at Mentimeter and he shows us how to stay ahead of the curve with a great equalizer for hybrid teams.

What’s Wrong With Virtual Meetings?
Virtual meeting attendees are burned out. They’re tired of Zoom meetings. They need more engagement. One of the problems with virtual meetings is that as humans, we’re wired to interact with our screens as passive participants - but the objective of meetings is to get participation and feedback from your audience. So, more often than we hope, we end up leading meetings with the intention of seeking input and feedback only to wind up with nothing.

The Solution to Virtual Meeting Engagement

What if you could take the issue of your meeting participants looking at their phones and turn it into a productive & purposeful conversation that includes seeking feedback from them using their phones?

That is where Mentimeter comes into play. With Mentimeter, you can create a presentation, much like PowerPoint, but called “Mentimeters” where you can actively seek participation and engagement at much higher levels than you would inside Powerpoint.

Instead of having a passive audience watch a presentation, you bring the audience into your presentation so that they can vote on topics, share their ideas and answers to questions, and react using emojis and comments to your entire presentation.

Bridging the Remote & In-Office Communication Gap
Mentimeter bridges the gap between your remote workers and in-office workers because it gives them a united platform to contribute to the same conversation. In turn, this helps your remote workers feel more connected and involved and not left out of conversations that would otherwise be occurring only in the office.

How Mentimeter Works
Once you create your presentation inside Mentimeter.com, you can create slides using the following interactive presentation types:

Multiple Choice
Word Cloud
Open Ended Answers
Ranking
Q&A
Quiz Competition
Type Answer

Why is Meeting Engagement So Important?

Employees have a fundamental need to feel involved and engaged. But think about the meetings where the participants are just watching the screen, slowly losing their attention, and then before you know it, you’ve lost their attention all together. Mentimeter was born out of this frustration before there was a large focus on virtual meetings.

This shows that engagement itself has been the one of the keys to Zoom fatigue and now we need our teams to contribute more.

Oscar’s team has done A/B Testing comparing Mentimeter Presentations to PowerPoint Presentations while scanning the brains of participants. They discovered that when participants watched Mentimeter presentations, the engaged section of their brains were activated-- proving that Mentimeter scientifically improves engagement.

3 Ideas for Leaders to Leverage Mentimeter

Keep track of Pulse Surveys
Get 100% Anonymous Participation During Brainstorms
Get Instant Reactions During Your Meetings

Read the full summary here.

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EP. 45 SNEAK PEEK Stop, Look, and Listen, Innovation is Coming

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Rachel Casanova and Ginny Bianco Mathis have been investigating this post-COVID work environment and there seems to be two conflicting conversations occurring between leaders and employees.

In one extreme, there are some leaders saying they want their employees back into the offices by September. On the other side, employees are questioning the very nature of work and want their leaders and organizations to meet their needs.

The options in the future (remote work, in office work and hybrid work) seem to serve different needs for different audiences.

Inside this teaser for episode 55, listen to Rachel Casanova's perspective that explores how we can think about creating places for people to come to work, and what we should be watching for.

Make sure you subscribe to the #TeamAnywhere Podcast to stay up to date with the most relevant leadership conversations.

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EP. 44 7 Virtual Meeting Tips From an Emmy Award Winner

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 19:00:00 GMT

When was the last time you had an Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist coach you on how to look great on camera? On today's episode, Karin Reed, co-author of Suddenly Virtual: Making Remote Meetings Work, shares her wisdom on how to be effective, look great, sound great, and create great participation and engagement during your hybrid and virtual meetings.

Today, many leaders are not thinking about how they show up on the other side of the camera. These leaders are doing a great disservice to themselves and their teams because they are primarily going to have to lead through various virtual lenses for now and into the future. If leaders want to maximize how they communicate, connect and show up with their teams, the only way to do that is by following these simple steps.

1. Get Back to the Basics
Very few leaders actually follow best practices when it comes to leading virtual meetings. Before the pandemic, most meetings were bad in person; as these bad meetings moved virtually, they became virtually unbearable. When it comes to getting back to the basics, Joe Allen says common sense is often uncommon practice.

2. Attend to Participation
As a leader, remember the potential pitfalls in participation that can occur in hybrid and virtual meetings. That pitfall is the lack of participation. We are wired to be passive bystanders when it comes to anything with a screen. We have been conditioned to sit at screens as we watch TV, but in virtual and hybrid meetings, we want our attendees to act.

3. Favor Remote Attendees First
Far too often, remote meeting attendees feel as if they get left out of meetings. When they don’t get asked for their thoughts, feelings, ideas and opinions, they decide to tune-out or leave the meeting. This makes them feel unheard, questioning why they were in that meeting in the first place. As the leader, acknowledging the remote attendees right away, shows you value them from the beginning.

4. Consider How You Lead Through the Lens
How you show up through the lens will impact your results with your team. We’ve been leading virtual meetings for over 15 months and still leaders and C-suite executives are making critical mistakes that hinder their messages. Poor lighting, audio and camera placement throws off your message.

5. To Make Eye Contact, Look at the Camera, Not the Screen
There is nothing more important in a meeting than eye contact, and most of us are doing this incorrectly. The camera is the conduit to your conversation, so if you want to speak with impact, it is critical that you learn to make virtual “eye contact” close to how it would be in person. Looking into the camera lens as we speak goes against every natural impulse that we have. We think the right thing to do is to look at our attendees, but looking at their picture on the screen means you’re not making eye contact.

6. Be MORE Human
When everyone worked remotely last year, most of us for the first time, we lost a lot of humanity in our meetings. Leaders would jump right into an agenda, if there was one. There was no opportunity for casual, small talk, which is a critical element in building strong relationships and culture. From a business, leadership and individual perspective, establishing connection with people is the most critical element of creating strong business results.

7. Leverage 5 Minute One-on-One’s
Many leaders often feel like they don’t have time to meet with each person one-on-one on a regular basis, especially if their teams are larger. Schedule these small, short meetings or open office hours for small group or one-on-one conversations.

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EP. 43 Successfully Leading Dispersed Teams Requires Compassion

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 19:00:00 GMT

Today our guest is Scott Shute, head of mindfulness and compassion, at LinkedIn. Scott is the author of, The Full Body Yes. Scott’s vision is to change work from the inside out, and his mission is to mainstream mindfulness and operationalize compassion for the 3.3 billion workers in the world.

In this episode, you will discover the mindset and practices of companies that are 14 times more profitable than the standard S&P average, by spreading mindfulness and compassion at work.

What is Compassion and Where Does a Lack of Compassion Come From?
Compassion is awareness of others, a mindset of wishing the best for them, and then the courage to take action.

The antonym of compassion is your inner critic. We allow our inner critic to run rampant inside our heads, triggering our fight or flight response. Our amygdala, formerly used to ignite that fight or flight response that kept us safe from predators, is now used in less extreme situations. Today, this response might go off during times when our kids are arguing in the next room while we are on a Zoom call.

Our inner critic is driven by fear. Our inner critic focuses 99% of our energy on the 1% of our life that is hard or wrong. Scott calls this pothole management. There could be 1000 miles of perfect road and one pothole, and we will spend 99% of our time concerned about that one pothole.

Because of our inner critic, we don’t spend any of our time on the 999 miles of perfect road.

A Compassionate Leadership Mindset
The most important asset we have is our people. What we know is when our people are at their best, the company is going to be at its best.

Thinking you need to project confidence and be feared by your employees is outdated - and ineffective - thinking. Inside this old approach, leaders told their employees what to do, and their employees did what was said without questioning it in fear of getting replaced.

That world is gone.

The power has shifted from the company and its leaders to the employees. Employees today have more power in where they work, and who they work for, more than ever before. The best people write their own tickets to the best companies. If you want to be successful as a leader, you must treat your employees as the most valuable resource you have.

Compassionate Leaders Focus on Authenticity - Be Human
People don't want to work for a robot. Being human allows your employees to see that you are just like them rather than feeling a sense of separation. There is typically a sense of separation where employees can't identify or connect to their leader when the leader is seen as too perfect, or has a facade of perfection. When perfection is presented, employees believe they can not achieve that perfection, leading to despair and defeat.

If leaders deeply know themselves, they can then know other people. Compassionate leaders have a mindset of kindness that enables them to wish the best for others.

Compassionate Leaders Communicate Clear Purpose & Values
Strong leaders have a clear purpose, centered values (individually and organizationally), and clear communications-- and they never deviate from that. They repeatedly share where the company and team is going and why it’s important.

Compassionate Leaders Have the Courage to Take Action
Compassionate leaders have courage to take action for themselves and others. They declare that they are going to do the hard things for themselves, which allows them to then do the hard things for others.
Compassionate Teams
In Google's Project Aristotle, researchers discovered that the number one factor in building a high performance team was psychological safety.

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EP. 42 5 Tips For Designing a Productive and Creative Home Workspace

Sun, 13 Jun 2021 19:00:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered how to make your workspace more effective and more tailored to your individual ambition?

On today’s podcast we are delighted to have Susan Meier, a branding genius and acclaimed artist, and Hallie Burton, a world renowned lifestyle photographer. Together they created Workspace Studio, a website featuring the world’s most beautiful and productive workspaces. They share with us how to develop your home workspace so that it reflects who you are, emboldens your productivity, and enhances your creativity.

Many people are being much kinder to themselves when it comes to designing their home workspace compared to their office. Most of us weren’t allowed to fully make our work space represent ourselves in the office. Working from home is a different experience because you have full control of creating a space that compliments you, your needs, and your expression. It’s a place where you can feel the most comfortable.

#1 Get Creative in Creating a Room of Your Own

Many people who work from home struggle to find a way to create a room of their own. With the onset of the pandemic, our homes went from the places that we leave in the morning, to the places we stay at and use all day and night. Most people don’t have a dedicated home office, making it even more difficult to find this room of their own.

Even if it's not an actual room, do your best to get creative. Figure out where you can create, carve out, or re imagine that space where you can close the door and form a physical boundary that shows you are working. Establishing this room of your own allows for physical privacy, and both surface and wall space.

#2 Make Organization Mobile
Being organized inside your home workspace can be a real challenge, especially if you’re sharing that space with different people and for different activities throughout the day. For example, you may be using your kitchen table as your desk during the day and then have to transition to clearing the surface for dinner making in the evening.

In situations like this, Hallie and Susan recommend creating a work tote. The work tote is a mobile organizer that you can take to the space you need to work and move around as needed.

#3 Keep it Simple
Keep your workspace simple, even if that means spending 15-30 minutes at the beginning and end of your day to simplify your workspace. Organization and simplicity allows you to be more flexible, open and creative.

#4 Personalization is Key
Personalizing your space creates a portrait of you. Use small, meaningful items such as artifacts or mementos to ground you and provide talking topics in Zoom meetings. Think about adding items that have meaningful stories for you.

For example, a special seashell from a special trip, pictures of your family, or a wood carving made for you can add meaningful richness to your environment. These items are reflections of you and should be key elements inside your home workspace.

Another idea that can help you personalize your workspace is adding things that will help improve your ability to work, foster a creative zone, or provide a spot to rest. For example, Hallie loves having a thermal mug warmer because drinking tea is an important ritual in her working day.

#5 Add Nature Elements
Hallie and Susan recommend that most workplaces contain greenery. You can add natural elements into your workspace such as flowers, leaves, and succulents. Adding elements of nature helps create a relaxing atmosphere.

See the full summary here: https://tinyurl.com/ytpr8v9d

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EP. 41 Remote Team Communication Should Be Strategic and Outcome Based

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 16:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, we interview entrepreneur, leader, and CEO of Aquila Capital Partners, Mark Watson. Mark shares that the key to success for remote leaders is to understand the importance in clearly communicating the vision and having outcomes based conversations that progress towards relevant KPi’s.

Since we are not physically together, our conversations must be outcome based. On a remote team, leaders spend more time in the leadership role versus the management role. Just like Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper said, “you lead people, you manage things,” successful remote leaders spend more time leading their remote teams towards their vision and mission.

The outdated management style that focuses on closely managing the activities of remote employees during the time on the clock can be detrimental to achieving success. When leaders shift to outcomes based conversations their team members gain more autonomy, feel more trusted, and produce better outcomes.

Communication with Remote Teams
Successful remote leaders are very strategic in their use of communication. A few years ago, leaders wanted everyone in the office because they wanted to make sure everyone was working. Working from the office gave an added level of security to leaders so they could ensure everything was running smoothly.

During the pandemic, when all teams were operating remotely, leaders lost that reassurance they once had in the office. The leaders that had a tendency to micromanage in the office shifted to virtual micromanagement.

For some companies, this led to a plethora of virtual micromanagement tactics that has hindered their success. Remote employees began to endure entire workdays in front of their Zoom cameras and - for some - every keystroke on their computers being tracked. What these companies did is apply outdated micromanagement tactics (meant for managing “things”) and applied them to people.

Successful Leaders Make Synchronous Time Valuable
At the beginning of the pandemic, leaders were having one hour Zoom meetings just to have one hour Zoom meetings. Employees were experiencing Zoom burnout on a whole new level. Because of this, leaders now need to focus on making synchronous meetings quick, valuable and to the point. Additionally, leaders and their remote teams need to leverage the right communication avenue for the right conversation, which at times can be hard to identify.

Virtual Meetings Need to Be Focused and Short
Successful remote leaders think about what is really going to move the needle on their goals when they are in a virtual meeting. Inside weekly standup meetings, each person on the team reviews what they’re working on. This is meant to keep everyone updated and not micromanage a team member's every move. These short standups allow team members to understand how their work supports desired goals.

Keeping these discussions short, crisp, and to the point makes a real difference in valuing the time of your remote team members. In the office, these meetings used to take an hour but they only needed to take 20 min max. The same is true for your remote meetings. By focusing on relevant KPIs, outcomes and vision, successful remote leaders help their remote teams identify their goals, and then let the employees figure out how they are going to achieve those goals.

