Mission Forward with Carrie Fox

It's natural to bend toward hopelessness in heightened moments of stress and uncertainty. In those moments, I invite you to seek solid grounding in the things that you know for sure. 

This short-form episode is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights directly to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

Polarization. It’s all around us. Humans are feeling less connected to their neighbors and more attached to their screens and data. Political affiliations have created new divides, and even as workplaces become more diverse, many report feeling lonelier than ever. We at Mission Forward believe there's another way.

This week, Carrie Fox sits down with Mission Partners' Chief Operating Officer Bridget Pooley and Chief Strategy Officer Brian Fox to explore how connections can be strengthened in the workplace and beyond. Recorded in front of a live audience, they discuss practical strategies for bridging divides and leading by example.

The conversation covers the importance of shifting perspectives, building empathy, and finding common ground—without necessarily seeking 100% agreement. Pooley and Fox share examples of facilitating understanding across age groups and challenging communication norms to foster more inclusive cultures.

They also highlight the power of storytelling as a tool for connection and the need for leaders to create spaces for people to share their experiences. Ultimately, this is a conversation about hope that we can bridge the gaps that divide us with intentional adjustments to how we engage with one another.

Links & Notes

• Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance by Erica Dhawn

• (00:00) - The Mission Partners Team

Whether you lead an organization, a team, a project, or a phone call, your behavior sets the tone. Practice showing resilience, staying calm under pressure, and demonstrating care for others, even in challenging times, as those leadership skills can inspire others to do the same. But if you lament your current-day leadership, ask yourself: Who is the leader you really need right now? 

This short-form episode is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

This week on Mission Forward, Carrie Fox sits down with Dana Snyder, a digital strategist for nonprofits and the CEO and founder of Positive Equation. Snyder, who has supported organizations like Movember, Dress for Success, and American Idol, shares her insights on how nonprofits can effectively reach new audiences in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Consider, for example, the importance of strategic investment in social media. How are organizations to determine which channels to focus their resources on based on their values and target audience? Snyder emphasizes the significance of data-driven decision-making, recommending tools like Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors interact with an organization's website and social media channels. But more importantly, she highlights how most individuals are tilted toward good, and that your audience might just be comfortable in large numbers on platforms you personally find misaligned with your own values. 

Throughout the episode, Snyder stresses the importance of being genuinely social on social media platforms, creating platform-specific content, and fostering meaningful connections with followers. She suggests that organizations consider hiring virtual assistants to manage their social media presence if it aligns with their budgets and priorities.

The conversation also touches on the role of artificial intelligence in content creation for nonprofits. Snyder offers practical advice on how to train AI tools to generate relevant and engaging content while staying true to an organization's mission and values.

For nonprofits looking to make the most of their social media efforts, this episode of Mission Forward offers valuable insights and actionable tips from a seasoned digital strategist. Our great thanks to Dana for helping us to navigate the digital landscape authentically.

• (00:00) - Ask Carrie!

“Only the soul that ventilates the world with tenderness has any chance of changing the world.”

Those are the words of Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. If you’re not familiar with Father Boyle or his remarkable collection of books, watch this 11-minute video of him addressing the students of Notre Dame in 2017.  As Stephanie Bai of The Atlantic wrote recently, “Boyle’s singular gift is his ability to see—and communicate—the best of humanity in those who are often considered the worst of it.”

Incivility at work is an intensifying reality. It can get the better of us and bring out the worst in us. This week, practice “ventilating your soul with tenderness” and work to create spaces that foster civil conversation and muscle building. I think you’ll find the whole team gets stronger as a result.

This week’s episode comes from the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights directly to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

According to SHRM research, there are over 67 million acts of incivility happening at work every day. Our guest this week argues that the fabric of how we treat each other is starting to unravel - with serious consequences for employee mental health, productivity and company culture. But there’s hope: change can start with each of us, one interaction at a time.

Tina Beaty is Chief Brand and Marketing Officer for SHRM and this week, she sits down with Carrie to dive into SHRM's new civility index and campaign aimed at empowering managers and employees with the tools to handle uncivil behavior and engage in respectful dialogue, even on controversial topics. They explore how generational differences, polarizing political issues, and the stresses of the past few years are playing out at work.

Rather than waiting for elected officials or senior leaders to set the tone, Beaty encourages listeners to take ownership of their own conduct. "Every single interaction is a decision," she reminds us. With empathy, positive intent, and a commitment to open and honest communication, Beaty believes workplaces can become a model for the civil society we wish to see.

This is a discussion on the small choices that can make a big difference in transforming workplace culture. Disagree better, assume positive intent, and be the civility we seek - it may be the solution we need to create more productive, psychologically safe, and human-centered places of work.

This episode is sponsored by SHRM.org.

