People at Work

In this episode, we're looking back on our previous conversations about challenges most organizations face and how to overcome them. We spoke with industry leaders including Presidents, Founders, and CEOs about the challenges of change management, showcasing vulnerability, and making moves towards building better workplaces. Continue listening to learn more and see what tips you can adopt at your organization. We hear from the following leaders: - Robert Kohlhepp, Former Chairman of Cintas - Dr. Grace Lee, the CEO & Founder of Mastery Insights - Ebony Smith, the President of Ebenum Equation - Matt Thieleman, the Founder of Golden Bristle

It's no secret that workplace culture has undergone dramatic changes in the last couple of years, and is continuing to do so as we redefine what this means to us. In today's episode, we revisit our conversations with industry experts including Doctors, founders, Culture officers, and owners. Listen to how we can design organizational culture to lead change, what it means to build a welcoming culture that supports Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, and how you can build a culture based on relationships and not fear. Our guest round-up today features: - Jason Richmond, Founder and Chief Culture Officer of Ideal Outcomes - Shayna Pond, the President of Model Teaching - Dr. Steve Yacovelli, the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group - Dr. Grace Lee, CEO & Founder of Mastery Insights

Employee experience is often a topic that's nebulous and hard to wrap your head around. It starts from the moment someone applies to an open position, and lasts till their departure from the company. In today's episode, we share tips from past guests on how to enable trust, transparency, and meaningful work, so leaders like you can elevate the employee experience your organization offers. Hear from: - Kevin Hancock, CEO of Hancock Lumber - Megan Purday, the Marketing Manager of Canadian Payroll Services - Peter Yawitz, Founder of Clear Communication - Maryna Shkvorets, a Public Speaking & Communication Coach

What's your relationship with change? Do you welcome it with open arms or avoid it like your worst fear? If you're Liz Lewinson, you seek it out as a way to grow and expand your life experience. Liz went from writing to television to computer science to finance IT, and is still looking for ways to change. The one constant that prepares her for change is a still mind. By practicing some form of meditation, Liz believes we can surf through even the roughest life swells. In a world that's ever-changing, the more prepared we can be, the better. Liz shares her experiences of moving through big and small changes with curiosity. She also talks about how a life of meditation has given her the tools to enjoy change as an energy boost, not a drain. I'm certain Liz will help you approach change more wholeheartedly, starting with your mind.

Communication doesn't mean talking louder than your introverted peers. In today's episode, we return to our previous conversations with communication experts, some of whom are life coaches, managers, and CEOs. We tap into why it's important to improve communication in the workplace and how this affects relationships and collaboration. We also explore the ways to do communication right. Join us to unpack how workplace harmony isn't just about being nice, and other facets of this intricate topic. We hear from the following guests: - Libby Robinson, Managing Partner at Integral - Dr. Nicole Tschierske, positive psychology coach - Dan Manian, Co-founder and CEO of Donut - Catherine Gillespie, Managing Director of Workplace Harmony Solutions and Workplace Conflict Resolution

Stress is part of daily life, even more so with the ripple effects of the global pandemic, social injustice, and political unrest. While there's a lot swirling around all of us, shaking us to the core some days, we can manage this stress. Nicole Mixdorf has experienced the damaging effects of stress firsthand. She left her corporate career that was literally making her sick from stress, and started a wellness business to help busy professionals take care of themselves. Nicole helps her clients understand their own stress response, and then teaches them how to take control of it. Whatever the cause of the stress, the first step to getting in the driver's seat usually involves taking a deep breath. Doing this not only gives us space between stimulus and response, it helps introduce more oxygen to the brain (70% in fact!) and that opens us up to be more calm, receptive, creative, and in control of our own emotions and physical state. In this episode of People at Work, Nicole talks about a few simple tools that she uses to control stress, and turn each chronic stress state into an opportunity. Nicole leads us through a breathing exercise (bonus content!) and her key tips on how to change your mindset to “what can I do?” versus “what can't I do?” when faced with stressful situations. If you're listening for yourself, Nicole's simple approach will help you immediately. If you're listening as a leader trying to help your team cope with stress, Nicole's here for you too with thoughts on how best to support your people. Either way, just breathe.

Building trust and fostering growth in your direct reports fall under the responsibility of any leader. Yes, it's a challenging job to master. So let's hear from these experts on how to hone your leadership skills and support the emotional wellness of your employees. Listen to the following leaders and learn more about their successful strategies: - Anthony Vaughan, Founder of The E1B2 Collective - Jeff Melnyk and Laurie Bennett, the founding partners of Within People - Lisa Fain, CEO of The Center for Mentoring Excellence - Dr. Bruno Cignacco, Training Consultant of Human Oriented Enterprise

When a podcast guest says “This isn't a fairytale”, I buckle up because I know we're in for an interesting and useful conversation. In today's People at Work episode, Gonçalo Silva, CTO at Doist, tells the story of this fully remote company's growth and culture journey over the past decade. Even though Doist is doing a lot right, there are still obstacles in their way and a team to take care of from afar. Oh, and did I mention they've also had to adapt to cope during the pandemic? Granted, they've had a head start with the remote work gig, but the struggle has been real for them too. The hero in the story is trust. Everything they do, how they work, how they make decisions, centers on trust. The success of their asynchronous, remote, fully distributed team depends on this. This interview is real and refreshing, with many insights that can help those of us adapting our workforces to fully remote or hybrid arrangements. Give it a listen and let me know how you enjoyed the ride. About our guest: Gonçalo is the CTO of Doist, working remotely on Todoist and Twist. He's obsessed with building the future he wants to work in, where location is irrelevant to being part of a highly productive team. He loves to work odd hours, but wonders if there's even such a thing within a fully distributed team. You can connect with Gonçalo Silva on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/gon%C3%A7alo-silva-006748171/, Twitter @goncalossilva, or Youtube at youtube.com/user/DoistApps

It's fair to say that the working world has undergone a ton of changes over the past two years. Amongst the most impactful is definitely the shift to remote and hybrid work. Let's revisit the major learnings from these pivots, and how we can re-imagine the workplace of the future. Tune in to learn more about what two years of remote work have taught our guests and how to transition to better hybrid collaboration. In today's episode, we look back on the insight from our expert guests, including: - Cathryn Lavery, Cofounder and CEO of BestSelf Co - Ryan Malone, CEO and Founder of SmartBug Media - Vicki Yang, VP of People Operations of Bonusly - Rachel Lanham, the Chief Customer Officer of Voodle - JJ Caffrey, Founder and CEO of OrderIn

Employee departures are disruptive in any company. Whenever an employee resigns, they leave a gaping hole in a team. And they take their institutional knowledge, contribution to culture, and other skills with them. Since the pandemic, talent is flocking in droves for various reasons. The great resignation has leaders, CEOs, and managers asking: what can we do about it and what does it teach us about the working world? From prioritizing communication in the workplace to ensuring employee and company value alignment, our guests go in-depth about why employees are leaving and share insights on how to retain your best people. In today's episode, we look back on the insight from our expert guests, including: - Yair Riemer, the CEO of Intoo - Molly Bruttomesso, the Senior VP of Customer Success at Wunderkind - Joe Mullings, the Chairman & CEO of The Mullings Group Companies

