The Marcel Podcast

By Marcel SchwantesBusiness Management

The Marcel Podcast episodes

July 13, 2023Marcel Schwantes: 3 Attributes of The Best Leaders
Enjoy this sneak peek for Marcel Schwantes’s Fall 2024 upcoming book. Marcel shares something too many managers are missing, 3 attributes that make up the best leaders.

Show Notes:
“In transparent work cultures, you can count on the guardians of the culture, trusted team members and associates, to watch out for politics or favoritism behind the scenes and squash such behaviors as soon as it happens.” [2:54] Marcel starts his list of the three attributes of the best leaders with transparency. The best leaders are role models of transparency, allowing no room for toxic behavior.
“One-on-one meetings don't have to have an agenda. They're used mostly to find out how things are going and whether people have questions or concerns about the business or a particular strategy in play.” [5:20] Winning attribute number 2, The best leaders don't neglect the power of one-on-one meetings. Marcel shares two simple questions for these meetings that affirm the employee's value and voice and spawn great ideas for how to run the business better.
“Psychological safety curbs the fear that historically makes it difficult for workers to think clearly and act confidently on their own to make decisions. It helps to eliminate the authoritarian tactics of bosses yelling at workers for making mistakes or not knowing things." [7:10] The best leaders foster an environment of psychological safety. Marcel shares the research between this term coined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, who explains it as ‘a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.’

Mentioned in this episode:
Marcel Schwantes

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9 min
July 06, 2023Marcel Schwantes: The Adverse Effects of “People Challenges” at Work
In a preview for his upcoming book in Fall 2024, Marcel Schwantes shares a personal story of the physical manifestation of stress and the adverse effects of a fear driven work relationship.

Show notes:
“After checking myself into the emergency department, the ER physician called my condition stress and anxiety related. He explained that people may experience psychological distress as physical pain, a process known as somatization.” [1:35] Marcel Schwantes shares an excerpt from his up-and-coming book, a personal story of pain and stress viewed by his boss as insubordination.
“Most of us have been in varying degrees of boss-to-subordinate relationships, reporting to managers with different experience levels, personality types, and ways of seeing the world around us. Many of us were adversely affected by those work relationships and even may have lost our jobs, health, or dignity. Or perhaps worse.”[3:13] These “People Challenges” as Marcel calls them have a deep effect on our wellbeing, and when they become negative it's not only our work performance that suffers.
“Feelings of connection, belonging, psychological safety, teamwork, and close bonds are what make the best work environments.”[7:13] Marcel gets honest about the work environment people need and it’s definitely not fear. Leaders who uphold these listed qualities foster better work environments and will have healthy and more productive employees.
Mentioned in this episode:
Marcel Schwantes
Send Marcel a text message!
9 min
June 29, 2023REPLAY: Mark C. Crowley: Lead From The Heart
A look back at the stand out quotes from this special episode replay on Mark Crowley’s Lead From The Heart:
“I have science that proves that the heart actually plays an enormous role in influencing human behavior.” [8:23] Mark explains the sentiment behind his original book and new revision Lead From The Heart.
“The strength of a heart based leader is to see the potential in others and have the belief in them that they don’t have in themselves.” [15:18] Marcel comments on the change that can happen in an employee when working with a leader who truly believes in them and sees what they don’t see within themselves.

“The heart and the mind are actually connected and the heart actually sends more communication to the mind than the other way around.” [28:25] Mark gets into the science behind his idea of leading from the heart, in which feelings genuinely influence our minds. He shares research from Heart Math that explains that when people are working in a positive, appreciated environment, they operate at their most optimal performance in what they call coherence.

“Recognize that just because you have an opening, and someone comes who wants the job is the right fit for it.” [37:43] Mark explains the principle of Hiring from the Heart, having a high performing team is about using great discipline in how you hire.

“You have to adapt to your employees; so you have to know what’s important to them and know how to support them.” [39:50] Building a Relationship, Mark says, is not just spending time with your staff but getting to know their needs and wants and how you can help them be successful. That builds trust and provides a positive environment.

“If you’re a manager, you know something about what your employees do all day... So teach them, coach them, give them your time.” [40:50] Giving Time is an investment that Mark shares as an important responsibility and commitment for leaders.

“There is a significant gap between what people feel from their manager and what managers think they’re doing for them.” [42:20] Mark encourages leaders to make real Recognition a priority for their employees.

