My wife Katie and I recently interviewed with Doug Hensch, host of the Looking for And podcast. In the interview, we seek to answer why some organizations both consistently outperform their competitors AND serve as great places to work. We also share how Katie’s cancer journey influenced our thoughts on loneliness, resilience, and Connection Culture.
Listen to the episode and consider sharing it with a friend.
Sometimes life lessons come from surprising places. In early 2004, just nine months after completing treatment for breast cancer, my wife, Katie, was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. During the months that followed, I learned an important lesson about connection that influenced my perspective on how to approach organizational change.
I wrote about this lesson in an article published by SmartBrief. If you are navigating change in your organization or personal life, I hope this piece is an encouragement to you.
Workplaces are full of disconnected people. There are still far too many leaders who, consciously or unconsciously, allow cultures of control or indifference that are disengaging and stressful for those under them.
Studies show the continued growth in the number of people who are lonely, which has reached epidemic levels in many countries.
Recently, my wife, Katie, and I had the opportunity to teach a Connection Culture Workshop for the Institute for Management Studies in Columbus, Ohio. Mary Held, head of IMS Columbus, made us aware of this outstanding brief on the global loneliness epidemic published by The Week. I encourage you to read the brief and consider the steps you could take to reduce loneliness in your workplace and community.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rana Olk, founder and host of The School of Connection podcast. We talked about America’s loneliness epidemic, the factors contributing to loneliness, global trends in loneliness and connection, and how to become more connected in your community.
Loneliness isn’t something that people like to acknowledge, but it’s a real issue for many people today. Many leaders are so busy that they don’t even realize that they are in fact lonely. That’s a problem because loneliness is a “super stressor” that makes it difficult to perform at your best.
In a new article that I wrote for Forbes, I describe how loneliness is affecting today’s leaders and why we all need to take steps to address the issue in our lives and organizations. I hope you’ll read the article and consider ways you can boost connection in your workplace.
I’m excited to share that I’ll be participating in the Human Capital Institute’s (HCI) #StorytellingTuesday webinar series on Tuesday, November 20, 2018. We’ll be talking about why there really is one “best” type of culture, and how people analytics and workforce planning are instrumental to achieving the human connection that is essential for both individuals and organizations to thrive, no matter what comes their way.
Find the full details and register for the event here.
Attitudes toward leadership styles have changed. Characteristics that are common in female leaders are now recognized as essential to the success of any leader – regardless of gender. In fact, studies show that women leaders are outperforming men in many key areas.
So what’s the secret to this success? The answer may lie in many women’s dual focus on both task and relationship excellence. Learn more about this effective leadership approach in an article I wrote for Forbes.
I recently had the privilege of being a guest on the Your Partner in Success Radio Podcast. Listen to the full episode to hear us discuss the superpower of human connection and how to foster it in your workplace.
I highly recommend reading Stanford Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer’s recent books, Leadership B.S. and Dying for a Paycheck. In them he makes a compelling case that most leadership training has failed to produce effective leaders and that the poor state of the vast majority of workplace cultures today is harming the health of people. He provides an abundance of evidence to support these conclusions. Professor Pfeffer recommends boosting connection in workplace cultures (which, as most of you know, is the focus of our work). You could read Professor Pfeffer’s books and become depressed, but I’m not. Below I explain why.