If the pandemic has afforded us anything, it's a fresh perspective on a major part of our lives: work. Where we do it, how it's measured, what we're prepared to put up with, and how we expect bosses to behave (I could go on). Happiness at work expert Aoife O'Brien advocates for a fresh perspective on work itself, and where it fits in our lives. With her research and personal work experiences, she believes we shouldn't embrace work and life, work-life balance, or any other way to stitch those two parts together. Instead, let's simply think about life, and all the parts and contributors in that experience. This helps us make smarter decisions about what we want from our lives, what success means to us, and how we choose to spend our time. Listen in on how Aoife suggests we can achieve happiness when we adopt this mindset. We also talk about how organizations can make a shift to whole person support structures, and the role that individuals play in their own happiness, wherever they find themselves. Link to our Blog: https://blog.jostle.me/blog/people-at-work/aoifeobrien About our guest: Aoife O'Brien is a Happiness at Work expert. Her background is in data analytics in the CPG market research industry, and now she uses her strengths to help organisations to increase culture-fit to create happier working environments where employees flourish. Aoife has lived and worked in several countries and has travelled to all 7 continents, mostly independently, with camera in hand! You can contact Aoife on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien, on Twitter at @HappieratWorkHQ, and on Instagram at @happieratwork.ie. Resources: Imposter to Empowered ebook https://www.impostersyndrome.ie/pl/2147526113 https://happieratwork.ie https://www.impostersyndrome.ie

Don't worry, this isn't another blog post bemoaning the reality of the great resignation. It's very well understood that we're facing more turnover thanks to the pandemic. Now it's time to talk about how we can avoid a revolving door of talent. Yair Reimer believes the strongest strategy to keep people engaged and active in your organization is to communicate. And realize that over-communication is impossible. For Yair, communication includes clearly sharing company updates, asking for feedback, listening, encouraging everyone to speak up, and training leaders and managers to ask hard questions. In this episode of People at Work, Yair shares what he's putting into practice at Intoo, to create a workplace culture where people want to stay and contribute. Beyond communication, it's about finding joy in the day-to-day and treating everyone like equal, whole human beings. About our guest: As a CEO of Intoo, Yair helps global companies increase retention by developing the potential of their people, transforming performance, and transitioning skills. Yair once attracted over 75k applicants with 1 job advert in less than a week. You can connect with Yair on LinkedIn Resources: Website

Learning about leadership on the front lines of armed conflict is an extreme way to get clear on what matters when leading people. As a former US Army Special Forces Commander, Sean Patton understands what it means to be a quality leader, because his life (and those around him) depended on it. Being a quality leader means taking a whole person approach. In the average workplace on any given day, it may not feel mission critical to be a quality leader. But, Sean believes we need to think about quality leadership as the determining factor in a business thriving or failing. In this episode of People at Work, Sean talks about how he's adapted his military experience into the corporate world. He outlines what he believes quality leaders need to embody, and why each of us needs to be a quality leader in every aspect of our lives, all the time. About our guest: Sean helps clients create more fulfilling and profitable futures through mindset mastery and servant leadership development. He's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and 2019 Masters World Champion! You can connect with Sean on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn Resources: Website Youtube Book

Too often we don't do something for fear of making a mistake. Taking action on DEI is a good example of this. We're afraid to misstep, alienate, exclude or worse, do exactly what we're trying to avoid. But that shouldn't stop us from taking steps, even small, uncomfortable ones towards creating more inclusive and psychologically safe work environments. That's why Bernadette Smith encourages little changes, a lot of the time. When we break things down, and improve our infrastructure, relationships, habits, rituals, and cultures, one step at a time, we quickly impact the whole. Bernadette talks on People at Work about how to do this with her simple ARC method: ask, respect, connect. When we arrive with humility and curiosity, we're able to make progress, even if we make mistakes along the way. The key is to keep the momentum up and collect little wins along the way.

How do you know what people feel about working in your organization? Better question still, when was the last time you asked them? I'm not talking about annual engagement or pulse surveys. Those might have their place, but they're not the tool to truly get to grips with what's going on for people in your organization. The best way to do that is through stay interviews. Angie Bergner has been conducting quarterly stay interviews with every employee at Veris Insights long before the pandemic. It's her most critical lever to understanding how people are doing at an individual level, as well as what's emerging as issues or victories at the team and organization levels. Angie joins People at Work to share why and how she does stay interviews. This is an excellent primer on key components, things to consider, lessons learned, and most importantly, how to use what you hear to take action. While stay interviews aren't going to solve every problem (or stop people from leaving), you'll get ahead of things by knowing what's going on, and being honest about what you can improve. Regardless how long people stay with your company, it's the experience they have while they're there that counts. For that to be positive, open communication is critical. About our guest: Angie is a people leader committed to bettering the world of work at all levels. Her approach to coaching, whether individuals or organizations, is to unlock everyone's growth mindset. Angie approaches every person, session, and workshop through the lens of DEI and the lens of long-term impact. You can connect with Angie on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/angiebergner/ and find her coaching work at angiebergner.com.

You don't often hear gratitude for younger generations at work. But I say thank goodness for their fresh perspectives, desire for transparency, and constant desire to better themselves and their circumstances. This will ultimately make workplaces and leaders better. But how do we retain and manage young people against the context of The Great Resignation, so that they stay with us and add to our workplace cultures and their own growth? Molly Bruttomesso thinks about this every day. At Wunderkind, she's building a culture that accepts that people don't stay as long as they used to. Instead of bemoaning this, Molly and her team are structuring the way they work to embrace the best of everyone, and help prepare them for their next best thing. In this episode of People at Work, Molly talks about how this involves intentional career pathing, robust values alignment, learning opportunities, asking for ideas, and acting on feedback… and much more. Most of us are challenged with the revolving door of people at the moment. If you want to hear some down to earth actions on how to keep people, even for the shortest time, take a listen. You'll also want to take a look at your culture and make sure that it's not hastening people out the door. Molly has some tips for that too. About our guest: Molly leads the Customer Success and Client Partnerships teams that drive extreme value and maximum performance across the 350+ E-commerce clients. Molly began the movement of the rock t-shirt and blazer as the new tech casual. Move over gray t-shirts. You can contact Molly on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/molly-bruttomesso-535a393/.

