Middle Finger Situations

Join Courtney Harrison & Alicia Mandel for a glass of wine as they breakdown their learnings from the last episode with Ben Levenbaum, the CEO of Xceleration.  In this Happy Hour edition episode, they discuss each phase of the employee lifecycle and everything in between - strong company culture, trophy value, peer to peer recognition, the power of an employee alumni network, plus more!

In this world of having to be intentional and motivational when it comes to attracting and retaining your talent, we are sure many of you have pondered “Why hasn't someone come up with creative ways to help us reward and recognize our people, year-round, with recognition that can be easily customized to the passions or interests of those we value?"Thankfully your days of just purchasing ubiquitous, meaningless Amazon gift cards, or scrolling through catalogues just to find water bottles, and pullovers with your company logo (many times their 10th piece of company swag if they are a high performer!)  can quickly be over. And what if we could leave behind the notion that big ticket rewards required all of us spending lots of time together in a pool in Hawaii, watching the C-Suite and their spouses frolicking in their swimsuits (we're talking to you Sales President's Club winners…….)Join us as Courtney and Alicia talk to Ben Levenbaum, the CEO of Xceleration, a leader in easy-to-use, recognition technology that helps companies drive business performance and strong cultures, for companies of all sizes with small or big budgets. We will enlighten you to the power of “trophy value” and customization when integrating continuous recognition into your everyday actions. Whether you want to offer up luxury travel or experiences with white glove concierge services to individuals their families or your teams, or impress applicants or alumni to come join you, this podcast will inspire you to take your recognition up a notch or two and make valuing applicants and employees a big competitive advantage.

Regardless of what you call it “The Great Resignation”, “The Great Reshuffle”, one thing is clear – for employers not paying attention – it's not great. In this 2 part episode, Courtney and Alicia really dig into the challenge with not one, but four guests. Listen as they sit down with four high performers who had at least 5 choices of where they wanted to go next…find out what was important to them, how they made their decisions, and what were the things that made them say – absolutely not. Dominick Caponi, Sarah Cowell, Matt Barrio and Joy Obiri are interesting not only because they cut across gender, age, expertise and industry but also because they can help hiring leaders and organizations at large better understand what is really important in today's aggressive talent-driven employment market.

Regardless of what you call it “The Great Resignation”, “The Great Reshuffle”, one thing is clear – for employers not paying attention – it's not great. In this 2 part episode, Courtney and Alicia really dig into the challenge with not one, but four guests. Listen as they sit down with four high performers who had at least 5 choices of where they wanted to go next…find out what was important to them, how they made their decisions, and what were the things that made them say – absolutely not. Dominick Caponi, Sarah Cowell, Matt Barrio and Joy Obiri are interesting not only because they cut across gender, age, expertise and industry but also because they can help hiring leaders and organizations at large better understand what is really important in today's aggressive talent-driven employment market.

After a six month hiatus, Courtney and Alicia get together over a glass of wine to discuss some of the highlights from Season 2. They will look at the predictions they made with their guests, what other themes have emerged and how relevant those topics still are.In addition to discussing the themes and challenges from Pandemic year 2, they will also touch on why year 3 looks so much different and the importance of leading with this in mind. Looking at the impact of The Great Resignation they will give a preview into the upcoming Season 3, which they have aptly titled: No Silver Bullets.

In today's Happy Hour edition, we discuss our last episode with Chris Motley, and break down the real life application of Mentor Spaces.  We discuss the importance of mentorship overall – but especially now – as we are all navigating through the Great Resignation. What role does mentorship play, how formal does it have to be, how does it help with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion? But most importantly, how can organizations drive true, authentic mentorship without making it a transactional exercise? 

As Chris Motley, the Founder and CEO of Mentor Spaces says, you can't solve a problem unless you first understand the problem. The “problem” of underrepresented people in Corporate America has been around for a long time – and even the smartest brains haven't been able to crack the code. Can it be that we're just not focused on the core problem/solving for the root of the issue? Join Alicia and Courtney as they sit down with Chris and uncover his passion and drive for understanding that people cannot be what they cannot see.

While most companies, leaders and employees are embracing workforce and workplace flexibility more than ever before, it is time to double down on the importance of creating relationships, connectivity and belonging. Those are the glue that will enable dispersed workforces to thrive. On this Happy Hour Edition we will talk about cool, creative tools and programs leaders and employees can pilot, and we will help to reassure you that what might feel like a risky out-of-the-box way to try to connect people, is not only not risky but desperately wanted by others. So grab a cocktail while we pump you up to get out there and lead from the front!

