‘’As long as you’re still producing the work and collaborating like you need to and hitting those key results, we can offer that flexibility.’’ – Karen Weeks.

You are in for a treat! Joining Aoife on this latest Happier at Work episode is HR specialist Karen Weeks.

Karen exited stage left from the world of theatre 20 years ago and has been a celebrated HR leader and coach ever since. With a drive for helping organisations create incredible cultures and a passion for guiding individuals to get unstuck from their careers and leading them to a professional path of fulfilment, it is no surprise that Karen was listed as one of the Notable Women in Talent by Crain’s New York Business in 2020.

In this episode, you will get the perspective of an HR leader as Aoife and Karen dive into how HR can impact work environments and create happier employees, discuss why igniting employee experience matters, and review how the future of work is looking flexible. Key takeaways include:

- Karen’s career journey from theatre to HR.

- The essential role of HR.

- Onboarding new employees and the power of asking questions.

- Motivating employees by thinking of their needs and goals.

- Psychological Safety and creating a safe space for honest conversations.

- Different types of managerial styles.

- Why Employee Experience matters.

- What is workplace flexibility?

- Managing flexible work arrangements.

- How to build trust in the workplace?

- What does success look like?

- Understanding workplace values.

- How personal life can affect work and vice versa.

- What makes Karen Happier at Work.

Karen is currently the SVP of People at Ordergroove and is a certified career coach, speaker, advisor to start-up companies, Girls in Tech NYC board member, the published author of “Setting the Stage: A Guide to Preparing for Any Feedback Conversation”, and host of the podcast “Getting off the Hamster Wheel”.

Connect with Karen Weeks:

http://www.karendweeks.com/

http://www.karendweeks.com/book/

http://www.karendweeks.com/podcast/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-d-weeks-sphr-ms-5965775

http://twitter.com/career_changers

http://www.ordergroove.com/

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Lencioni/dp/0787960756

http://gretchenrubin.com/

Jennifer Dowling is a Chartered Work and Organisational Psychologist and Director of Train Remote. She specialises in remote, flexible and hybrid working. Jennifer has a strong background in people development, psychometrics, selection, training and coaching.

In this episode, Aoife and Jennifer discuss the future of hybrid-remote working in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the power of autonomy in work and the benefits of effective time management and self-observation. Main points covered throughout the episode include:

- An introduction to Jennifer Dowling.

- The future of work and flexibility.

- Transitioning from an interactive environment to remote work.

- The power of autonomy in work.

- The importance of self-awareness and understanding your working needs and values.

- Understanding individual differences.

- Building, communicating and demonstrating trust in the workplace.

- The impact of self-limiting beliefs VS empowering beliefs.

- Temporal awareness and mastering time management at work.

- The benefit of practising self-observation and self-check ins.

- Learning from daily reflections.

- Recognising the difference between observation and judgement.

- What makes Jennifer happier at work.

Jennifer has worked with many organisations on the transition to remote working. She specialises in training, coaching and team development for managers and teams transitioning to more agile and flexible working. She is qualified in several psychometric tools and an experienced trainer, facilitator and coach. She is fuelled by curiosity, primarily in people; what makes us tick, makes us different and what contributes to making us the best version of ourselves!

Connect with Jennifer Dowling:

http://www.trainremote.ie/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-dowling

http://twitter.com/trainremote

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

Article: The Neuroscience of Trust by Paul J. Zak

http://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

Talks at Google: The Lucifer Effect – Phillip Zimbardo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUyDznt5V4I

App: Mood Meter – A gift of self-awareness for yourself and others.

http://moodmeterapp.com/

Duena is the author of “Emotional Banking” and “People Before Tech: The Importance of Psychological Safety and Teamwork in the Digital Age”. She is a doer, an entrepreneur, an industry influencer, a blogger with a cutting-edge opinion style, a writer for Forbes, an international keynote speaker and the creator of the Emotional Banking™ and Human Debt™ concepts. Duena is the Co-Founder and CEO of PeopleNotTech - a company designing a revolutionary team software solution measuring and increasing Psychological Safety for high performing teams.

In this episode, Aoife and Duena dive into the hot topic of workplace Psychological Safety and discuss effective team dynamics. Duena also shares her drive for making teams and humans happier at work by increasing psychological safety and reducing human debt. Main points covered throughout the episode include:

- An introduction to Duena Blomstrom and her professional background.

- The concept of human debt.

- The impacts of not speaking up and being heard.

- Toxicity in the Workplace.

- How performance and productivity are essential.

- Understanding and establishing workplace wellbeing.

- Organisational permission and support.

- A look at Psychological Safety on an individual basis and team basis.

- The power of positive team dynamics.

- The importance of building safety & trust in the workplace.