Remote leaders must shift their mindset and language in virtual meetings. Instead of asking, “what did we accomplish today?,” they should ask, “Are we on our timeline to achieve our goals?” Even a simple shift in asking a new question like this produces greater results with remote teams. Leaders then should leave all other work and less relevant conversations for asynchronous communication; for example, DM’s, emails, or phone calls.

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EP. 40 Arts Based Virtual Team Building Activities For An Innovative Remote Team

Mon, 31 May 2021 20:00:00 GMT

Can you teach collaboration, empathy, creativity and transparency in the virtual world? Sure, you can teach it but it won't change behavior. To change your behavior you and your team must immerse yourselves in creative experiences. On today's podcast, Dr. Fred Mandell and Harvey Seifter, founders of Futures that Work, demonstrate how to build the competencies required to succeed in the two dimensional zoom world by engaging our team in the three dimensional worlds of art and science.

Many people were waiting to get to the other side of this pandemic, hoping the virtual world would become less relevant and that we would get back to “normal.” But the reality is, we're not going to get back to that ever again. Because of that, there is a premium in developing the kinds of skills and communication to be effective in a virtual world. Because we're moving toward a hybrid world, we don't exactly know what the balance is going to be. And we have found that the arts continue to be a incredibly engaging, three dimensional experience in a two dimensional medium,

One downside to the virtual world is that it is 2-dimensional. The 3-dimensional world is where the art experience thrives. But is it possible to bring the richness of the 3D of the arts into virtual team building? Bringing the arts into virtual team building is very powerful, because it begins to help people appreciate that the world that we're entering into, is going to be an interplay between three dimensions in two dimensions.

What is Art-Based Learning?
When teams engage in arts-based learning they begin to change the way they collaborate. The teams that spent a few hours of arts based learning exhibited dramatically more emotionally intelligent behaviors like try mutual respect, transparency, openness to new ideas, all of these kind of key elements for collaboration. Results in innovation

Benefits of Arts-Based Learning
Through experimental research, Fredd & Harvey discovered that the Arts have a very powerful and unique impact on creativity, collaboration, emotionally intelligent behavior, innovation and resilience. Arts based learning taps into the creative expression and potential that every human has. When people experience art, it triggers the same neural circuitry that triggers empathy. Additionally, Arts based learning can change a culture, organization and language.

6 Arts-Based Virtual Team Building Activities

Suminagashi - The Japanese term refers to “floating ink.” Suminagashi is the process of marbling plain paper with water and ink to transform it into something vibrant and colorful.
A Music Experience- Put your team inside the music, teach them to perform and have them perform a musical experience. Learn the connection between music performance and collaboration.
Poetry - Have your team work together to write poems. Tap into their creative writing skills.
Drawing - Have your team members draw a picture together.
Theatre - Have your team act out a scene in a play or perform improv.
Dance/ Movement - Have your team participate in a dance or other movement such as a Yoga or Tai Chi class.

Tips for Leaders for 2021

Visit a museum
Compose a poem
Draw a self-portrait
Walk in the woods without your cell phone and breathe deeply.
Ask yourself, What is different about today? And why does that matter?
Every morning ask yourself, What am I grateful for today?
In the evening before going to bed, repeat and reflect.
Listen to a different kind of music.
Observe a child 18 months or younger playing
Eat a slice of pizza beginning with the crust and working toward the tip.

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EP. 39 Remote Work Culture Ideas to Build Strong Connections

Mon, 24 May 2021 16:00:00 GMT

Despite the return-to-office plans, remote work is here to stay, and leaders are searching for remote work culture ideas to help build strong teams. As the founder of DistantJob, a company that finds global remote talent, and author of Surviving Remote Work, Sharon Koifman has over a decade of experience finding, hiring, and creating great remote cultures. Sharon shares that his success has been based on a clear definition of culture, building trust and caring about remote workers' mental health.

The Truth: Remote Work is Here to Stay

Nearly all of the research out there is showing that remote work provides greater productivity and is preferred by many workers. According to SloanMIT research, remote work has created happier and more independent people. Coco-cloud research shows that people are 77% more productive and 23% are willing to work more hours if they can work from home. Additionally, 23% of people would prefer a lower wage if they could work from home. Remote work is becoming a necessity, and leaders need to figure out how to continue to strengthen their remote culture, and adjust their leadership style to support their remote workers.

How to Keep Remote Company Culture Alive

Clearly Define & Declare Remote Company Culture
Even after 14 months of working remotely, people are still having a hard time understanding what a remote culture even is. Leaders need to have a clearer definition of what a remote culture is in the first place if they are going to be successful at building it.

Remote Company culture is about creating connection. Culture in the remote world is your connections between you and the company, between colleagues, and between clients and employees. A clearer definition of remote culture allows leaders to prioritize what is needed to shape the culture going forward

After the clear definition of company culture has been created and agreed upon, it should be shared and role modeled in the early stages of growth—whether in person, virtual, or hybrid. However, as the company grows, so does the culture. The culture is a living, breathing organism that eventually shifts its power from the leader to the employees. Eventually, other people, your culture champions, will begin to take charge of defining and declaring the culture. This will empower the company to create and support a healthy remote culture that becomes embedded in all organizational processes; including, hiring, personal growth, completion of work, and engagement.

3 Ideas to Strengthen Remote Culture

Donut App

One idea that Sharon personally uses is an app called Donut. With Donut, he has 1-on-1’s with each person on his team. With the Donut app, remote companies can connect serendipitously for virtual coffee, peer learning, DEI discussions, and more.

Define & Build Trust

Most leaders think that they need to define and build trust with their team so that they can trust their team. But Sharon challenges leaders to think about trust the other way around. The question isn’t whether the leader can trust the employers; rather, the question is whether employees can trust the leader. As a leader, are your employees comfortable approaching you when they don’t understand something?

See blog for full summary.

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EP. 38 This Leadership Type Thrives in the Hybrid World

Sun, 16 May 2021 19:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode we interview Dr. Annemarie Spadafore where she shares the leadership type that has best thrived in the pandemic, and how these leaders are now approaching return-to-office conversations. Annemarie is the managing principal of Powerlab, executive coach and author of, There is Only I in Team, scheduled to be published in December of 2021.

The type of leader that is thriving in the new dispersed work environment focuses on personal responsibility, takes the time to know themselves better, consistently assesses their boundaries, remains obsessively curious, and leads with a partnership approach.

This Type of Leader Thrived Through the Pandemic
Successful Leaders leveraged the quietness of being at home to re-prioritize. Leaders discovered their motivations by focusing on their strengths and how to utilize their strengths to best work alongside their employees.

They Took the Time to Know Themselves
Annemarie explains that most leaders live under a “layer of dust,” covering them from their awesomeness. During the Covid separation, successful leaders spent time removing that dust and gaining awareness around their strengths and priorities.

They Focused on Personal Responsibility
Successful leaders began to focus more on personal responsibility and recognize that they can only fully control themselves. They realized that they can’t force others to do things ‘their way’ and instead began to create spaces where entire teams and individual team members could take their own responsibility for defining their future work.

They Consistently Assessed Boundaries
Due to the pandemic, there have been many boundary violations that typically wouldn’t have occurred. With good intentions, leaders even put themselves into positions of giving personal advice. The most insightful leaders reviewed their boundaries and found a balance between being supportive, and allowing their employees to make their own personal decisions.

They Were Obsessively Curious
Unfortunately, we have a much lower tolerance in the workplace for accepting people than we do in our personal situations. Traditional leaders tend to impose policies, procedures, and other structures to manage the behaviors of others. During the upheaval of the pandemic, most processes were abandoned as teams tried to just get the work done. The more effective leaders realized that the best approach was to step back, zoom out, and be curious.

They Led With a Partnership Approach
In Annemarie’s work over the past year, the most successful leadership style has been a partnership approach where leaders and their direct reports work in tandem. The partnership approach flattens the power curve and helps teams take real ownership for results.

Identifying What Works Best for Your Return to Office Plan
As leaders brainstorm with their teams in creating their “return to work plan,” they should consider asking:

What do I want to achieve?
Where are my strengths?
How do I play to my strengths?
What am I capable of achieving in this new environment?

In turn, leaders should encourage their team members to consider the same questions so everyone can bring their best selves to the future of work.

Return to Office Conversations For Your Team

Inside the planning phase of each company’s return-to-work plan, leaders have a real opportunity for holding coaching conversations with their employees. Leaders have a natural tendency to treat everyone the same for the sake of fairness. Yet, over the past 14 months, leaders have had to treat each employee's personal situation differently. This still needs to continue during this renewal period.

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EP. 37 How to Lead Virtual Teams With Humility

Sun, 09 May 2021 21:00:00 GMT

On today’s podcast, we interview Bert Sarkkinen, founder and owner of Arrow Timber Framing. Inside this episode, he shares with us that the secret to creating committed virtual teams is to embrace humility in leadership. As leaders practice humility, they’ll place a greater emphasis on listening rather than speaking and be more open to experimenting.

Brett emphasizes that Humble Leadership is more about listening than speaking. Additionally, humble leaders should spend more time asking questions uncovering what’s in other people’s heads rather than spending time communicating what they are thinking. Humble leadership is more about just simply trying things and improving with each iteration rather than trying to create the perfect masterpiece the very first time.

What is Humility?
Dr. Robert Hogan defines humility (in leadership) as the ability to be willing to admit mistakes, share credit, and learn from others. Humility in leadership is the magnet that grounds leaders from their egotistical state. It is perhaps the most important characteristic for engaging others and fostering communication and results.

2 Main Beliefs Inside The Humble Leader
Leading humbly is acknowledging that 100 brains is better than one. Humble leaders intentionally avoid the spotlight and move the spotlight to their teams. Humble leaders make decisions and take action based on three main beliefs.

Belief #1 You Don’t Know What Someone Else is Thinking, So Listen More Than You Speak

The humble mindset lies in believing that you really don’t know what someone is thinking. Humble leaders spend more time discovering what others are thinking rather than assuming that they know. The only action a leader can take is to listen more so all ideas are heard, put on the table, and considered for action.

Humble leaders avoid giving tons of information to their teams right away for the sake of “saving time.” Humble leaders practice the “listen more than you speak” by allowing their team to work on projects at their own pace. As the team hits roadblocks, humble leaders give them the information they need, slowly, along the way. This approach offers more opportunities for the team to be open to learning, rather than getting flooded with information when they aren’t ready to receive it.

To practice this, for your next project, instead of leading and directing the meeting, take a step back and instead ask your team the following questions.

What are we trying to do?
What is important here?
How should we go about this?

Belief #2 Misunderstandings Happen

The Humble leader understands that messages between the leader and listener can be misunderstood. As leaders and teams develop, their paradigms change. During this time of transition, messages are often misunderstood. Humble leaders recognize the importance of constant dialogue to align intention with consequence and to clear up misunderstandings.

See blog for full summary.

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EP. 36 Create A Return to Work Plan that Fits Your Purpose

Sun, 02 May 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Leaders around the globe are in the midst of creating their return to work plan during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring both vigilance and flexibility to navigate uncharted territory. Inside today’s episode, we have a brilliant conversation with Rachel Casanova, on things to consider when approaching your back to work plan.

This reboarding phase is something that we will all experience together. During this period, it’s vital for your entire staff to be authentic and open about identifying and understanding the needs of returning to work through three perspectives: the business, the individuals and the team members.

When it comes to this return to work plan, no one has the answers. The best approach is to look at everything moving forward as a two week sprint. Prior to COVID, the idea of businesses making decisions in two week sprints was unheard of. Yet over the past year, companies have found short, temporary, and flexible decision-making to be the only way to move forward.

Make Your Return to Work Plan a Prototype

Make your return to work plan a prototype. Bring your staff in for a day to figure out where the issues are. Then, define how you want to invest your money and what solutions you need to create. The idea behind a prototype is to do first, and then strategize, rather than strategizing first and then do. Your company can work out the issues just like you did a year ago when everyone went fully remote. It’s time to recognize that the next step back is going to be messy and none of us have the answers.

Focus on Authentic Communication

The expectation for authentic communication continues to grow. As the leader, be clear on sharing what you know and don’t know. The return to work plans require tough conversations.

Instead of trying to come up with the return to work plan on your own, bring the conversations to your leadership team and your employees. Have everyone share what they think is important in regards to the back to work plan. After sharing what you think is important, ask your team: Why would this work? Why wouldn’t it work? What did we forget? Spend time having conversations around imagining what this new plan is going to look like.

Review Your Return to Work Plan Through Three Lenses: Business, Team, and Individual

Individual Needs: Overcoming FOGO

At the individual level, there is a new fear employees are facing called FOGO, the fear of going out. In crafting your return to work plan, focus on helping your employees overcome the fear of going out. When it comes to balancing the needs of the employees versus the needs of the company, don’t overlook issues involving specific, valid needs. For example, many people are still caregivers and have specific reasons for wanting to continue to work from home. Leaders can give employees help in navigating the path to going back to the office.

When crafting your return to work plan, ensure the experience of coming back to the office is worth it. Think of your employees as the customers: What would make their return great? What would make coming back to the office comfortable? Remember we’re re-onboarding Corporate America. Do something that makes your employees’ lives easier. Imagine that everyone is almost like a new employee. They haven’t seen their desk or the office in over a year. What are you, as the employer, going to do to make coming back to the office easier and better?

Read the full summary inside our blog.

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EP 35 How to Captivate and Engage Your Remote or Hybrid Team Through Business Storytelling

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Storytelling is one of the most in-demand and underrated skills for leaders to discover in 2021. In this week’s podcast, we interviewed Yamini Naidu, economist turned master business storyteller. The new hybrid and virtual workplace will be new, challenging and definitely a more emotional game. The greatest leaders and managers will engage their workforce through masterful storytelling to create new relationships, and create a new future and culture. Every leader today is now further away from their employees and will need to leverage storytelling to bring their employees together.

Why Business Storytelling is Important
Storytelling helps us reach this meta-modern world and it helps us stay connected with each other. Stories are the Velcro on people's brains, nothing else will stick. So whether you work with products, services, teams, stakeholders, or you're pitching your work the most powerful way to do that any activity is through storytelling.