Very few people raise their hand and volunteer to do the tasks nobody else wants to do. But Robert Kohlhepp did just that. He started at Cintas 50 years ago with 60-odd employees and finished his career there with over 40,000 people. Robert has seen Cintas grow through its ups and downs, making his many years of experience and advice so much more valuable. Robert believes establishing compatibility, facing conflict head on, and being direct helps bring a company's culture to life. Much like a marriage, a company's principle objective, corporate characteristics, and management style need to be compatible with the individual in order to create value. Treating your customers and employees right while maintaining professionalism are some of the things that seem to be forgotten about in the midst of the constantly changing work environments. Listen on for some tips on the essentials of building an effective corporate culture and how to retain employees in this new world of work that we're in. About our guest: Robert J. Kohlhepp is the Retired Chairman of Cintas Corporation. He joined Cintas in July 1967 as controller. Over a span of 50 years with Cintas, he was promoted to positions of General Manager, Vice President and Treasurer, Executive Vice President, President, and CEO, then served as Vice-Chair and Board Chair until retiring in 2016. Additionally, Kohlhepp has served on several association, corporation, nonprofit, and university boards. Resources: https://robertkohlhepp.com/ Book: Build A Better Organization

Working from home can get monotonous, so how about changing it up once in a while? VEL is a hyper-localized tech-forward coffee shop concept supporting a hybrid workforce. Here you can work in a transactional setting and be more efficient while co-working. Mo Hamzian, Co-Founder & CEO of VEL, took his love for working at coffee shops and turned that into a work experience that offers flexible privacy and psychological safety. It gives you the opportunity to experience the energy of other people working in the same space as you. Mo joins us to chat about what the future of the workplace looks like. Are there better alternatives? What are the benefits of co-working vs. working from home? The nature of workplaces has been shifting and will continue to do so. Mo encourages you to discover how you think about work itself. Do you go to a gym because of the equipment or does it depend on the ability to customize what fitness goals suit you? At VEL, more than renting a co-working space, technology, and snacks, they focus on selling a productive work experience. The transition from a disrupted workforce back to “normal” is slow for a reason. Mo believes that hybrid, flexible, dedicated co-working spaces are here to stay as employees crave more interesting and supportive ways and places to work. About our guest: Mo is a London Business School Sloan Fellow and the co-founder & CEO of VEL, a premium utopian tech-forward work cafe. An established leader with 20 years of experience in nearly all things business. Mo excels at building businesses and creating value. He has successfully exited projects with a total value of over $150M. You can contact Mo on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mohamzian/.

Have you heard anyone say “I love that learning platform”? No? EdApp is here to change just that through their constant functional learning. EdApp is a workplace learning tool that delivers bite-sized education while maintaining high levels of engagement. CEO and Founder, Darren Winterford, identified that e-learning was broken and that COVID played a role in accelerating that because of how disconnected people are. However, the increased usage of smartphones in workplaces is providing the perfect opportunity for microlearning. Imagine if a push notification asked you for 5 minutes of your time to give you a refresher on your sales training. Way better than a 90 minute video taking you through the whole process, right? Changing attitudes towards content creation, consumption, channels, and adoption of learning material is key to harnessing the power of microlearning. The old way of learning in organizations isn't effective: it's not engaging, it's inaccessible, and it doesn't help people learn. Listen to Darren speak about why enforcing a continuous learning culture through microlearning within your organization is essential in order to be successful. About our guest: Darren Winterford, CEO and founder of EdApp, has extensive experience building mobile apps and pushing the boundaries of innovation. As a pioneer in the microlearning space, EdApp's teams are established in Sydney, London, Manila, and New York. You can contact Darren on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/darrenwinterford/. Resources: http://linkedin.com/in/edapp-micro-learning http://twitter.com/thisisedapp

Remember the black squares on Instagram showing support of Black Lives Matter? What action took hold after companies proclaimed to care about DEI in the workplace? Even though awareness has likely increased, meaningful change is in short supply. That's what's driving LaTonya Wilkins to get below the surface with leaders. Leaders have a critical role to play in shifting workplaces (and society at large) towards deeper inclusion and caring about diversity. Unless we get to the core of change, we'll see little progress for DEI. LaTonya chats to me about why we should be skeptical about what's been done, what mechanisms we can use to change from the core, and what's helping and hindering DEI as we shift to hybrid workplaces. If you're trying to get past the DEI checkboxes and external posturing in your workplace, this is the podcast episode for you. About our guest: As the founder of Change Coaches and author of Leading Below the Surface, LaTonya helps organizations create cultures of belonging and motivating environments while amplifying the “only ones” at work so they feel more valued, heard, and engaged. You can contact our guest on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/latonyawilkins/, on Facebook at facebook.com/LaTonyaWilkinsCoachSpeaker, on Twitter at @LaTonyaWilkins, and on Instagram at @latonyacoaching. Resources: Learn more about and purchase Leading Below the Surface at leadingbelowthesurface.com.

Imagine you're delivering a town hall presentation on Zoom to your entire organization. Now think what you'd do if a potato head filter appeared instead of your face. And try as you might, you can't remove it. Would you be flustered and embarrassed or would you embrace the moment to be a real person in a jam? A humble and vulnerable leader would accept the fate delivered by the Zoom gods and have a laugh, before proceeding with the presentation as a potato head. This is a real story shared by Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone on the latest episode of People at Work. The topic of conversation is a new era of leadership based on self-awareness and humility, stripping away ego, power, and titles to reveal human beings who happen to lead people. Once you're able to connect with yourself first, you can then start to show concern, interest, and even love for those around you. Then you'll tap into the bottomless well of creativity, problem solving, ideas, trust, and loyalty. With deep insights from their book, “Leading with Love and Laughter”, Zina and Patrick make a strong case for heart-centred leadership for yourself and others. If you're evolving as a leader in the context of the ever-changing world of work (who isn't?), this conversation will get you well on your way. About our guests: Zina Sutch has been leading development and diversity programs for the US Federal Government for 20 years, and currently serves in the Senior Executive Service. Patrick Malone spent 23 years in the Navy and served as an officer in the Medical Service Corps. Zina is a faculty member and Patrick is director of the Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. You can contact Dr. Zina on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/zina-b-sutch-ph-d-843752a/, and Dr. Patrick on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/patrick-malone-phd-51b2a624/. Resources: sutchmalone.com Their new book: Leading with Love and Laughter: Letting Go and Getting Real at Work

If the pandemic has afforded us anything, it's a fresh perspective on a major part of our lives: work. Where we do it, how it's measured, what we're prepared to put up with, and how we expect bosses to behave (I could go on). Happiness at work expert Aoife O'Brien advocates for a fresh perspective on work itself, and where it fits in our lives. With her research and personal work experiences, she believes we shouldn't embrace work and life, work-life balance, or any other way to stitch those two parts together. Instead, let's simply think about life, and all the parts and contributors in that experience. This helps us make smarter decisions about what we want from our lives, what success means to us, and how we choose to spend our time. Listen in on how Aoife suggests we can achieve happiness when we adopt this mindset. We also talk about how organizations can make a shift to whole person support structures, and the role that individuals play in their own happiness, wherever they find themselves. About our guest: Aoife O'Brien is a Happiness at Work expert. Her background is in data analytics in the CPG market research industry, and now she uses her strengths to help organisations to increase culture-fit to create happier working environments where employees flourish. Aoife has lived and worked in several countries and has travelled to all 7 continents, mostly independently, with camera in hand! You can contact Aoife on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien, on Twitter at @HappieratWorkHQ, and on Instagram at @happieratwork.ie. Resources: Imposter to Empowered ebook https://www.impostersyndrome.ie/pl/2147526113 https://happieratwork.ie https://www.impostersyndrome.ie

