The Indigo Podcast

It's great that women are filling college courses … and at the same time, it points to a potential problem with men. Or does it? In this episode, we explore:

- The decline of male college enrollment

- Why we should care about this issue

- Implications for parents, educators, and society

Links and Other Information

The Male Enrollment Crisis: article

Male College Completion: article

Gender Gap in High School Graduation: article

Unnoticed Result of the Decline of Men in College: article

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There's a lot of talk right now about the "great resignation" and the numbers of people leaving the workforce. Regardless of the nuances of that situation and whether or not it poses a problem for specific employers, the topic of keeping junior talent is one that seems particularly relevant right now. In this episode, we discuss:

- Why do people stay in their jobs

- What might be particularly important for junior talent

- Implications for junior talent, their leaders, and their organizations

Links and Other Information

Why people quit and how to keep them: Part 1

Why people quit and how to keep them: Part 2

Lee, T. W., Mitchell, T. R., Holtom, B. C., McDaneil, L. S., & Hill, J. W. (1999). The unfolding model of voluntary turnover: A replication and extension. Academy of Management Journal, 42(4), 450-462. Click here

Allen, D. G., Bryant, P. C., & Vardaman, J. M. (2010). Retaining talent: Replacing misconceptions with evidence-based strategies. Academy of management Perspectives, 24(2), 48-64. Click here

McKinsey article on attracting and retaining talent: click here

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For those of us living among other people–which is basically all of us unless you're a total hermit–it's natural to look around and notice other people. This is something called "social comparison." But it has both negative and positive outcomes for us. In this episode, we discuss:

- What social comparison is

- How does social comparison work and what are its outcomes

- Implications for people, leaders, and organizations

Links and Other Information

The Stress of Social Comparison: article

New York Times article: You Won't Find Your Self-Worth on Instagram

Hobza, C. L., Walker, K. E., Yakushko, O., & Peugh, J. L. (2007). What about men? Social comparison and the effects of media images on body and self-esteem. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 8(3), 161. Click here

Hogue, J. V., & Mills, J. S. (2019). The effects of active social media engagement with peers on body image in young women. Body Image, 28, 1-5. Click here

Experience Magazine: Jealous of your Facebook friends? You're not alone.

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Okdie, B. M., Eckles, K., & Franz, B. (2015). Who compares and despairs? The effect of social comparison orientation on social media use and its outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 249-256. Click here

Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, B. P. (1999). Individual differences in social comparison: development of a scale of social comparison orientation. Journal of personality and social psychology, 76(1), 129. Click here

Park, S. Y., & Baek, Y. M. (2018). Two faces of social comparison on Facebook: The interplay between social comparison orientation, emotions, and psychological well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 79, 83-93. Click here

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Everyone is talking about hybrid work, but there are some missing aspects to many of those conversations. In this episode, we discuss:

- The phenomenon of hybrid work and the unfolding conversation

- What critical considerations seem to be missing from that conversation

- Implications for people, leaders, and organizations

Links and Other Information

The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers: September 2021 article in Nature Human Behavior

Making hybrid work human: research project

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Human resources or HR: Love it or hate it, it's the business function that deals with all of the messy "people stuff." HR people and HR as a function have tremendous potential for making businesses work better and helping people thrive. But there's this thing, "HR theater," that's everywhere. And that's not good. We discuss what HR theater is, why it exists, and what to do about it.

Links and Other Information

Rob Briner on Evidence-Based Practice: podcast episode

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The magnitude of problems facing the world can be overwhelming. But we are not helpless. In this episode, we discuss the value of getting involved and volunteering your service for the betterment of society. Specifically, we discuss the inaugural Vincent William Baran Day of Service, which was held on Sept. 25, 2021, and how everyone can contribute to making the world a better place.

Links and Other Information

The Vincent William Baran Day of Service: Mighty Vincent

The USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation: click here

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For the average employee, it probably comes as no surprise that top management teams are out of touch with reality within the organization. But for executives themselves, it likely comes as a surprise--because, well, they're out of touch. We explore this phenomenon in today's episode, including key ways in which executives are out of touch currently (and perhaps more broadly), why this is problematic, and what leaders should do about it.

Links and Other Information

What is Work Really Like Today: report from Gartner

Prior episode: Creating a Feedback Culture

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What value is there in thinking deeply about life's persistent questions? It's tremendous, according to Matt Jordan--and we agree. Matt is the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Dean and Chair for the Humanities at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, and he joined us to discuss the purpose of higher education, and more specifically, about the value of the humanities. We talked about living the good life, being a thoughtful person, how the humanities can foster civil discourse, and so much more.

Links and Other Information

Check out Matt and his co-hosts on the Three Questions, Three Drinks Podcast

Matt Jordan's book chapter, "Inquiry as Occupation" - click here

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Humanities Center at Cuyahoga Community College - click here

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Most of us don't want to be perceived as "creepy." And many guys are certainly not creepy. But at the same time, guys frequently act in creepy ways at work, on the web, and in other social situations. That creepiness has a negative effect on flourishing, and so in this episode, we explore what creepiness is, what leaders and organizations might do about it, and we provide some advice for people who are directly targeted by creepy guys--as well as some advice for men in general on this topic.

Links and Other Information

What Makes a Person Creepy? TED article by Julia Shaw

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The idea of strategy is one that many people get wrong. But Chuck Bamford gets it RIGHT. He's an author, speaker, consultant, and scholar. In this illuminating and lively conversation with Chuck, we discuss common myths about strategy and much more, including:

- What strategy is and the landscape of strategy formulation implementation

- How strategy really works

- How leaders can actually get their organizations to think about and do strategy the right way

Links and Other Information

More about Chuck Bamford: website

Chuck's book The Strategy Mindset 2.0: Click here

All of Chuck's books: Check them out!

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