In today's Work Matters, Thomas talks with Dart Lindsley, head of Global Process Excellence for People Operations at Google. He previously led the HR Transformation Planning and Analysis organization at Cisco Systems and is the host of the popular "Work for Humans" podcast. 

In this discussion, Dart unpacks what makes the middle manager role so challenging. He explains how managers are pulled in two different directions: balancing the needs of the business versus the needs of the team. By not equipping managers to deal with both sides of that equation, companies miss a significant opportunity for improvement. 

Dart shares how managers can source work that maximizes value for both the business and their team by treating work as a product in a multisided marketplace. He advocates for managers to become a broker to win work from the organization that matches team members' competencies and interests and to allocate that work across the team to improve the day-to-day experience of work. Thus, the middle manager evolves into a designer - crafting a work product that is increasingly desirable and satisfying for his/her team that also delivers increased value to the company. 

Dart reveals how managers can preserve the degrees of freedom - for themselves and their teams - while staying in alignment with the organization's strategic direction. By not bragging about personal over-achievement and focusing on process excellence, a manager can instead "lead from the sewer" and become someone that gets things done. Dart acknowledges the sacrifice it takes to make much of the work "illegible" but says true success for a manager lies in seeing the team thrive in the short-term in order to reap long-term benefits like more freedom for everyone and increased career advancement for team members.

He highlights the competencies of an effective middle manager which include establishing trust horizontally, being straightforward and true to your word, and not being threatening, or overly ambitious. By putting the success of your peers above personal advancement, a manager can design and deliver work that team members love that also benefits the organization. He stresses the need for managers to remain focused on the strategic direction of the company and also be an exemplary model of change in that direction. 

For more on Dart and his "Work for Humans" podcast, visit dartlindsley.com. You might also enjoy the first appearance of Dart on our podcast, where he talks more about the idea of work as a product (Season 2 episode 1). Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKrZw1nqK2I. 

In this episode of Work Matters, Thomas Bertels welcomes Todd Cherches to discuss Visual Leadership. Todd is the CEO of BigBlueGumball, a leadership development and executive coaching firm. He is also an award-winning professor and lecturer at NYU and Columbia University and the author of "VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life."

He defines visual leadership as applying visual thinking and visual communication to the practice of leadership. By painting a picture, leaders help people see what they're saying and create mental movies to increase understanding throughout the world of work.

Todd unpacks tools from his book, “VisuaLeadership,” and stresses the importance of getting the best out of people, not the most. In doing so, leaders build engagement, passion, and purpose which contribute to higher intrinsic motivation and performance. He breaks his tools into four categories which include:

• visual imagery – explaining though pictures, props, drawings, or anything you could take in through the eye
• mental models and frameworks - simplifying and compartmentalizing the complex
• metaphors and analogies – using the familiar to make the invisible visible
• storytelling with a bonus for humor -  good for lightening the mood, boosting engagement, and reducing stress

From there, Todd describes his Passion and Skills Matrix which demonstrates how leaders can help employees find their “sweet spot” where both are high for maximum engagement and performance, and unpacks his R&R tool - providing teams with the resources they need and removing roadblocks.

Drawing on his own experience with a horrible boss, Todd reveals the secret for how to become more effective at giving feedback: clarity, empathy, listening, passion, and purpose. He describes why providing employees with autonomy is critical to increasing engagement and fostering innovation while stressing the importance of hiring self-disciplined employees.

Todd concludes by noting how essential visibility, voice, and value are to make employees feel seen, heard, and connected. 

To learn more about Todd’s coaching work, visit http://www.bigbluegumball.com/.

You can order his book, VisuLeadership, on Amazon using this link: hhttps://www.amazon.com/VisuaLeadership-Leveraging-Visual-Thinking-Leadership-ebook/dp/B0868SV3QY.

In today's Work Matters, Thomas talks with Gordon "Gordy" Curphy about effective teamwork. Gordy is the Managing Partner at Curphy Leadership Solutions, where he helps business leaders implement major change initiatives, develop and promote leadership, and build high performing teams. 

With over 30 years of leadership expertise, Gordy has written numerous articles and 25 books, including the number one selling textbook, "Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience (11th Ed.)." He is also the architect of the Rocket Model, a framework for building high performing teams.

Gordy starts off by differentiating between a "group" and a "team" before discussing the Rocket Model and why it is filling critical gaps in previous leadership models. Gordy brings teams and their organizational context to the forefront and shares his eight components for team effectiveness.  

• Context: What are our critical assumptions?
• Mission: Why are we here?
• Talent: Do we have the talent we need?
• Norms: What are the rules?
• Buy-in: Are we all committed to success?
• Resources: Do we have the resources needed?
• Courage: How do we work through disagreements?
• Results: Are we achieving our goals?