Personal Storytelling Versus Business Storytelling
Think of personal storytelling and business storytelling as a continuum. Business storytelling because you always have to have a purpose and a message. Business story telling gives leaders a new kind of power. Hard power is when leaders are direct, task focused and in a directing role. Soft power is when the leader’s power is focused on collaborating and being cohesive. The new power, storytelling power offers leaders a different type of power in that it connects people to a story in a ways that solidifies a message and creates engagement.

Transform Bland Company Events into Captivating Experiences
When Leaders share personal stories, what they are doing is called micro storytelling. Macro storytelling is when storytelling happens across an organization. Leaders can think larger, go beyond a focus on individual stories and think about storytelling in areas like their brand promise or employee value proposition.

How to Make Storytelling An Experience for A Company Retreat or Event

Provide a list of framing questions.
Break leaders or people into groups and get them to share their experiences and answers to the questions you provided.
Do stop lights. In stop lights, everyone takes a pause at sharing, and share across the groups.
After all the groups have shared their highlights, ask the group as a whole, what should share across the organization?

Storytelling can be used in collaboration with planning events because every time we bring stakeholders together, we want to create an experience. So how can you create experiential moments at your next event? There's nothing more experiential than storytelling. Think about setting up your event like a campfire, with small break out sessions dedicated to storytelling in a unique way.

Elements of Business Storytelling
Before you even start to craft a story, begin with the end in mind. What's the purpose? What's the message of the story? And then think about your audience? Who is this story going to serve?

Business Storytelling Requires Three Elements

Have a Clear Sequence.
- What is the simple structure of your story? Make sure you continue to engage your audience. At the end, you do a very subtle, elegant landing on the message.
Be Specific.
- Many business skills require abstract, conceptual and big picture thinking, the opposite of specificity. Crafting a story is the opposite of that.
- When you are specific, you do two most powerful things in storytelling, you create emotion, and you paint a picture.
Test Your Story on Three Elements
Is the story personal?
Don’t just call anything a story.
Always find the human.

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EP 34 How Remote Teams Build Resilience for Long Term Success

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Today on the podcast we interview Nick Petrie, Author of Work Without Stress: Building Resilience for Long-Term Success. Whereas many teams fail under stress there are certain teams that build resilience and can actually thrive under stressful conditions. Nick shares with us the secrets of how hybrid and virtual teams confront today's turbulence, focus on strengthening their relationships, looking for new opportunities and reframing to take advantage of the disruptions in today's new work environment.

Responding to Hardship Differently

Everyone initially has the same response when faced with a difficult experience. At first, everyone has a big drop off, and their typical levels of functioning and results go down across the board. Meanwhile, after the initial hit of hardship, people begin to respond in different ways.

Some People Struggle to Recover At All: The Crisis Phase
Some People Partially Recover or Recover, But Come out of Hardship Looking Exactly the Same: The No Change Phase
Some People Not Only Bounce Back, They Become Anti-Fragiles: The Opportunist Phase

The Widening Leadership Gap

The Poor Performing Leaders are Struggling Even Worse

In the office, if you didn’t have good one-on-one meetings with your people before, that was bad. If you’re not doing it now, it’s disastrous. The same is true for a leaders’ practices. The ties that were weak have dwindled and died in the remote setting; people are not meeting anyone from other departments, and they are not meeting in the cafeteria at lunch. There are even many people who joined in the last year and who have never actually met someone from their company in person.

The Strong Leaders Are Feeling Better Than Ever Before

The strong leaders are feeling closer to their teams than ever before. Strong leaders have built deeper connections and ties with their teams. These leaders are getting their teams to think strategically about what their networks need to look like across the organization. These leaders then create intentional plans for people to interact to build these relationships.

Research on Stress & Resiliency: Is Stress and Tension the Same?

Why is it that two people can go through the same event and one person gets stressed and overwhelmed but the other person is fine? Events don’t equal stress. There is a difference between pressure and stress and we usually put them together like they’re the same thing.

Pressure is defined as an external demand in your environment. When people ruminate on the pressure, they convert the pressure into stress, which impacts their health and well-being. Leaders need to distinguish these two terms, and come up with strategies that prevent rumination to build resilience.

The Redefining Mindset: A Phase of Re-Exploration in Leadership

Many Leaders reach a level of success where they find themselves asking, “is this all there is?” These leaders have accomplished everything they thought was going to make them happy, but they still don’t feel fulfilled and begin to burn out.

This phase can mimic a mid-life crisis. Nick helps leaders see where they are on these developmental stages. By discovering what this phase is, leaders often feel relieved. They realize they’re not losing motivation, they’ve just moved to a new developmental stage as a leader and adult.

An In-Person 360˚ Assessment?

Nick recommends that leaders dedicate time to seek in-person 360˚ Feedback. Learn more inside the episode or read the full summary on our blog.

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EP 33 Solving Problems Through Design Thinking

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 19:00:00 GMT

On today’s episode we interview Hannah Berson, Founder and CEO of the Design Thinking Consultancy, SALT Collaboratory. Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to creative problem solving. Hannah introduces us to Design Thinking and to MURAL, an online tool that allows people from all over the world to collaborate in a creative, productive and engaging way.

Hannah shares an enlightening story of how a real company used Design Thinking in solving how to bring their employees back to work. We are certain you will enjoy discovering how Design Thinking is imperative in today’s world to effectively team from anywhere.

What is design thinking?

Design thinking is a disciplined approach leaders use when they are trying to creatively solve problems. The types of problems businesses face today are too complex, and today’s leadership teams need to come up with creative solutions.

“If I had an hour to solve the problem, I'd spend the first 55 minutes figuring out what the problem is, because I'd only need five minutes for the solution.” - Albert Einstein

3 Step Problem Solving Process with Design Thinking

#1 Understand the Problem from the Perspective of the People Who are Experiencing It

By spending more time on this important step, you can get a really clear definition of what the problem actually is versus what you originally thought it was.

#2 Propose Three Possible Solutions
By following a formatted process, team members are encouraged to develop three solutions.

#3 Humbly Test the Solution
Instead of rushing to provide a solution, the design thinking approach focuses on taking one solution and offering it as a prototype.

DESIGN THINKING TOOLS

Tool #1 Use of Expert Facilitators
Tool #2 Use of Mural or Similar Technology

Ways Companies Plan to Go Back to Work: A Design Thinking Example
One of the most recent complex problems that companies are currently faced with is creating a plan to return to work. Should they stay fully remote? Create a Hybrid Plan? Or start going back to the office full time now? In applying Design Thinking, the first thing companies should do now is listen to their staff. Companies can leverage surveys to understand what their staff wants from work in the future.

Design Thinking Exercises to Support Your Back to Work Plan
What’s On Your Radar?

One way to survey your staff is to use an exercise Hannah calls, “What’s on your radar?” Exercise. In this exercise, each person is given an unfilled outline of a radar that is divided into several labeled pie pieces, such as Career Development, Work Life Balance, Tools and Technology, Team Connections, etc. In breakout rooms, each person fills-in the pie pieces with elements they want in the future. For example, in the work/life balance area, one person might say that they want to eat dinner at home with their family every day. As the leader, you can drop into the breakout rooms to listen to what they are saying. After listening to these breakout rooms, you can create a consolidated radar that visually displays everyone’s cares and future hopes across the entire spectrum.

Buy-A-Feature

Another way that companies can discover feedback through design thinking is a tool called Buy-A-Feature. With this tool, you can create a storefront with three aisles, each titled as either Technology, Real Estate, and People. Each participant is given money that they can spend however they want in the store. For example, some people can spend their money on certain items such as a nice office in the Real Estate Aisle, or an outdoor gym at work, etc. During this exercise, people begin to understand cost vs. wants and can have an ideation session that best informs leadership on future implementation strategies.

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EP 32 How Successful Leaders Use Experience Design for Events and Meetings

Sun, 04 Apr 2021 07:00:00 GMT

What if you took the details of the most memorable experiences you’ve had and integrated that into work? How did that experience make you feel? What did you get through that experience? What is it that made you walk away and continue to share that experience with others?

Inside this episode, we interviewed Experience Strategist and former head of VIP events at Cirque du Soleil, Carolene Méli. Carolene has traveled the globe creating and delivering VIP experiences and now she’s here to help leaders understand more about Experience design and tips for creating unbelievable experiences.

On today’s podcast you will learn the four essential elements to create a successful and meaningful event, the one question to ask before planning any event, and the magic of a box of popcorn.

To Create Incredible Experiences Ask Four Questions

To become better at experience design, leaders must ask four questions when they are planning experiences.

Is it Personalized?
Does it Create Connection and a Sense of Belonging?
Is it Memorable?
Will I Share this Experience with Others?

Solve Problems With Low Effort, High ROI Gestures

In Cirque du Soleil, Carolene shared she was surprised by how many problems she could solve by offering a box of popcorn. It was how she quickly solved customer service problems by offering this small gesture. Offering a box of popcorn showed the customers that she cared about them and understood the issue, even if she couldn’t solve the problem. Often, the customers would come up and thank her for the box of popcorn after the show. Carolene explains that we tend to overthink solutions (internally and externally.) Offering a box of popcorn for her was incredibly cheap, but had a high impact for customer service solutions.

As a leader of your team, what low effort, high ROI gestures can you make to help solve problems that show that you understand the issue even if you can’t solve the problem? This goes back to personalization. How can I get something across very quickly to my team? Examples to consider are using more personalized videos. Don’t overlook personalization when it comes to small gestures; this extends connection even further.

What do you have to offer to your customers and employees to solve problems that are low effort, high ROI.

Event Planning Tips:

For leaders to become better at experience design, they should start planning events by leading through curiosity.

Don’t focus on creating the experience that you want to create; rather, focus on creating the experience your attendees will want to create.
The ideas in your strategy are going to come through your employees and teams.
Your teams are the ones who know your customers better than you. Rely on them for improvement ideas.

Create opportunities for conversations to happen naturally.

What can you put in place in the event for conversations to happen naturally?
When people walk into the event, how can you wow them with a conversation starter right away? Can you use food to open a conversation?
Virtual Events: What questions can you present to the group that will create exciting conversations?

How do you want them to feel at the end?

For a more detailed summary, visit our blog.

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EP. 31 Increase Connection and Communication by Avoiding These 8 Virtual Meeting Mistakes

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 16:00:00 GMT

In today's episode, we interview Gwen Stirling Wilkie, author of From Physical Place to Virtual Space. In this episode, she emphasizes that our team meetings will need to be more purposeful, build stronger connections and be open to new ways to collaborate and co-create. Inside this episode you’ll learn about eight common mistakes leaders make when leading virtual meetings:

1. Copying & Pasting the In-Person Meeting to a Virtual Setting

Full-day meetings are typical when everyone is in the office. In these meetings, leaders have time to introduce some context, have several presentations and then have a discussion around certain topics.

Virtual meetings need to be structured in a different way. Meet shorter and more frequently. In-office meetings often can run smoothly for 60 minutes. But virtual meetings should be shorter and more frequent.

2. Jumping Right Into Business
Leaders tend to want to knock tasks off a list, but miss the essential need for connection. One thing many people are missing in the virtual world is our sense of connection.

Leaders need to remember “connection before content”, and they have a responsibility to connect. Leaders make sure people feel listened to, valued, appreciated and a part of the team.

3. Unrealistic Expectations of Attention Spans
Our attention spans are much shorter in the virtual world. It’s much harder to concentrate for a long period of time and recent research from Stanford University acknowledges the impact of ‘Zoom fatigue’. We face many distractions at home; the dog barking, the lawnmower running outside, Amazon ringing on your door bell.

4. Not Using Pre-work Strategically
One way to leverage that time, is to create preparation work; work done by attendees before the virtual meeting itself. When leading and planning online meetings, leaders think about themselves as master event planners. Completing work before the virtual meeting allows space during the meeting to bring different stakeholders together to share their unique perspectives and generate breakthrough thinking.

5. Trying to make a Hybrid Meeting “Inclusive”

Whether you want to admit it or not, the truth is, we’ve all tried this. If you haven’t tried it, you’ve been in a meeting where someone else tried it. Attempting a meeting where half of the people are in person and several other people are somehow on Zoom is a recipe for disaster.

6. “Having” All the Answers
Leaders need to be in a mindset of being more like a talk show host when they are leading virtual meetings. The purpose of having the meeting isn’t so that you (the leader) can come up with all of the answers. The purpose of the meeting is to get everyone's contributions and perspectives so that the team can create the best answer. “Having” all the answers causes your team to depend on you to “have” all the answers, and they will then never come up with their own.

7. Using Technology Above the Participants Skill Levels
Leaders need to consider the technological skill level of the meeting participants. After identifying the skill level, leaders can choose technology that is appropriate for everyone.

8. Avoiding Conversations that Create Accountability

Working virtually has given us more of an excuse to avoid hard conversations. Whether you’re working virtually or in person, as a leader, it’s your responsibility to have conversations that create accountability, and to do so with the right approach, right spirit, and right intent.

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EP. 30 Secrets to How Remote Companies Build Organizational Culture from Anywhere

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Organizational culture is built deliberately and differently in top performing remote companies. In this episode, we interviewed Brett Putter, author, culture expert and CEO of CultureGene. Brett shares with us details into his research for his most recent book, Own Your Culture: How to Define, Embed and Manage your Company Culture. Brett researched 50 CEOs of startup and high-growth companies with top performing cultures.

These CEO’s are skilled in clearly defining their culture, mission, vision, and values, and actively recruit new employees for a fit with the values of the company. They are also able to explain how their leadership team has a framework for making decisions based on organizational culture. The leadership teams embed this framework into their processes.

In-Office Culture
Communication
In-office cultures depend more on synchronous communication (i.e. in-person meetings, phone calls). Synchronous communication requires presence and availability which is easier to achieve when the entire staff is in the office.