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

In a world where incivility seems to be on the rise, both in our personal lives and in the workplace, how can we, as individuals, make a difference? Emily Dickens, Chief of Staff, Head of Government Affairs, and Corporate Secretary for SHRM, believes the answer lies in practicing civility—one conversation at a time.

This week on Mission Forward, Carrie Fox delves into the power of civility with Dickens. They explore how simple acts of kindness, empathy, and grace can transform workplace cultures and why HR professionals play a critical role in driving this change.

Dickens shares personal anecdotes from her unconventional career journey, highlighting how access to education and mentors who believed in her potential shaped her mission to elevate the HR profession. She discusses SHRM's recently launched Civility Campaign and why leading with a "care for others" approach is far more effective than the all-too-common "self-serving" leadership style.

Fox and Dickens also tackle tough questions about navigating the post-COVID workplace, balancing empathy with accountability, and the dangers of labeling others based on limited interactions. Dickens emphasizes the importance of recognizing that "we are all more than our worst thing" and giving others the grace to evolve.

This is a conversation that can challenge the way you think about your daily interactions and inspire you to strengthen your own "civility muscle." As Dickens notes, even the smallest gestures can spark a ripple effect, empowering us all to build more respectful, inclusive, and thriving workplaces.

This episode is sponsored by SHRM.org.

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

This week, Carrie Fox sits down with Jim Link, Chief Human Resources Officer for SHRM, to discuss the growing issue of workplace incivility and how to foster a culture of respect and inclusion.

Link shares startling statistics from SHRM's research, revealing that two-thirds of employees have witnessed acts of incivility in the workplace within the last six months, with 50% experiencing it in the last week alone. He emphasizes the importance of creating a balanced "four-legged stool" of workplace cultures: collaboration, learning, innovation, and inclusion.

To combat the rise of incivility, SHRM has launched the "1 Million Civil Conversations" initiative, aimed at encouraging respectful dialogue and interactions among colleagues. Link discusses the overwhelmingly positive response to the campaign and the creative ways organizations are implementing the "Cards Against Incivility" toolkit to promote civility.

Tune in to learn more about how you can contribute to a more civil and inclusive workplace, one conversation at a time. SHRM's resources and toolkits are available for download at SHRM.org. Join the movement by using the hashtag #CivilityAtWork.

This episode is sponsored by SHRM.org.

• (00:00) - Sponsor: SHRM.org

After Super Tuesday polls closed as expected for a U.S. presidential election cycle dominated by a set of expected frontrunners. However, it's not particularly what's in the headlines this morning, as what is absent from them: the increasingly sharp polarization among U.S residents and the effect it is beginning to have in our workplaces.

This week’s episode comes from the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights directly to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.

Links & Notes

• Science is revealing why American politics are so intensely polarized

This episode is sponsored by AskAChiefofStaff.com. 

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

This episode is brought to you by Edgility Consulting.

This week, Carrie Fox sits down with Allison Wyatt, co-founder of Edgility Consulting, to discuss the persistent wage gaps that plague our society and the bold steps required to build intentional equity in the workplace.

Wyatt, whose childhood straddling two vastly different economic realities inspired her passion for social justice, shares how her firm disrupts the status quo of compensation practices by engaging entire organizations in the design process, pushing for radical transparency, and looking beyond imperfect market data. Edgility Consulting is helping clients close wage gaps and put upward pressure on salaries for undervalued roles disproportionately held by marginalized groups.

However, as Wyatt notes, achieving pay equity is just one piece of the puzzle in an inherently inequitable society. Biases, stereotypes, and inflexible work cultures continue to impede advancement opportunities, especially for women. Truly sustaining progress, she argues, requires tackling these systemic barriers head-on.

For organizations planning to hire this year, Wyatt offers specific recruiting advice: do your research to ensure fair offers, consider your existing staff to maintain internal equity, and, above all, strive for clarity and consistency in your compensation philosophy.

Our hope, when you’re finished listening this week, is that you’re questioning long-held assumptions about "the way things are done," inspired to reimagine a more equitable future—one organization at a time. Join us for an unflinching look at the challenges we face and the potential for transformative change.

Our great thanks to Allison Wyatt for joining us for this conversation.

This episode is sponsored by Edgility Consulting. Learn more about their incredible work in compensation planning and beyond at EdgilityConsulting.com.

Links & Notes

• Learn more about Edgility Consulting
• Allison is the Founding Partner and head of Edgility’s compensation practice
• Succession Planning with Edgility Consulting's Christina Greenberg
  
  

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

Today's show is brought to you by Edgility Consulting, your compass for building equitable organizations where all staff thrive. Their talent management experts empower you to break free from traditional hiring, compensation, and talent management norms that often perpetuate inequality and prevent you from hiring and retaining great staff.

Put your values to work, act on equity, visit Edgility Consulting and talk to a consultant about upgrading your talent systems to attract and retain top talent and ensure equity at your organization today.