Revealing that 95% of leadership models don't take teambuilding competency into account and only one out of five teams are high performing,  Gordy stresses the importance measuring leadership effectiveness. He explains how his Team Assessment Survey tool provides benchmarking data that allows teams line of sight into their performance so they can have the right conversations. 

Gordy concludes by sharing what today's leaders can do to make teamwork more effective including measuring their performance and learning teambuilding tools. Spotlighting examples from current military operations, Gordy explains how highly trained, self-contained, and specialized units like the Navy Seals operate with more autonomy for greater impact. He advises this is a good model for modern workplaces - and remote work - because it allows teams to be more agile, responsive, and adaptive without top-heavy support. 

To learn more about the Rocket Model of effective teamwork, go to www.therocketmodel.com. To learn more about Gordy's and his work, visit www.curphyleadershipsolutions.com. 

In today's Work Matters, Thomas Bertels discusses Transformational Leadership with Faisal Hogue. Faisal is an advisor, entrepreneur, thought leader, and technology innovator who has developed 20+ commercial business and technology platforms. He is the founder of SHADOKA and NextChapter and has worked with GE, MasterCard, American Express, PepsiCo, and many other leading organizations. Faisal is also the bestselling author of "Reinvent," "Everything Connects," and "Lift."

In this conversation, Faisal unpacks what he means by transformational leadership and why it's critical to succeeding in today's world. Noting that humans developed more individualist empowerment during the pandemic, he stresses the need to both lead and collaborate differently now.

He shares the characteristics of transformational leadership and reveals that process matters more than results and outcomes. They include:

• emotional intelligence - using empathy to inspire and influence
• repeatable processes - providing transparency into how individual work impacts organizational mission
• emerging technology - tapping into AI to unlock humanity's potential

Faisal emphasizes the importance of experimental learning and cites examples from the pandemic - like QR code menus and Zoom meetings - that collectively changed behavior patterns. With both of these, we saw a reduction of costs and an increase in productivity that otherwise might not have been discovered.

He reveals what transformational leaders can do to help employees do their best work including having a beginner's mind, embracing an empathetic approach, and crafting solutions to influence and inspire. Stressing the importance of a balanced mindset, Faisal points out that people need flexibility and freedom to feel comfortable, connected, and creative. Once these are on board, he says, employees are increasingly productive and contribute more to the mission.

And lastly, Faisal concludes that by lifting yourself, you lift others. Today's transformational leaders should take a devotional practice to the pursuit of adding value. When they can translate the organizational "why" into threads that connect with people, they'll inspire and enable others to do their best work. 

To learn more about Faisal and order his bestselling books, visit: https://faisalhoque.com/

In today's Work Matters, Thomas welcomes Dr. Anna Tavis, Clinical Professor and Chair of the Human Capital Management Department at NYU School of Professional Studies. She previously held senior HR roles with Motorola, Nokia, United Technologies, and AIG, and is the co-author of "Humans at Work" (with Stela Lupushor).

Anna unpacks the major trends shaping the future of work, including the rapidly evolving relationship between humans and technology. She shares how realigned organizational skillsets, structures, processes, and cultures will emerge from this shifting dynamic. 

She discusses how AI will lead to increased efficiencies, improved performance and sophistication, and also replace how a majority of the existing workforce makes its living. Pointing out that AI democratization will challenge the stratified, hierarchical structures of current organizations, Anna cautions that there should be a commitment to solve problems on behalf of the majority of humans - not the elites nor the machines. 

She examines the changing role of the manager, compensation structures, and HR in the future of work. With coaching, digital assistance, and built-in AI, humans will be able to invest more in visionary solutions and strategic, entrepreneurial approaches. Anna shares successful examples of innovative organizations - like Microsoft and Airbnb - who have mastered technology enough to put culture and humans first. 

Anna concludes by discussing her forthcoming book, "The Digital Coaching Revolution", which highlights examples from sports and healthcare. With AI in many hands, human coaches - like Ted Lasso - are freed-up to focus on strategic, team building activities and take their squads to the next level. Anna advocates bringing this digital coaching model into the workplace to improve performance and effectiveness. 

In today's Work Matters, Thomas welcomes Ron Ashkenas, Principal at Ashkenas Consulting and Partner Emeritus at Schaffer Consulting, to discuss simplifying organizations. Ron is a thought leader in business change and transformation and the author of numerous books and HBR articles including "Simply Effective." 

He unpacks the symptoms of overly complex organizations that show they are ripe for simplification. They include working harder and harder with little progress, difficulty and delay in reaching objectives, people-heavy processes, and ineffective meetings. 

From there, Ron confides that the first step to simplification is admitting you have a complexity problem. He describes the four sources of organizational complexity - structure, behavior, processes, and product proliferation - and how best to address them. 