In a world of colleagues being intentionally dispersed, many of us are challenged with how to most effectively connect people to help encourage collaboration, connection, innovation, and engagement. What if we told you that the best way to deepen and hasten a connection is through storytelling? You might say you knew that already – did you also know that you can use music (and several other media) to help you tell the story?Join us as we talk to Brian Mohr, the founder of anthym to discuss a simple new tool (and tips!) that you can deploy tomorrow to start accelerating informal networks at work. 

If there was ever a time to double down on nurturing your network – now is it!  Join Courtney and Alicia as they have a cocktail and discuss and apply what they learned from their friend and colleague Greg Pryor in their previous podcast -  It's the Network, Stupid.

Did you know it can take 3-5 years to replicate the network of a high performer? In the war for talent that we are seeing now, it's the high performers who are the ones leaving companies, changing jobs and making decisions based on flexibility and other benefits. Maybe it's finally time to change the way we organize both the work and the people. The research and proof about the power of social and organizational networks has been around for over a decade, yet few companies have leveraged that data and still cling to the old hierarchy and work structures.The center of successful companies in this new world of work is all about leveraging what you know and who you know, as quickly as possible. The hierarchy (org chart) is still necessary, but no longer sufficient. Join Courtney and Alicia as they welcome their guest, Greg Pryor for this two part series about why understanding your role in the organizational network is so important and why peer relationships and social capital are the most important drivers of success. Part one is focused on context and current research and thinking on the topic and then part 2 focuses on more research, tips and tricks to help listeners apply the concepts.

Did you know it can take 3-5 years to replicate the network of a high performer? In the war for talent that we are seeing now, it's the high performers who are the ones leaving companies, changing jobs and making decisions based on flexibility and other benefits. Maybe it's finally time to change the way we organize both the work and the people. The research and proof about the power of social and organizational networks has been around for over a decade, yet few companies have leveraged that data and still cling to the old hierarchy and work structures. The center of successful companies in this new world of work is all about leveraging what you know and who you know, as quickly as possible. The hierarchy (org chart) is still necessary, but no longer sufficient. Join Courtney and Alicia as they welcome their guest, Greg Pryor for this two part series about why understanding your role in the organizational network is so important and why peer relationships and social capital are the most important drivers of success. Part one is focused on context and current research and thinking on the topic and then part 2 focuses on more research, tips and tricks to help listeners apply the concepts.

Why is that women need “special training” to be leaders?  How about if we give men the special training to learn how to be more inclusive?  Join Courtney and Alicia with a cocktail for this Happy Hour edition, as they discuss this and other stories to dive further into learning more about the increasing gender divide in Corporate America

What would it be like if we lived in a world where over 50% of the leadership roles were held by women?  We did some research and we're talking about it – how consistent were the answers we heard when we asked the question?  What were the differences between the men's answers and the women's?  And what do shoulder pads have to do with any of it? Listen as we discuss and explore this and other relevant topics with Ann Barlow.Alicia's blog post: https://www.mediusadvisorygroup.com/a-mandel/unconscious-bias/MFS Research: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H1MYfbWlcPA1vEdHpwTPwn6vt7patK39/view?usp=sharing

Our last thought leader, Chris Zlocki from Colliers, gave us a lot to ponder about the “why” of hybrid and what role physical space and location strategy can and should play in things like innovation, culture, diversity, gender and work/life integration. Join a post-podcast discussion as we speculate on our aspirations of abolishing the 5 day work week and imaging how work might be different if more women were in positions of power.

