The Chatterbox

When life throws its hardest challenges at us, how do we keep moving forward?

In this episode, I’m joined by Greg Kettner, founder of WorkHappy, to talk about resilience, connection, and why conversations matter more than we think. Greg opens up about losing his career and a beloved family member to suicide, and how those moments reshaped his purpose.

Together, we explore how staying connected, talking openly, and choosing to "work happy" can not only protect our mental health but also strengthen the way we show up as leaders, colleagues, and human beings.

This is an honest, heartfelt conversation about finding light in dark moments; it's a reminder that happiness at work (and in life) is built through connection.

What do laughter, leadership, and trust have in common? More than you think. In this episode, I sit down with Stefano Iaboni, founder of Smile Solution LLC, to explore how humor can be a powerful tool for breaking down barriers, building stronger teams, and making even the toughest conversations easier.

Originally from Italy, Stefano shares how his journey helped shape his mission to spark creativity and connection in the workplace. We talk about how laughter isn't just entertainment, it's emotional intelligence in action.

Whether you’re leading a team, presenting on stage, or just trying to show up more authentically, this episode will leave you smiling and thinking.

What if the key to a healthier workplace isn’t just speaking up, but also creating the safety to do so?

In this heartfelt and insightful conversation, Stephen Shedletzky (Shed) shares the deeply personal journey behind writing Speak Up Culture. We explore "radical candor" and "candor with care", how leaders can turn feedback into fuel (not fear), and why he believes people are inherently good.

We also dive into the “pickle theory,” Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies, and how self-awareness can shift the way we listen, lead, and live. At the core is a belief that confident, compassionate communication is how we unlock their best.

If you’re ready to lead with courage and create real connection, this one’s for you.

In this Season 2 launch of The Chatterbox Podcast, I share the real and raw story of an emergency plane landing that turned an ordinary flight into an extraordinary moment of connection. Among the passengers were fellow JCI members (leaders from around the world), whose presence and humanity in crisis reminded me what leadership really looks like.

This episode is about more than a midair emergency. It’s about how shared space, vulnerability, and deep listening can transform strangers into a circle of trust. It’s a reminder that leadership isn’t just about taking charge, it’s about how we show up for each other when it matters most.

This one is for anyone who believes that human connection is at the heart of leadership.

In 2022, as National President of JCI Canada, I saw the need for our members to re-connect. We had spent 2 years in forced isolation, unable to connect with each other in person for fear built out of the pandemic culture. Our member-driven organization that thrived on our ability to build and maintain a strong network was suffering.

Little did I know it at the time, but the notion of re-connecting to rebuild communities was starting to gain traction in the academic world; where those who had a voice in the academy were publishing articles and books that touted connection as the key to success in not only academia, but also in the broader context of our increasingly diverse society (Jordan, 2024; Lewis and Olshansky, 2016). 

Finding opportunities to study and write about human connection has not only influenced and impacted my development as an academic writer, it has also inspired my outlook for this Masters degree. 

I look forward to publishing more in the future.

Stay tuned for Season 2 of "The Chatterbox" launching in June 2025!

Resources:

Jordan, J. V. (2024). Introduction. In Relational–cultural therapy., 3rd ed. (pp. 3–13). American Psychological Association. https://0-doi-org.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/10.1037/0000411-001

Lewis, C., & Olshansky, E. (2016). Relational-cultural Theory as a Framework for Mentoring in Academia: Toward Diversity and Growth-fostering Collaborative Scholarly Relationships. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 24(5), 383–398. https://0-doi-org.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/10.1080/13611267.2016.1275390

With the first draft of our main course assignment due in the next week, I am circling around ideas of human connection and the impact that it has on the journey of an academic writer. Looking back to the assigned reading from Week 4, I'm drawn to an excerpt from an article taken from Swales and Feak's (2012) "Academic Writing for Graduate Students" that discussed how more teams were emerging with co-authored work (p.250-256). Since team work would indicate humans that are connected with each other on the foundation of the academy, I am curious to read this article again to see if it resonates with my current work for my literature review. 

