
Pat Farnack, longtime radio host on WCBS Newsradio 880 in New York City, recently interviewed me about the trend toward “brutal honesty” in the workplace and its unintended consequences.


I am excited to announce that I am speaking at The Kevin Eikenberry Group’s virtual event, Virtual LeaderCon. This is a free online event that brings together me and 30 of the world’s top leadership experts talking about the most pressing and emerging leadership and learning topics.

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed again by Pat Farnack, longtime radio host on WCBS Newsradio 880 in New York City.
In the middle of the “Great Resignation,” companies are struggling to attract and retain employees. Studies show that negative emotions in the workplace have been rising. These negative emotions make people less enthusiastic about returning to work and incentivized to seek a more positive experience elsewhere. In our conversation, Pat and I discussed strategies that organizations can use to create a more positive culture that connects and ultimately retains employees.
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

It’s one thing to know something intellectually—to learn interesting new data, to gain an understanding of why something works the way it does, to be inspired by a message—but if it stops there and you don’t develop heart knowledge, then you’re less likely to see meaningful or lasting change as a result. In our busy and full lives we need to engage both our head and our heart if something is going to “stick” and make a difference. It takes assent and action, knowing and doing, to arrive at “I understand. That makes sense. Now that I’ve experienced it, I get it.” Having a personal experience that validates or reinforces the head knowledge is often what it takes to know it in your heart and for the information to sink in and affect your attitudes, your words or your behaviors going forward.

As a growing percentage of the workforce seeks new career opportunities, employee retention has become a major issue facing organizations today. Addressing financial compensation is important, particularly for those lower income workers whose wages have remained largely stagnant, but addressing emotional compensation is another component all organizations need to consider.

Having a healthy workplace culture is important to the success of organizations in any sector, including the public sector.
PM Magazine, a publication of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), recently explored the role culture plays in local government success. In the article, author Patrick Ibarra writes that while conventional wisdom seeks to address government challenges with additional resources, culture is actually the secret sauce to achieving higher levels of effectiveness. He also cites the Connection Culture framework as an example of the type of culture where government employees thrive.
You can read the full article on the ICMA website.

Is the relational culture of your group sabotaging creativity and innovation? I’m looking forward to speaking about this topic at the ATD 2021 International Conference next month in Salt Lake City.
Learn which culture sparks the identification of new products, processes, and organizational endeavors. I’ll also share which attitudes, language, and behaviors increase creative conversations and fuel innovation.
I hope to see you at the conference!