“Any act of kindness, coaching, validation, or appreciation… Is a micro manifestation of love.” [55:13] What does it mean to love your people? Mark wants leaders to know that these positive emotions are not the romantic version of love but real, authentic, professional ways to do business and lead.
Mentioned in this episode:
Mark C. Crowley
Mark C. Crowley & Associates on LinkedIn
Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking Hardcover
The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain: Paul, Annie Murphy
Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen
Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive eBook : Brackett,Ph.D., Marc
Send Marcel a text message!
1 hr 5 min
June 22, 2023Kathi Balasek: Supporting Professionals Experiencing Loss and Grief
Kathi Balasek is a grief literacy communication coach and widow advocate. Through her podcast, Well Widow, and being on the advisory board at Modern Widows Club, she stands up and fights for the rights of widows, their livelihood, and their financial future. Along with her mission driven business, Grief Smart Professional, she is a university professor, and currently she teaches at California State University, Chico, in the Department of Communication and Education. She has a passion for motivating leaders to develop communication skills that engage and connect.

Show-Notes:
“You need to grieve, you have to grieve, but where are you gonna find the time?” [9:26] Kathi Balasek shares her story and the painful loss of her husband. She describes one of the most challenging aspects of this time as finding the time to grieve amidst her ever growing todo list. But grieving is not a luxury; it’s a necessary part of life and loss.
“When we look at another griever, join them in where they are. That’s empathy.” [19:30] It can be difficult for some to break past the barrier of ‘I don’t know what they’re going through’. Kathi emphasizes that you don’t have to be a widow or walk in a widow’s shoes to connect emotionally and share empathy. Versus sympathy, a pity or sorrowful emotion that does not create connection or provide support.

“When we avoid grief, we dismiss it, we justify it…it causes disenfranchised grief and people think they aren’t allowed to heal." [29:28] Leaders, what is the first step to acknowledging and supporting your people through grief? Becoming aware of your unconscious bias. Kathi outlines three common areas where leaders might be biased toward loss in the unspoken ‘hierarchy of loss’; age, type of death, and relationship. Kathi also shares how she supports leaders to understand, support, and normalize a safe space to talk about these areas of loss.

“You will attract a team, employees, and clients with your company, but you will keep them when you connect with them on an emotional level in their deepest, darkest times." [35:51] Marcel asks Kathi to describe how CEOs and C-Suite leaders can make the value of the grief process an ingrained part of their culture. Kathi explains that grief language and grief and bereavement policies need to become part of the brand, a part of who they are and how they operate. Grief is a universal experience, and it deserves connection and understanding.

“Grief never goes away, we learn to wear it differently, we learn to walk along side it but when we have support and community, people around us support us in good times and bad." [38:45] Listening to this episode, if you, as a leader, are experiencing some form of grief or loss, Kathi has some advice for how to handle it and stay healthy. First, get permission to take time to deal with your grief. You cannot give from an empty cup. Next, find community and professional support. Last, remember your physical health; food, water, and exercise go a long way. Whatever you do, do not ignore grief; you have to face it head on and the people around you will be there for support.
Mentioned in this episode:
Kathi Balasek on LinkedIn
Kathi Balasek
Robb Holman
Marcel Schwantes
Send Marcel a text message!
46 min
June 15, 2023Mark Miller: A Guide to Creating the Best Work Culture
Mark Miller currently serves as Chick-fil-A’s Vice President of High Performance Leadership. He is the author of Culture Rules: The Leader's Guide to Creating the Ultimate Competitive Advantage. He shares his interesting and inspiring employment journey with Chick-fil-A and his thought provoking process for researching and impacting leaders in their organization and organizations all over the world.
“As we saw issues and challenges in our organization and organizations around the planet, we believe that if you pull back the curtain, the root cause was actually a cultural issue." [9:40] On a mission to serve leaders and solve problems, the topic of culture came up more and more with Mark Miller and his colleagues.
“Culture is the cumulative effect of what people see, hear, experience, and believe." [13:08] Culture is a powerful element in an organization, but it's also unique and invisible, so Mark brings forward a new working definition for the term culture. In writing this definition, he had an important realization…who has the biggest impact on what people see, hear, experience, and believe? Leaders.

“Rule number 1 is Aspire: The leader must share their hopes and dreams for their culture.” [26:02] This might seem like a no-brainer, but there are too many leaders in the world who aren't doing this. It has to move out of your head and your heart so that others around you can collaborate on your vision. It’s got to be clear, simple, and repeatable.

“The second rule is to Amplify: always look for ways to amplify the aspiration.” [26:52] Mark and his team chose the word amplify very purposefully to break past the noise. The aspiration HAS to have staying power; it needs life, flavor, and amplification. The best way to amplify your aspiration is to model with your daily actions.

