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David Birkam, a professional creative,  shares his experiences and empirical research with us regarding how to successfully navigate virtual ad hoc work teams. 

Being appointed to a project team can be challenging in a best case scenario. 

But what about when these teams are comprised of individuals from several different work units with likely with no shared history who are then tasked with solving a complex, often emergent problem? 

Want to complicate this further? 

What about when these teams function fully in a co-located, virtual space? 

David shares his insights and leaves us with insights related to building trust, the importance of co-leadership, and the potential of knowledge generation and sharing. 

David Birkam is a Graphic Designer at Western Michigan University working in teaching and learning support in addition to a recent communication program graduate.

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

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Our guest, Brenda Harrington, is what my daughter calls "a kick-butt girl."

Case in point, check out a quote from her recent book, Access Denied:

"Playing to win requires an understanding of the game, knowing who the star players are and developing and executing a playing strategy." 

Brenda is beyond knowledgeable in terms of adaptive leadership and personalized leadership coaching and leaves us with tangible tips to better navigate our teams and our workplaces in an inclusive and persuasive manner. 

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
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Bob Gaydos, CEO of Pendella, proposes a very compelling idea. And one that I am fully on board with.

Bob suggests rethinking the traditional employee benefits package. In addition to helping offset the cost of medical and dental, Bob argues for earmarking money for annual employee professional development.

Why?

This can help employees enter leadership roles earlier in their careers and ultimately, enhance the culture and likely, the output, of an organization. 

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
We'd love to hear from you! Send us your questions and requests via email or a voice note to [email protected]. 

Support the show

Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/

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Hello leaders!

I am excited to kick off Season 3 of The Communicative Leader with a conversation with Steve Marcinuk, Co-Founder and General Manager of Intelligent Relations.

Steve is among the humblest of leaders you will ever meet AND among the most talented of leaders you'll ever meet.

Steve is an advocate for constant learning, asking questions of your team and listening (gasp!) and embracing failure.

Enjoy!

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
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Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/

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We have had so much fun this season --- we’ve had some incredible guests talk to us about best practices for organizational change, to the power of language, importance and impact of psychological safety and self-care and wellness at work.

We’ve also tackled everything from navigating conflict to crafting personal vision statements and overcoming imposter syndrome.  In this episode, the season 2 finale, we are going to focus on the best of the rest --- yup, we’re going to wrap up the season by highlighting the most compelling and impactful leadership communication ideas and practices we’ve discussed this season.

We're going to consider our takeaways in three main sections:

1. Employees Need to Feel Safe and Heard 

2. The Way We Talk to Ourselves as Others Matters 

3. We Lead With or Without a Title 

And our communication challenges?

• Best practices for navigating conflict 
• Paths to empowerment 

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
We'd love to hear from you! Send us your questions and requests via email or a voice note to [email protected]. 

A special thank you to PR Manager, Michael Slowik, and graphic designer, David Birkam, for their contributions to The Communicative Leader. 

Support the show

Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/

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In our last episode we looked at the research behind self-care, burnout, and wellness at work.

In this episode, we continue our focus on wellness by diving into a conversation with an expert from the mental health field.

I am so excited to welcome Christine Omilion-Sugg, LPC to The Communicative Leader.

As a  licensed professional counselor, she gives us concrete tips and practices for our self-care practice and hones in on the importance of titled leaders modeling prosocial, empathetic behaviors. What else? She's also my sister. 

Christine earned her Master’s of Clinical Mental Health Degree from Oakland University with a specialization in infant, child, and adolescent therapy. She has provided care at the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan, Great Lakes Psychiatric, and is now serving clients at Petoskey Professional Counselors. Christine focuses on treating symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma and also works as an Accredited supervisor to both graduate and post-graduate students. You can contact Christine at [email protected].

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
We'd love to hear from you! Send us your questions and requests via email or a voice note to [email protected]. 

A special thank you to PR Manager, Michael Slowik, and graphic designer, David Birkam, for their contributions to The Communicative Leader. 

Support the show

Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/

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Self-care is NOT:

■ A new-agey fad

■ Indulgent

■ A luxury

■ Expensive

■ Time intensive

■ Optional

Self-care can be integrated into any schedule and any budget. 

Those who engage in self-care tend to be happier, more productive, and more reslient and a whole heck of a lot stressed. 

Sounds pretty good to me :) 

We talk about self-care, how to engage in it as an individually, how to integrate into your team, and the importance of boundary setting. 

What else? We dive into the ways in which we can protect ourselves from burnout. 

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
We'd love to hear from you! Send us your questions and requests via email or a voice note to [email protected]. 

A special thank you to PR Manager, Michael Slowik, and graphic designer, David Birkam, for their contributions to The Communicative Leader. 

Support the show

Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/

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Think about your family for a minute. Who is the de facto leader?

That is, who does everyone go to for the plan for the day or the trip?

Who is the joker or class clown of the family?  Who is the nurturer?

These same roles playout in the workplace  -- sometimes we embody these roles formally – such as the leader – but generally speaking, we ebb and flow between the roles throughout our day and as we interact with others to, well, get our work done.

While some of these roles are productive and helpful to group functioning, others can detract or damage employee wellbeing and group health.

Today we’re going to look at group roles, consider how they impact us individually and our team.

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
We'd love to hear from you! Send us your questions and requests via email or a voice note to [email protected]. 

A special thank you to PR Manager, Michael Slowik, and graphic designer, David Birkam, for their contributions to The Communicative Leader. 

Support the show

Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/

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Today on the Communicative Leader I am so excited to welcome TED speaker, author, and leader in the field of global English Communication Heather Hansen.

Heather’s Ted Talk titled 2 billion voices: how to speak bad English perfectly has over 200,000 views and her recent book, UnMuted is a best seller in Business management and Workplace culture.

Today, Heather chats with us about language, our perceptions of others, and how to listen in a way that encourages others to speak up and share their ideas.

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
We'd love to hear from you! Send us your questions and requests via email or a voice note to [email protected]. 

A special thank you to PR Manager, Michael Slowik, and graphic designer, David Birkam, for their contributions to The Communicative Leader. 

Support the show

Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/

Send us a text

Conflict is not good or bad. Conflict is neutral.

Conflict can be productive, but if it goes unaddressed or is not navigated tactfully it can also be damaging.

Conflict is a normal part of organizational life.

Today on the Communicative Leader, we dive into best practices for managing conflict, discuss conflict between leader and member and peers, and consider how to better understand our own conflict style.

Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose.

Looking for more tips?
Join our weekly email list to receive episode recaps, previews, and most importantly, communication-rooted solutions for your everyday workday questions and experiences. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h91B0v

P.S. Check your spam folder...we like to send these out on Mondays :)

Have a question for Dr. Leah OH? Is something at work driving you nuts? Have an idea for an episode? Reach out!
We'd love to hear from you! Send us your questions and requests via email or a voice note to [email protected]. 

A special thank you to PR Manager, Michael Slowik, and graphic designer, David Birkam, for their contributions to The Communicative Leader. 

Support the show

Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/