It's DO-BE Time

In the first part of this discussion, Chad Wiggins, Co-Founder and Partner of PulseOne discussed building a winning leadership team. As the conversation continues, Chad talks with Tony and Brian about how PulseOne has built a winning culture. Starting with transparency and creating strong interpersonal relationships, the leadership team has successfully guided the organization to a people-first way of being both within the organization and with the clients they serve.

What happens when you launch a business that you are passionate about, and then discover that there are significant parts of being successful that you just don't have the skill to do. In Part 1 of our conversation, Chad Wiggins, Co-Founder and Partner of PulseOne, joins Tony and Brian to discuss his first attempt at starting his business, what he quickly discovered about his ability to be successful going it alone, and how he stepped back and created the leadership team that has brought PulseOne to the level of success it has achieved today.

Max Lambright (President and CEO Executive Coach and Mentor), Tony, and Brian continue the conversation looking at one of the most significant challenges facing organizations today. Successfully addressing employee engagement will significantly slow attrition and turnover, along with quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Also on the table in this episode, employer mandates and “forced fun.” The conversation concludes with the responsibility of leaders to “do, teach, and prepare the next generation to lead.”

Eight-time CEO Max Lambright looks at leadership in today's disrupted business environment from “the other side of the desk.” In this conversation, Max, Tony, and Brian discuss important areas of focus for leaders as well as some of the mistakes that new leaders too often make at the risk of their own jobs.

Nick Saller (Saller Strategic Advisors) joins Tony and Brian to discuss what many business owners consider “the small stuff” that can make the difference between business success and failure. Some of these are what Nick refers to as “destructive details;” he provides a simple case study of a destructive detail that almost led a business to bankruptcy. Others may seem small or unimportant but are vital elements of success. Among those topics covered in this conversation are the importance of listening to those closest to the problems, having a winning attitude at all levels of the business, and valuing the front line…those individuals that are the face of your business to your customers and communities.

“Our businesses are like instruments that need to be constantly tuned.” Jacqueline Wales (Transformational Strategies for Success) joins Do-Be Associates Tony Carnesi and Brian Gorman to discuss the leader's role in tuning the business not only through the eyes of the leader, but from the perspectives of those who work in the business and those the business serves. Addressing fear of failure and fear of success; approaching feedback from a perspective of curiosity rather than judgement; trust; and psychological safety all have a role in tuning the business and leading for success.

“Be honest with yourself” says Jacqueline Wales. Jacqueline, an advocate for fearless change and advisor to high-achieving women who are ready to accelerate their career, joins Do-Be Associates Tony Carnesi and Brian Gorman in this provocative episode that challenges leaders to honestly look at themselves and how they approach interactions with others.

Meredith Bell (Performance Support Systems), Tony, and Brian focus the second part of the conversation on changes in today's workforce that require changes in leadership style. What is now important to workers is different than what was important when leaders were “down in the ranks.” Failure to respond to those changes results in ineffective leadership that has a direct cost on the bottom line through increased turnover, lower productivity, and more. Several insights on how to lead today's workforce are addressed.

The question isn't whether the need for tough conversations will arise, it is “What do I do about it?” In Part 1 of this discussion, Meredith Bell, Co-Founder and President of Performance Support Systems joins Tony and Brian to explore the challenges of tough conversations and what is required to take them on. Among the questions addressed are the following. How do you as a business owner or leader approach a person working for you who is not fulfilling their responsibilities? How do you as a person whose supervisor is verbally abusive to you take on a tough conversation to address their behavior? And what is required for a tough conversation to come to a successful conclusion?

Mark Iorio, Founder of the Mega Group and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Brand and Culture Alignment Toolkit (BCAT), returns to the podcast for a far-ranging discussion with Tony and Brian. Beginning with an exploration of why managers are often hesitant to make decisions, the conversation turns to the importance of business owners and leaders at all levels of the organization caring about the people who work for them as people, and not just as employees.

In this replay of Episode 38 ("It's Time for A Leadership Evolution"), co-hosts Tony Carnesi and Brian Gorman address what were then the early waves of the Great Resignation. They discuss a series of questions regarding employees and their relationships to their jobs, their managers and leaders, and their employers. And they introduce the roll-out of their 4-Day Work Week assessment, now available on the Do-Be Associates website.