“The third rule is to adapt: to constantly work to enhance the culture.” [28:38] You cannot declare victory. The work on culture is never over; it is never perfect. You have to consistently and continuously adapt it to your changing organization; without this rule, you will certainly face defeat. The key to adapting well is listening well.

“I came for the job, but I stayed for what I might become.” [45:15] Throughout this episode, Mark speaks about his journey of employment with Chick-fil-A. He shares this statement inspired by a quote from Ready Player One, a movie and book of the same title, about the impact the culture can have on the inspiration of who someone can become in your organization. He experienced it in his own employment journey, and it can be a valuable aspiration for any leader in their own organization.
Mentioned in this episode:
Text BESMART to 66866 for the assessment
Mark Miller - Leadership
Culture Rules
Marcel Schwantes
Send Marcel a text message!
51 min
June 08, 2023Josh Freedman: Emotional Intelligence and How to Use It to Get Results
Joshua Freedman is the co-founder and CEO of Six Seconds, a global non-profit dedicated to teaching people how to use emotional intelligence (EQ). He is a master certified coach, an instructor for Columbia Teachers College Summer Principals Academy, and for Antioch University. He is also the author of 5 emotional intelligence books, including the best-selling At the Heart of Leadership: How to Get Results with Emotional Intelligence.

Show-Notes:
“Emotional Intelligence is about getting this emotional data and using it to effectively solve problems.” [9:56] What is emotional intelligence? What is it not? EQ expert Josh Freedman dispels the myths and explains how emotional intelligence is more than just being nice and positive. There is not one single way to be emotionally intelligent; there are many ways to find resolutions—confronting, ignoring, and working through—all of which are unique to the problem and other emotional factors.
“When people feel more anxious and isolated, they move into more primal reactions… This kind of tribalism is part of what we’re seeing in polarization, not just in the US but all over the world.” [20:22] Josh comments on the problems and difficulties caused by these tribal reactions, as seen in the decline of EQ in the last two years. It’s hard to love, to lead, to collaborate… Making the presence of EQ more valuable and important than ever before.
“I’m not saying change who you are; I’m saying use who you are and use it better to get the results you’re really looking for. Not just short term wins.” [27:28] We all have the ability to learn and grow. It may take time and maybe be a big shift, but Josh says with work, it is possible. And as Marcel says, you need to exercise those emotional muscles, to create new synapses and increase emotional intelligence.
“[As leaders, we need to think], let me understand what’s going on for this person or this group of people and figure out what’s going on and how we can overcome that so we can work together and get results.” [35:14] There is no denying that there is a great generational difference in EQ. Josh dives into the research of State of the Heart, where he explains that post pandemic the younger generations, Gen Z and Millennials experience the greatest loss in connection. This creates a big emotional barrier at work, especially when generations are coming into the same place of work on different playing fields.
“EQ values have to become part of the DNA of how you work.” [38:22] Okay, leaders, you're all in and ready to invest in the EQ of your organization… Josh tells you what not to do, slap a training on the sign or haphazardly invest in an external coach. While coaching and training are important, Josh and Marcel agree that the values and actions of emotional intelligence must be reinforced and become ingrained in the organization.
“That little pivot from I to WE (I’m seeing this; how can WE work on it?) will totally shift your conversations around performance and motivation.” [42:16] Josh has a practical tip for leaders on employee motivation. You don’t have to sacrifice performance for EQ; instead, you will find greater performance. The key is to think….are we leading tasks or are we leading people?

Mentioned in this episode:
State of the Heart EQ Research
Six Seconds
Six Seconds | LinkedIn
Six Seconds (@6secondseq) on Instagram
Six Seconds (@6secondseq) on Twitter
Six Seconds on Facebook
Send Marcel a text message!
55 min
June 01, 2023Marcel Schwantes: Previewing Marcel’s Upcoming Book
Show Notes:
“People want to feel loved.” [1:38] As Marcel begins to dive into this sneak peek of his upcoming book, he explains exactly why he focuses on love. Every employee is someone's sister, brother, son, daughter, mother, or father, and they need and deserve to be cared for. That caring is love, and it’s a founding principle in the work and research Marcel is working toward.
“Love begins as a human development process in the brain as infants are exposed to positive bonding experiences in loving homes. As we mature, hopefully, into healthy adults, we remain social animals, requiring the need to receive social and emotional stability through relationships and community.” [2:40] Why is love so important? It's been a part of us from the very beginning. And as Marcel says, the opposite of love results in extreme problems like superficiality, narcissism, and even psychopathy. These are all common problems in current management thinking and practice around the world.

