Curious Minds at Work

There’s more to being a workaholic than working long hours. Consider what motivates you to work more. Where you’re spending your energy. Think about the impact those longer hours have on family and friends.

These are some of the distinctions Malissa Clark makes in her book, Never Not Working: Why the Always-on Culture is Bad for Business and How to Fix it. She not only shares a helpful framework for thinking about workaholism but gives us ways to recognize it. Equally helpful, she explains steps we – and our organizations – can take to undo it.

Malissa’s book is a great resource for assessing workaholic tendencies and for changing them – as individuals, teams, and organizations.

Episode Links

Are You a Workaholic? Don’t Wear it as a Badge of Honor

These are the Four Drivers of Workaholism

Thomas Curran on The Perfection Trap

The Team

Learn more about host, Gayle Allen, and producer, Rob Mancabelli, here.

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We associate the word epidemic with disease. Yet it’s a word we’re increasingly using to refer to a state of mind, namely, loneliness. Researchers have not only found a significant increase in people’s feelings of loneliness, but they’ve also learned how detrimental loneliness can be to our health and wellbeing.

One of the most effective antidotes to loneliness is feeling like we belong. In fact, researchers have discovered that feelings of belonging can spill over into every area of our lives, from school to work to home. When present, they can boost our motivation and performance.

That’s why I wanted to speak with Stanford psychologist Geoffrey Cohen, author of the book, Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides. Geoff has spent his career designing interventions to counter loneliness. In our conversation, he shares how taking even the smallest steps can reap big benefits.

Episode Links

Understanding and Overcoming Belonging Uncertainty

The Science of Belonging and Connection

A Crisis of Belonging

Joe Keohane on the Benefits of Talking to Strangers

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One-on-one meetings are the cornerstone of manager-employee relationships. For managers, they’re an opportunity to teach, coach, and mentor. For employees, they’re a chance to grow and develop.

But given how important these meetings are, how well are we using them? How effectively do we plan and run them? Bottom line - are they an afterthought or a priority?

These are just some of the questions, I asked meeting expert Steven Rogelberg, author of the book, Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings. In response, Steve not only described what the most effective one-on-one meetings look like, but he also explained how to design and lead them. I left the interview with lots of practical tips and tools.

Episode Links

This is the Most Important Meeting You’ll Have. Here’s How to Make It Better.

Meetings Can Really Suck. Here’s How to Fix That

Managers, Take This Simple Assessment to Hold Better One-on-One Meetings

Make the Most of Your One-on-One Meetings

The Team

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For many of us, the word addiction quickly conjures up images of drugs and alcohol. But we’re often slower to apply the term to compulsive, tech-induced behaviors like playing video games, checking social media, or shopping online.

We prefer to think of these pleasure-seeking activities as harmless distractions. Yet they can just as easily lead to addictive behaviors. And with our ever-present smartphones, the chance of mindlessly engaging in these activities, to the point of addiction, are more likely than ever.  

That’s why I wanted to talk to Anna Lembke, author of the book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. Anna is a psychiatrist and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University. In this conversation, she uses patient stories to teach us about addiction. She also explains how our lifestyles encourage addictive behaviors. Finally, she shares insights on what we can do.

I found her book to be revelatory and, as strange as this may sound, a real page turner. I also found it to be the resource we can all use to live more healthfully in a pleasure-filled world. 

Episode Links

We Have a Dopamine Problem

I’m Addicted to My Phone. How Can I Cut Back?

Constant Craving: How Digital Media Turned Us All into Dopamine Addicts

Judson Brewer on Unwinding Anxiety

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We go to the dentist, get our eyes checked, and get our cars inspected. These regularly scheduled health and safety audits let us know how we’re doing.

But we rarely audit how we spend our time.

Sure, most of us have a calendar. Yet few of us study how these calendar events impact our happiness. We rarely track the connection between what we spend our time doing and how well we’re flourishing.

As a result, we can find ourselves feeling unhappy, frustrated, and what scientists call “time poor.”

Researchers like Cassie Holmes want to change that. They’ve learned there’s a strong connection between how we spend our time and how happy we feel. In her book, Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most, she shares ways we can optimize our calendars for happiness, including ways to avoid distraction, extend joy, create a meaningful schedule, and avoid regret.

Holmes’ tips on time tracking and time auditing are simple and powerful. As the year draws to a close, this may be just the book you’re looking for as we head into a new year.

