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