- How superheroes can arise from any level within an organisation and make a significant change.

- What makes Duena Happier at Work.

Over the past 20 years, Duena has worked with multiple large organisations, be it to assist them in their digital strategy or to help them transform. With a background in Psychology and Business, Duena is on a crusade to see lasting change in this VUCA world, to assist companies avail themselves of Agile and the new ways of work and bring humanity back to the workplace.

Connect with Duena Blomstrom:

http://www.duenablomstrom.com/

http://www.duenablomstrom.com/books/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/duenablomstrom

http://www.twitter.com/duenablomstrom

http://www.peoplenottech.com/

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/duenablomstrom

Listeners interested in psychology, sociology and leadership are in for a real treat with this special extended Happier at Work episode with father-son duo Edgar and Peter Schein. Ed and Peter co-founded the Organizational Culture and Leadership Institute (OCLI.org) in 2015. Ed and Peter have just completed their fourth collaboration, the upcoming 2nd Edition of Humble Inquiry.

In this episode, Aoife O’Brien, Edgar Schein and Peter Schein discuss the importance of communication, the gentle art of Humble Enquiry and the benefits of moving forward with an open and curious mind to create a better culture. Key points covered throughout the episode include:

- An introduction to Ed and Peter Schein’s backgrounds.

- What is Humble Inquiry?

- Why we should attack the culture of telling and promote a culture of inquiry.

- The importance and influence of personal & trusting relationships.

- Psychological safety and cultural evolution.

- Encouraging people to speak up.

- Rewarding courage in the workspace.

- Exploring professional distance.

- Process of inquiry – taking time out to examine are you asking the right questions.

- The power of groups and learning how to work effectively in a team.

- What makes Ed and Peter Happier at Work.

Edgar Schein is Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.

Ed received BA degrees from the University of Chicago and Stanford and his PhD in Social Psychology from Harvard University. He is the 2009 recipient of the Distinguished Scholar-Practitioner Award of the Academy of Management, the 2012 recipient of the Life-Time Achievement Award from the International Leadership Association, the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award in Organization Development from the International OD Network.

Peter Schein is the co-founder and COO of OCLI.org. He provides counsel to senior management on organizational development challenges facing private and public sector entities worldwide. Peter’s work draws on 30 years of industry experience in marketing and corporate development at technology pioneers including Apple, SGI, Sun Microsystems, and numerous internet start-ups.

Ed and Peter’s first work together, the 5th edition of Organizational Culture and Leadership, was published in 2016. In 2018, Ed and Peter published Humble Leadership, which won the Nautilus Book Awards Silver Medal, and in 2019 they published Culture + Change +Leadership: The Corporate Culture Survival Guide 3rd Edition.

Connect with Edgar & Peter Schein:

http://www.scheinocli.org/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/peteraschein/

http://www.scheinocli.org/publications

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

Douglas McGregor – Theory X Theory Y concept

http://www.businessballs.com/improving-workplace-performance/mcgregors-xy-theory-of-management/

Bob Johansen – Institute For The Future

http://www.iftf.org/bobjohansen/

‘’In times of trauma, we look to our leaders to support us.’’ – Katharine Manning.

Katharine Manning has over 25 years of experience training and consulting on trauma and victimization. She is the author of The Empathetic Workplace: 5 Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job. As a senior attorney advisor with the Justice Department, for 15 years she counselled on victim rights in high-profile cases like the Boston Marathon bombing, the South Carolina AME church shooting, the Madoff investment fraud, and the case against Olympic Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

In this episode, Katharine and Aoife discuss overcoming trauma at work, the psychological impacts of trauma and how best to practice empathy at work. Katharine and Aoife also explore trauma in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, looking at how everyone is simultaneously navigating through various levels of trauma and hardship right now. Key points covered in the episode include:

- An insight into Katharine’s professional background.

- How the Me Too movement inspired Katharine.

- What is trauma?

- How to become an empathetic listener.

- The LASER method - 5 steps to responding to trauma at work.

- The key to communicating effectively.

- Coping with the traumatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

- The effects of institutional betrayal and breaches of trust.

- Psychological safety in the workplace.

- Vulnerability in leadership.

- The significance of talking the talk and walking the walk as a leader.

- The importance of putting employee-friendly policies in place.

- Ensuring staff are aware of support & resources available to them.

- How to encourage your team to support one another.

Now, President of Blackbird, Manning helps organisations prepare for and respond to the challenges they face involving clients and employees in trauma. She has trained thousands of individuals on compliance with their responsibilities to victims, and she teaches a course on victim rights at American University. Before her government service, Manning was an attorney in private practice representing Fortune 500 companies in class actions, insurance, and media cases.