The dynamic of being in the same place allows the culture to develop by default. With in-office cultures, leaders could afford to be lazy in building the culture because of the osmosis that happens between people. In-office culture occurs naturally in break rooms, walking down hallways and during random points of contact. This feeling of connection and being in the loop is often a huge challenge in remote cultures.

Processes
In-office cultures also depend less on having written processes. According to Brett’s research in-office culture had between 20%-40% of their processes defined and written down. It’s easier to touch base with someone and ask questions about processes in the office.

Remote Culture
Communication
Successful remote cultures depend more on asynchronous communication, (i.e. company handbooks, forums, collaborative documentation, project management tools, video messages, etc). Remote companies design and build their company around asynchronous communication.
How to Maximize Asynchronous Communication - Overcome Zoom Fatigue

Processes
Remote companies depend more on written processes than their in-office counterparts. The most successful remote companies have a working document or company handbook for processes and use them regularly.

Virtual Meetings Ideas
When it comes to leading virtual meetings, the most successful companies have a working document for how to prepare for and run meetings that includes pre-work. This pre-work includes a structured agenda, deciding who should be in the meeting, and asking those in the meeting to complete tasks before the meeting as well. Many companies explain that meeting participants have to respond to this working document and do the pre-work or they should not show up to the meeting. The pre-work becomes an extremely important element to maximizing time spent on a Zoom call.

Cultural Values
The CEO’s that Brett researched were able to go into detail around how they structured initiatives around their cultural values. Most of the CEO’s also had implemented specific times when they re-evaluated their values. When one of those companies would lose a VP-level leader or higher, the companies were able to explain specifically how this person was or was not performing compared to the values of the company. Learn more

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EP. 29 7 Ways to Develop a Creative Team

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 12:00:00 GMT

According to Denise Jacobs, Author of Banish Your Inner Critic, one of the greatest ways to strengthen a hybrid or virtual team is to lower the fear of failure and encourage people to bring out their creativity. Everyone has their unique creative gifts and by supporting your team to unleash theirs. Denise's most powerful strategy to unleash creativity is to promote failure. In today's changing environment, perhaps building up a tolerance to try fail and try again is the best way for a team to achieve great results from anywhere

Many people believe that they are not creative. This belief is a myth that is holding them back from leveraging the creative power that they really have. In fact, creativity is a top desired skill in the workplace. Creativity is a skill that only humans have. It’s one of the main skills that set us apart as humans. But how do you develop it? First, uncover what you love doing and can’t stand doing. Then, increase your awareness of what you enjoy, and see where you are the most creative. Lastly, take that and start to capitalize upon it.

7 Ways to Build a Creative Team
1. Get in touch with your own creativity

If you don’t believe yourself to be a creative person, ask yourself, how are you creative? What part of your day do you identify yourself using your creativity? The first step in developing your own creativity starts with recognizing that you are creative.

2. Role Model Behaviors

The first thing you should do to spark creativity on your team is to role model behaviors.By role modeling the behaviors first, you give your team permission to take on behaviors they need to spark their own creativity.
3. Develop your curiosity & Pretend to Not Be The Expert

Denise explained the importance for you to pretend that you don’t know what you know. She calls this releasing the tyranny of the expert. Working through your entire day as “the expert” blocks you from receiving valuable input. If you want to be a more creative leader, pretend to not be the expert and see what you learn.
4. Fail

Failure is how we learn, and failure forces you to be creative. If you want to reframe failure, fail on purpose. Deliberately do something wrong or poorly. Denise has teams do an exercise where they write the worst poem that they can possibly write. Then they discover what they learned from it.
5. Seek Surprise

To seek out surprise, make a surprise journal. Answer the questions located in our blog. Seeking out surprises helps us become more creative.
6. Understand the mechanics of flow so you can be in it.

To develop your creativity, learn to lay the foundations and set the stage for flow. Look back to times where you’ve been in a creative flow state, and you've been in the zone, think about what was happening. What you didn't realize at the time, was that in that flow state, there’s an intersection of skill and challenge. When you are walking that fine line, you get into a flow state. The way you stay in that flow state is when your skills and the challenge are equal.
7. Leverage the Power of Play

Too many people take work too seriously, underestimating the value the role play has in effectiveness. When people play, they are more productive, and do things better.

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EP. 28 What Theme Parks are Teaching Leaders About Employee Experience, Events and StoryTelling

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 16:00:00 GMT

The future of work will resemble today's most coveted theme parks. You won't go to work every day, but you will be transported through an immersive employee experience. Leaders will immerse their teams in story. HR departments will be the designers of immersive employee experience. Companies will gather for events and meetings in a much more engaging way.

Barry Winkless' team spent the last nine months researching The Future of Work. Barry’s team at CPL's Future of Work Institute used this research to question, explore and design future work solutions. Along the way, they discovered some amazing insights to help us peek into the foreseeable future.

The Future of Work and the Theme Park Parallel

In the White Paper referenced above, a Theme Park analogy is used to visually describe findings. Inside this theme part, the researchers describe a 3W Model outlining key components of the future of work: Workplace, Workforce, and Work Task.

The theme was chosen because work will focus on engaging experiences, unique events, and attention to detail, much like DisneyLand. This will be true not only for your customers’ experience, but also for your employees’ experience.

The Future of Work Involves Three Main Elements

1. Knowing Why Meetings Are Being Held

Leaders and companies will be more intentional about when employees will gather for in-person or virtual events and meetings.COVID has accelerated this on the virtual level at a much faster pace than what had originally been predicted. Leaders of the future will create the right meetings for the right purpose.

2. Purposeful Design of Meetings & Events

Both virtual and in person events and meetings will live up to a new level of expectations with purposeful design. These designs will be held at a higher standard and created with deeper intentions than what we see today.

3. Using a StoryTelling Approach to Connect

Storytelling is the key to create emotional impact at the core business level to create change. It’s a gel; a connector; it’s a light; it illuminates a direction that hasn’t fully formed yet; it’s a motivator. If a leader needs to tell people about a strategy, they should immerse their team in a story about the strategy. The skill of storytelling is what leaders will use to enroll their employees as they move through their experience as an employee.

Leaders need to understand the structure of stories and know how to tell an interesting story. Leaders also need to role model good storytelling in order to create future story tellers. They need to tell stories that get across the essence of who they are in an authentic way.

Companies need to recognize that they are the product that’s being sold to employees, and they need to use the power of stories to connect with their employees.

To do that, leaders can take cues from the film industry. The film industry uses tools like LogLines and Show Bibles to share their stories. Companies that are going to succeed in the future will have a purpose plus a story.

LogLine

One line that quickly gets across the concept of a TV Series. Leaders need to know the LogLine of their business. Start with the LogLine, then do the show bible.

ShowBible

A tool TV executives use to pitch the idea behind the TV Series. Show Bibles describe a LogLine, character breakdowns, an overview of the first season, summaries of each episode, and future season summaries. Leaders should focus on the futur

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EP. 27 The Leadership Ceiling No Leader Wants to Face

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 08:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, we interview Lexy Thompson, author of the recently released book, The Power of a Graceful Leader. In the book, Lexy shares strategies to break through the ceiling that many leaders don’t want to face to reach higher levels of engagement and success. This ceiling involves deep, introspective work that demands a different mindset. Lexy lays out three common barriers that must be overcome to align who we are with how we lead.

In this episode, Lexy lays out three common barriers that must be overcome to align who we are with how we lead. She uncovers the secrets of gratitude practice, the alignment of values with future goals, and several applicable tips for moving into “graceful leadership.”

Components of Graceful Leadership

After decades of working with executives, Lexy has identified three barriers leaders face that feel like a leadership ceiling. These barriers are flow, integration and alignment. When leaders can make it through these three barriers, they can achieve a leadership style Lexy calls Graceful Leadership.

Four Reasons Why Leaders Aren’t Willing to Do the Work to Get to The Next Level

Many leaders reach a leadership ceiling and tend to stop where they are at for four common reasons.

Doing the Work is Inconvenient
Doing the Inner Work is Painful
Doing the Inner Work is …Work
Diving Deeper can be Risky

Four Leadership Tips for 2021

1. Start a Gratitude Practice

2. Use the skill of Curiosity to Discover the Real Truth

3. Be Gentle with Yourself & Be Willing to Look Within

4. Listen to Your Intuition Before You Act

About Lexy Thompson

Alexsys Thompson wrote the book The Power of a Graceful Leader, as a testament to her own leadership journey, as well as the journey of hundreds of other leaders. For Alexsys, the tipping point came when she established her gratitude practice and spent a decade refining it. Today, developing a gratitude practice is a key element of her work as a board-certified executive coach. Alexsys also serves as adjunct staff for The Center for Creative Leadership and is a member of the Forbes Coaching Council. She authored The Trybal Gratitude Journals, curated a collection of short stories called Gratitude 540, and is building a retreat center in Vermont that will be a “safe space for souls to show up.”

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EP. 26 To Solve Team Problems Mindful Leaders Do These Four Things

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Is there a connection between leadership and mindfulness? Is there a connection between profitability and mindfulness? What is the benefit of mindfulness on a remote team? And why is it crucial now more than ever? Today we interview Dr. Keren Tsuk to uncover the importance of Mindfulness Based Leadership.

We are in the midst of huge transformation and it’s transforming the way we live and work. Leaders want to be successful, creative, and innovative. To do this, leaders need to have a flexible mindset that rapidly adjusts to the changing needs of the environment. In order to do this, leaders need to practice Mindfulness Based Leadership.

Why is mindfulness important to organizations today?
Successful leaders need to be able to balance tensions. Leaders need to be able to hold tensions between opposite ends of spectrums. In business, leaders need to hold tensions in areas such as short term and long term business outlooks, speed and quality, and employees needs and organizations needs. As a result, leading mindfully allows leaders to hold space for these tensions and enable the right solutions to emerge.

What is Mindfulness Based Leadership?
What mindfulness is
(Classic Definition)
The ability to be present, here and now, intentionally, and in a non-judgemental way. (Mindfulness Definition of Jon Kabat-Znn)

Keren’s Definition:
The ability to be aware of the experience that we are going through in a non-judgemental way and not being managed by it. This could be a thought, and emotion that you're feeling, or a process you're going through.

Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of the experience that we are going through in a non-judgemental way and without being managed by it. So this could be a thought, an emotion that you're feeling, or a process you're going through.

Mindfulness Leadership Bridges Logic With Emotion
We are afraid to connect to and express emotions at work. In order to avoid our emotions at work, most of the day we work from our mind. However, other important leadership skills like creativity, passion and compassion come from our heart. Mindfulness Based Leadership enables leaders to be more complete. As a result leaders can handle tensions better and find more accurate solutions as they practice mindfulness.

Four Things Mindful Leaders do to Solve Team Problems

Make Sure Everyone is Fully Present before meetings (Including themselves)
- In opening meetings, mindful leaders ask, “On a scale of 1-10, how present is everybody right now?”
Create the Space for Tough Conversations & Address Emotions
- Leaders are especially mindful to create the space to solve problems and acknowledge emotions like anger.
Mindfully empathize with their teammates' situations.
- Mindful leaders are fully present to listen rather than offering a solution. They are compassionate and empathetic towards others.
Focus on Self-Management - Walk the Talk
- Mindful leaders have the ability to manage the thoughts and emotions in their internal world. These leaders vulnerably share the thoughts and feelings occurring inside of them.
- Leading through this place is leading by example. “We can't be for others more than what we are for ourselves.” To illustrate: you can't love anybody, more than you love yourself. So, if you’re judgmental toward yourself, you will be judgmental towards your employee.

Read the full summary here.

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EP. 25 Coach Your Multi-Generational Team to Reduce Loneliness and Increase Collaboration

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 08:00:00 GMT

In this episode of Team Anywhere, we interviewed Generational Expert and Author of Second Wave Millennials, Warren Wright. Warren uses his experience from his work at Gallup to help bridge the divisive gap between generations in the workplace.

Why Teamwork is Important in this Multi-Generational Work Environment

Inside Warren’s research, 75% of the respondents said generational differences get in the way of being productive in the workplace.

When respondents were asked, “When you describe how you see the world and how you view things, what is it about you that actually makes the person that you are?” They were given options like race, gender, where they’re from, and what generation they’re in. After reviewing the results, Warren was astonished to discover that generations actually came up first. So this means that people are defining themselves first by their generation.

Communication Styles Between Generations

BOOMERS & GEN X - Boomers and GenX’ers are learning new ways to communicate and keep up with their teams. They are often newer to systems such as Slack and Zoom and depend more on phone calls and emails.

MILLENNIALS & GENZ -Millennials and GenZ are leveraging new technologies to help improve their collaboration.

Workplace Values for Millennials
Collaborative
Millennials like to chat and be in constant communication with each other. With this value, we’ve seen a rise in tools that encourage rapid communication and feedback this generation values so greatly, reducing the amount of emails.
Purpose-Driven
Millennials want to know that what you're talking about at work is meaningful and real and authentic and makes a difference.
Authenticity
Millennials value authenticity because they want their inner life to be the same as their outer life. As a result, They value authenticity in the workplace and keenly look that the leaders in the company and the company itself stays authentic to who it or they really say they are.
Frequent, High Quality Feedback
Ensure that you are touching base with Millennials on a frequent basis, because their time frame is very different from your timeframe.
Current issues Millennials & GenZ are Facing

Isolation, Anxiety and Loneliness

One small company made entirely of Millennials, keeps their zoom on all day to defeat isolation and loneliness. Even if they're not talking with each other, they do this just to be together.

Dealing With Anxiety

The levels of Anxiety the two younger Generations are facing is off the charts. With this in mind, Leaders could help combat loneliness and ease some anxiety through creating solutions that bring people together in non-work related ways through events, contests, and games.
Leadership Tips for 2021
Coach Your Multi-Generational Team
Warren recommends being like the CEO of Microsoft, take off your “Boss” hat and put on your “Coach” hat. First set up Weekly 1-on-1 coaching sessions for 10 minutes with each person on your team. Next, inside those coaching sessions, ask your team What did you do last week? What do you have planned for this week? How can I help you?
Hire in Cohorts
For the purpose of creating connections to reduce a sense of loneliness, hire young people in batches and help them connect to each other and collaborate as a team.
Find Ways to Increase Connection and Collaboration
Whether this involves adding events, online collaboration tools or just creating valuable conversations, leaders need to find ways to increase connection and collaboration with their teams.
Ask Your Team What They Need
Younger generations are feeling isolated but if you really want to know what they want, and what they need, just ask them.

