The Behaviorist

On this week's episode of The Behaviorist, Work Wisdom's Jaime Arroyo sits down with Leo Silva, Associate Director of Attollo, a rigorous college access and leadership program for underserved high schoolers. As a young leader in the organization, Attollo (Latin for "Rise Up") has served over 341 scholars in 7 school districts. 98% of Attollo Scholars are accepted to and attend a college or university. But Leo's story is more than these numbers. As a young child, his parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, and he came to this country with a language barrier and the odds stacked against him. Despite all this, Leo has succeeded beyond his expectations of himself and is now pursuing his Master's degree in School Leadership with a focus on Educational Entrepreneurship from Harvard University. Leo is both an extraordinary mentor and a student. Learn how much resilience plays a role in nurturing young leaders and what non-traditional professional development methods can help you foster the next generation of brilliant minds. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

In a recent survey, 66% of consumers said they would be willing to pay more for a product or service if they knew the company was socially and environmentally responsible. Earning a B Corp certification is the bat signal for such companies. Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio speaks on this week's podcast with Sarah Payne, Impact Consulting Manager at Assets. Sarah, a passionate advocate for companies to pursue B Corp certification, explains how certification works as well as some small but powerful changes you can make within your organization right now to "be like a B Corp." Find out what choices you can make to impact your "triple bottom line dramatically": people, planet, and profit. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

Every organization faces “tough times” - a bad quarter, unexpected staff turnaround, or an even more mission-critical challenge - like Sheila Mastropietro has faced for the last three years. Sheila is the Director of Church World Service in Lancaster, which assists refugees, immigrants, and asylum-seekers to find home, peace, and stability to rebuild their lives in the United States. The current White House administration’s policies have sent shockwaves across organizations like CWS as they desperately try to continue their important work in the face of many legislative, legal, and cultural challenges. In this candid and important conversation, Work Wisdom’s Sarah Colantonio talks with Sheila about how she keeps her head above water and stays focused on the work she was put here to do. Find out how Sheila rebounds from disappointment and what skills and focus you need to keep your eyes on the prize in your own tough battles at work - and in your community. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

The concept of sabbatical has its roots in ancient agriculture. Jewish people in Israel were required to take a year-long break from working the land every seven years. Modern sabbaticals are a time for an employee to take a break from work to focus on academic research, personal development, rejuvenation, writing, or simply spiritual refueling. These breaks are valuable for the individual and the organization - research shows that employees who take more than 10 days of vacation a year are 30% more likely to perform higher and receive a raise the following year. Companies including an earned sabbatical among their benefits are a rare thing, especially in America. How can we incorporate the benefits of a long, intentional break into our weekly and seasonal schedules? How can we “optimize” the time we do have off to get the most out of it? Join Work Wisdom’s Kate Coleman and Kimberlee Peifer, along with Jonathan Coleman, Co-Executive Director of ASSETS, as they discuss their personal and professional experience with intentional, focused breaks from work. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

Contemplative leadership helps leaders "move from the illusion of me to the reality of us, from the illusion of scarcity to the reality of abundance, from powerlessness to the presence of power, from institutional self-protection to embracing the mission, from fear to trust." - Parker Palmer

What is contemplative leadership? It's incorporating mindfulness practices into your work life: stilling yourself, listening, examining, and learning to lead with your heart more than your head. On this week's Behaviorist podcast, join Work Wisdom's Kedren Crosby, Sarah Colantonio, and Kimberlee Peifer in a conversation about Contemplative Leadership and its mysteries. Learn what practices will help you receive the gift of contemplation, and find out if you need to practice a specific spiritual path or religion to embark on contemplative leadership (spoiler alert: you don't). You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

Is optimism a crucial trait for effective leadership? What is the difference between being optimistic and being naive? Can optimists be empathetic and work alongside their pessimist nemesis? These questions and more will be explored on this week’s episode of The Behaviorist podcast. Kedren is joined by Dr. Jill Koser,  Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the City of York School District, and Joe McMonagle, Vice President of ATOMIC. Listen as these three optimists discuss the benefits and potential costs of maintaining a hopeful outlook, and find out in what ways a stubborn pessimist can be an asset to your vision, not a thorn in your side. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

Music: The Pretenders // Message of Love

In this week’s episode, we welcome Dr. Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School and author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth. Dr. Edmondson is an expert on leadership, teaming, and workplace psychological safety. The Work Wisdom team frequently references and recommends her work to our clients. Psychological safety is believing one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. Listen to learn what the costs are when an organization ignores psychological safety (both tangible failures and intangible lost opportunities), as well as hear about some specific companies who are doing it right (what is Pixar’s “Brain Trust” and how does it guide peer critiques?). Dr. Edmondson also shares some concrete practices anyone can use to create psychological safety at home or work - setting the stage, inviting participation, and responding productively. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

When facing adversity, or knee-deep in the “messy middle” of progress, how do we know when to power through, versus when to tactfully cut bait and walk away? On this week’s Behaviorist podcast, Kedren is joined by longtime friends and mentors Laura Howell and Kathryn Ross to discuss how to hone the power and proper proportions of grit and grace. Listen to learn practical ways to help guide those “should I stay or should I go” decisions - like what three rulers you can use to measure whether a challenge is taking too much of a toll to be worthwhile. Find out how our guests activate and strengthen their grace in day to day interactions - and how admitting you’re wrong and working to find your “do-over” can be the greatest grace of all. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

Do you know the five main ways we all respond to any given conflict? Avoiding, accommodating, competing, collaborating, and compromise. None of these types are singularly bad or good - each one has a time and place for its use. However, every individual has types that they rely on more heavily and ones they don’t.  On this week’s Behaviorist podcast, join Work Wisdom’s Kedren Crosby and Sarah Colantonio for a candid and personal conversation about how learning their conflict style preferences made a world-shifting change to their relationship, and how learning those styles can benefit you both personally and professionally. By taking the Thomas Killman Instrument (TKI), a 20-minute assessment of your conflict style, individuals and teams can learn their predispositions to use certain conflict styles and which styles they tend to avoid. Unlike IQ or personality types, your TKI score is not fixed - learning when each style is best used and how to be agile in switching between them is a skill that successful leaders need to navigate through differences to harness creativity and positive change. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.