2019 seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? And in the world of work the rate of change over the past two years is probably the highest it's ever been. With more people than ever considering new opportunities and companies able to hire across a wider geographical area it can be hard to stand out. But in order to attract and retain top talent you really need to start building a strong employer brand. On this episode I chatted with Joe Mullings about a wide-range of topics related to these changes we're facing. We spoke about: Work from Anywhere (WFX) Generational effects on those who are starting their career fully-remote The many inequities of hybrid work How content creation and brand building have been democratized due to demographic shifts Why HR shouldn't be the ones hunting for new employees And much, much more I got a lot out of this conversation and I hope you do too. Enjoy! About our guest: Joe is the Chairman & CEO of The Mullings Group Companies, including TMG Search, Dragonfly Stories & TMG360 Media. The search firm is responsible for more than 8,000 successful searches in the medtech / healthtech industry with clients ranging from multi-billion-dollar companies to emerging tech startups. Dragonfly Stories is the media production company behind the Award-Winning video docuseries, “TrueFuture”, of which Joe is the host as well as generating attention and awareness for companies globally. In 2020, Joe was appointed Chief Visionary Officer for MRINetwork, Inc. where he guides the digital transformation of the MRINetwork bringing video storytelling strategies and techniques for talent access, which he innovated at The Mullings Group. You can contact Joe on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/joemullings/, on Facebook at @joemullings and on Instagram at @joemullings. Resources: True Future Docuseries Mullings Group Dragonfly Stories TMG360 Media Youtube page

The people at Wilson Sporting Goods have been navigating a world of work turned upside down, much like the rest of us, over the past 20 months. But, they've made a few critical decisions along the learning curve to help galvanize their new way of working together. At the core of their new hybrid work culture is constant communication. Geoff Watts joins me on People at Work to share what this looks like in practice. Connection at every level, starting with individual employees, is their sweet spot. Not only does this ensure that people are heard and given space to shape their own work experience, but it enables tremendous value creation for employees and consumers. And that leads to a crystal clear understanding of the company's vision, and every person's role in achieving it. We're living through interesting times, and the need to look after our people increases daily. Geoff also has some thoughts on employee care, retention, and satisfaction, against the backdrop of “The Great Resignation”. As he puts it, the grass is greenest where you water it. Give this episode a listen and you too can tend to your lawn, and ensure that your people don't need to head to the other side to see if it's greener. About our guest: Leader at Wilson Sporting Goods. Runner, cyclist, and coffee addict. Geoff's favorite book is Legacy by James Kerr. An incredible book about the New Zealand All Blacks and their approach towards not only sport, but life in general. You can contact Geoff on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/geoff-watts-aaa8792/

You've probably heard of job sharing, but what about top sharing? It's a flexible working arrangement offering senior level role splitting across two or more people. How can that possibly work you might ask? I had the same question (and more). Fortunately I recently met Karin Tischler, who focuses her research and energy on this precise topic. Karin joined me on People at Work to dive into what she's learned, and why she's an avid fan of top sharing. Karin makes a case for how this can reduce burnout, increase innovation, and enhance job satisfaction. With the door to flexible working flung wide open due to the global pandemic, now's the time to expand our thinking about unique and creative ways of getting work done while harnessing expertise at the senior level. About our guest: Lifelong researcher focused on flexible work to get to gender equality faster. Currently stuck global traveler using podcast intro questions to learn more about future locations to visit from her international guests. You can contact Karin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/karin-tischler/, on Twitter at @karin_tischler, and on Instagram at @karintischlerbc. Resources: Podcast: "Jobsharing and Beyond" Website: Emilyspath.ca

Do you want a high performance culture in your workplace? Who doesn't? Trouble is, I don't think we're being honest about what's needed to get this level of performance at work. Anthony Vaughan has some ideas on this topic, starting with this simple premise: people first. If you want people to contribute and deliver, you need to create a safe place and take care of them. That means understanding what makes them tick, listening to their concerns, and supporting them in ways that matter to them (not you). Anthony talks more about his ideas and offers some practical advice for managers and leaders on the latest episode of People at Work. About our guest: Anthony is a hybrid, a split between an entrepreneur, executive, and HR rebel! Everything he believes and does is backed by putting employees first. You can contact Anthony on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/anthony-vaughan-8ba8a8172. Resources: Website : https://e1b2.webflow.io/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-e1b2-collective-podcast/id1467066005

You're sailing on choppy seas, and building your boat as you go. That's the vivid picture that Vicki Yang paints about tackling how to do hybrid work. It really emphasizes the situation most of us are in if we've chosen hybrid mode. We don't have the answers, we don't know what will work, and we've got to try something and see if it takes us forward. On the latest episode of People at Work Vicki chats about what Bonusly is doing to build their boat. It's a lot of trial and error, but three things are key: understand what individuals need and want, document everything to keep things clear for all, and stay as flexible as possible. Hear about this and much more with Vicki's generous sharing so that we can learn and adapt too. About our guest: A people leader who leads by helping build up people through coaching on matters relating to performance management, org development, recognition, and engagement. An avid reader, with current favourite reads: The Making of a Manager, Just Work, and Eloquent Rage. You can contact Vicki on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/victoriayang/. Resources: Life Labs for workshops and webinars (especially around hybrid work)

Think about your day-to-day at work right now. Are you in the moment swatting at the most immediate issues or are you fixated on getting to better times ahead? Many of us are wrestling with how we shift to new ways of working together. Dave McKeown thinks that to make this new mode work for everyone, we need to have a two track approach. Fix what's broken in the short-term, but keep focused on where you want to go in the long-term. This means that leaders have to be honest about not having all the answers. It means trying new ways and failing until you find what works—and being okay with that. Hybrid and dispersed work require a new mindset. What worked before won't work now. Dave has very practical tips for what to think about and how to make the most of uncertainty. About our guest: Dave McKeown helps individuals, teams, and organizations achieve excellence by doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. He is the CEO of Outfield Leadership and author of The Self-Evolved Leader - Elevate Your Focus and Develop Your People in a World That Refuses to Slow Down. Dave is the host of the podcast 'Lead Like you Give a Damn' and writes a weekly column for Inc.com. You can contact Dave on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/davemckeown/, on Instagram @davemckeown1, on Twitter @davemckeown, and on Facebook facebook.com/davejmckeown/. Resources: Free Guide: Six Secrets of Effective Strategic Planning. Discover how to set and achieve your strategic goals with ease. Download from www.outfieldleadership.com

If you've ever heard a friend or family member on a work call you may have noticed they have a “work voice.” A lot of people feel the need to sound more professional so they change their tone, sanitize their language a bit, and are a pared down version of themselves. All because they want to be seen as a professional. But the reason for this might be because the company chooses to see their people as professionals first and humans second. It could be that they're part of a transactional company culture and not a transformational one. A transformational culture puts the human first and encourages them to bring their whole selves to work. Their own distinct views, values, and thoughts. And ultimately the goal of the company is to have each employee leave the company a better version of themselves than when they started. In turn, people will want to go that extra mile and will bring their own unique ideas to their work. On this episode I spoke with Shane Metcalf from 15Five about why building a transformational culture is one of the most important things you can do for your people. We also spoke about his unconventional background for a tech founder and the new sabbatical program that they're rolling out. About our guest: Shane Metcalf, Co-founder of 15Five, is a keynote speaker on building a world class workplace and one of the world's leading pioneers in the space of cultural engineering and positive psychology. His insights have been featured in Inc, Fast Company, Business Insider, Washington Post, Tech Crunch, and Bloomberg. You can contact Shane on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/shane-metcalf-55620213/, and on Twitter at @shane_metcalf.