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EP. 24 How to Leverage Teamwork Skills: Curiosity and Creativity

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 23:00:00 GMT

There is a battle going on between humans and technology. How can we humans differentiate ourselves in a world of digital technology and machines, particularly artificial intelligence?

If you’re leading virtual calls, one of your main concerns is how well you are doing at keeping the attention of the people in this meeting. If we lose they’re attention, chances are that they are scrolling on social media. Greg’s framework identifies four super powers humans have to leverage in a way that keeps your team in their maximum zones of genius. With these teamwork skills leaders can (and should) leverage on their team. These skills are: consciousness, curiosity, creativity and collaboration. These four skills are not only a way to differentiate yourself from AI, but also from fellow robotic humans.

This pandemic has greatened a divide of two types of people. First, there are those who are purpose-driven, curious, leading to their creativity and collaboration. On the other hand, there are those who are just working for a paycheck, and not inspired to develop themselves. Those of the latter type, can be identified as robotic humans. These are the humans on your team that you want to engage, connect, harness and awaken using these strategies.

Curiosity in Teamwork

Curiosity is a teamwork skill that we all might have, but don't always tap into. At this point in the pandemic, we need to work on defeating the feeling of the mundane. We can defeat this groundhog day feeling by diving into our curiosity and consider how we can redesign our days to find the part that’s the most productive.

Leverage Curious Discussions Around Meaningful Work
What is the meaning of our work? Why do we do what we do? Who are we helping?

Weaponize Curiosity

Curiosity is not a fixed trait, think of it more like the mercury in a thermometer rather than having blue eyes. The level of curiosity in people goes up and down depending on who you’re with and what you’re doing. Curiosity is the gateway drug to creativity and if leaders leverage this they can use curiosity to get their team excited about their work. To weaponize curiosity on your team: Encourage Time for Personal Learning. Personal learning- Even in the most wide variety of interests and areas are crucial to creating innovative connections between things.

Creativity in Teamwork

When and how leaders should find time to be creative in their team and then bounce between creativity and execution is an important teamwork skill. Execution is what happens for this year’s profits, creativity is what happens for next year’s profits. It’s challenging to balance between these two.

Leverage Your Sense of Humor

If you can make someone laugh or even smile a little bit, it will release oxytocin in their brain. This helps you bond with them, lowers anxiety, helps them listen to you and take action on what you say. There’s a great correlation between having a laugh and being more creative and collaborative. It seems counterintuitive to focus on laughing more, particularly when many people are facing dark times, but Greg thinks we need to laugh more in dark times.

Creativity Isn’t Always Sunshine and Rainbows

Creativity isn’t always a happy scenario, there’s a yin and yang to it. Also, creativity is driven by a kind of relentless perfection, a restlessness, a passion that is not always very comfortable. As a leader, you need to understand this yin and yang of creative leadership and balance the mood of the team depending on where you are in the creative process.

Questions Leaders Should Ask themselves

How can I effectively make an impact through a screen?

If productivity is the same remotely or in person- what would that look like if it was the best of both worlds?

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EP. 23 How to Plan Engaging Virtual Meetings Part 2

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 08:00:00 GMT

You can actually create stronger levels of engagement in online meetings than you can in in-person meetings. How can you do that? Well, one of the biggest keys has to do with intentional design. The reason why you can create stronger levels of engagement comes down to your ability to break people into their own breakout rooms instantaneously, much faster than what would occur in person, and create space for a quieter more personal space for people to connect with each other (and introverts love that).

This week, we’re releasing part two of our 2-Part episode on Engaging Virtual Meetings. In this series, we speak with virtual meeting expert, John Chen to learn tips on how to plan engaging virtual meetings. Inside this second episode you’ll learn tips for designing your virtual meetings with tips on what to do before, during and after the meeting, how to get people to show up to meetings on time, and how to tell if they’re really engaged in the first place.

How to tell if you’re engaging people in their meeting?

Winning teams will talk all the time. Losing teams will stop talking and give up on each other.

How to get people to show up to Zoom Meetings on time

If you wait for everyone else to show up, the impression you’re giving the attendees is “I’ll always wait for you.” The next time your meeting time begins, jump right into business whether everyone is there or not. The people who are late will have to catch up and, most likely, they’ll only be late for a meeting once. If you stick with this approach, you show the one person who shows up on time is that you respect their time, especially your online time.

Virtual Meeting Ideas

Schedule one hour every two weeks just for fun and connection
Spend time during this meeting specifically to learn something about your team member that you may not know.

Have a Window for Discussion Before & After the Actual Meeting
Open up your meetings before they begin. Give time for your participants to connect with each other on different issues that won’t be conducted during the meeting. After meetings, allow people to have conversations with each other.

Meeting Introduction

● Play Music

● Have a fun/interesting Zoom Background

● Acknowledge every person who logs into the meeting.

Virtual Meeting Icebreakers

The best virtual meeting icebreakers accomplish two things, they create fun and clarify expectations.

Create Fun: Dedicate 3-5 minutes at the beginning of the virtual meeting to doing something fun.

Clarify Expectations: One virtual meeting icebreaker you can do is have everyone take turns sharing their name, role, location, and one thing they’re expecting from this meeting or one thing they’ve achieved from the last meeting. This is a great way to start the meeting and to get everyone to start by opening up and engaging.

Virtual PowerPoint Karaoke

One great example of a virtual meeting icebreaker is virtual PowerPoint Karaoke.

Instructions: Put People into teams, have them present a slide deck they’ve never seen before. (Take something that’s a skill that your team members need and make it fun.) Have one team present at the beginning of each meeting.

Have the presenters follow two rules for the presentation:

Rule #1: Focus on your transition (Perhaps the slides have things that definitely don’t connect).

Rule #2: Say Yes and to every response and question you get on the presentation.

Read Blog for More info.

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EP. 22 How to Plan Engaging Virtual Meetings Part 1

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 08:00:00 GMT

Remote teams around the globe have been under one giant cloud zoom fatigue since last March. Remote leaders must face the fact that it’s been almost a year since they’ve been leading virtual meetings, and to get real with really asking themselves if they are creating engaging virtual meetings.

This week, we’re releasing part one of our 2-Part episode on Engaging Virtual Meetings. In this series, we speak with virtual meeting expert, John Chen to learn tips on how to plan engaging virtual meetings. Inside this first episode, you’ll learn best practices for designing your virtual meetings and understand the role that Psychological Safety has inside your virtual meetings.

What is an engaging virtual meeting?
Before we reveal how to create an engaging virtual meeting, let’s define how to create a non- engaging virtual meeting. In boring meetings, the leader puts up slides and talks (in monotone) for an entire hour while the team takes a nap or scrolls on social media. To make sure no person is engaged at the meeting, just copy your in-person meeting into an online format and make sure that none of your participant's comment, talk, react, or ask questions. If you don’t want audience engagement, then send a video.

Engaging Virtual Meeting Best Practices

Connection Before Content
Creating engaging virtual meetings is about keeping and retaining an emotional and intellectual connection with each participant from the beginning to the end of the meeting. Connect with each participant before they dive into the content. Take time for virtual meeting ice breakers. Show the participants that you value the relationships everyone has with each other. Keep that level of personal connection throughout the meeting. In engaging virtual meetings, people connect, engage, and have fun.

Create a Safe & Interactive Virtual Meeting Environment
Establishing good psychological safety in virtual meetings is the most important thing leaders should focus on to engage their teams in virtual meetings. Psychological safety in a virtual meeting is when all participants feel safe in front of the group and contribute, interact and chat. One of the reasons you might not have very interactive online meetings is that you haven’t intentionally created a safe space for interaction, contribution, and engagement.

3 Steps to Create Virtual Psychological Safety
To establish virtual psychological safety, leaders need to go first, be inviting, and allow for awkward silence.

Let’s look at those in more detail:

Go First

Leaders need to go first and lead through vulnerability. One example of displaying this is to share when you’ve failed recently. This type of authenticity and vulnerability allows your team to feel more comfortable sharing about when they’ve failed recently and helps create a learning culture. Going first also helps bridge the gap between you and your team to create stronger connection and deeper trust required to accomplish big goals. So, don’t be afraid to go first and display a unique trait or characteristic that you’d like to encourage others on your team to display.

Be Inviting

To establish strong virtual psychological safety, recognize everyone’s presence when they login to the meetings. By simply acknowledging their presence and being inviting, you can help create a space that makes them more comfortable to share and engage freely and more comfortably without the fear of judgment.

Allow for Awkward Silence

Lastly, in order to establish strong virtual psychological safety, allow for awkward silence. Don’t call out on people when you ask questions, give them time to think about their answers, and allow them to answer when they want to answer.

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EP. 21 How To Maximize Productivity Remotely

Mon, 04 Jan 2021 08:00:00 GMT

How do teams maximize productivity while in a virtual environment? Actually, we have never been set up to be more productive.

Today we speak to Jeremy Redleaf, the founder of Caveday, a social community where people unite globally to get focus work done.

I went into "the cave" a couple of times over the last few weeks and got more done in three hours than I typically get done in a week.

Jeremy Redleaf is a storyteller, entrepreneur, and ginger. He is the head honcho at Brackets Creative, a co-founder of cave day, and the founder of Odd Job Nation. He makes films experiences and companies in service of making people feel more alive.

One day Jeremy was struggling with a writing project. He found that he was never writing long enough. He blurted out that he needed a “cave day.” He made up some rules and went off the grid for a whole day by himself. With two collaborators, Jake Kahana and Molly Sonsteng, they created the social format, Caveday.

Caveday is the world’s most focused community where entrepreneurs, artists, creators, business owners, teams, and employees commit to focusing on their projects for one, two, or three hours at a time.

To get people to focus together requires particularly aggressive facilitation. It requires a group dynamic, where someone’s empowered to say, we’re going to do this thing now! Jeremy suggests that team members facilitate their own caves by designating someone as the facilitator and doing the following:

(1) Set an amount of time for everyone to focus on singular work

(2) Share with the team what you will work on

(3) Check-in at the end to hold people accountable

On Caveday, teams have achieved great success together, individuals have written Oscar-winning screenplays, books, poetry, and made incredible progress on their projects.

Incredible freedom to do what is really important in your life comes from the discipline of setting aside a few hours to do deep work.

Why is it so hard to focus?

“Our brains are wired to avoid existential challenges. So, if I'm writing the next great novel, when I don't know the answer, my brain goes, Danger, danger, escape, escape! By creating the Caveday environment, we're all in this together. We prompt people to share some of the vulnerability what's going, what's going on for them, as they do their work, we're allowing people to co-regulate and stay out of that danger zone, stay out of that hypo arousal or hyperarousal, those states that get us out of our ability to function and tackle the work we need to do.”

The ability to have the corner office, to have a place to truly focus, has been reserved for top management. Now that we are remote, we have given the gift of focus to many layers down in the organization.

Keys to working in a remote environment are:

1. Share when you are on and off the grid

2. Share how you work

3. Share what your life is like

4. Share when you do your best work

5. Share how you expect people to escalate an emergency

Visit blog for Additional Quick Tips.

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EP. 20 How to Make Empathy Your Business

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT

Wayne Tarken and Stephen Hart are agile practitioners, seasoned educators and experts on building agile HR organizations to transform workplaces. They focus on the application of Agile as a means to manage complex problems that HR leaders face and gain traction in their implementation.

The following are their recommendations for succeeding as a leader in today’s world facing a pandemic.

Use Agile as a way to enhance your team’s performance:

PwC found that projects that use agile practices are 30% more successful.

With everyone remote, break down meetings into parts:

Each meeting should be based on 15 minute sessions.

Ask 3 questions to quickly identify and remove roadblocks.

What did you say you would do yesterday?
What didn’t you do today?
What got in your way?

Make Empathy your Big Business: (post #2)

Caring deeply for your employees is part and parcel of managing.

Start your meeting with asking “How are people feeling right now?”

Ask, “How are you coping?” “How are things at home?” “How are you able to balance your responsibilities?” “Do you have the tools that you need to succeed?”

Then get down to “business.”

Create a sense of belonging:

Bring back normalcy and connection.

Show how important people are and honor their contributions.

Order pizzas and send them to everyone’s home and have a business lunch!

Be transparent:

A CEO is not supposed to have all the answers, especially in a crisis. Share with your people that you don’t know everything. This transparency builds trust.

Be compassionate:

In a time of turmoil, your goal is to create a company where people are compassionate with themselves and with each other. The more you are compassionate with your people, the more they are compassionate with you.

Be flexible around schedules. Allow people a degree of freedom in when and how they get their work done.

Shorten your time frame:

Plan out the next 3 months, not the next 3 years.

Break objectives into bite size pieces.

Then review and plan again every three months.

About Steve Hart

Steve Hart is an executive coach with The Professional Development Group, LLC, coaching inspiring leaders, developing high-performing teams and creating great places to work. . Hart earned a MS in organizational dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of the University of Durham in England, LaSalle University and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. Learn more about him here.

About Wayne Tarken, SPHR, CSM

With more than 20 years of experience working with business executives, Wayne Tarken is well versed professionally and personally to help others in the implementation of agile and strategic leadership practices that improve the performance of business strategies and operations A co-author of the book, “Black Holes and White Spaces: Reimagining the Future of Work and HR,” he has developed leading-edge thinking about the emerging roles and capabilities of leaders. Tarken graduated from Temple University with an MBA in management and a BA in economics. Learn more about him here.

