I’d like you to be aware of the upcoming workshop co-offered by New Jersey Organization Development and TCU Center for Connection Culture that is being opened up to outside individuals for a limited time. Here is a rare opportunity for you to experience the workshop we do for institutions and consider whether to bring it to your own organization. I hope to see you there!

Date: November 3, 2016
Time: 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Event: Connection Culture Workshop on November 3
Topic: How to Build a Connection Culture in the Workshop
Sponsor: New Jersey Organization Development
Venue: Ramada Plaza in Newark, NJ
Location: 160 Frontage Road
Newark, NJ 07114
Public: Public
Registration: Click here to register.
More Info: Click here for more information.

“Connection Culture” Book is Now Available!

 

 

Connection Culture Book CoverI am excited to announce that my latest book, Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy and Understanding at Work is now available!

Connection Culture includes inspiring stories of great leaders who created connection cultures, scientific evidence that people and organizations need connection cultures to thrive, and descriptions of ways to connect that include attitudes, uses of language and behaviors. Written for busy leaders with little time to waste, Connection Culture is concise, inspiring, and practical.

Here’s a few of the wonderful reviews Connection Culture has received:

“A great leadership guide for leaders at every level.”
Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO, The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute

“This is more than a great read; Michael’s connection strategy is a game changer for leaders.”
Vernon Clark, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Former Chief of Naval Operations

Connection Culture provides ideas, actions, and pathways that servant leaders can use to not only enhance performance, but more importantly to build a strong culture.”
Howard Behar, Former President, Starbucks International

To learn more about the book and to purchase, please visit www.connectionculture.com/book.

New Connection Resource

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I am thrilled to announce the launch of a project we here at E Pluribus Partners have been working on for quite some time: a brand new website dedicated to helping you foster Connection Cultures in your workplaces.

ConnectionCulture.com is a publishing site that features content from the best and brightest thinkers on connection. You’ll find thought-provoking articles on leadership, wellness, workplace issues, career advice, examples of great connectors and more.

E Pluribus Partners is Now on LinkedIn

I’m happy to announce that my company, E Pluribus Partners, is now on LinkedIn! LinkedIn is another wonderful platform for sharing and discussing ideas about employee engagement and leadership, and we look forward to sharing helpful advice through this practical channel.

Follow our company page today and join the conversation!

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Follow Now

 

We Are Featured: 20 Insightful Leadership and Management Sites

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We are honored to have been featured on Huddle Recruit’s list of 20 insightful leadership and management sites. The list is designed to help entrepreneurs and innovators stay on top of the latest advice, and is a helpful resource for anyone hoping to refine their leadership skills. Check out the great list of blogs and prepare to be inspired.

Updates and an Exciting Announcement

Much is happening at E Pluribus Partners these days. Presently we are:

  • Working with a global advertising agency to create a custom employee engagement survey
  • Teaching workshops on Connection Cultures at TCU and the forensic accounting firm Connolly, Inc.
  • Teaching online training for Executive Development Partners
  • Teaching a 4.5 hour online course for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)

In addition, we are pleased to announce that we have committed to writing our next book on Connection Cultures for ASTD Press. The book will be published in early 2015.

Expanding our relationship with ASTD is a great way for us to help more organizations develop healthy, high performance cultures. ASTD is the world’s largest association dedicated to the training and development profession with 120 chapters across the U.S. and members in more than 100 countries.

Stay tuned for more details about the book in the coming months.

Neutralize “Killer Stress” to Boost the Bottom Line

Who experiences greater levels of stress: management or employees? Managers seem to think they do, but hard research data makes it clear: Employees experience greater stress, and that affects the company’s bottom line.

It doesn’t have to be that way: Effective leaders can create an organizational culture that reduces “killer stress” and encourages “challenge stress,” which produces gains in productivity and performance.

Despite its reputation, all stress is not bad. What we call “challenge stress,” actually stimulates people to perform at their best.

“Killer stress,” is the kind that comes from feeling like you don’t have control over your work. Killer stress is unhealthy and in many individuals triggers fight, flight, freeze or stalking behavior — not what good leaders want to find in their organizations.

Here are three actions you can take to reduce killer stress, increase challenge stress and boost your company’s bottom line. 

Say “Hi” and “Bye”

#5 Say Hi and Bye

When you enter a room and it’s appropriate given the context and number of people present, greet people by name.  When you leave their presence, say goodbye.  Not saying hi and/or bye, runs the risk of giving someone the impression that you are indifferent to them.  (This practice reflects the Connection Culture element of Value.)

This is the fifth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others.  Although the attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

Update: Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International, and I co-authored an article entitled “Leadership Myopia” that appears in the August edition of Leadership Excellence alongside articles by well known leadership experts Gary Hamel, Marshall Goldsmith and Patrick Lencioni.    On October 10, I will give a keynote speech at the Retailing Summit held in Dallas, Texas.  The Retailing Summit is a premiere event for senior leaders in retail.  This year’s conference includes Karen Katz, President and CEO of Nieman Marcus, Maxine Clark, Founder of Build-a-Bear Workshop, Duncan Mac Naughtan, EVP, Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer for Wal-Mart U.S. and Graham Atkinson, CMO & Chief Experience Officer of Walgreens.