I was an early-ish adopter of virtual reality (VR). When the HTC Vive came out in 2016 I ended up buying one sheerly out of curiosity. The graphics were pixelated and didn't look that realistic...but it's so immersive that it felt real. So real that I may or may not have punched air when a ghost popped out while playing a Paranormal Activity VR game. Luckily that event was not captured on video. So what in the world does all that have to do with this podcast? On this episode I got to chat with Robin Rosenberg, CEO and Founder of Live In Their World, about how VR is an effective tool to help with civility training and DE&I. It allows people to truly live in someone else's shoes for a brief moment and see how a scenario may play out. For example, men can experience what it's like to be a woman as a man stands over their desk speaking to them. It helps drive home the feelings someone might experience to help decrease bias and increase respectful engagement. We also chat about how VR is just a tool and that ultimately it comes down to building a habit of taking the time to be self-aware enough to realize how your words and deeds impact others, and then adjusting your behavior accordingly. About our guest: Robin S. Rosenberg is the CEO and Founder of Live in Their World. Robin is a clinical psychologist and textbook author. Robin has also been interested in virtual reality (VR) for years, and was the lead author of a study to investigate using “VR for good.” She has written and spoken about the psychology of superheroes, using other people's fictional stories to illustrate scientific psychological findings. You can connect with Robin at linkedin.com/in/robin-s-rosenberg-b6942329 and on Twitter @LiveNTheirWorld. Resources: Dear Robin Column Their World podcast

A business that tells lighthearted romantic stories for a living must have a distinct advantage: storytelling. At Meet Cute this couldn't be more true. CEO Naomi Shah joined me on People at Work to talk about why the human story of every person at Meet Cute is critical to their culture. From the very beginning Naomi wanted to build an organization based on human connection and care, starting with each individual's needs and circumstances. But, actions speak louder than words (or stories). For Naomi and her team, it's crucial that the lived experience actually supports her beliefs about what people need to thrive at work. Even though Meet Cute exists in a traditionally unforgiving environment with deadlines and demands, Naomi emphasizes the mental health and wellness of every person. Examples of real actions to support this include mental health days, work “love” language that declares working styles and preferences, and being open and supportive of therapy blocks in calendars. Naomi generously gets into details of this and more in our time together. This is a refreshing conversation for leaders everywhere, especially those who are currently trying to make a distributed model work while keeping people and their wellbeing front and centre. About our guest: Naomi Shah is the founder + CEO of Meet Cute, a venture-backed media company that has produced over 300 original light-hearted romantic comedies in podcast form. In high school, Naomi won the Inaugural Google Science Fair at the age of 16 and did a TEDtalk about her research, and placed 1st at the Intel Science Fair four years in a row. You can connect with Naomi on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/naomicshah, on Instagram @nshahster, on Twitter @naomicshah, and on Facebook facebook.com/listenmeetcute.

From pursuing an MBA at MIT, to Vipassana and 10 days of silence in India, then back to a pressure cooker job at McKinsey, Rahul Kulkarni knows a thing or two about dealing with stress and taking care of your mental well-being. Rahul founded Sukhi to help answer a simple question. How do we reimagine what work-life balance looks like in the modern work era? Sukhi provides scientifically backed, month-long courses called Journeys that focus on well-being, productivity, and community. Rahul and I chatted about how the pandemic has brought mental wellness and burnout to the forefront of the conversation and how being a good leader is no longer just about the productivity of your team. Instead, it's about showing up for your employees and showing that you care about them as humans and not just task rabbits. We also discuss how inequity can creep into hybrid work and some steps you can take to make sure fully remote employees are treated the same way as in-office employees. About our guest: Prior to Sukhi, Rahul was a strategy consultant with McKinsey, a global health official, and facilitated group therapy sessions in Boston. Following mindfulness training in India, he looked to combine his passion for analytics, diversity, and mental resilience to support workplace connection. When not on a Zoom call, you can see him playing guitar in his 90's cover band - Matchbox 30ish. You can connect with Rahul on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/rahul-kulkarni-6b084b44.

The “humanization” of work must surely be one of the leading themes in the discussion around the 21st century workforce. We have the ongoing global health crisis to thank for that. The pandemic has at least one endearing quality: it's helped us accelerate the importance and care of people in the workplace. But smart leaders like Phyllis Reid-Jarvis have been thinking about the humanization of work for some time. Phyllis believes that we're finally shifting from performative to authentic work environments. Here, people can be more demanding and intentional about how they want to work and what they want from their leaders. In this episode of People at Work, Phyllis shares her perspective on how to practically build people-centric workplaces and elevate leadership acumen to rise to the challenges ahead of us thanks to new ways of working. About our guest: Phyllis Reid-Jarvis helps leaders use the principles of Conscious Leadership to create diverse, inclusive and psycho-socially safe and healthy workplaces. She is a proud Winnipegger that enjoys walks by the Red River, in the Exchange District or at the Forks, followed by a meal at one of the many amazing restaurants in the area! You can connect with Phyllis on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ultimatepotentials and on Instagram @ultimatepotentials. Resources: The Ultimate Potentials resources page includes their introductory Managing a Remote Workforce manual.