Episode Links

Having Too Little or Too Much Time is Linked to Lower Subjective Well-being

Our Flawed Pursuit of Happiness – and How to Get It Right

A Valuable Lesson for a Happier Life (video)

Trust by Hernan Diaz

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I’ve spent a lot of time talking to guests about our relationships at work. For example, we’ve discussed how to listen better, how to navigate conflict, and how to influence others, just to name a few.

What I’ve spent less time talking about are the relationships that go beyond work. That’s why I invited Kat Vellos on the show this week to talk about her amazing book, We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships. 

Kat’s book is more than a callout to the power of friendship. It’s a roadmap for making new friends, and, equally valuable, it’s an owner’s manual for deepening existing friendships.

It's an episode that really resonated with listeners. With the holidays approaching - and opportunities for more time with friends and family - I wanted to rebroadcast it for you. Enjoy!

Episode Links

How Many Hours Does It Take to Make a Friend by Jeffrey A. Hall

Better Than Small Talk

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Donald Horton and Richard Wohl and Para-Social Communication

Loneliness and Social Connections

Choke by Sian Beilock

Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg

Kat Vellos TED Talk

Happy City by Charles Montgomery

Having and Being Had by Eula Biss

The Team

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In the U.S., we have laws and policies in place to prevent discrimination of Black workers. In addition, we have leaders who make public pledges in support of diversity goals. Yet the data continue to show that Black employees are less likely to be hired, more likely to stall out in mid-level positions, and stand little chance of gaining senior level positions.

Why is that?

Adia Harvey Winfield’s work lies at the intersection of labor and race, and her research reveals that, for Black workers, there are gray areas. These gray areas are the cultural, social, and relational factors that influence who gets hired, who gets promoted, and who finds it easiest to navigate the workplace. That’s what she writes about in her latest book, Gray Areas: How the Way We Work Perpetuates Racism and What We Can Do to Fix It.

Adia shares powerful stories of Black workers across all kinds of professions and organizations. We’re taken into the lived experiences of individual Black employees as they navigate landmines most of us don’t even see. It’s a book that took my understanding of racism in the workplace to a whole other level.

Episode Links

How Gray Areas in Work Culture Drive Racial Inequality

What Do a Black Scientist, Non-Profit Executive, and Filmmaker Have in Common? They All Face Racism in the 'Gray Areas' of Workplace Culture

We Built a Diverse Academic Department in 5 Years. Here's How.

Joan Williams on Diversity Practices that Work

The Team

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A well-crafted story can fuel connection. It can inspire trust and entertain. Better still, it can have a ripple effect.

Yet most of us avoid telling stories. Instead, we stick to the facts and emphasize the data. Now, even if we believe this is the best way to convey information, our brains, if they could talk, would disagree. That’s why, if we want to connect, persuade, or just keep our audience’s attention, we need to get better at storytelling.

That’s why I wanted to speak with Karen Eber, author of the book, The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories That Inform, Influence, and Inspire. Karen not only explains why stories matter, she also explains how to craft them. Every section of this book is filled with takeaways you can immediately put into practice. It’s a book I’ll return to again and again.

Episode Links

How Your Brain Responds to Stories and Why They’re Crucial for Leaders

The 4-Part Structure to Telling Great Stories

Vanessa Bohns on How We Influence Others

The Team

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We’re often put on the spot to say something of value. And when it happens, it can catch us off guard.

For example, you log in early to a conference call and need to make small talk with high status colleagues. Or you find out in a meeting that a co-worker is leaving the company, and you’re asked to say a few words.

These kinds of spontaneous interactions happen more often than we think. But unlike formal presentations or pitches, there’s no time to practice. We wonder how to manage our anxiety and improve our performance.

That’s why communications expert, Matt Abrahams, wrote the book, Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot. He shares strategies to help us lower our stress and make what we say more concise, relevant, and memorable. Matt takes our on-the-spot communication to the next level.

Episode Links

How to Shine When You’re Put on the Spot

How to Speak Confidently When You’re Put on the Spot

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Episode 235 with Jonah Berger

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Most of us are on a performance treadmill. We show up. We execute. Then tomorrow we do it all over again.

But this relentless focus on execution leaves little time for learning. As a result, our skills stagnate, and we accomplish less. Soon we find ourselves working harder while falling further behind.

Eduardo Briceno calls this The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset into Action, a label that’s also the title of his book. In it, he shares how we can build learning into our day without sacrificing performance. It’s a way of working that ensures high execution and continuous learning.  

Episode Links

4 Signs of the Chronic Performance Trap and How to Break Free

Your Talent Wants a Learning Culture. Here are 5 Steps to Create One

Interview with Steve Magness

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

The Team

Learn more about host, Gayle Allen, and producer, Rob Mancabelli, here.

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