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EP. 19 How to use Vulnerability for Business Growth

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT

Be More Transparent

Share transparent financial information
- If your business is hurting for money and you’re considering a new contract that’s not your ideal client, get your team’s input on it. Do they want to work with a not-so-perfect client? Or would they want to lose their hours? What’s the Trade off?
- Be transparent when a client cuts part of a contract, with the cost of a new contract and most importantly the expenses that go with that contract and allow your team to budget their own projects.
Be Transparent in Daily Stand Up Meetings
- Share what you as the leader- or CEO- plan on doing that day, ask what others are planning on doing,
- Share big wins
- Require video on calls to increase connection to each other.

Leverage The Power of Story

Your Team’s individual stories are important to building relationships with your clients. Also, your company's stories are important to building relationships with your clients. You can leverage the connection between you and your clients by using stories.

Early in the pandemic, Trevor had his team film their own film crew showing how they were working safely. This made a huge difference for his clients to choose to continue to work with them, it gave them visible information that created the trust needed for them to continue to work with them. Some people are still fearful of leaving their houses right now, whether they are living with someone who is high risk, or they are high risk themselves. It’s important for you as the leader and for your team, to share with your customers how you are operating in a way that limits the chance of exposure.

To do this, create two videos:

VIDEO #1 COVID Safety Video

How your company works safely now with precautions in place.The benefit of this video is that it expresses to your client the importance of safety. It shows that safety is your number one priority and visibly shows how you can still operate your service with proper measures in place.

VIDEO #2 Employee Story Video

A short story video for you and each of your team members to use on your email signature. Share two or three facts about yourself that you would like your customers to know about you.
The benefits of this video are
- It helps your clients learn about you on a personal level. When they’re getting to know you on a personal level, they become more understanding when mistakes occur because they see you as a human rather than just your position. They see you beyond being a vendor or your position in the company.
- It sets you apart from your competition because now you stand out in a crowd of other companies that don’t share about the stories behind their employees. When considering you as a client, you will be the one they remember and choose.

Make Your Client Your Friend

Keep a Monthly Communication Plan with Your Clients-And Past Clients

Use these phone calls for specifically getting to know them.

Your clients should be your friends. Friendship is a valuable element in keeping current clients, re-connecting with past clients, and getting new clients.

Critically Consider Your Client Base

Listen really well in the first phone call with your new potential client.
Ask Your Team what kind of clients they want to work with and if they have fun working with the clients. In Trevor’s story with his wedding clients, it felt like they were growing, when the impact was that his team wasn’t happy filming the wedding videos.

Links:

https://www.corporatefilming.com/

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EP. 18 How to Lead a Hybrid Team

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT

There are unique challenges leaders face as they lead a hybrid team. Leaders today need to be more authentic, more empathetic, and much more real. Now is the time to demonstrate the authenticity that our team members have always wanted at work, and remember that bringing your authentic self to work is good for business.

Have you seen the same resilience in the workforce in reaction to COVID that you’ve seen in children as they adapt?

The workforce has shown tremendous resilience. The managers who are regularly checking in, offering support and encouragement to their staff, seeing how they’re coping are doing well in building resilience on their teams. These leaders are embracing this new normal, which is anything but normal, and understand that things are going to be different.

The leaders who are struggling now seem to be the ones who struggled before the pandemic. They are the ones who didn’t have relationships with their employees, hadn’t built trust and misperceived their team members as robots.

Lead A Hybrid Team By

Focusing on Inclusion -

Make sure everyone is on the same playing field. Not everyone is ready to go back to the office right now. Even though you have some people in the office, and even though we all recognize the value of face-to-face communication, we still need to be having Zoom meetings so that one person isn’t left behind. We’re all on the same playing field when we do this. You need to make sure everyone is on the same playing field.

Discover Your Unconscious Biases

Remote employees will exacerbate your own baggage and biases about particular employees. Who you think is your star player you could tend to give them the benefit of the doubt more often than your average player. You need to make sure that you are constantly asking yourself, are there people on your team that you have not given a fair share to? And what would that look like if you did? Ensure that you are not just reinforcing your own biases and predispositions about particular employees. These biases are now diving into who’s remote and who is staying home? You must be aware around all places.

Offering Support

It’s kind of like parenting, each child needs something different, and it's an ebb and flow. There are some children that are just going to be needier no matter what. As the leader, it’s about you being fair and giving the benefit of the doubt to some employees versus other employees. Leaders need to remember the social issues, particularly minorities and let them know that you are there for them and that you get it.

To offer support to your team right now:

Check-in Regularly

Leaders should be seeing changes in people and being in tune with them. Make sure they know that you’re thinking about them and that you get it. Leaders need to look for signs of burnout. Are you noticing employees who are acting differently? Are you giving them time to talk about their personal life? Are they now quick to anger when before they were calm and composed? Are they now quiet when they use to be very outgoing?

Be More Authentic

Bringing your authentic self to work is good business. Know your employees as humans not as robots. Younger leaders are really thriving because they’ve been able to bring in this authenticity that they’ve always wanted to bring into work. We spend a lot of time at work, and to have to feel like you need to be someone else is hard, it gets old and it's uncomfortable. If you’re not authentic, you're not able to do your best work.

Now this begs the question, who are you? Who is your whole self? It’s requiring reflection from many leaders and workers and some are struggling with it more than others. We have to redefine ourselves.

Find Rebecca on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-m-knight-3667a94/

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EP. 17 How to find Opportunities for Growth in This Pandemic

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT

What can I do as a leader to create a social bond with my team while working remotely?

Proximity (real or perceived) is one of the most important determinants of relationships. Creating those bonds across remote distances includes getting people together to work on tasks together, and this is typically more impactful than classic ‘team building’ or socializing.

Whether remote or in person, leaders can help provide that sense of purpose to create those bonds. What’s the big picture? How does my work connect and matter? In what ways do I contribute to others–to the community?

What do you think this pandemic has done in terms of innovation?

The most important innovations don’t come along when you’re doing things like you always did them. The most important innovations come from the greatest barriers, when you just can’t do things the same thing the same way anymore. you’re forced to think really differently. That’s where the pandemic has sparked innovation.

How can we be raising the energy of our team working remotely?

Spend time talking and connecting before diving into the task elements of meetings. Celebrate the differences between team members. Hold your team members accountable, and make sure they know their work matters to the organization. team. Provide recognition.

How is trust different when working remotely?

When we have online meetings, we can’t see nonverbals as well. As leaders, we must focus on the fact that we need to be as easy to read as possible. People don’t trust what they don’t understand. An element that builds trust is a great sense of openness. People don’t trust what they don’t understand. And so when we see each other a lot, we tend to build familiarity and familiarity breeds acceptance.

What are the opportunities we have with remote teams?

Teams are bonding in new ways. We have new levels of intimacy (professionally of course) based on seeing parts of our colleagues’ lives that we wouldn’t see in a typical work setting. We have the opportunity to bring these new bonds forward, having survived these hard times together.

Going into 2021 What Conversations Should Leaders Be Having?

How might we use this pandemic as a positive trigger? How might we accelerate our progress? Where do we go from here? What are the things that we wanted to do anyway–but can now pursue even more enthusiastically?

About Tracy Brower

Dr. Tracy Brower is a PhD sociologist and a principal with Steelcase’s Applied Research + Consulting group. Tracy studies the sociology of work and the changing nature of work, workers and workplace. She is the author of a new book, The Secrets to Happiness at Work, and also her previous book Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work: A Guide for Leaders and Organizations . In addition, she is a contributor to Forbes.com and Fast Company. Tracy is an award-winning speaker and has over 25 years of experience working with global clients to achieve business results.

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EP. 16 Creating Strategy with a Remote Team

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT

Today we speak to Tara Rethore, CEO and Strategic Advisor at Strategy for Real on how to create a remote team strategy. First, she explains how to utilize the mindset of taking a company on an adventure in a strategy retreat. Then, she describes the keys to preparing for and leading a successful remote strategy offsite and a secret high tech tool that she uses to keep her teams engaged.

As a result, her mantra, which I think we all need to adopt, is to Be Open to Ambiguity…something we all need in these times.

Because of the changes in work we’ve experienced this year, the strategic planning process is different on a remote team. In-person Strategic thinking benefits from the energy in face-to-face interactions. In fact, leaders have to avoid the mistake of copying and pasting the strategic planning process that they do in person and think it’s going to be successful online. Given that, in-person strategic planning won’t achieve the same results on a Zoom call. For one reason, it’s because it’s harder to read the room on a video call. Another reason is that video calls are extremely exhausting compared to in-person meetings where the strategic planning process balances the exhaustion with building energy.

Strategic Planning Process:

Leaders have to look at how to plan with a strategic planning mindset and consider the balance of what needs to happen in person, what can happen online, and when to have breakout rooms and personal work. The strategic planning process is really an art now with so many dynamics to consider. Tera says it’s especially important to look at the whole, plot it back, and get the right people in the room.

Strategic Planning is An Adventure

First, you must think of planning for your strategic plans as a production.
Second, how do you engage the members?
Next, what are the different steps along the way?
Finally, make sure you have a backup plan, in case you are confronted by a wild beast. Be flexible and able to pivot, switch or move, consider calling it early, or regrouping when needed.

Effective Strategic Planning Works through the Five W’s

WHY- Identify the End Result

In order to plan the most effective strategic planning session, start with why. Why are you having this retreat? What does a successful retreat look like? What are you trying to achieve? What do you need to resolve to be successful? Who or What might get in the way? What would it take for them to say yes to this? What would it take for this day to be successful?

Who

Who are the key players in this process? What is their most important part?

What

When creating a remote team strategy, leaders must ask, "what is the outcome we are trying to achieve?"

What can you be doing to save the conversation in advance? Don’t focus on sharing information but on processing that information and defining clear outcomes.
During the strategy retreat, what tools will you be using?
- Flip charts during in-person meetings - encouraging people to write their own notes- on paper, and share them on the screen, take pictures of what they’ve written, get a picture of what’s going on in the room

When

Keep it simple: 2-Day Intensive Retreats need to be broken down and simultaneously energizing.

Continued here.

Strategy for Real

Linked In

Lizard Brain Solutions, Brian Tarallo

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EP. 15 How to Support Workplace Wellness on a Remote Team

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT

With over 15 years’ experience in Human Resource Management and the Wellness Industry Elysia has combined her expertise to partner with businesses to help develop strategies to attract, engage and retain employees. Working within multiple sectors Elysia helps promote a healthy workforce that supports business needs and enhances productivity and engagement.

Workplace Wellness Defined
Workplace wellness can mean different things to different people. To Elysia, workplace wellness means both the employee and the employer collaborate to use a continual improvement process to protect and promote the health, safety and well-being of the employees.

Workplace wellness goes beyond the context of our physical and mental wellness, it spans across eight dimensions that Elysia focuses on with organizations. Wellness today requires taking a strategic approach that goes beyond educating employees.

Dimensions of Wellness

Spiritual Wellness - Shared Purpose. Shared Commitment to something greater than yourself.
Intellectual Wellness - Shared Knowing. Employees know what is expected and know how to manage their workload. This requires consistent and repetitive communication – what is happening & how to handle what is happening.
Occupational Wellness - Shared Sense of Job Security. Employees know that everything will be fine. Employees agree on expectations and know they can deliver in spite of everything else going on around them.
Environmental Wellness - Shared ability to work from anywhere. Managers are cognizant of everyone’s individual circumstances – and can support each employee in his/her individual workspace need.
Social Wellness - Shared Interactions. Maintaining connections. Social events, social “gatherings.”
Financial Wellness - Shared Financial Abilities. Addressing financial stress. Financial support for those struggling.
Physical Wellness- Shared physical health. Making sure employees are taking care of their bodies through healthy food and exercise, taking breaks, sleeping properly.
Emotional Wellness - Shared Emotional Well-Being. Supporting mental and emotional states of anxiety, worry, stress through strengthening resilience.

How to Build an Effective Wellness Program

Program is Created by Employees
Program is Part of the Culture
Program Is Continual

Tips for Increasing Employee Wellness

Setting Boundaries
Journaling
Providing Caregiver’s Leave
Counseling

CPL Company
Elysia on LinkedIn

Workplace Wellness Resources
Workplace Wellness: Time to get Strategic
Reimagining Wellness in a Post-COVID World

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EP. 14 How to use Vulnerability to Connect with Your Team

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT

Mike Robbins is the author of five books, including his brand new title, WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER: Creating a Team Culture of High Performance, Trust, and Belonging. For the past 20 years, he’s been a sought-after speaker and consultant who delivers keynotes and seminars for some of the top organizations in the world.

His clients include Google, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Genentech, eBay, Harvard University, Gap, LinkedIn, the Oakland A’s, and many others.

He and his work have been featured in the New York Times and the Harvard Business Review, as well as on NPR and ABC News. He’s a regular contributor to Forbes, hosts his own podcast (called We’re All in This Together), and his books have been translated into 15 different languages.

How did the book, “We’re All in This Together” come to fruition?

Within weeks of releasing his recent book, Bring Your Whole Self to Work, Mike got an urgent feeling to write a new book. Despite the feedback encouraging him to not write a book (due to the time-commitment), Mike pushed to write his new book. Within three weeks of his book release, he began writing We’re all in this together, which was released just before the pandemic hit.

THE MESSAGE FOR LEADERS
With his book released this year, Mike’s message to leaders anywhere is that when you are getting a message, a gut feeling, an intuition, you should listen to it. It’s telling you something for a reason and we don’t always listen to it like we should.

Embracing Authenticity

As an audible learner and extrovert, the podcast process has helped Mike manage his own mental and emotional being. He’s noticed the more personal he gets, the more universally he connects with people. Because of this, he doesn’t shy away from asking the questions on his mind that seem vulnerable at first.

THE MESSAGE FOR LEADERS:

THE MORE PERSONAL, THE MORE UNIVERSAL. Leaders need to embrace the fear of sharing what’s really on their mind, because it’s likely on someone else’s mind..

Leadership Changes Since the Pandemic:

There’s this paradox leaders are experiencing through the pandemic which is that physically, we are more disconnected with each other than we’ve ever been. Yet, at the same time, we’re seeing inside each other’s lives on our video calls. We’re seeing parts of each other's lives that we typically don’t see in the office. (The inside of people’s, houses, their pets, their kids). There’s a level of vulnerability these video calls are actually creating which is allowing for leaders to connect with their team.