Be honest: do you actually know what your organization's purpose asks you to do? Many of us have spent hours articulating what our purpose is but we haven't taken the next step to put it into action. Chip Walker and Liza Haffenberg of StrawberryFrog are on a mission to change this. Their concept of “movement thinking” helps people galvanize around their company's purpose and spur actions in support of it. They believe a movement is purpose activated. In this climate of social impact and values alignment for employees and consumers, it's time for all of us to take a stand on what our organizations are here to do. If you can mobilize your purpose into a movement, your whole company and everything you care about, will thrive. About our guests: Liza Haffenberg is a movement maker with a passion for helping companies activate their people through purpose – galvanizing employees, changing culture and driving growth. Heading StrawberryFrog's Movement Inside™, Liza develops people-first solutions that ignite positive change for employees while solving business problems. You can connect with Liza on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/liza-haffenberg-78a50622, on Instagram at @lizahaffenberg, on Facebook at facebook.com/liza.haffenberg, and on Twitter @Lizahaffenberg. Chip Walker is recognized for his expertise in brand creation and re-invention, and has led the charge in transforming brands such as Goldman Sachs, Lexus, Bank of America, Jim Beam, and Heineken. Chip is a speaker, columnist, and the author of the new book Activate Brand Purpose which he co-wrote with Scott Goodson – Founder & CEO of StrawberryFrog. You can connect with Chip on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/chipwalker, on Instagram @walker.chip, on Facebook at facebook.com/chip.walker.nyc, and on Twitter @ChipWalkerNYC. Resources: The 7 Keys of Chip's Book Purpose Power Index 2021 Executive Summary

As a Dad to two young boys, it is more than a full-time job taking care of them. Between soccer practice, baseball practice, swimming lessons, and play dates I am basically their chauffeur. I'm fortunate that I have a lot of help from their grandparents and my wife, but not everyone has that support system and juggling two full-time jobs (parent + your career) is incredibly difficult. Employers need to understand that and leaders need to be a support system. Heather Odendaal is the co-founder and CEO of WNORTH which is a global network and community of women aiming for, or already on, a senior executive leadership track. Through her relationship with WNORTH members, Heather has heard all about the good and the bad when it comes to how employers have and haven't supported mothers and women of color in the workplace. I had the opportunity to chat with her and get her thoughts on what to expect as we slowly transition to whatever this new normal of hybrid work is. We spoke about why prescribing a rigid schedule to employees just doesn't work anymore, how we should expect a dip in productivity as we transition back into the workplace, and why it's important to schedule meetings and other key events at times when working parents are able to attend. About our guest: Meet Heather Odendaal—an accomplished Canadian entrepreneur, brand builder and event producer whose experience in corporate environments inspired her to create and co-found WNORTH, a global organization dedicated to the development of women mid-career on a trajectory towards senior executive leadership. Heather currently resides in Whistler, BC, and is a Director on the board of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce. In her spare time, you can find her judging local food & wine festivals, and skiing with her husband and two children. You can connect with Heather on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/heatherodendaal.

Our original Jostle website in 2012 was focused on the concept of empowering your employees. Which is why I was really looking forward to chatting with Avnish Goyal, Founder & Chair at Hallmark Care Homes, about his Empowerment Days program. Avnish is the type of leader who very strongly believes in empowering all of his employees to be better versions of themselves. He runs Empowerment Days which are when he gets hundreds of his employees in a room to focus on personal development. One of the most interesting parts to me is that he actually opens it up to his competitors and colleagues in his sector to bring their employees as well. Avnish and I chatted about where his passion for personal development came from, why it's a never ending journey, and how he's managed to use things he's learned in his personal and professional life. About our guest: Avnish Goyal is the Founder & Chair of industry-leading care provider, Hallmark Care Homes. He is also the Chair of Care England, an Advisory Board Director, Patron of The Care Workers' Charity, and Ambassador of E2Exchange and the Alzheimer's Society. Avnish founded the Hemraj Goyal Foundation in memory of his late father, supporting charities on issues such as trafficking, menstrual dignity, empowerment of women, and education of children from disadvantaged backgrounds both in the UK and abroad. You can connect with Anvish on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/avnishgoyal.

Learning the basics of communication is key to having productive conversations. This includes active listening, giving feedback, and identifying stakeholders. But is that enough to really get your ideas heard and gain traction? No, says Dr. Nicole Tschierske. We can't stop there. If we want to rally people around our ideas, we need to go beyond the basics. Now we get into choice of words, desired outcomes, tone, timing, and more, to help us engage and convince our audience. If you're ready to go to the next level with your communication, give this episode of People at Work a listen. If we all communicate with clear purpose as Nicole suggests, perhaps we'd get more done and be happier at the same time. About our guest: As a Scientist and Positive Psychology Coach, Nicole helps her clients strategically turn their career frustrations into a renewed love for their work. She's a huge fan of Mary Poppins who inspires her to bring magical moments to the work she does. You can connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/drnicoletschierske. Resources: ‘Women in STEM, Reimagined' is a free masterclass series dedicated to helping participants stand out with confidence, become the go-to expert in their area, and spark their next-level career move. It's open each March and September and you can get on the waitlist at womeninstem-reimagined.com

If you've been working this past year and a half, you know that where and how we work has changed. But, do you know that career management has had a seismic shift too? It stands to reason that if employees are expecting changes in work habits, recognition, and care for their individual needs, that attitudes towards careers are changing too. Denise Cooper joins me on People at Work to talk about the new landscape of career management. The basis of employment has always been a contract for work in exchange for pay. Climbing the career ladder meant increasing pay with increasing importance or status in an organization. Those days are gone. Now, as all things job and career become more human-centric, we must transcend the contractual way of thinking. A key shift according to Denise, is understanding that all workers are knowledge workers (not just those who work in offices). Once we do that, we open up a much more diverse and engaging conversation about career development. In this conversation, Denise encourages us to question performance standards and reward systems, see organizations as communities working together, and encourage space for individual stories. Whether you're a manager or an individual contributor, the memo is here: career development has changed. Take a listen to Denise's perspective on how we use this shift to showcase our own brilliance and that of our team. About our guest: Denise Cooper is an Executive Trainer with 25 years experience in Human Resources, apprentice patio builder, and amateur gardener. You can connect with Denise on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/denisecooper and on Instagram @denisecooperinc. Resources: Denise's book, Remarkable Leadership Lessons, is available on Amazon. Her podcast, Closing the Gap with Denise Cooper, is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Things are changing at work, and they're changing fast. It's not only the overnight shift to remote work that's keeping leaders up at night. It's also the new landscape of employee-powered workplaces. Here, employees care about what their organization stands for and how it contributes to the greater good. Rachel Klausner is so invested in the idea of social impact as a key driver of all things good for business (most importantly, its people), that she started a social impact platform called Millie. Rachel's keeping a keen eye on what's happening in the realm of social impact, and she joined me on People at Work to emphasize what leaders should be focusing on. We chat about generational shifts (PSA: the philanthro kids are here), why employee resource groups matter, starting small is better than not starting, and giving the keys to passionate individuals. Now's the time to make social impact a firm part of your culture, not a convenient add on to serve your marketing agenda. Listen in and hear why and how you can build authentic and credible social impact with your organization. Your people are counting on it. About our guest: Rachel Klausner is the founder and CEO of Millie, a social impact platform bringing giving and volunteering to workplaces of all sizes. When she's not running a small tech company or podcasting under a blanket, Rachel is hiking with her daughters (read: bribing them with Skittles up mountains) or trying new art mediums to amatuer-out with. You can connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/millie-giving.

