The Behaviorist

"One voice can change a room." - President Barack Obama

Is traditional strategic planning dead? Join Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio and Kedren Crosby in a conversation about what works - and what doesn't - when organizations sit down to think big picture and long term. Find out how to filter your questions to create a "Strategy Screen" that will help you frame your exploration more tactfully, allowing people and teams a "positive no”. This tactic will help you get comfortable saying what you won’t do so that you can focus intentionally on what you will. Think of it as "The Organizational-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" for your company. Focusing your strategy goals this way can drive your team to create a "winning aspiration" for your organization that everyone will buy in to and believe in. Boiling down 5 and 10 year plans that may be obsolete before then into 2-3 "Big Questions" will help you and your team keep your eyes on the prize of that winning aspiration.

You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com  

“How is speed sustainable?  What is free jet fuel for leadership development?  How can you look ten years younger?”  Mindfulness, or the practice of noticing, savoring, and being present in your current moment, is a potent tool. Bringing mindfulness into your workplace increases focus, self-awareness, morale, and efficiency. It reduces conflict. If you have never practiced mindfulness, trying to start may feel intimidating or overwhelming. But fear not - in this episode of The Behaviorist, Work Wisdom’s Kedren Crosby, Kate Coleman, and Sarah Colantonio walk through some very accessible and straightforward ways you can incorporate mindfulness into your day - at home or in the office.

You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com

Can a healthy, vibrant corporate culture and shrewd business strategy peacefully coexist within one organization? Yes, if you understand the differences between the two - and work intentionally to cultivate them both. In this episode of The Behaviorist, Work Wisdom’s Matt Sware and Sarah Colantonio discuss the intersection of culture and strategy. Strategy is the road map that your business needs to succeed, culture is the fuel for the vehicle to get there. Find out what concrete steps you can take as an individual and company to nurture both of these crucial concepts. And don’t miss Part 2 of Strategy Meets Culture - in next month’s episode, Kedren Crosby will share Work Wisdom’s methods for weaving culture and strategy together to go farther, faster as a stronger company.

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 difference between eustress and distress? Eustress is the stress your body creates that is positive (it actually helps you increase performance) - like the adrenaline rush you get before a big presentation. Distress is when stress has reached a critical level that interferes with your performance - when you've got so many things on your plate, the plate starts to break down and crack. Join Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio, Kate Coleman, and Kedren Crosby in a personal and insightful conversation about how to shift your habits and perspective on stress to your advantage. Listen to find out how we first learn to cope with stress from our family of origin and first job experiences - and what concrete practices we can incorporate into our daily life to start training the stress dragon to fly the way you want it to. 

You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.

In this week's episode, Sarah is joined by Work Wisdom's Donunshae Sanders to talk about Workplace Equity. Creating at atmosphere that makes all of your employees feel heard and valued increases morale, retention, and profitability. Sarah and Don discuss the many tools leaders can use to help uncover their own bias, like the Implicit Association Test, or IAT. Listeners will also learn about an interviewing tactic that will ensure an equitable and positive experience for both your team and potential candidates. 

You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com. 

What is PSYCAP? Positive Organizational Behavior expert Fred Luthans defines Psychological Capital as an individual's positive psychological state of development that is characterized by efficacy and confidence. Join Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio and Kedren Crosby as they walk through the four pillars of PSYCAP - Confidence, Optimism, Hope, and Resiliency. These mindsets are not set in stone - they can be practiced and learned. Kedren shares some concrete practices that you as an individual can bring into your daily life and workplace to begin improving your PSYCAP and moving your organization to a place of positive growth and unlimited potential. 

You can follow Work Wisdom on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.  

This week, Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio and Jaime Arroyo are joined by Joe McMonagle, Vice President of Set Construction at Atomic Design. Joe is a member of Work Wisdom's The Review Club, a cohort of leaders and rising leaders who meet monthly to quickly and collaboratively digest and discuss articles from the most current issue of the Harvard Business Review. Jaime Arroyo, co-facilitator of The Review, explains how the group benefits from a concise and focused conversation about each HBR article, and how it can relate to and benefit each members' workplace culture and habits. Joe shares what practices he has learned from the diverse and disparate group of leaders in his Review cohort to take back to his workplace - practices that have made real and rapid changes to how his team handles challenges. 

You can follow Work Wisdom on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.