References:

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students : essential tasks and skills (3rd ed.).

University of Michigan Press. Wuchty, S., Jones, B. F., & Uzzi, B. (2007). The Increasing Dominance of Teams in Production of Knowledge. Science, 316(5827), 1036–1039.

Boundaries are important in so many facets of life, from personal to professional relationships to volunteer opportunities to something as simple as setting a consistent bed time. It's no secret that defining and setting clear expectations leads to more positive results. If we extract this concept out of life experience and insert it into academia, as a mature learner, I'm finding its application extremely useful. This week, as I am diving into developing my research question for the main course assignment, the "Literature Review," I find myself distracted by the abundance of topics that seem interesting and relevant. Much the same as the need to re-focus my blog posts around the guiding question of "what is an academic writer and how can I become one," success in this literature review assignment depends on setting clear boundaries (i.e. a clear research question) that will act as a framework to guide my research. 

Reference for today's episode:

O’Leary, Z. (2017). Developing your research question. The essential guide to doing your research project (3rd ed.) (pp. 82–115). London: SAGE.  https://web.archive.org/web/20211102123209/https://www.ru.ac.bd/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2019/03/402_06_00_O%E2%80%99Leary-The-Essential-Guide-to-Doing-Your-Research-Project-2017.pdf 

I have always enjoyed writing, whether I'm writing free form, stream of consciousness in my journal, writing a letter to a friend, creating a social media post, or venting frustrations to translate them from the jumble in my head into words on a page, writing is a release for me.

As we progress through each passing week in this academic writing course, I find myself effectively building a toolbox to help better guide my words as I write. Now, as we enter into our tenth week of learning, I am embarking on a new journey, and adding another tool to my toolbox: writing a literature review. Let me start by saying that a literature review is not at all what I expected it would be; I originally took the words "literature review" at face value, assuming I would be reviewing one piece of literature. What I have learned is that this type of work it is so much more than that, and involves researching, reading and reviewing far more than only one piece of literature. 

Stay tuned over the coming months; the format and frequency of this podcast will be shifting to include a new range of topics and maybe even a few guests!

Reference for todays episode:

Academic Writing Help Centre, University of Ottawa. (2010, September 26). Writing kit: Writing a literature review. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20100926113145/http://www.sass.uottawa.ca:80/writing/kit/grad-literature-review.php

This week has been especially transformative in how I see myself through the lens of the academy. As I'm continuing to develop my sense of writing as an academic writer, as opposed to a casual writer in modern society, my most difficult task has been staying on task; when there are so many new topics and perspectives to soak in, I tend to forget my bigger purpose here. With a focus on refocusing this week, and as we are diving into completing peer reviews with the rest of our classmates on our first big assignment, I am thinking about perspective. 

Our first assignment is a Critical Review of Fernsten and Reda's article about self-reflective practices in academic writing. We are using selections from Peter Elbow's Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process to guide our own processes in reviewing each other's reviews. Particularly poignant is the excerpt on reader-based feedback; this is essentially giving feedback based on the way a piece of writing makes the reader feel (Elbow, 245). 

Fernsten, Linda A., and Mary Reda. “Helping Students Meet the Challenges of Academic Writing.” Teaching in Higher Education, vol. 16, no. 2, 2011, pp. 171–182. Taylor & Francis Online, doi:10.1080/13562517.2010.507306.

Elbow, Peter. Selections from Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 1998. ProQuest Ebook Central, 0-ebookcentral-proquest-com.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/lib/athabasca-ebooks/detail.action?docID=241397. 

After spending 12 years as a member of an international, multi-lingual, multi-cultural organization that prides itself on developing leaders for our changing world; and after having held a seat as Vice President on the international board in my final year of eligible, active membership; I find myself pondering how those language and cultural experiences will impact my ability to succeed as an academic writer. 

Work Cited:

Hofstede, Geert. Culture's Consequences - International Issues in Work-Related Values. Sage Publications, Inc., 1984.

Blog: https://landing.athabascau.ca/blog/view/26901553/blog-5-cultural-differences-how-can-we-effectively-communicate