We are starting Season 3 of the Employee Success Podcast with a look at the Cardinal Principle of Noble Purpose and offering some tips for making 2024 your best year of work yet.  Guest Errol Wint shares his journey toward discovering his “why” and how defying conventional wisdom was a secret to unlocking his true purpose. Finding your “why” can make life more exciting, whether your purpose happens at work or if your job provides the resources for you to pursue it in other ways.

All children are inherently creative, but somewhere along the way in adulthood we all start to lose a little of the courage and joy that once fueled our creativity. By the time we are in the midst of a professional career, we are often too risk-adverse to take the chances that come with creative expression. But Dr. Jabani Bennett says living a creative life is possible for all of us, and in fact often necessary for success at work. As a self-identified creative, she has taught others to rediscover their joy by looking at life through a creative lens. As a bonus to our chat in this episode, Jabani also shares how her stepfather, Dean Blaine Hudson, expressed his creativity and what his legacy as the Dean of Arts and Sciences at UofL means to all of us today.

Maybe the most often cited of the eight Cardinal Principles is “community of care,” but what does it really mean? Dr. Douglas Craddock has been exploring that question in his role as Vice President for Community Engagement and as a busy faculty member. He says it starts with caring for self and realizing that the more we practice self care, the better able we are to be there for others. And once you’ve done that, Doug advocates for finding a need you are passion about, and jumping in to make a difference. Thankfully he and his team are there with some resources and suggestions for getting started.

This week’s guest is Dr. Kevin McClure, whose research at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington illuminates the workplace challenges and opportunities that exist in higher education. His findings and social media presence have made him a popular and respected advocate for the folks who work at colleges and universities, and we couldn’t resist the chance to talk to him while he was visiting UofL doing research for his next book. In this episode, we talk about the origins of the ideal worker norm and how it gets perpetuated in higher education. Kevin explains how unrealistic norms affect the experiences of employees who are caregivers, disabled, chronically ill, and grieving. And also offer some solutions for leaders who want set policies and practices that work for real people.

When Shirrod Le’Det learned he had been fired from his job with no warning, he thought he had experienced the worst career tragedy possible. But every setback is also a set up, he says, depending on your mindset. In this episode, we explore what happens when you hit bottom, how to get back up, and some of the strategies for turning failure into a new opportunity for growth.

Shirrod Le'Det Introduces the Now-to-Next Blueprint - Transforming Today’s Leaders for Tomorrow’s Business - US Business News

Building the Big Picture: Shirrod Le'Det's Vision of Transitioning, Leading, and Growing - CEO Weekly

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For decades, people have used the free speech zone at UofL to peddle hateful and triggering messages while the campus community grappled with the best way to respond. After messengers of hate came to campus again recently, we asked Professor JoAnne Sweeny to help us understand the boundaries of free speech and why it’s so difficult to sort through. What can we can do when we are confronted with messages that run counter to our Cardinal Principles and why don’t we just stop them from coming in the first place? The namesake of our Law School, Justice Brandeis, provides some answers to these challenging questions and illuminates why Freedom of Expression is a cherished societal value.

Resources:

The UofL statement on Free Speech: https://louisville.edu/freespeech

UofL Speech and Distribution of Literature Policy: https://louisville.edu/policies/policies-and-procedures/pageholder/pol-speech-and-distribution-of-literature

Campus Pride Guide on Handling Hate Preachers: https://www.campuspride.org/resources/how-to-handle-hate-preachers-on-campus/

Professor JoAnne Sweeny: https://louisville.edu/law/faculty-staff/faculty-directory/sweeny-joanne

What do positive leaders do differently? In his work studying leadership, Dr. Ryan Quinn noticed that successful leaders are often break with conventions and exhibit virtues that transform those around them. And now through his work at the Center for Positive Leadership, he’s gathering virtue experts from the university and surrounding community to provide us with tools we can use to develop a stronger connection to the virtues and skills for applying them to the challenges we face. Tune in to our conversation and find out which virtue he’s working on at the moment!

Join us for an authentic, personal exploration of faculty burnout with Dr. Cynthia Ganote, who shares her own experience in the academy and the lessons she learned as a result. The demands to constantly achieve higher and higher levels of perfection, coupled with the crippling exhaustion that results, make burnout a very real possibility. And staff aren’t exempt either. Dr. Ganote talks about how she identified burnout in her professional life, the radical steps she took to heal, and how she recovered through radical self-care. A critical two-part episode for anyone working in higher education. (part 2 of 2)

Join us for an authentic, personal exploration of faculty burnout with Dr. Cynthia Ganote, who shares her own experience in the academy and the lessons she learned as a result. The demands to constantly achieve higher and higher levels of perfection, coupled with the crippling exhaustion that results, make burnout a very real possibility. And staff aren’t exempt either. Dr. Ganote talks about how she identified burnout in her professional life, the radical steps she took to heal, and how she recovered through radical self-care. A critical two-part episode for anyone working in higher education. (part 1 of 2)