Concluding this conversation on leadership in 2022 and beyond, Hamza Khan, Tony, and Brian look at the importance of empathy, servitude, diversity, and innovation play and why these aspects of leadership are so important. Hamza makes the case that “we're going to have to be more human as leaders.”  The behavioral attributes of leaders who are successfully moving their businesses into the future vs. those who are trying to hold onto the past are also discussed.

In Part 2, Hamza Khan, Tony, and Brian explore the impact that Covid has had on the future of work, and what that means for the future of leadership. Citing the differences between dark triad leadership personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and light triad leadership personality traits (Kantianism, Humanism, and faith in humanity), Hamza makes the case for the latter as the leader of the future. The conversation also addresses the need to redefine the relationship between organizations and the people that work for them.

Hamza Khan, author of Leadership Reinvented: How to Foster Empathy, Servitude, Diversity, and Innovation in the Workplace, joins Tony and Brian for an extended conversation on leadership for today's workforce. In Part 1, we discuss the leader's responsibility to the worker and the organization and different approaches to working with difficult employees. Hamza also tells the story of his TEDx talk (Stop Managing, Start Leading), now viewed almost 2 million times, and what led to his then supervisor calling it seditious.

In part 2 of this conversation, ResultsResourcing Founder and CEO Elizabeth Eiss,  Tony, and Brian continue the conversation about integrating gig workers into your business. The focus is on how to create a team environment across employees and external contractors. As Elizabeth says, “the freelancer chooses the employer the same way the employer chooses the freelancer.”

Building your workforce, whether by hiring or contracting, can be a significant challenge. In Part 1 of this podcast, ResultsResourcing Founder and CEO Elizabeth Eiss shares what it takes to attract the right talent pool and how to screen that pool for the best candidate; it isn't as easy as it might seem. Whether you are hiring or seeking to be hired, Elizabeth points out the importance of the entrepreneurial spirit in making a successful match.

Tony and Brian continue our conversation with Lisa Snow (Founder and President of On the Mend Fitness and Massage) with a look at the benefits of wellness programs to both organizations and the people that work for them. Lisa describes the ways in which both in-person and virtual programs contribute to building person-to-person relationships, strengthen trust, and address a sense of isolation. Each of these changes benefit the individual and the employer.

One of the benefits that employers often see as unnecessary is the wellness program. Yet, those who have left, or are considering leaving, their jobs, “employers who don't care about my physical and/or mental well-being” is one of the driving factors. Lisa Snow, Founder and President of On the Mend Customized Fitness and Massage joins Tony and Brian to discuss the benefits – to the organization as well as its people – of fitness programs. The conversation addresses ways in which such programs can be integrated into both in-person and virtual workplaces.

Part 2 of our conversation with Joann A. Seery turned from building relationships to business planning. At the heart of the discussion is business planning and business plans. Joann, Tony, and Brian make it clear, business plans aren't just a good idea, they are essential to the growth and success of the business. Among the roles that business plans serve are intentionally shaping the organization's culture, hiring for passionate alignment to mission and vision, financial triggers for decision-making, and planning for the owner's exit.

As the Co-Founder of Serious Business Solutions and Executive Director of BNI (Business Network International) for the State of Hawaii, Joann A. Seery knows what it takes to build and sustain strong business relationships. In part 1 of this podcast, Joann, Tony, and Brian discuss how to be intentional about building and maintaining your personal brand, which is the basis for the relationships you establish.

Charles Bernard, Founder and CEO of Criteria for Success, continues his conversation with Tony and Brian with the premise that during unstable times you should be making promises to your customers. He describes how to do so with integrity and candor. The conversation also addresses the application of a Management By Objectives approach to performance and incentives.  But perhaps Charles' most innovative idea in the podcast is how to establish leading indicators in sales that literally drive a change in the behavior of your sales team.

Criteria for Success Founder and CEO Charles Bernard joins Tony and Brian for a discussion of leadership and management in a Covid and post-Covid workplace. While Charles focuses much of his work and many of his examples in the sales arena, they are equally applicable in all areas of the organization. In Part 1 of the conversation, we talk about everything from “managing down vs. managing up” to when and how to have team meetings to reimagining 1:1 sessions with your reports.