Explaining the difference between good and bad complexity, Ron reveals the typical obstacles to simplifying an organization and shares strategies for overcoming each. He uses relevant examples from large-scale simplifications to demonstrate the benefits of undertaking the process for companies, leaders, and employees. 

And lastly, Ron concludes by explaining what organizations can do to create a culture of simplification and imbed it into their DNA. He emphasizes that it is a process, not the goal, and one that should always support the business objectives of increased customer satisfaction, revenue, and employee engagement. 

Link to "Simply Effective" on Amazon: https://a.co/d/aqlx6pp

In today's Work Matters, Thomas talks innovation with Greg Larkin, the CEO of Punks & Pinstripes, a network for rebel corporate executives and start up founders. He is the author of the international best-seller ‘This Might Get Me Fired' and shares his expertise for overcoming organizational obstructionism to drive innovation. 

Greg unpacks the great misnomer about innovation requiring advanced technology and shares how understanding organizational psychology and obstructionism are more essential to success. Through examples of both a winning and losing launch, he illustrates that an executive willing to ask the right questions and tell hard truths is the make-or-break ingredient. 

Revealing that most innovations don't cross the finish line, Greg describes the five types of obstructionists in each company (skeptics, cops, traditionalists, territorialists, and capitalists) and provides strategies for overcoming each. He explains how, just like in sports, the key success factor is being able to see your opponent's moves in advance and call the best play in response.

Greg confides that most CEOs hate the obstructionism in their organizations and advises how to best target innovation to overcome decline and keep up with competitors. He adds that leaders must be willing to have difficult conversations with investors about near-future losses while innovating for long-haul gains. 

The conversation concludes with Greg sharing how his hierarchy for work requirements has inverted with experience and why this led him to start Punks & Pinstripes. Now in his forties, he has created a community for other rebel executives to find their tribe, make an impact, and achieve status and success - in that order. 

Greg's Website and Book Info: https://www.thisisgreglarkin.com

Punks & Pinstripes Website: https://www.punksandpinstripes.com

In today's Work Matters, Thomas Bertels welcomes Joe Batista, Chief Creatologist, and former Dell and Hewlett Packard executive. Joe is an innovative business and technology leader who shares how to unlock unseen assets within organizations to create value for customers. 

With real-world success stories, he unpacks strategies for compressing the distance from ideas to results using core competencies, data, and alignment of interests. He reveals his game-changing approach which includes curiosity, safaris, and think days spent exploring the streets of NYC with execs. 

Joe discusses why being a triple-double player is necessary and how technical tools, collaborative communication, and business acumen are essential. He emphasizes that a creatologist must wear many hats (coach, advisor, cheerleader) and highlights that focusing on customer outcomes and creating a center of gravity between your brand and the client are critical to success. 

Joe encourages leaders to cultivate these capabilities by creating space for a "free-range chicken” who can see beyond existing structures to identify untapped assets and create value for customers. Throughout the episode, he also reflects on his own experience crafting his role and carving out a unique nice for himself.

In today's Work Matters, Thomas talks with Joe Spadaford, President of J Francis Consulting, about his experience implementing work design in financial services. Joe held senior leadership roles at Citibank, First National Bank of Chicago, First Chicago Trust Company, Axa, Computershare, and AST.

He shares the lessons learned when transforming large operating departments and organizations through motivational work design, and unpacks the indicators that demonstrate an organization would benefit from work design: poor performance, high-turnover, low customer satisfaction, and inability to scale.

Revealing the benefits of work design, Joe explains the key ingredients for a successful transformation: leadership commitment, cross-functional coordination and collaboration, and employee buy-in. He also discusses the evolving role of AI and HR in business and how each impacts the effectiveness of work design.

Joe then takes us on a typical implementation journey from start to finish: assessing the current state, defining objectives, forming a design team, piloting and refining the design, and full deployment. He concludes with detailing the results of a successful work design effort: higher employee engagement; reduced turnover; improved productivity; increased customer satisfaction; reduced costs; and freed-up time for managers.

In today's episode, Thomas talks with Tristin Brisbois about intrapreneurship - how to create a successful innovative venture within a large company. Tristin is the director of PepsiCo's Advanced Personalization Ideation Center, where she is building personalized digital solutions. Providing a peek into Pepsico's Aspire2Be app which uses face scan technology to reveal the biological age of consumers, she shares her experience of bringing personalization to consumers at scale, creating a frictionless experience that's accessible, engaging, and enjoyable.

She outlines the factors that contribute to successful intrapreneurship in large organizations (sponsorship, guiding boards, resourcing). Tristin shares the typical obstacles for corporate intrapreneurs and how to overcome them. She details her approach to attract talent, shares lessons learned, and reveals how being patient, putting ego aside, cross-team collaboration, and a supportive guiding board contributed to her success.