Jazzed About Work

This episode begins with a story. Beverly Jones tells about how she created a change process that helped her join the fight for equal opportunity for college women. Bev doesn’t take herself too seriously, as she describes her efforts in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. After Bev’s story, guest host Tom Hodson asks questions and seeks advice for young women who are fighting for equality now. Bev recently performed a version of this story in a production of the RAAC Community Theatre, in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Bev is the second of three storytellers in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lyaC42yN7A For more on Bev see: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverly-jones-coach-author/

Our guest is Kathy Kidd, who started her career as a chemical engineer helping chem plants improve process safety. Since then she’s been a leader in a consulting group, and then a startup, and has held many roles at financial tech entity FINRA. Recently Kathy moved to the Impact Center, focused on developing women leaders and creating human-centered work experiences. Today Kathy discusses two questions that help define her career: How can we create work environments where everyone can contribute, feel valued, and flourish? And how can leadership support those possibilities? We talk about key workplace issues, like the challenges of assuring flexibility and managing hybrid teams, the need to stay connected even when you work remotely, and how strong teams require psychological safety. Connect with Kathy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-kidd-9b4073b0/overlay/photo/ Or email: [email protected]

In this episode, we focus on executive coaching, and discuss how a coaching style of leadership can change an organization’s culture, while improving employee growth, performance and happiness. Our guest is Mark Cappone, a retired Army colonel, and a former Brigade Commander. Mark has two masters degrees and lots of other training related to leadership, management and coaching. He discusses some of the ways

leadership coaching can have a powerful impact, and he describes what happens when leaders start acting more like coaches while interacting with team members. He talks about how a coaching culture can create psychological safety and promote collaboration. And he offers tips that might help you ask supportive, coach-like questions. You can contact him at: [email protected] For more about Mark, see: https://www.ohio.edu/voinovich-school/people/mark-cappone

Today’s guest, Ryan Lytle, is a leader in the field of social media and modern marketing. In the 12 years since college graduation, Ryan has moved up quickly through a series of terrific jobs. He won a “Social Presence” Webby at Mashable, and later oversaw social platform strategies for global media company Discovery, Inc. These days he’s at Adobe, where he leads a broad team of social strategists, influencer marketers, community managers, creatives and social analysts. From the outside, it seems he thrives on challenges, but here Ryan speaks honestly about how he sometimes struggles with uncertainties and has suffered from “imposter syndrome.” He advises listeners to mindfully create a network, and to regularly ask for help. For more, see: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlytle/

Today’s guest, Gerald Leonard, is an accomplished bassist with two degrees in music. He is also a highly qualified IT project management consultant, and has earned numerous leadership credentials. Gerald shares stories and advice from his insightful and entertaining book, Workplace Jazz. In the book, Gerald uses a jazz metaphor to illustrate how each of us can contribute to a supportive and effective team culture. Here, he explains how creating successful projects and high performing teams is much like building a great jazz ensemble. He describes what we can learn from the way world-class musicians develop their skills. And he talks about the neuroscience of music. For more about Gerald, visit: https://geraldjleonard.com/

Popular author and career futurist Kerry Hannon says the workplace has changed forever, and for older workers that brings some good news. In this episode, she talks about her new book, In Control at 50+, which offers insights about the current job market as well as tips on how people over 50 can navigate their careers. Her advice includes taking stock of what’s important to you, looking at a wide range of job options, and being willing to redeploy your skills. Kerry urges you to embrace technology, even if you don’t want to, and acknowledges she is still working on that. And she describes new mechanisms to help people reenter the job market after time away, like “returnships” and state programs to connect employers with experienced workers. For more insights from Kerry, visit: https://kerryhannon.com

This show features a wide-ranging conversion between Bev and jobs expert Mark Anthony Dyson, about the changing workplace. They note the generational divide in many organizations, and they discuss ways younger and older workers can learn from one another. Mark says you can expand your career savvy simply by hanging out with colleagues who aren’t like you, because some knowledge is “caught, not taught.” He says you can always find time to promote your career because -- whether you’re on the bus or in a barber shop -- your phone lets you learn, share content and connect with others. And Mark advises job seekers to research carefully and listening deeply, so you can become “the prescription to an employer’s job description.” For more, check out Mark’s website: https://thevoiceofjobseekers.com/

Perhaps 40% of recent college graduates are underemployed, and the problem particularly hits diverse and first generation grads. Our guest, Lukeisha Paul, says it’s not always easy for young people to work their way in, and work their way up, complex organizations, but there are ways to help. Lukeisha is the U.S. head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for GroupM, a global advertising and media company. And she’s active in the GroupM/Coop Career partnership to give practical support to grads. Lukeisha explains how the Coop program helps cohorts of young people develop upward mobility by acquiring in-demand digital skills, strong peer relationships, and an enhanced sense of self. And she offers tips for grads who maybe struggling. For more, see: https://coopcareers.org and https://www.groupm.com/

West Virginia University Assistant Dean Danny Twilley is passionate about encouraging people to spend time outdoors. In this episode, Danny says research shows that active outdoor leisure can support creativity and a sense of connection, as well as health and happiness. He says getting outside can help you recover from work stress, promote well-being and stimulate learning. Even taking a 20-minute walk in a city park can help you unwind.

Danny also describes how the Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative is building on West Virginia’s rivers, mountain trails and other natural attractions to convince savvy remote workers to move to the state. And Danny talks about job opportunities developing across the U.S. as a result of the growing interest in spending more time outside.

To learn more about Danny’s activities, checkout LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-twilley-49923699

Today’s guest, Doug Shapiro, understands that the space where you work can impact your productivity, your creativity and how much you enjoy your job. He’s a thought leader in the design industry, a respected observer of the interplay between work culture and physical places, and the vice president of research and insights at OFS, a furniture company. Doug says how we work has changed forever, and now offices must deliver choices about how tasks are done. He says that, wherever you perform your work, your space can support calmness, a sense of belonging, and productivity. And he offers tips for a creating supportive environments, like assuring access to daylight, introducing a touch of nature, and generating energy with high impact, vibrant spaces. For more insights about design, check out Doug’s lovely podcast, Imagine a Place https://ofs.com/imagine-a-place/podcast