Mark Iorio, Founder of the Mega Group and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Brand and Culture Alignment Toolkit (BCAT), Tony, and Brian focus in on specific ways in which you can align your brand with your North Star, as well as the commitment that it takes to do so. Mark uses a music metaphor (consonance, resonance, and alignment) as a framework for assessing whether the organization is delivering on the Brand Promise, and if not, where it is breaking down.

If you have an organization, you have a brand, whether intentionally defined or not. In part 1 of this discussion with Mark Iorio, Founder of the Mega Group and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Brand and Culture Alignment Toolkit (BCAT), Tony and Brian discuss what goes into defining your organization's brand. What are the roles of leadership and others throughout the organization in fostering and shaping that brand? How do those inside the organization deliver on the brand promise? Mark describes the importance of identifying observable behavior changes as you work to build brand alignment.

In Part 2 of his conversation with Tony and Brian, Kettle Co-Founder Nick Iovacchini discusses how to succeed in addressing the uncertain future of work and future of the workplace when there are no clear playbooks. How do you align people, purpose, and place, and use data to help you do so? Nick hypothesizes that it could be 5-10 years before the new models and templates for hybrid work settle out.

Nick Iovacchini, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Kettle, identifies himself as a “man on a mission.” These days, his mission is to support businesses who are seeing the office as a purpose-driven destination. Kettle O.S. is designed to foster, track, and facilitate how, when, and where workers get together. In part 1 of this podcast, Nick, Tony, and Brian discuss the importance of being intentional in shaping the usage of the office going forward.

In part 2 of our conversation, Noah Pusey (co-founder and CEO of Ripple Analytics), Tony, and Brian tackle some fundamental leadership and management behaviors that need reframing. Words do matter; they affect mindsets and behaviors. While most employers and supervisors talk about their "employees" and "direct reports," Noah refers to them as human beings; Tony and Brian call them people. It is important to not only listen to what they have to say; it is important to act on it.

Who cares if your employees are happy at work? You should! In this episode, Ripple Analytics co-founder and CEO Noah Pusey shares Gallup data on the benefits of employ engagement and satisfaction. He tells Tony and Brian, “How managers and leaders do things is as important as what they do.” The toxicity of the annual performance review process, which Noah did in his role of partner in a large law firm, inspired him to create Ripple Analytics. By providing ongoing feedback across an organization, you can strengthen your people, strengthen your culture, improve employee happiness, and grow your bottom line.

Christine Pietrowicz-Joanis (Puzzle HR), Tony, and Brian discuss the importance of feedback and how to best ensure that honest, direct feedback is provided to managers at all levels of the organization. Perhaps now, more than any time since the industrial revolution, leadership training is essential to successfully addressing the shifting workplace and the changing expectations of employees. That training needs to address not only leadership skills, but also shifting mindsets that affect how they show up and interact with their employees.

Puzzle HR's Christine Pietrowicz-Joanis joins Tony and Brian to share some of the insights she has gained on the role of Human Resources in the future of work. The conversation begins with a focus on the importance of empathy both within HR and more broadly with leaders across the organization. We move on to exploring the significant changes that have been taking place in the workplace and what those changes mean for Human Resources.

In the second part of this conversation, Brendon, Tony, and Brian focus on the role of the manager in today's business environment. Brendon refers to the “flexibility revolution,” and describes the need to let go of micromanagement and focus on empowerment. He calls on managers to self-examine, ensure that they are bringing empathy to their roles, and shift their focus from the working time of their employees to the outcomes of the time put in. He concludes with counsel to employees whose managers are not hearing them.

Australian change practitioner Brendon Baker shares his insights on “the Great Reshuffling” that he is witnessing. He, Tony, and Brian look at the parallels between what is occurring in Oz and the US, including “forced flexibility,” and the apparent lessening of trust by employers despite the performance of their remote employees over the past two years.

 Organizational culture is at the heart of addressing the challenges of the Great Resignation. A 4 Day Work week – whether fixed or flexible – may be a key element of the solution. Joe O'Connor (Coordinator with the US team of the 4 Day Week Pilot), Tony, and Brian continue to delve into the realities of surviving and thriving in today's disrupted business environment.