Connect with Katharine Manning:

http://www.katharinemanning.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/katharine-manning/

http://twitter.com/kl_manning

http://www.instagram.com/empatheticworkplace/

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

Book Recommendation:

The Empathetic Workplace by Katharine Manning

http://www.katharinemanning.com/my-book/

Susan Ní Chríodáin founded Beyond the Numbers to work with teams and individuals in organisations who recognise that putting people first generates the greatest return. Her experience and business acumen stems from a wide variety of commercial and non-profit roles.

Putting people first and looking beyond the numbers is a significant contributor to happiness in the workplace. In this episode, Aoife and Susan explore how Psychological Safety at work has a profound impact on the work environment - it enhances trust, creation, innovation, and performance.

Key points covered in the show include:

- An insight into Susan’s career background.

- Seeing beyond the numbers and putting people first.

- How Toxicity and negativity can spread throughout the workplace.

- How to identify & deal with being in a psychologically unsafe environment.

- The benefits to communicating effectively on a human level.

- Building courage to deal with difficult conversations.

- Finding Calm with inner turmoil and being comfortable with silence.

- How we can learn and progress by allowing vulnerability & being open to feedback.

- Establishing boundaries and making them visible & tangible.

- Actions that leaders can take to implement a psychologically safe workspace.

For over 20 years, Susan led and managed a wide variety of teams in Europe, Africa, Asia, in-person and remotely. An FD at 33 she learnt that to have an impact required you to be brave, bold and to build strong working relationships. Technical excellence wasn’t enough; putting people first was key.

Susan has a practical, no-nonsense approach to understanding and helping others resolve issues no matter how intractable they might seem. Susan hosts a podcast Life Beyond the Numbers for people who are curious about having a more fulfilling work-life and are united in a belief of putting people first to let their uniqueness shine through in their work-life.

Connect with Susan Ní Chríodáin:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/susannichriodain

http://www.beyond-thenumbers.com/

http://lifebeyondthenumbers.podbean.com/

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

Toastmasters International, a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs.

http://www.toastmasters.org/

Book Recommendation:

Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World

by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall.

http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Lies-about-Work-Freethinking/dp/1633696308/

7 Questions to boost psychological safety at work – Dr Amy Edmondson

http://www.inspirehub.com/blog/ask-these-7-questions-to-boost-psychological-safety-at-work

For more than two decades, Cali Williams Yost has been a leading authority on high-performance work flexibility. A visionary workplace futurist, strategist, and author, Yost is the Founder and CEO of the Flex+Strategy Group, a solutions company helping organizations unlock performance and engagement by reimagining how, when, and where work is done.

In this episode, Aoife and Cali discuss how organisations have pivoted their businesses over the last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cali shares insights into how businesses recalibrated, looks at the contingency plan for moving forward, and discusses why remote working and flexibility within the workplace shouldn’t be feared. Key points throughout the show include:

- Cali’s introduction to workplace flexibility.

- The benefits of optimising flexibility in the workforce.

- What makes a forward-thinking leader?

- New methods of working and retaining culture.

- A look at how businesses have adapted, and how they will innovatively move forward.

- The barriers and opportunities that face businesses.

- The importance of operational resilience, effective coordination, and management.

- Leveraging technology and workspaces to boost productivity and collaboration.

- The concept of Work + Life fit, setting boundaries and honouring employees’ realities.

- How workplace flexibility can attract and retain local and global top talent.

Called “one of the most sophisticated thinkers” on the transformation of work by The New York Times, Yost approaches flexible work transformation as a strategic business imperative. Her work is rooted in original research on the skills individuals need to leverage flexibility and take control of their work + life “fit” in order to do their jobs and manage their lives.

She coined and codified her concepts on the flexible future of work in the empowering book, Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day, (Center Street/Hachette, 2013), and the critically acclaimed, Work+Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You (Riverhead/Penguin Group, 2004).

Yost graduated with honours from Columbia Business School where she’s noted as an alumnus “Changing the World.” In 2018, she was named one of the global management thinkers “On the Radar” by Thinkers50, and she has been cited as one of Forbes’s 40 Women to Watch Over 40.

Connect with Cali Williams Yost:

http://flexstrategygroup.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/caliwilliamsyost/

Cali Williams Yost books:

‘Work + Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You’

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594480656/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

‘Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day’

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/089296880X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

‘’A network gives you reach but a community gives you power. Networks connect and communities care.’’ – Ted Rubin.

Ted Rubin is a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Speaker, Photofy CMO... Author, Connector, Provocateur. In 2009 he started using/evangelizing the term ROR, Return on Relationship, (#RonR). Many people know Ted for his enthusiastic, energetic, and undeniably personal connection to people.

In this episode, Aoife and Ted discuss the impact of creating a business community, and how empowering employees can motivate, instill greater trust and improve longevity as well as performance results.