Employee engagement is something companies have focused on for years, but when you look at the Gallup polls and the research we've barely moved the needle? Why is that? One big reason is that a lot of it focuses on the company instead of the person. Employee engagement is always tied to productivity, profitability, and what leaders want to see from their engaged employees. It's a selfish view and we are likely better off focusing on how to increase the happiness of our employees in the workplace. On this episode I spoke with Eric Karpinski who is the author of Put Happiness to Work. He spoke about how to develop habits to improve social connection and deal with negative emotions. Here are just a few of the tips he shared on how to improve social connection: Gratitude practice; takes 3 minutes at the start of the day to write down three people that you appreciate and what you appreciate them for. Conscious act of kindness: as soon as you get to your phone each day commit to writing a one or two line email or text to someone telling them something you love about them, encouraging them, or just sharing some good news with them. Connection meditation: bring someone to mind that is really close to you and just send them good wishes in your mind Pecha Kucha connection presentation: Each week ask someone on your team to pull together 10 photos of their life outside of work that they're comfortable sharing with the team and then present them. This gives everyone an understanding of each other and plants potential seeds of conversation There's so much more to this episode and some great tips for dealing with negative emotions. I guarantee you'll get something valuable out of this episode so give it a listen. About our guest: Eric Karpinski has been on the cutting edge of bringing positive psychology tools to workplaces for over 10 years. Eric is a key member of Shawn Achor's GoodThink team, trained as a scientist at Brown University and has an MBA from the Wharton School. He and his wife are regular work-advice columnists on Psychology Today and his new book, Put Happiness to Work, is available now. You can connect with Eric on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/erickarpinski.

Leaders have always struggled with being out of touch with people in their organization. That's worse now. All sorts of new barriers, like the digital divide, disparities during COVID, and muted interpersonal signals, are making leaders more invisible than ever. Derek Newberry chats with me on People at Work about how leaders can move from invisible to visible. As a cultural anthropologist, Derek sees similarities between tribes and groups of people who gather in organizations. In both cases, leaders have to work harder to bring people together to work in harmony and be productive. But in today's work context, where people are face to face less often, leaders must be more intentional about presence. This starts with deep listening, followed by what Derek calls strategic vulnerability, where you arrive without all the answers. Both of these require interest, curiosity, and humility. Visibility stands to benefit everyone in our teams and organizations. Not to mention the impact present leadership will have on the tone and experience of workplace culture everywhere. If you do one thing today to up your leadership presence, listen and act via Derek's take. About our guest: Derek Newberry is an organizational development consultant who specializes in helping leaders build great cultures and drive transformational change. He's co-author of a new book “The Culture Puzzle: Harnessing the Forces that Drive Your Organization's Success”. Adam Grant called it “a stimulating, sensible guide to understanding—and improving—the values and norms of your workplace.” You can connect with Derek on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/derekonewberry. Resources: The Culture Puzzle is available on Amazon or wherever you get your books.

Over at Voodle, there's excitement about how short videos can create micro-connections for people who don't work face to face. But that's not all. Voodle's Chief Customer Officer, Rachel Lanham, is excited about the possibilities the new work landscape presents. She's also curious about how to prepare for the transition to hybrid work. So, the Voodle team asked 800 US technology workers what they're thinking about. The result is a comprehensive “Hybrid Workplace Report” that details five big challenges in the transition to hybrid. All of these challenges relate to people and how they're connected to each other. Turns out maximizing an employee's experience in the new normal means being open to new ideas about what culture is, how people are included, and the opportunities for new connection habits. Tune it to hear Rachel speak on People at Work about what this research means for all of us. She also shares how she's interpreting the data and implementing solutions for Voodle's own people and culture. As Rachel says, employees are loose in the socket and ready to plug in somewhere else. Let's listen and understand how to keep them. About our guest: Rachel has dedicated her career to solving big business problems with digital innovation and is currently obsessed with the promise of the future of work - a more flexible, inclusive, distributed, and human experience. Her home base is Seattle, WA but, born and raised in Southern California, she reserves the right to complain about the weather anyway. You can connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/lanhamrachel and on Twitter @RachelLanham8. Resources: Hybrid Workplace Report Virtual Onboarding Toolkit

Even if you sit right beside your manager, there's no way they have complete visibility into your work. Now that many of us are working from home, this visibility is decreased even more. Add on a flexible work schedule and more distractions at home and it's a recipe for your manager to accidentally overload you with work. Which is why it's ok to push back. Ben Brearley gives some tips on questions you can ask to get the conversation started when you feel like you have too many competing priorities. It really does come down to prioritization and trust. Otherwise you run the risk of setting a precedent that you'll just accept all work that is thrown your way even if you're drowning in it. About our guest: Ben Brearley is a certified leadership coach, MBA and consultant who helps thoughtful leaders to manage the tricky balancing act of leadership and helping them to lead with confidence. You can connect with Ben on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/benbrearley.

Ask 100 people what happiness is, and you'll likely get 100 different answers. But, as Becky Morrison tells us on this episode of People at Work, joy is the root of happiness for us all. Your recipe for happiness relies on where your joy comes from. We maximize happiness when we do more of this, and less of the rest. It's not quite that simple though. Which is why Becky has created a framework to help tune into what matters, and then find that joy in every part of your life. In the context of work, employees and employers alike have something to learn from this conversation. If we build more joy into our workplaces, we create environments that welcome choice, diversity, and authenticity. Hear Becky's thoughts on how to make joy a priority. Just imagine what this would look like if it works. About our guest: Meet Becky Morrison. Lawyer turned Happiness Coach, book author, international speaker, and mom to two. Becky also comes from a basketball family – her husband is a basketball coach and both her kids play as well. You can connect with Becky on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/beckymorrisonbfs, on Facebook at facebook.com/untanglehappiness, and on Instagram @the.butterfly.society. Resources: Book: The Happiness Recipe: A Powerful Guide to Living What Matters The Happiness Recipe Workbook: view.flodesk.com/pages/606cc3f1156ede2be20c611b

Things are happening quickly at Dooly. With a recent $80 million Series B raise, they're scaling most things in their business, not least of which their culture. Candace Bajgoric is Head of People and Culture at Dooly, with a background of building and scaling companies and their workplace cultures in the tech space. This is complex work under normal circumstances. Throw in a global pandemic with forced remote work for all, and everything from hiring to onboarding to doing productive work together, becomes more challenging. At Dooly, the key is being human-centric. Candace joined the People at Work podcast recently to talk about how they're achieving this, even when they're not face-to-face. She talks about: Authentic and vulnerable leadership, where humility and openness starts from the top The importance of employee storytelling to create connection and celebrate commonalities and uniqueness Placing greater emphasis on what people actually want in their workplace and how that fits into their lives, rather than prescribing rules, perks, and quirks in your culture Regardless of where you are in your culture-building journey, there's a ton we can learn from Candace and her team of Dooligans. With additional pressures arriving due to the pandemic, such as greater demands for flexibility and more mobility in the workforce, companies like Dooly are showing how to keep ahead of change while looking after their people. About our guest: Candace is a down-to-earth, people-focused leader who has spent the past eight years working with emerging and growing companies in the tech space. In 2019/2020 she took a different (but also super fulfilling) people and culture role, spending the year traveling in Europe with her young family. You can connect with Candace on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/cbajgoric