 In collaboration with the 4-day week global movement, US Companies are preparing to launch their 4-day week pilots in April. In the UK, 500 companies have signed up for information sessions on joining the pilot program there. In this replay, Joe O'Connor, a Research Fellow at Cornell University on Workweek Time Reduction, Coordinator with the US team of the 4 Day Week Pilot, and Chair of the 4 Day Week Ireland, joins Tony and Brian to explore the intersection of the Great Resignation with the 4 Day Work Week movement.

This episode is excerpted from a one-hour webinar presented in collaboration with Puzzle HR, KettleSpace, and Ripple Analytics. It has been close to seven decades since the evolution of office worker to knowledge worker began. While office workers required a top-down “command and control” management style, that approach to management is ineffective with today's knowledge worker and is a key factor driving the Great Resignation. After reviewing the evolution of management practices over the years, Tony and Brian compare the former approach (labeled Theory X in Douglas McGregor's 1960 book The Human Side of Enterprise) with the latter (Theory Y) across the multiple factors driving the Great Resignation.

In this episode of it's DO-BE time, Tony and Brian introduce their longtime focus on “enlightened management.” By the 1950's, the workforce was shifting from order-takers to knowledge workers. Up until that time, organizations were structured based on an early twentieth century military model – command and control. While the workforce has continued to evolve over the past seventy years, in many organizations management has not. The Covid pandemic has amplified what millennial employees have been telling us since they entered the workforce; command and control management is not the way to motivate, engage, or retain today's workforce. It's time to ensure that your management is enlightened!

In the second part of the conversation, Meghan, Tony, and Brian continue to dig into factors contributing to Wanderlust's successful transition to a 4-day work week a year and a half ago. The lessons they have learned are valuable for any organization planning to make this shift.

Wanderlust, an outdoor technology company, is another organization that has successfully implemented the 4-day work week. In part 1 of this conversation with Tony and Brian, Wanderlust's CMO Meghan Keaney Anderson talks about their transition to the 4-day model, the metrics that they use to track the impact of this shift, compliance, and the benefits for team members.

It won't be instant, nor should it be, but the 4-day work week is coming. The movement that started in New Zealand and spread around the globe is formally launching in the United States. Participating organizations begin their training, preparation, and onboarding in January 2022 and launch their six-month trials in April. In part 2 of their conversation, Charlotte, Tony, and Brian discuss the role that a 4-day work week can play in helping to address the Great Resignation as well as the importance of piloting the program and engaging employees in its design. This is about 100% of current pay for 80% of the current work week in exchange for 100% of current productivity. What is your future of work?

As 2021 draws to an end and we prepare for 2022, there is great uncertainty for business owners, leaders, and employees. What will be the continuing impact of Covid and its variants in the new year? What, if any, “return to office” date can employers and employees count on? How long will the great resignation continue? How do organizations not only survive, but thrive in this uncertainty? In part 1 of this 2-part podcast, Charlotte Lockhart, Tony, and Brian discuss the genesis of the 4-day week global movement and the role it can play in addressing many of the factors driving the great resignation. As you think about your own organization's future and/or career path heading into the new year, this podcast will give you a great deal of food for thought.

In the second part of the conversation with Banks, Tony and Brian explore the importance of bringing the entire workforce into the preparation phase, Uncharted's approach to optimization, the importance of piloting a 4-day work week before committing to it, and the organization's proactive outreach to key constituents prior to launching their pilot. Banks discusses Uncharted's experience as a “4-day work week gym” with the company continuing to work on their fitness as they continue to learn to de-prioritize and re-prioritize and highlights the statistically significant achievement of their 4-day work week goals.

Uncharted, a social impact accelerator, is one of the early adaptors of a 4-day work week. In this episode, Banks Benitez, Co-Founder and CEO, joins Tony and Brian to discuss their journey from a (somewhat) traditional 5-day work week to today. Banks discusses the criteria that were set out for success and the 30-day “pre-mortem” period between the announcement to the staff and the launch of a 90-day pilot. Uncharted made the 4-day work week company policy in September of 2020.

