Redesigning Wellness Podcast

Cali Williams Yost, CEO and Founder of Flex and Strategy Group, makes a bold statement….employers aren’t going to be able to attract workers under the age of 35 if they don’t incorporate flexible work.

Cali helps leaders of traditional businesses build high performance flexible work cultures that attract and retain talent, optimize resources, increase productivity and improve well-being.
For more than two decades, she has provided leaders and employees with the insights, skills and tools to confidently embrace flexibility in the way work is done.

Flexible work is Cali’s jam and she is such a dynamo. In this interview we talk about the benefits of a flexible work culture, how it impacts well-being, what employers forget when implementing a flexible work strategy and she ends with two tangible tips – one for you as an individual and one for your org.

Cali makes a great point about flexible work…it’s not just work from home. There are many ways to incorporate flexible work within organizations. Also, she does a great job answering a question I had about hospital systems and how flexible work applies to the healthcare industry.

Also, click here to learn more about my upcoming training, Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Welcome! Today’s interview is part of a series to help you grow personally and professionally. Today’s guest, Mitch Martens, is the Employee Wellness Administrator at Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles, California. He follows a simple philosophy that can be found in any of his programing…humans are motivated at the heart and when you risk going there, the possibilities are endless.

Today was a free flowing conversation and I had no questions prepared which is so unlike me. But I wanted this to be an authentic conversation and wanted to give Mitch the space to do his thing.

We talk about what Mitch calls a well giver, takes us through his career path, he’s a little vulnerable about where he still struggles with his new experiences and he asks me to think of a time when something happened that made an impact on me.  I get a little vulnerable too, talking about my panic about the limited time I have left on this planet and some of my hopes and dreams.

If you’re up for a conversation between two wellness pros that gets into the personal side of wellness, then you’ll enjoy this.

Also, click here to learn more about my upcoming training, Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

One thing many of us struggle with is communication and how we persuade people to join our programs, convince leaders to give us resources, ask our boss for a raise….the list goes on and on for why we need to develop persuasive communications.

People have a gazillion things going on and you need to get them to WANT to get involved. This isn’t about trickery but rather people feeling called to action.

Today’s guest is Jeff Tippett, speaker, author, and entrepreneur. He considers himself a motivational teacher. That means he delivers actionable content with high energy and passion all while seeking out a heartfelt connection with his audience.

In 2014, Jeff founded Targeted Persuasion, an award-winning public affairs + communications firm, and has worked with renowned brands like Airbnb, The National Restaurant Association, The League of Women Voters, The League of Conservation Voters, plus others.

Jeff and I discuss how he defines persuasive communications, how using them has helped him personally and professionally, steps to building persuasive communications and his top tip for you to start being more persuasive. I love the honor of learning from someone outside of our field because we have to get out of our wellness silos to expand our knowledge base.

Not only has Jeff shared him wisdom on this episode but he’s teaching a masterclass for those that join my upcoming training, Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

This episode is part of a series of interviews I’m conducting to focus on career and self development for those who want to advance their influence and impact within their organization. I have to admit that I am a personal development junky because I believe we should be putting ourselves in the position to grow and get better. We can’t wait on our organizations to do it for us or wait to find the perfect mentor.

I hope you can use this podcast as a form of mentorship where I interview smart people like today’s guest, Dr. Marilyn Puder-York. Dr. Puder-York is an executive coach with a 30-year successful track record in helping talented executives and professionals achieve their optimal performance. A licensed psychologist, she is one of the first to apply cognitive/behavioral psychology to the enhancement of executive careers.  

Marilyn starts off defining office politics and discusses some benefits and where we make mistakes. She breaks down the importance of promoting yourself without being aggressive about it.

Marilyn also explains the difference between a sponsor and a mentor. Finally, we wrap up with her advice on how to best navigate office politics. I wish I had someone like Marilyn to guide me through all of my fumbles in corporate America.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Although it may not mean much to you, it’s my 100th episode! Just for a stat, most podcasts don’t make it past 7 episodes. This is not to brag but rather celebrate an endeavor I took on not knowing how it would turn out. I’ve been honored to interview a series of fantastic experts, both inside the wellness industry and beyond.