Mike mentioned, “what if we went through this pandemic in the 70’s?” It’s really extraordinary the things we can do and the way we can do them right now. One perspective change in having video calls is that we can be thankful first that we have jobs where we can be at home and continue to work, and second that we have this amazing technology that is allowing us to do that as we make it through this pandemic.

Loneliness

Mike says he’s not someone who “presents” as a lonely person. So when he would experience it, he would deny that emotion. Happy, positive people feel lonely. If we deny or mute one emotion, we mute all of our emotions. “You can’t just turn off one emotion.” During this pandemic, he’s been focusing on allowing himself to feel vulnerable. Feelings are meant to be felt, whether we like them or not.

https://mike-robbins.com/together/

https://mike-robbins.com/virtual-digital-programs/

https://mike-robbins.com/

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EP. 13 How to Master Conflict From Anywhere

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT

Today on Team Anywhere, we interview Dr. Liane Davey, to learn how to master
conflict remotely.

Known as the Water Cooler Psychologist, Liane is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and frequently called on by media outlets for her experience on leadership, team effectiveness, and productivity.

As a conflict-avoider herself, (well she is Canadian,) she has dedicated her life to helping individuals and teams master conflict.

Liane is a New York Times Bestselling author of three books, including The Good Fight: Use Productive Conflict to Get Your Team and Your Organization Back on Track.

Liane shares a family camping story which provided her with a team building solution that we can all use to master conflict remotely.

The tarp exercise to master team conflict:

(1) Have each team member ask, “what the unique value of your role?”
(2) What stakeholders does your role represent?
(3) What is your obligation to disagree?

By sharing each person’s point of view you move from, ”Oh, I thought you were just a jerk,” to appreciating what is behind the position for which each person is advocating. You also get to a great point where people on the team expect and ask for each person’s point of view.

One of the keys to productive conflict in 2020, is to not let anything fester. Don’t
wait until we are all back together in a room in 2021. If you do, your conversations will be through the lens of how you feel you have been “wronged.”

You then begin to build up “Conflict Debt.” Letting things fester is going to add to
your stress, or as Nelson Mandela said, “Resentment is like swallowing poison and
expecting the other person to die.”

The best way to enter into conflict remotely is to:

(1) CREATE NO SURPRISES - Shoot a quick note to the other person to let them know you want to have a conversation about something on your mind.

Give them time to prepare for the conversation. “I’m uncomfortable with how we left the conversation last week, I’d love a chance to talk face-to- face virtually.”

(2) GET THEIR TRUTH FIRST – Ask your colleague, what is their impression of the discrepancy at hand. “So, how did you feel about that conversation?”

(3) ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR TRUTH – You earn your right to speak your truth ONLY after they have spoken theirs. “This is what I heard you say. I’m really glad that you shared that with me.”

(4) SHARE YOUR TRUTH – Share your observation of the conversation. “I was thinking differently about what happened.”

(5) ASK FOR A PATH FORWARD – Be curious, and look for a common way forward. “Okay, where do we go from here?”

One of the advantages we have with distance is that when something happens that are confused about, we can use that distance to be curious. “You know, we are/were not in the same room, I don’t think I fully understand, let’s kind of figure this out.

One of the reasons why we might be having more conflict these days is that meetings have become joyless.

It is time to put joy back in!!!
Why not bring a live elephant into your meeting?
Why not spend the first 5 minutes just catching up?

The greatest way to deflate conflict is to keep spending quality time being human with each other.

For resources to learn more about Dr. Liane Davey:

Liane Davey’s Website
The Good Fight: Use Productive Conflict to Get Your Team and Your Organization
Back on Track
How to Manage Conflict in Virtual Team YouTube Video

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EP. 12 How to Partner with our Employees, with Gary Magenta

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 07:00:00 GMT

Today we learn how to partner with our employees with Gary Magenta, four-time author, customer experience guru, and Senior Vice President at Root, Inc. Gary is a highly sought-after media resource and keynoter speaker for client events, industry conferences, and business strategy and human resources seminars.

Gary shares how allowing greater flexibility, being transparent, and giving more trust to our employees is contributing to higher engagement scores.

Overall, leaders over the last 8 months have demonstrated more empathy, more curiosity and more humanity by getting face-to-face with their employees.

Gary offers four questions that move management from “yell-and-tell” to being a partner who walks alongside his or her direct reports.

Finally, Gary offers his hope that we will all use this time to treat each other with more humanity for generations to come.

Getting Face-to-Face With our Employees

We must partner with our employees by being transparent from the words we say to the actions we take.

Leaders have to tell people the truth and trust that they can handle the negative and the unknown, even though the truth may cause tension and anxiety.

Leaders must display humanity and empathy by asking what is going on in their lives.

Manager as a Coach

To transform your leadership to become more of a coach, focus on sharing where your business is going to day and tomorrow.

To tackle uncertainty together, we must partner with our employees in that.

Don’t let your employees go "naked and afraid" on their own.

Listen to your direct reports by asking questions, learning about their passions, their contributions, their point of view

Leaders must ask their direct reports:

“What’s most important for you to talk about today?”

“What else?”

Leaders must be able share the answers to these four questions with their employees:

What are the skills and capabilities that I’ll need moving forward?

Do you believe that I can get there?

What do you expect from me?

What can I expect from you?

Links

Root, Inc.

Books:

Blowing Up the Box, Disrupting the Customer Experience

The Un-Bossy Boss, 12 Questions to make you a Better Manager

720 Haircuts, Creating Customer Loyalty that Lasts a Lifetime

Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 11 How to ask Questions to get to the Best Solutions, with Stephen Shapiro

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:00:00 GMT

On today’s podcast we interview Stephen Shapiro, hall of fame speaker, innovator, instigator, author, and advisor at 24/7 Innovation. I was really excited to have Stephen use his latest book, Invisible Solutions, 25 Lenses that reframe and help solve difficult business problems, to help us come to better solutions for today’s dispersed workforce.

The pandemic has caused fear, uncertainty, and isolation, and Stephen shares that the only way to find solutions in this unprecedented time is to learn how to ask the right questions.

No more closed questions, ask HOW questions:

People are asking the question, “when do we go back?” The problem with this question, is that it is closed, and can only provide a limited answer. The other problem with this question is it is too wide open. “Going back to what?” Are we going back to how life was? Are we going back to traveling?

Stephen reframed the question to ask “how” questions and to narrow the area of the question. Better questions are, “How can we go back to collaborating face-to-face?” “How can we go back to our culture?” “How can we go back to the same level of productivity?”

Ask Reflective Questions:

Better questions would be reflective questions, “What are we learning?” “What have we improved?” “What should we eliminate?”

Much has changed, yet we still want to have the best results. One of the great questions to use during this pandemic to create greater effectiveness is to use the Results lens, “What’s the purpose of this meeting?” “What’s the desired outcome?”

What do you want to achieve?

Many people are asking how to maintain their cultures. Perhaps a good question would be, “What do you want to achieve with the culture?” In many cases, the culture was a place where people received help, got their questions answered, felt cared for. By understanding what you want to achieve, you can come up with activities that are not necessarily an onslaught of meetings.

The Leverage Lens:

Another way to strengthen the culture is to use the leverage lens, and ask “If we could only focus on one aspect of our culture, what would it be?

Change one word:

Instead of asking, “How do we keep people connected?” ask “Why do we want to keep people connected.

Scenario-based vs. one size fits all:

Steve proposes that we look at going back to the office in a “scenario-based” lens. Let’s look at figuring out which scenarios determine whether we need to be together, and let’s optimize for each scenario.

Performance Paradox:

For those of us who are feeling loneliness and isolation, let’s not focus on not being lonely, but instead focus on how we can be of service to others. When we focus on the goal only (being not lonely) we lose the opportunity to focus on other outcomes.

Elimination Lens:

Another way to help those that are feeling lonely, is to ask what else do we want if we were to eliminate loneliness. In that case, we might choose joy and happiness to replace loneliness.

Reframing Overwork:

Instead of asking, “how can we prevent people from overworking?” we can instead ask, “What work gets people energized?” “How can we get people more focused on what energizes them?”

Links to Stephen Shapiro:

Personality Poker

Stephen’s Website

Invisible Solutions

Best Practices are Stupid

24/7 Innovation

Audio Cre

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EP. 10 How to Engage Remote Employees, with Anne Maltese

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 17:00:00 GMT

On today’s podcast, we interview Anne Maltese, Director of People Insights, at Quantum Workplace. Quantum Workplace provides the data and insights to The Best Places to Work, the contest that honors superior organizations where voices are heard, cultures are thriving, and employees are engaged.

In a recent study of workplace engagement, Quantum Workplace studied 1.2 million employees and contrasted engagement scores from March-May 2019 with engagement scores from March-May 2020.

This is what they found:

· Engagement Scores SPIKED from 2019 to 2020.

· Employees enjoyed the dramatic growth in effective communication.

· Employees enjoyed managers who are demonstrating care for their well-being.

· Employees like working from home.

· Employees enjoy greater levels of clarity.

One of the takeaways is that distance has provided the following:

· Greater necessity for transparency from leaders.

· Greater necessity for visibility by all co-workers into what you are working on, and how you are doing.

· Greater necessity to feel trusted by managers and the company.

To learn more about Anne Maltese and Quantum Workplace, please go to:

Quantum Workplace

Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 9 How to Unlock Potential with Phil Lewis, Founder Corporate Punk, UK

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 07:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode of Team Anywhere we interview Phil Lewis, Founder Corporate Punk

How do you Unlock Potential in today’s remote environment?

COMMUNICATE AND CONNECT:

(1) Communication

You must proactively consider how you will communicate in the new remote world. Be mind-numbingly repetitious. Overcommunicate. It is hard for people to absorb everything on the first go round, especially when they are dispersed.

(2) Companionship

Your job is to build connections that your employees have with each other. Build a sense of connection between you and your people, and between your people with each other.

(3) Conflict

Dissent and conflict are absolutely integral to one’s ability to deliver quality creative work. It is important that you have conversations to address how you feel about conflict, and how you will undertake conflict. The great thing about conflict is to realize that conflict “could get you somewhere together that you couldn’t get individually.” “If you’re not disagreeing with each other, we’ve got a massive problem.”

(4) Connection

It is important that you plan how you will construct meetings from our remote locations. Almost as important, is how you plan times for people to work by themselves to think at a deeper level, so that as Cal Newport writes in his book, Deep Work, that you stay focused in a distracted world.

EXPLORE HOW YOU LIVE YOUR VALUES:

Three ways to determine what your values are:

(1) Why have you fired the last six people in your organization?

Take a look at the last six people your fired. You could NOT tolerate their actions or inactions. Those are your true values.

(2) What are the opposite of the things that we value?

Great exploration here. The opposite of “excellence” is not lousy work, it is being “good enough.” Ouch, that hurts!

(3) Where have we invested in the past?

Your money is where your values are. If you continue to talk about building culture, but you invest no time or money into it…then building culture is NOT part of your values.

I am sure you will enjoy Phil's energy, ideas, and insight on this episode of Team Anywhere.

Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 8 How to Honor People’s Emotions with Brian Fox, Nimble Learning Strategies

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 07:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode of Team Anywhere we interview Brian Fox, Founder and CEO of Nimble Learning Strategies.

Brian uses many of the principles of Improv to connect deeply with the emotions of teammates, since attention, connection, and acceptance are crucial especially right now.

One of the most important rules of Improv is to Accept whatever is happening, whatever it is. In today’s challenging environment, the greatest thing a leader or team member can do is to accept and connect to what is going on with everyone else on the other side of the screen and to demonstrate empathy.

The Six Rules of applying Improv to Empathy:

(1) Listen with your whole self – listen to the person behind that little screen with your ears, your eyes, your gut, and your heart.

(2) Embrace the Silence – you give the other person permission to truly hear themselves

(3) Accept – Accept what is presented to you, accept the other person’s truth, accept how they see things

(4) Acknowledge their thoughts and feelings – let them know you heard them

(5) Appreciate something positive about the person – a value, that they trust you, and always avoid judgment

(6) Avoid giving Advice – Instead support the person in understanding his/her own situation

Another major concept of Improv is to “Make Your Partner Look Good.” Today’s Leaders, given technology and separation, must rethink of themselves as Talk Show Hosts! Great Hosts are purposeful, interested, entertaining, flexible, and create a great mood of candor and fun.

Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 7 How to Demonstrate Empathy, with Cindy Zhou, LogRhythm

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 19:00:00 GMT

Cindy Zhou, Chief Marketing Officer at LogRhythm, is based in Boulder, Colorado, and leads a team around the globe. Cindy led teams as an executive at IBM and has worked with startups. Cindy talks about utilizing the principles of Agile by having a daily standup and doing a lot of skip-level one-on-ones. Through Cindy's interview, you'll find how to be a more connected, trusting, and vulnerable leader as you lead your “team from anywhere."

Great Quotes from this episode:

“Our company is no company without our people in it.”

“Just taking a moment to ask people how they are doing is more important than ever” -

Take-Aways

Empathy

With an empathy-first leadership philosophy, leaders take time to understand what their team is going through and try to alleviate fear as much as they can.
Characteristics of Empathy
- Be Genuine,
- Care about your team,
- Great desire to make your team proud
- Want what’s best for the team.
Think about how you can be a better leader for your team so that your team sees career progression and a solid future at your organization by offering possible routes for the future, and possible learning opportunities.

The Great Responsibility of a C-Suite Leader

Remember that moving up to the C-Suite isn’t just a sign of career progression, it’s a responsibility you carry with people’s livelihoods on your shoulders. Every leader should never take that for granted.

Agile Marketing

CMO Tips:

Employ agile marketing methodology in the organization.
Daily standup with Team (what did you do yesterday, what are you focused on, roadblocks)
People can't get better if you don't give feedback. On the flip side of that is how do you receive feedback (radical candor)?