Understanding the Work in Workspace while giving your Talent the Autonomy they Crave and Deserve.If the phrase from 2020 was ‘you're on mute', the phrase for 2021 is ‘hybrid model' so says Chris Zlocki, EVP and Head of Global Customer Experience for Colliers, one of the top Commercial Real Estate Advisory Firms. Join us as we talk to Chris about the questions his clients are asking about enabling their employees to build physical space back into their work lives (headquarters, office space, collaborative space, etc.)  He shares his ideas for turning the typical questions on their head – what is your “why” of hybrid, and what are the implications the workspace has on your company culture and business agility? What else we should we be “re-imaging” as we move into an almost a ‘post pandemic' world. In our discussion we focus on things like:- How can we reexamine the work itself and let it guide the way for what the new normal looks like? - Are we thinking about the “relational” aspects of innovation and productivity in terms of who comes into what workspaces, and when, and why?- Is Autonomy the most critical aspect of attracting and retaining talent in this quickly exploding “Talent War?” - Is it time to blow up the dated “5 day work week” model?In his role Chris is responsible for ensuring that Colliers enterprise clients (think big companies…) are receiving best in class solutions to manage their organizations and portfolios. He is responsible for advising his clients on innovation, strategy and problem solving. He also is responsible for the oversight  of the Consulting Services in the America's - including workforce analytics, workplace consulting, flexible workspace among many other things. Let's just say, Chris is on the forefront of this workspace issue and looks at it in a remarkable way. He has been at Colliers for over 10 years now - prior to that was a strategy consultant for some of the biggest brands out there.We have fun as we stretch our brains with Chris in trying yet again to break free from some of the Industrial Age way of doing things to make way for a new way in the Digital Age.

Do you leave people with more energy, or do you drain it from those with whom you come in contact? How do you maximize your energy in a time of justified burnout? Hear from Eric Roza, CEO of CrossFit on how he journeys through the complexities of rebuilding a business he loves in a world where uncertainty is ever present, hard work is non-negotiable, and where community is everything. As an amazing storyteller you'll hear his underlying belief in what he's doing every day to make the world a better, healthier and more connected place at a time when everyone is craving it. Eric shares what he has learned through the many stages of his career that will help him guide his company to new heights of innovation and growth. Prior to CrossFit,  Eric's past experiences range from being a Bain Consultant to the SVP/GM of Oracle Data Cloud. Prior to Oracle, Eric was probably most known for being a passionate, entrepreneurial leader that thrives on taking small start-ups such as Asurion and Datalogix into innovative, sustainable growth businesses. He sits on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit Boards trying to help them achieve the same success. You can read more about Eric in the Feb. 2021 issue of Men's Health in an article entitled “These two men are on a mission to save CrossFit.”Thank you to our episode sponsor Macrostax - www.macrostax.com

Dr. Robin Massey defines trauma as the loss of trust and predictability. Leveraging her expertise in understanding resilience, health, compassion and healing she explains the neuroscience of the stress that comes with the ambiguity of this crazy world in which we live. While our brains seek predictability - our lives are anything but - how can we calm ourselves down, remember to breathe and connect with our communities so that we ensure we are making the best decisions for ourselves and our organizations?Integrating neurophysiology and trauma-informed principles with talent optimization, Robin guides C-Suite leaders as they transition organizations through times of change and upheaval. As a trusted advisor and coach, Dr. Massey uses evidence-based tools and research-based knowledge to help create work cultures where humans thrive. 

Are you inspired? When a crisis arises, inspiration disappears - but as our colleague Andy Stefanovich explains, the human energy crisis has been around for a long time. Listen as he explains what he does, and what he advises his CEO clients to do, to lead with passion and purpose. Through partnering with Andy as a Consultant for 20 years, he has changed the way we help leaders integrate business AND people strategy to leverage disruption for optimal growth while having a lot of fun while doing it. Advising Executive Fortune 100 and start-ups leaders on how to leverage disruption and change, Andy has provided strategic leadership for companies like Disney, Capital One, Fidelity Investments, The US Olympics, and the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. Andy truly forces executives to look at more stuff, gain a different perspective, lead an inspired life, generate ideas, purposefully disrupt conventional patterns, and ultimately, drive innovation forward. His book, “Look at More: A Proven Approach to Innovation, Growth and Change”, was a Washington Post bestseller. 

When two truth-tellers get together they give each other the confidence to question everything. Listen to the story of how two like-minded leaders, Courtney Harrison and Alicia Mandel, met and stayed together through 3 organizations. Over 25 years they learned a ton by working in a myriad of industries, big and small companies, advising great and not-so-great leaders while trying to guide many Best Places Work and Most Admired Companies.  Today, as the Founders of Medius Advisory Group and through an amazing network of mentors, business leaders and friends, they were given the push they needed to curate all this learning into a Podcast.  This introductory podcast will give you a taste as to who they are. Throughout the first season they will facilitate conversations with some of the best thought leaders and business leaders in their network - all of whom are trying to figure out how to overcome the Human Energy Crisis we are all finding ourselves in.