What are the core habits of highly collaborative teams?

Since Google’s Project Aristotle, we’ve understood that high-performing teams are defined by how they interact, not by who is on them. For today’s diverse, multigenerational, and decentralized workforce, supporting healthy interactions requires a strong commitment to specific strategies: the selection of accessible tools and technologies, clear methods to depersonalize conflict, and strong awareness of cognitive biases like “groupthink” and “risky shift.” By integrating these practical and relational strategies, teams can ensure diverse ideas are truly heard and valued.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with guest Jennifer Porritt, the founder and principal consultant of JP Consulting. Jenn is a human resources and training professional with more than 25 years experience helping leaders evolve and grow to support successful organizations. They discuss the core habits and strategies of highly collaborative teams, exploring the importance of psychological safety, managing constructive conflict, avoiding “groupthink,” and more.

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As we collectively recognize and redefine disability as a society, are employers ready for broader accommodation needs?

As employers push for a return to the office, they face a rise in accommodation requests, particularly for remote work and non-apparent disabilities. This often creates tension, as supervisors may rely on personal bias rather than facts. The key to navigating this is a formal, data-driven, and compassionate interactive process led by HR. By moving beyond individual biases and focusing on finding reasonable accommodations, organizations can meet their legal and ethical obligations and support their entire workforce.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with Rachel Shaw, President of Shaw HR Consulting and author of “The Disabled Workforce: What the ADA Never Anticipated.” They explore the rise in accommodation requests from an HR and employer perspective, touching on why supervisors often default to “no,” the legal and ethical necessity of an interactive formal process, and how data-driven, human-centric conversations can help employers find workable solutions in a post-pandemic world.

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How can neuroinclusion transform leadership and workplace culture?

Creating truly neuroinclusive workplaces requires a fundamental shift in mindset, from seeing neurodivergence as a deficit to embracing it as a form of diversity. This means moving beyond a purely extractive business case, practicing cultural humility, and rethinking communication, onboarding, workflow, and even the physical environment. By focusing on the needs of neurodivergent employees – the “canaries in the coal mine” – leaders can create healthier, more dignified, and more productive workplaces for everyone.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with Dr. Ludmila Praslova, author of The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work. They explore how a neuroinclusive approach can fundamentally reshape leadership and workplace culture and why leaders must move beyond a narrow, extractive business case towards a model of “inclusive thriving.” They discuss practical ways to create more dignified and flexible workplaces that support neurodivergent employees, ultimately making them better and healthier for everyone.

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How does lived experience inform DEI facilitation, connections, and dialogues?

While requiring DEI facilitators and educators to have lived experience can correct historical wrongs and build connections, it also puts them at personal and professional risk. This work involves significant, often invisible emotional labour, which falls disproportionately on those with diverse identities and can lead to burnout. To mitigate harm, organizations must provide structural support like co-facilitation and equitable workload distribution, while facilitators can use personal strategies like strategic self-disclosure to protect themselves.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with applied social psychologist Dr. Sara Kafashan about the practice of "identity as curriculum." They discuss the professional risks and emotional labour involved when facilitators use their lived experience in DEI work or to teach sensitive topics, and explore how organizations can better support those doing this vulnerable and essential work.

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How can we build strong intergenerational teams in the workplace?

Instead of viewing generational differences through the lens of stereotypes or a “competition of pain,” we can approach them as a form of cultural diversity. By fostering cultural competence, validating each generation’s unique experiences, and leveraging friction for growth, organizations can build stronger, more innovative teams. Strategies like two-way mentoring, having open conversations about values, and being curious about different perspectives can help organizations “future-proof” their culture, ensuring it is resilient and inclusive for everyone.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with guest Natasha Sharma, a DEI professional and the founder and CEO of Power in Progress. They explore how to move beyond common generational stereotypes by treating intergenerational differences as a form of cultural diversity. Natasha shares practical strategies to foster empathy, leverage friction for growth, and build stronger, more innovative teams that are inclusive for all ages.

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Can ‘civility’ bridge polarized perspectives at work?

In our increasingly polarized world, many workplaces are turning to "civility" as a solution, but this approach often falls short by promoting a surface-level harmony that ignores the root of our divisions. Civility alone isn’t the answer, it’s only halfway there on the road to cultural competence. True progress requires developing skills that allow us to move beyond judgment and defensiveness. By understanding the developmental stages of how we interact with difference, we can navigate difficult conversations, reduce harm, and build the capacity to create genuinely inclusive and effective teams.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with guest Sara Taylor, a Cultural Competence expert and author of Filter Shift and Thinking at the Speed of Bias. They examine why civility initiatives often fail to bridge deep workplace divides and explore the five-stage model for developing cultural competence. They also discuss the real harm of politicizing identity and why true effectiveness requires moving beyond mere civility to genuinely understand and adapt to difference.

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Can neurodivergent adults heal our relationship with “productivity”?

Healing our relationship with productivity is the key to finding satisfaction and self-efficacy at work. By understanding diverse productivity styles and the emotional factors that affect productivity, we can break free from negative cycles of guilt and shame. Reframing productivity can give us the self-knowledge and vocabulary we need to better self-advocate, to collaborate, and to work in ways that work for us.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with guest Kerry Ann King, a wellbeing and productivity expert and CEO of Eluminate Labs. They examine our relationship with “productivity” and how we can rethink it through self-compassion, understanding our productivity styles, and addressing the emotional factors that impact how we work. They also explore strategies for supporting neurodivergent individuals and building inclusive workplaces.

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How can you tell if you’re a bad boss?

Healthy workplace cultures start from the top. Effective leaders are self-aware, and understand the power dynamics in their organizations. They constantly build trust through admitting mistakes, recognizing their own blind spots, inviting and acting on feedback, and fostering constructive dissent to create an inclusive environment where people genuinely want to contribute.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with Jamie Woolf and Dr. Christopher Bell, leaders at Creativity Partners, a consultancy with a focus on unleashing, trust and innovation through constructive disruption. They discuss how to identify and avoid being a "bad boss" and explore the importance of self-awareness, fostering trust, playfulness, open communication, and creating spaces for feedback and dissent.

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What mindsets and strategies are essential for today’s leaders?

The skills that help people rise in the ranks at work aren’t always the same skills they need when they reach leadership roles. Leaders are often expected to excel at people management without formal training. They’re asked to maintain a delicate interpersonal balance, fostering trust, psychological safety and motivation. Every leader needs a basic toolkit of leadership skills and strategies to avoid burnout while leading effective and human-friendly workplaces. 

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with guest Jennifer Porritt, the founder and principal consultant of JP Consulting. Jenn is a human resources and training professional with more than 25 years experience helping leaders evolve and grow to support successful organizations. They explore common challenges leaders face and discuss several practical strategies for effective leadership.

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How can we leverage ERGs for personal and collective empowerment?

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are more than social gatherings – they are incubators for professional growth, leadership, and strategic partnerships. Hady Mendez, an expert in ERG coaching, discusses how ERGs create safe spaces, foster cultural ambassadorship, and influence company strategies. She emphasizes that ERG leaders should leverage their roles for personal and professional growth, and how organizations benefit from recognizing the strategic value of ERGs.

On this episode of Just One Q, Dominique chats with guest Hady Mendez, a New York-based Amazon bestselling author, Latina speaker, ERG coach, and founder and CEO of Boldly Speaking, LLC. They explore the role of ERGs in today’s workplaces and Hady shares her experience and insights on how both individuals and organizations can maximize the potential of ERGs for a more inclusive and equitable environment.

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