One-On-One/Daily Standup Meetings

Open up your one on ones with how that person on your team is doing physically and mentally. How’s your family? How are your loved ones?
Focus on building trust through transparency and vulnerability in your communication.
Be open about personal challenges, your own personal life situations, and life stories.
Helps you be visible and have a strong leadership presence.
A consistent thread of communication on a daily basis

Organizational Culture:

Book Clubs
Learning opportunities for future leaders.
Giving back to the community – employees do charitable volunteer work, donating to charity,
- Bike builds for underprivileged kids

Meeting with A New Team as a New Leader

Speak with every single person one on one
- What’s working
- What’s not working
- Career aspirations
What will you promise?
To be transparent? To trust? To always be open? To share your thinking behind every decision that you make even if someone doesn’t agree? To consider every team member and the team as a whole when making decisions?
Benefits of this conversation as a new leader:
- The team is comfortable and confident in what they are doing
- Their work matters
- Takes time, yes, but pays off in dividends over time. Prioritize one-on-one meetings over other kinds of meetings because your team is your first priority.

Links Mentioned:

Radical Candor

Agile Marketing
Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 6 How to Create Intentional Meetings, with Bryan Ware, CISA

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 16:00:00 GMT

Bryan Ware is the Assistant Director for cyber security at CISA, and was the CEO at both Digital Sandbox and Haystax. In this new world of remote teams, Bryan emphasizes the importance of transparency, intention, and over-communicating. Bryan insists that the most important thing you can have in a highly effective team is news traveling fast, especially bad news. Bryan encourages relooking at how, where and when to have specific meetings. Bryan has implemented senior leadership team on-sites where decision makers get together with safety precautions honored to reengage the strategy, engage in conflict, and to hold each other accountable.

Bryan notes that charisma is not going to take you as far as it would have Pre-COVID. Employees are using the same camera to speak to their family, friends and loved ones as they are in connecting to their managers and leaders. They're looking for humility, empathy, trustworthiness and thoughtfulness. Leaders will need to spend the time to be intentional, effective, and really caring.

Key Takeaways

Be personable, be human, have genuine relationships with as much as your team as you possibly can, be honest, speak the truth
Have bad news travel as fast, if not faster than good news.
People need to hear things a few times, and through different routes of communication
Deeply believe in the work that you do, focus on the impact and attract the kinds of people that deeply believe in that impact too.

How can I keep my team connected to the mission when we’re distributed? What practices should I focus on?

Focus

Focus on the things that are most important. Force yourself to simplify.
Focus is a way to win, focus is a way to make sure that you're not doing those things that, you know, were not as essential. By simplifying your focus, you can get a lot better alignment of your leaders to the mission, which trickles down to the individual teams, and the individuals.

Intentional Gathering

Come together once a month with CDC regulations in place with your team to calibrate on strategy, hold yourselves accountable for the execution of the strategy remotely.
On-site meetings leave everyone in a better place to raise conflict or contentious issues. Easier to read body language.
Identify and classify what kinds of simple conversations can be held remotely, over email or ZOOM, and those more complex conversations that should be done face-to-face.
Identify the length of the meetings to determine which should be held over videoconference (>30 minutes) and which should still be held face-to-face (<30 minutes)
Identify the # of people that will be involved in the meeting to determine if the meeting should be held online or in person.
Set clear expectations for meetings. What three things do you want to accomplish in this meeting?
What can you do normally in a face-to-face meeting that is harder to do in a virtual meeting?
How is what going on this is meeting so compelling and interesting that nothing else will take their focus from it?
On virtual meetings, you’re showing up as a leader on the same screen that your team member’s friends and family show up, so you must come across as real, or they will sense it. Be empathetic, personable, truthful, and candid.
Allow minutes to open before a meeting for a random conversation to replace your Town Hall meetings if those have not been successful.
Create the same visual picture of the future of the org and make sure no matter where any one of your teammates is around the world, he or she can accurately describe and depict that vision.

Links: CISA
Audio Credit:

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EP. 5 How to Build Engagement, with Rachel Casanova

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 19:00:00 GMT

Rachel Casanova, Senior Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, focuses on workplace innovation by helping business owners maximize the experience of their unique culture by leveraging their real estate, whether it is at the office, the home, the hub, or any combination in between.

Key points

Business owners and leaders will need to become more retail oriented towards satisfying their customers, the employees to make sure just like in retail, there's a solid reason to come to work, and the experiences there will justify the reason together and to suffer the commute.
Forward thinking leaders are looking at work by being intentional about why people gather, when they gather, who will gather and building the spaces and the calendar around that intention.

Workspace Innovation

Work has, and will always, include a combination of spaces
- Home office- Working from home
- Hub - When a company pays for something closer to home to support the employee working apart of separate – a meeting space, might be a traditional office location closer to employees, might be a Starbucks, a library, a park, an meeting space closer to home.
- Centralized Gathering Spaces - project, meetings, a space that is deliberate about experiences that happen
What you must consider as you determine this combination of spaces
- How does the real estate positively or negatively impact my culture strategy?
- How does the combination of real estate locations support my effectiveness?
- What is the purpose of each unique space for the task that needs to get done?
Defining Success from a workspace perspective
- What we can do when we come together?
- How will we measure success?
- How will we measure that productivity was enhanced?
What are leaders are ignoring right now that they should not be ignoring?
- C-Suite Leaders are often ignoring the voice of middle management.
- Where's the voice? And why aren't we asking more of that? What do they need?

Links

Survey, The Future of Workplace: How will COVID19 and data will shape the new work environment, Cushman & Wakefield

Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 4 How to be an Authentic Leader, with Jonathan Aberman

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 17:00:00 GMT

Jonathan Aberman Dean and Professor of practice at the School of Business and Technology at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. Managing Director, Amplifier Advisors and Chairman and Managing Director of Tandem NSI.

In this episode, Jonathan shares an underlying theme of servant leadership and using strategy as teams tackle challenging problems like transferring to a virtual work environment and dealing with despair. Jonathan explains the importance of not letting technology work against you as you lead your virtual team and how his secret to leading a virtual team is giving autonomy and expecting accountability. Jonathan points out two qualities in highly effective leaders which is empathy, and self-awareness and discusses how asking yourself and your team one question can give you incredible feedback in leading through these times right now.

Key Points:

Strategy Changes in Transferring to Virtual Leadership

When delivering video calls, speak from the heart, not from a script with a focus on providing hope and clarity.
His secret to successful leadership as a virtual leader is giving both autonomy and expecting accountability.
You have to force serendipity in a virtual team.
Avoid Zoom schedule burnout by Implementing non-mandatory Zoom meetings to replace your open-door policy. Most serendipitous meetings are only 5 minutes long
Leaders have to be intentional about scheduling time to meet with people because they aren’t just going to “run into them” in a virtual setting.
When demonstrating authenticity in the physical world, leaders can use certain opportunities such as an open-door policy, getting coffee with people. However, in the virtual world, demonstrating authenticity involves things like doing your meetings without a zoom background so people can see your pets and how you live
Organizations that are thriving through the pandemic are purpose-oriented, conscious capital organizations.

Dealing with Despair and Uncertainty

A silver lining in the pandemic is that Leaders are being provided with extra time to focus on hobbies and ask deeper questions like identifying our personal “Why” and getting clear on who we are here to serve.
Leaders help their teams deal with uncertainty by helping them focus, “I need you to focus on three things right now,” or asking, “where are you (or could you) be spending your time on things for the better right now?

Self-Awareness

Highly effective leaders are self-aware and empathetic.
Leaders today need to not only get real with their people, but also get real with themselves.
Questions to ask:
Am I doing a good job? To yourself, and to your team.
What’s my personal WHY and who am I here to serve?

Servant Leadership

To be a stronger servant leader, you need to first understand people are stressed, frightened, and overwhelmed by information.
Leaders can accommodate the stress by acknowledging their own stress. Servant Leaders can create clarity in uncertain situations by being clear in explaining what they know, what they don’t know, what they think might happen, and being frank about the facts.
Action-oriented, type A personalities are struggling because of the circumstances. They can’t be as action oriented right now and are learning to sit back and let some things go.
Servant leadership is recognizing that there are a lot of ways to get to where our team needs to get to and finding the way the team should do it.

Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 3 How to Hire and Retain the Best Talent, with Susie Japs

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 19:00:00 GMT

How to attract – Go deeply into your purpose

Create an engaging and purposeful culture
75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2025.
Millennials say that culture and learning is more important than pay.
Millennials want to connect to a “Purposeful” Culture
Focus your actions and conversations on (1) why you are in business, (2) what do you do as company that connects to the purpose, (3) how does your company make a difference, and (4) how does an individual at your company make a difference
How to do this: Create a Brand Purpose Sheet with a Visual of what your company stands for
- Who are you?
- Why are you here?
- What do you want to accomplish

How to retain – Get everyone involved

Create initiatives that connect employees to the company purpose
- Community Focused Initiatives
- Innovation Initiatives
Ask employees to participate
As management…act on these ideas
Take on experiments to deal with the challenges of COVID – tell your team that you are experimenting to make things more effective

How to Hire – Customize your video outreach

If you are going to do job boards…create the ads from the perspective of the candidate
Better than job ads are creating customized messages
Have the hiring manager or the CEO reach out to candidates you truly desire
Create customized video message and have your best talent in those videos

How to Interview – Be extremely intentional

Take time to IDENTIFY the core behaviors that make someone successful in your company and on your team
Throw OUT the resume – Look at what it takes to be successful on YOUR team, and ask questions around that
Create open ended questions (NOT FROM GOOGLE) based on situations that the candidate will encounter in YOUR business
Look for: How do they think, How would they react, What questions are they asking you, what’ their approach, do they fit?

How do you Retain – Focus engagement surveys on your “A” Players and build a culture around them!

Create a set of criteria for your “A” Players (“Talent Profile”), irrespective of who your “A” Players are now
Survey your “A” Players separately – this is a MILLION DOLLAR idea!
Looking at the responses from your top performers, focus on those issues FIRST!

How to build an Effective Virtual Workforce – Create a M.A.P.

“M” – Meetings – This is about Effectiveness. Set Standard and Clear Expectations for Meetings, Roles, Projects – Take the extra time to develop clarity through conversations, since we are separated geographically
- To enhance effectiveness – assign two people to the same assignment, forcing them to interact and collaborate
- For weekly meetings ask for L.M.S. – Learnings, Mistakes, Support
  - At every weekly meeting have everyone share what did I learn, what mistake did I make, where do I need support?
“A” – Accountability – Focus on managing the RESULTS, not the time!
“P” – Performance – Create more touch points to inspire people to interact more and constantly motivate them to perform
- Have more meetings (once a week vs. twice a week) AND make them shorter!

How to be a more effective Virtual Leader – Vulnerability

Ask for support
Share where your head is at, especially if you can’t take something on at the moment
Talk about your personal space
Share with your team members what you are doing to support them personally
Share your appreciation for all that they do

Audio Credit: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

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EP. 2 How to Build Deep Connections, With Stephanie Morris

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 19:00:00 GMT

The First Rule to build Connection is that no matter what, everybody's video camera is turned on.

The Second Rule to build Connection is that we always really check in with each other at the beginning of the week. What's the week ahead look like? Are we feeling okay, how was our weekend? Do we have any stories to share?

The Third Rule to build Connection is twice a week we send an email that is meant to share photos and share prompts to answer, such as, what are you looking forward to in 4-6 months?

The Fourth Rule to build Connection is on Fridays to share something that happened professionally within our organization, or something completely personal.

The Fifth Rule is to push to the forefront of the conversation the social, emotional, and mental aspects of today’s work situation. And make it a part of the conversation.

If you want productivity, offer flexibility: Trust your people and give them time to take care of themselves.

Keys to innovation when working from anywhere - Innovation comes from Happiness: With flexibility comes happiness, energy and more creative head space.

Flexibility offers commitment across the team: With flexibility, team members make themselves available to their team members. As a result, team members are also there for the team leader. Team members have the emotional energy and the bandwidth, because they're in this more flexible environment where they have more opportunity to breathe and take care of themselves and their families.

Podcast Introduction Audio: Show Me the Way, Vendredi

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EP #1: How to Design a Remote Company from the Ground Up with John Bernatovicz & Bridgette Klein

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 19:00:00 GMT

Design Your Values to Support a Remote Only Company.

To do that requires that you design a company that focuses on Generosity

Design Your Company that measures its success on how people feel every day.

How do your managers make each employee feel?
How does each colleague make the other colleagues feel?
How the purpose of the business makes each employee feel?

Making a Family First Environment:

If someone is going through something, ask how can I help you?
How can I take something off your plate?
Be generous in trying to make everyone successful.

Accountability:

Design a system of meetings and check-ins that holds people accountable to their greatness.
In order for you to be great at what you do, you need to be personally accountable and manage to that yourself.
Be open to collaboration and communication from peers, colleagues, clients, and the founder.
Create scheduled, brief meetings that are standard across departments.
Have standing weekly calls that are important to the business.
Have firm-wide meetings Monday mornings.
Have a Staffing call on Mondays and Thursdays.
Set an agenda and make sure everybody's there.
Cross-functional meetings force people to collaborate.
Have monthly team training to get people together.
Have monthly lunches.
Have meetings at the end of the day that brings everyone’s family into the call.

Tools:

Willory was one of the first 10 clients for Microsoft Office 365.
They collaborate through SharePoint.
They communicate through SKYPE and ZOOM.
Bridgette uses a tool called HubSpot for digital marketing.
The Company uses Smartsheet to share progress on virtual projects, and exceptional tools.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder philosophy for culture and leadership:

Encourage your teammates to get together off-campus!
Bring everyone together for a book group, then have a facilitator challenge your employees to develop new skills in their personal and professional life.
Follow the data so you can follow up with employees to support them in their work.
Raise your empathy and make sure to connect with what everyone on the team is going through…it leads directly to profitability!

Podcast Introduction Audio: Show Me the Way, Vendredi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1swecA5cnnQ

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.