When this podcast was first released under a different title in September 2020, the Great Resignation wasn't on anyone's radar even though the seeds had been planted. But even then, Deutser Founder and CEO Brad Deutser recognized the need for business owners and leaders to “step back so we can look forward.” The key messages Brad brought to that discussion are even more critical today. They include the importance of leadership vulnerability, honesty, and willingness to connect at a deeply human level. Step back to look forward this holiday weekend and listen to Brad, Tony, and Brian discuss how to redefine your organization in a way that will challenge the pull of the Great Resignation.

The conversation continues as Joe, Tony, and Brian counter the perceived rigidity of a 4 Day Work Week. As Joe explains, "4-day work week" is a metaphor for more flexibility with a commitment of 100% of pay and 80% of the existing workweek, in exchange for 100% of the current productivity. This calls for business owners, leaders, and managers at all levels to define success and the metrics required to measure success before making this shift. It also calls for using the 100/80/100 model as a lever to focus the conversation with employees on how to maintain productivity while reducing the work week. As Joe says, “This is where we see the magic happen.”

Joe O'Connor, a Research Fellow at Cornell University on Workweek Time Reduction, Coordinator with the US team of the 4 Day Week Pilot, and Chair of the 4 Day Week Ireland, joins Tony and Brian to explore the intersection of the Great Resignation with the 4 Day Work Week movement. In Part 1, Joe discusses how in Ireland they were able to bring business, government, and unions to the table to build coalitions that are collaborating to develop an approach to work that is better for workers, for workers families', for business, and for the environment. Joe also challenges the wisdom of US multi-nationals that make working 12-14 hours a day “a badge of honor.”

As the leader of the 4 Day Week movement in the U.K., Joe Ryle has worked with businesses, unions, and governmental agencies. In this conversation with Tony and Brian, Joe shares some of the insights on the successful – and unsuccessful – implementation of a 4-day work week that he has gained from his own experience, as well as from others both in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe. As we hear over and over, Joe emphasizes the importance of a focus on productivity and profitability and the positive evidence of the 4-day work week's contribution to both.

David, Tony, and Brian continue the conversation, exploring the pandemic-driven shifts that are taking root and those that are not. The Great Resignation has made clear that the power dynamic between employers and employees has shifted, making it increasingly important that leaders ask better questions and deeply listen to the answers. The conversation concludes with David describing “the three C's” that business leaders need to succeed in the journey “from now to next.”

David Nour, global consultant on strategic business relationships, joins Tony and Brian for a far-ranging conversation that is critical for business owners and leaders to hear as they face the Great Resignation. Among the topics addressed in Part 1 of this two- part podcast are the importance of the interplay between relationship and business; the shifting expectations and positional power of employees as we come out of quarantine and face what “return to work” means; the interplay between the personal, team, organizational, and social; moving from work-life balance to work-life blending; and the role of a flexible 4-day work week in addressing the Great Resignation.

The conversation on the global 4-Day Week movement continues with an exploration of the shifting relationship between employees and employers that is fueling the Great Resignation. Charlotte, Tony, and Brian address questions such as “How do we measure productivity?” and “How do we conduct performance reviews?” The importance of engaging the workforce in designing the shift to a 4-day work week has shown to be a powerful team-building exercise. Also surfaced are important insights into the important mindset shifts that are essential to successfully implementing a 4-day work week in your organization. The US 4-Day Week movement is also introduced.

Charlotte Lockhart, Co-Founder and CEO of 4-Day Week Global joins Tony and Brian to discuss the intersection of the Great Resignation and the world-wide movement to shorten the work week. In the first part of this two-part podcast, Charlotte describes how she and Andrew Barnes successfully implemented the 4-Day Week in Perpetual Guardian and some of the critical lessons they learned. Like the Do-Be's 4-Day Work Week, the global 4-Day Week movement is not to be taken literally. It is an approach to increasing productivity and profitability while reducing work hours and has to be custom designed to fit the organization, it's clients, and its employees. A shorter work week, as envisioned by Charlotte, Andrew, Tony, and Brian is a key element in addressing the factors driving the Great Resignation.

In the third part of our Blabbit interview, Tony and Brian discusses with hosts Paul Geiger and Glen Ingram the importance of recognizing that every employee matters as you define your New Normal 2.0. We also look at the contributions that a hybrid and/or 4-day work week makes to the environment, the economy, and personal health.