“Love is a human requirement for our very survival. Our need for it transcends countries, cultures, generations, and the human race. Religions understand the importance of love.” [4:30] Marcel covers a variety of culturally diverse religions and their relationships to love, from Christianity to Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam.

“Religion, outside the context of dogma and fundamentalism, has defined the most altruistic human traits for people belonging in faith communities, in relationship to each other. Science has demonstrated the evidence for raising the bar on leadership, organizational, and human performance to energize teams and maximize profit." [6:45] Marcel takes a different approach than many, combining the values of both religion and science. He found that the discoveries of both of these pillars are incredibly aligned.

“Work is human. And for organizations to survive and thrive, love—the most powerful force on the planet—is the overlooked machine that powers teams and whole organizations to outperform the competition. The future of leadership is love in action.” [7:44] Marcel brings it home to the purpose and foundation of his book, all about humanity and love as the most powerful force.

Mentioned in this episode:
Marcel Schwantes
Send Marcel a text message!
10 min
May 25, 2023Stephen Van Valin: The Keys to Amplifying Meaning at Work
Show Notes:
“I see purpose as being the engine that drives meaning”. [15:48] There is no transcendent singular purpose in life, there are many levels, for example, transformative and transactional, like in our work and relationships. Stephen Van Valin, author of The Search for Meaning at Work, explains how as we make progress toward these purposes, a sense of meaning kicks in, furthering motivation towards the purpose.
“How do you become friends with your co-workers when you gotta get stuff done!?” [27:00] Co-Host Robb Holman asks this facetious question when it comes to one of the 11 amplifiers of meaning, a work partner. Steve says creating relationships needs to be purposeful; we need to make connections, whether we’re virtual or in the office. He has some great personal and work questions to get those connections going, like, what gets you stressed at work?
“Clear goals, hardstop deadlines, and being communicative and recognizing when they happen will set you up for success when you have even bigger challenges the next time.” [33:41] How do you amplify the team? Steve makes the analogy of a work team to a sports team, showing how they rally together and galvanize toward a common goal. The bottom line is doing the job together while having fun and enjoying each other to be unified.
“It’s about managers realizing that people wanna please them, and then being able to play that back to people… by really thinking about what difference did it make that will help people feel like they matter in this equation.” [39:53] So many of our listeners are leaders in their organizations, so really tune into the manager amplifier. Steve brings up a popular phrase, ‘catch people doing good’. So many employees want to be noticed, given respect, and appreciated. By catching the good managers, they are perpetuating and continuing that winning behavior.
“You can’t just check your soul at the door and come to work for someplace that is not aligned with your values.” [44:55] As Steve says, the spirituality amplifier guides all decisions in our lives. If it's not at least in alignment at work, those with a strong tie to spirituality or faith will be the first to leave.
“Step outside yourself as a leader and think about the purpose of those people within your purview and the purpose they have for their life whether it's transactional, transformational, or even transcendent and then how you can amplify that back to them to help them feel the meaning at work.” [50:43] Challenging you to step outside yourself, Steve explains that by amplifying your employee, co-worker, and team's purposes, you are not only getting a lot done but also creating a sustainable relationship in the workplace.
Mentioned in this episode:
www.amplifymeaning.com
The Search for Meaning at Work: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Purpose to Engage and Fulfill Your Workforce
Steve Van Valin on LinkedIn
Robb Holman
Marcel Schwantes
Send Marcel a text message!
55 min
May 18, 2023Peter T. Coleman: How to End Toxic Political Polarization
Show-Notes:
“We’ve gotten to a state that I see as toxic… it’s an environment where half of Americans have become estranged from someone in their own family over politics… That trickles into the workplace, neighborhoods, buildings and communities.” [12:50] Dr. Peter T. Coleman, author of The Way Out, explains what Political Polarization is. A little polarization, choice, and differing views are healthy and even good for change and progression. BUT we have gone beyond ‘a little polarization’ through media, the internet, and current society; we have gotten completely toxic.
“The shocks that took place in the 60’s set us off on a path and there hasn’t been a real correction since then.” [21:58] How did we get here? How did we get to such a place of division and polarization? Dr. Coleman brings it back to the 60’s, a time of major shocks from assassinations and anti-government movements. Events like 9/11 or even COVID, which should have united us and brought us together, have further separated and divided us, creating further contention.