I rarely do solo episodes but I wanted to share what I’ve learned over the past 2 years, a potential new direction for Redesigning Wellness and a training I’m launching for wellness professionals in September.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity

Today’s guest “can do yoga as good as a yogi, run as fast as a cheetah, and clean as good as a vacuum.”

All of this is according to her son at age 5! 

Today’s guest is Debra Lafler. Her approach to wellbeing provides an integrated body-mind-spirit perspective. Debra is an employee wellness and employee assistance program manager for a large employer in Madison, WI; and also is a private coach, consultant and speaker for individuals, groups, or employers in the Madison, Wisconsin area.

Today we talk about the taboo subject of spirituality in the workplace. Debra starts off tell us about her winding road of exploration in the wellness profession and what got her curious about spirituality. She drops quite a bomb about something that happened to her about 12 years ago. I commend her for sharing something so personal. I’m not going to spoil it…you’ll have to listen. 

Debra goes on to define spirituality, how it’s different than religion and ways to incorporate this concept into the workplace.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Dr. James Kelley is the host of the Executives After Hours podcast, where he states, “I care about who you are, not what you do. Because who you are defines what you do.” James’ new book, The Crucible’s Gift, introduces lessons from 140 diverse leaders who demonstrated the art of living more authentically.

Combining these rich, raw and insightful stories with his knowledge of business and psychology—as well as his candid accounts of what he has learned from his personal crucibles—Kelley shows how to transform what holds you back into traits that will propel you forward, encouraging you to step fully into your life.

One of the things I really like about James is that he’s transparent….he puts it all out there. He was extremely honest in this interview. In today’s episode we discuss his crucibles, including the one that made the biggest impact in his life, authentic leadership and some powerful stories from his book.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

One of the areas of employee health and wellbeing is our emotional health. Most people run into challenges or conflicts with co-workers that drains their energy and negatively impacts their wellbeing.

 We don’t talk about conflict management as a part of our standard wellness program because it feels outside of our scope. I tell you what…it’s not! Giving employees the skills to deal with difficult conversations can absolutely enhance their wellbeing.

Today’s guest is Dave Gerber. Dave specializes in transforming workplace conflicts and calls himself the Conflict Healer. Dave is President and Founder of Synergy Development and Training, LLC who motivates people to become the best version of themselves. Dave is also an Executive and Leadership Coach, Learning Expert, Trainer and Author.

In today’s episode, we talk about how he got into conflict management as an area of specialty, how conflict helps with productivity, the costs of conflict within organizations and tips on how to handle conflict.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

In this episode, Marina Calabrese shares her insight in using innovative, effective communications strategies to ease the transitions of organizational change. She elaborates on why transparency with employees is vital and how it can lead to a more motivated and unified workforce.

Marina also shares how building trust through strong relationships opened the door for her to begin to implement change with leadership.

Marina also explains how her work with a younger staff led her to her passion in executive coaching. She then details for Jen her definition of the coaching approach and the benefits it has on empowering employees and making them more autonomous.

Marina also leaves tangible tips to using the coaching approach and communications in an organization to bring about effective change.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Kelly Howard, Director of Whole Health Education for the Veterans Health Administration explains how the VA has piloted the Whole Health Model to transform the way healthcare is delivered.

She elaborates on the 3-pronged program that includes clinicians, wellness clinics, and peer-based programs. This model changes the focus from the disease-based ‘find it, fix it’ model to whole person health.

Kelly and Jen dive deeper into the model discussing the different integrated health modalities, challenges in implementation, and ways wellness professionals can use the same concepts to transform the way healthcare is delivered in their own organizations.

Kelly also shares more about her time at West Point, her thoughts as 9/11 unfolded, and her two deployments in Iraq. Don’t miss this episode and the transformative way the VA is working to change healthcare in the US.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/