Andrew moved from the UK out to San Francisco to open up a new office and hire rapidly. That's hard enough to do. Just as he started doing that, the pandemic hit. The in-person interviews weren't possible anymore. So he had to adapt to virtual interviews. Instead of thinking about how to connect two offices, he now had to think about how to connect everyone remotely. That's a whole lot of change and a whole lot of learning so I was excited to pick his brain a bit. We chatted about the pros and cons of virtual hiring, how to maintain your culture when rapidly hiring and switching to remote work, and what he plans to do with the two offices once things go back to “normal.” About our guest: Andrew Butt is the Co-founder & CEO of Enable, a modern, cloud-based B2B software solution for rebate management. Distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers across over 50 industries now have an easy, seamless solution to execute and track their full range of trading programs. Andrew and his co-founder met twenty years ago while learning to fly helicopters and have launched three businesses together since. You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/awbutt

Workplace culture is like an octopus on roller skates. There are many moving parts, and if we don't move those parts in the same direction, chaos ensues. That's why this week's guest on People at Work, Gina DeLapa, believes that the future of workplace culture rests on shared purpose. As we've shifted (a bit awkwardly like invertebrates on roller skates too) into overnight remote work, our physical spaces are now far less important for building our cultures than rallying everyone around a common goal. But vibrant and engaging workplace cultures go beyond shared purpose. They also require more self-aware leaders who understand why human-centric environments are best for people who work there. In addition, collaboration, openness, and inclusion are now minimum viable elements for any organization and its culture. Listen in for more about Gina's look into the future of workplace culture and her call to action for all of us at work. Workplace culture is up to all of us, and there's much we can influence for good if we choose to do that. About our guest: Gina DeLapa helps company leaders transform their culture so employees engage, drama disappears, and company culture becomes a competitive advantage. Gina has been collecting great quotations for more than half her life. They often inspire her writing and speaking. Here's one from Ed McMahon, as he was wrapping up his time on The Tonight Show: "Play your role — to the very end." You can connect with Gina on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ginadelapa, on Twitter @GinaDeLapa, on Facebook at facebook.com/ginadelapa, and on Instagram @ginadelapa. Resources: 50 Traits of Exceptional Leaders: info.ginadelapa.com/50-traits-of-exceptional-leaders

There are things that get in the way of achieving goals. Often, we have ourselves to blame. It's not usually a lack of aspiration or dreams, but the belief that we can actually set a goal and see it to completion. Kristin Burke feels there are four obstacles that put roadblocks in our way. Perfection, fear, perceived shortage of time, and lack of self-promotion. These are all internal factors that we can control on our goal setting and achieving journey (also known as life). Kristin talks through each of these obstacles in this episode of People at Work. She provides sassy yet helpful responses to the usual excuses we use to get ourselves off the hook. After all, if we're not taking our goals seriously, who will? About our guest: Kristin is a goal achievement coach who collaborates with women, entrepreneurs, and leaders to accomplish breakout performances. She launched her coaching practice after advancing in her corporate career from an intern to a senior level director. Kristin is married to her high-school sweetheart, Joe, and they have a vivacious 6-year-old, Scarlett. In her free time, she enjoys finding flow through her hot yoga practice, running, and reading. You can connect with Kristin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/burkekristin and on Instagram @meetkristinburke. Resources: Hear more from Kristin at kristinburke.com/podcast.

If you're a recovering perfectionist like me, you'll know that failure and making mistakes don't sit well. Where in the past I focused on the perfect score in any endeavor, I've now come to value the jagged edges of things unfinished, unsolved, and never meant to be. Shani Magosky brings the idea of embracing failure into focus. She believes there are types of failure that can help us grow, innovate, adapt, and improve. Most of these don't even get us into a lot of trouble (except for the mistakes around law-breaking, which are generally not encouraged). But why then do we shy away from not getting things right the first time or at all? Shani talks through the psyche around mistake making and how humans can learn to accept and even welcome failure as a prerequisite for success. According to Shani, we're never done failing because there really is no such thing as perfection. So, get messy and make mistakes—it's good for you (and everyone around you!). About our guest: Shani Magosky founded The Leadershift Project based on years of experience working with leaders of all levels and a desire to change organizations by helping people become better leaders- of others and themselves. In her free time, you can find Shani rock climbing, mid-vinyasa at her favorite yoga studio, hurtling down black diamond slopes, riding her Harley, or kicking back to watch some college football. You can connect with Shani on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/shanimagosky, on Twitter @leadershiftproj, and on Instagram @theleadershiftproject. Resources: Check out The LeaderShift Project website for free resources and book recommendations by Shani at theleadershiftproject.com.

As companies grow their company culture also grows and evolves. When that happens there are two common reactions: Slap on some shiny new process or HR tactic that they heard some Fortune 500 company was using Try desperately to hold on to their existing culture and stop it from evolving Both of these reactions often make things worse. So what do you do if you’re leading a high-growth company and want to make sure you have a vibrant culture and the right mix of processes and freedom? That’s the exact question I kicked around with Andrew Bartlow on today’s episode. What it boils down to is awareness, critical thinking, and intentionality. You need an awareness that the changes you’re experiencing are a natural evolution for a high-growth company. Then think critically about what might work for your specific company. Don’t just blindly copy an approach from a company you admire. Finally, be intentional with your changes. Don’t make them for the sake of making them. Really think through what your intended outcome is. Simple, right? But definitely not easy. About our guest: Andrew Bartlow is a Human Resources and Talent Management expert and the co-author of Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organizations. He leads Series B Consulting, which focuses on rapid growth, and the People Leader Accelerator, the preeminent development program for startup HR leaders. He’s worked with clients like Masterclass and many others to help them overcome obstacles in a hyper-growth phase. You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/bartlow. Resources: Who Should Founders Listen to For Advice Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow

There are always some bumpy times when a company is growing quickly. Usually the problem boils down to either the wrong people, the wrong processes, or both. If you have a capable person who just isn’t compatible with your organization and becomes disgruntled then you run the risk of that spreading to other employees. On the other hand, if you drown intelligent, creative people in strict processes you could be hurting their ability to make positive change in the organization. It’s all a tricky balance and it’s why growing a company isn’t easy. In this episode, I had a chat with Josh Mathias about why hiring people whose values are aligned with your company’s values is more important than their skill set, and how important it is to make sure processes don’t limit the creativity and capability of your people. Give it a listen to learn some of the lessons he learned along the way as he grew from labourer to Managing Director at The Hythe Group. About our guest: Josh Mathias is MD of The Hythe Group. He joined the company aged 22 as a labourer and took a break so he could return in a commercial role. Josh loves cooking - particularly outdoors, which is lucky because—until today—indoor dining hadn’t been allowed in the UK for months! He likes to cook anything that’s challenging. You can connect with Josh on Twitter @JoshMathias9 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/josh-mathias-544112101.