“We all end up living in these parallel universes where we can believe what they believe, and vice versa.” [23:54] My reality versus your reality— Dr. Coleman calls this ‘American Psychosis’. This is a broken and disillusioned mindset that has occurred due to the isolation, segregation, and extreme polarization characterized by extreme differing political views.
“So many of us feel powerless because we can't change structures at the government level, we can't change the way the media follows a narrative, or the algorithms in social media.” [38:14] Marcel brings to light the feelings of so many who are stuck and feel miserable with this current division. But how can we make change? How can we nudge forward?
“We get comfortable in our story, our narrative, our values. You have to push yourself to branch out and get other voices.” [40:30] What’s a step toward the way out of toxic polarization? Dr. Coleman suggests finding three ‘frenemies’, trusted people on the other side, and those with differing points of view. You don’t have to understand or agree, but you need to hear them out and make space for differing perspectives. This helps you break past your limited reality.
“Can you find somebody… it might be in your family, it might be at work, or in your community... that you can reach out to and just listen?” [47:53] Among some of the systems used week by week to break through the polarization, Dr. Coleman encourages you to seek out someone you may know who you don’t see eye to eye with. You can end the meeting agreeing to disagree, but take a walk, get out in nature, and just listen. You may find out you have something to learn on both sides!
“If you can try and get a sense of ‘I can do this... I can try this out...,’ that gives people a sense of hope. It gives people a sense of efficacy that they can actually do something.” [53:00] Dr. Coleman hopes his readers find hope in his book. We all feel miserable, anxious and lost and it’s important to have a sense of hope and possibility.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Way Out
Peter T. Coleman (@PeterTColeman1) on Twitter
How to Save the U.S. From a Second Civil War | Time
Political Courage Challenge
Starts With Us
Bridging Divides Initiative
Marcel Schwantes
Send Marcel a text message!
1 hr 2 min
May 11, 2023[REPLAY] Dorie Clark: The Long Game
Show Notes:
“Really what I focus my work on is helping people and helping companies figure out, in the very crowded marketplace, how they can get their best ideas heard.” [8:08] Dorie Clark introduces the inspiration behind her work and her book, The Long Game.
“During COVID, it’s almost like forget the long term game, everybody’s all of a sudden in reactionary mode. How do we pivot!?” [10:50] Marcel comments on the broad shift in short term versus long term thinking due to COVID-19 and changes necessary from the pandemic shutdown.
“We’re forced into doing long term thinking if there are specific goals we want to attain.” [14:50] Why is long term thinking so hard? Dorie shares a quote she included in her book as she explains the motivation and pain points surrounding long term thinking.
“Why is it that we can’t stop this relentless, short term, crazy busy, ‘FOMO’. ‘I can’t measure myself up to the standards of these celebrities’ that causes a lot of anxiety for me, and unrealistic expectations. We just get busier and busier and busier. So how do we stop this pursuit?” [16:37] Marcel questions why we, as a culture, feel the need to be unrealistically busy.
“I threw myself into work, as a way of just distracting myself. The way that I think about it is like how they put patients into a medically induced coma so that their bodies can heal, because if they were awake, they just couldn’t take it. So work can be like your medically induced coma.” [21:48] Dorie shares a personal experience as part of her reasoning for throwing herself into work and staying busy, making the comparison to overworking as a “medically induced coma”.
“All the forces are going to be mitigating against it because it's always more convenient for other people if you say yes to them. So nobody is going to help you with this.” [24:22] It’s easy and sometimes the right thing to say yes often when you’re early in your career. But Dorie stresses that at a pivotal point in your business, you have to start farming the things that are already working and no longer hoping that every small opportunity might turn into something.
“So one of the ways that we can really focus on the long term is having a clear, defining North Star.” [27:28] Marcel asks Dorie to elaborate on what it means to find your North Star—the idea of reinventing yourself or instead remaining stagnant.
“The strength that we have as professionals, and the thing that actually makes us valuable, is understanding that different things, different skills, are called for at different times. And you have to be smart enough to understand when and how to apply those skills. ” [32:00] Dorie explains the 4 career waves in her book: Learning, Creating, Connecting and Reaping.
“What I think is a valuable thing for us to notice, and to recognize, and to reward is oftentimes in any journey that is a fairly significant one, there is a vast distance between the time when you commit to something and the time you reap the reward for doing it. And in between it is NOT a steady progression.” [41:35] Dorie, in closing, highlights the remarkability of being the kind of person who can preserve under the conditions of long term thinking. She shares about her free self assessment for Long Game Strategic Thinking.
Mentioned in this episode:
Download the free Long Game Strategic Thinking Self-Assessment
Dorie Clark
Dorie Clark (@dorieclark) on Twitter
Dorie Clark on Facebook
Send Marcel a text message!
45 min