Key points covered in the episode include;

- Ted’s introduction to business, working on Seth Godin’s start-up and his shift from sales into marketing.

- Empowered employees power your brand.

- Identifying your core values and showing the human side to your business.

- How negative feedback or criticism can bring opportunities. By giving your employees or customers a voice, you can act on their feedback.

- Seeing employee creative content as a resource for reach.

- How work and home life can be interlinked.

- The benefits of creating a business community.

- Developing a pre-approval process for content.

- The attitude of putting people first, rather than profit.

- A look into how the working world is shifting.

- Ted’s personal views on hiring techniques.

- The impact of the pandemic and the lessons we can carry forward.

Ted was Chief Social Marketing Officer (a title he created in 2011) of Collective Bias, and a principal shareholder until the 2016 acquisition by Inmar. In the words of Collective Bias Co-Founder John Andrews... "Ted, you were the vision, heartbeat, and soul of Collective Bias, thank you for building a great company. From innovations like CB. Socially to the amazing relationships you built with the blogger community, clients, and employees, you drove the epic growth.’’

Connect with Ted Rubin:

http://www.TedRubin.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/TedRubin/

https://twitter.com/TedRubin

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources – Ted Rubin Books :

Return on Relationship

How To Look People In The Eye Digitally

The Age of Influence: Selling to the Digitally Connected Customer

Available now on https://tedrubin.com/books/

Dan Norenberg is a thought leader, advisor and coach to senior leadership teams. Dan improves leadership performance and organizational results through a system called Executive Ownershift, a top down, team of leader’s approach to breakthrough growth.

Most leadership teams are a collection of highly talented and experienced professionals, yet the majority of these teams don’t play at their best. When leadership teams don’t play at their best, this hurts the entire organisation. Dan’s work enables leadership teams, and everyone that reports to them, to raise their game.

In this episode Aoife and Dan discuss the value of effective leadership and look at how businesses can transform and achieve great results through Executive Ownershift. Key points covered include:

- An insight to Dan’s personal and professional journey.

- The surprising success rates of strategies.

- The importance of understanding culture and the operational function of the leadership team.

- How meetings can have a positive impact on performance and accountability.

- The organisational roadmap and the 5 C’s – Clarity, Connection, Collaboration, Contribution and Consequences.

- Discussion on Actors -VS- Authors.

- Executive Ownershift – how slight changes can make a big impact.

- The benefit of opening safe spaces to allow vulnerability and honest communication within the workspace.

Dan worked years in front line leadership roles before becoming a consultant and has degrees in psychology and criminology. He is a Narrative Coach™ Certified Practitioner and a certified coach for Marshall Goldsmith’s Stakeholder Centered Coaching Programs. Norenberg is a member of the Society for the Advancement of Consulting, the Million Dollar Consultant’s Hall of Fame and the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches Europe program.

Connect with Dan Norenberg

http://www.dannorenberg.com

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

Book recommendation:

Executive Ownershift: Creating Highly Effective Leadership Teams by Dan Norenberg

http://www.dannorenberg.com/

Paul Walker is currently the Chief Commercial Officer at Consumer Intelligence, the independent voice of insurance and retail banking, helping businesses see the world through the eyes of the consumer. Paul is a senior business leader who has a track record of empowering people to thrive as part of trusting, inclusive, autonomous and accountable workplace cultures.

In this episode Aoife and Paul discuss the strength in vulnerability and how this attribute can lead to less pressure, stronger meaningful relationships and great achievements. Key points covered include:

- What is vulnerability and how it is personal to each individual.

- Building meaningful relationships at work.

- The impact of human connection - opening yourself up and presenting your human side.

- Putting perceptions aside and people first.

- Freely being an authentic doer and removing your armour.

- How vulnerability can help you become an effective leader.

- Self-actualisation and being content with yourself. Staying true to you rather than striving for perfectionism and focusing on leading to please.

- The line between vulnerability and oversharing.

Paul consistently builds high-performance, multi-disciplinary teams which deliver results across countries and cultures. With a career spanning over 25 years, living and working in numerous countries, including Russia and Turkey, a core component of success has consisted of people becoming the very best versions of themselves.

Career highlights have included transforming loss-making business units to profit, whilst leading significant gains in both customer and employee engagement; building a team of senior client leaders globally and developing a reputation for world class engagement with the people in his teams.

Connect with Paul Walker:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulwalker73

http://www.consumerintelligence.com/

Connect with Happier at Work host Aoife O’Brien:

http://www.happieratwork.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

http://www.twitter.com/HappierAtWorkHQ

http://www.instagram.com/happieratwork.ie

http://www.facebook.com/groups/happieratworkpodcast

Resources:

Book recommendations:

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meditations-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/1470089734

The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters

http://chimpmanagement.com/