270: Love As a Business Strategy

270: Love As a Business Strategy

270: Love As a Business Strategy

We don’t often hear the word LOVE used when describing the workplace. That’s about to change in this conversation with Jeff Ma and Chris Pitre, as we discuss their Wall Street Journal best-selling book, Love As a Business Strategy.

Written with two other senior leaders at Softway, the four authors identified six core pillars as a result of their journey to create a positive culture in their own company. Each chapter begins with a compelling story about one of the authors and what that individual learned. It’s truly a guidebook for developing the values and related behaviors that empower people to thrive.

Chris and Jeff are both senior leaders at Softway. Chris is Vice President, supporting sales, delivery, HR, and other back office operations. Jeff is Director of Project Management and Quality.

Together, they are co-founders of Culture+, a company with a mission to bring humanity back to the workplace. They teach companies how to create a positive culture based on the pillars described in their book.

You’ll discover:

  • The unforgettable incident that served as a wake-up call to the leadership team at Softway
  • The 6 pillars that form the foundation of a thriving workplace
  • Why they go beyond Reflection and recommend Introspection
  • How to empower someone from a place of vulnerability
  • Why Forgiveness is essential to resolving hurts, disappointments, and other negative emotions

Watch the episode:

Connect with Jeff Ma

  

Connect with Chris Pitre

  

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219: Flipping the Org Chart Upside Down at Ethico

219: Flipping the Org Chart Upside Down at Ethico

219: Flipping the Org Chart Upside Down at Ethico

Have you ever wondered what would happen if an org chart were flipped, so it was an upside-down triangle? Meet Nick Gallo. He and his brother Giovanni are Co-CEOs at Ethico, and they’ve accomplished this by putting their clients at the top of the pyramid.

Nick Gallo is Chief Servant and Co-CEO of Ethico, a company that provides human resource, compliance and ethics solutions that serve 8 million employees in over 100 countries. He has the distinction of being the only millennial CEO of a compliance company.

Nick is a first-generation American son of a Cuban refugee and member of Mensa International. He’s a student of behavioral economics and organizational psychology, and he’s a thought leader in the compliance and culture space. Nick has dedicated his life to serving — his community, clients, and team — in order to make the world a better workplace.

You’ll discover:

  • Why Nick’s other title is Chief Servant…and what it communicates to everyone else in the company
  • How Nick got buy-in from employees for flipping the org chart
  • What Day 0 looks like for new employees
  • Strategies used at Ethico to attract and hire the right people
  • The initiatives in place to give employees opportunities to learn and grow

Watch the episode:

Connect with Nick

  

Nick’s Website

Ethico

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216: Design a Long-Distance Team for Everyone’s Success

216: Design a Long-Distance Team for Everyone’s Success

216: Design a Long-Distance Team for Everyone’s Success

Many companies are struggling with how to structure work, and some are requiring everyone to return to the physical building. Yet remote and hybrid teams are here to stay. Kevin Eikenberry shares practical tips from his new book, The Long-Distance Team, on making these teams successful.

Kevin is an expert on this subject, not only because he’s written the book, but also because he’s been leading a long-distance team himself for more than 25 years. He explains how to consciously design teams, define and create culture, and nurture employee engagement, all from a distance.

Kevin is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group.  He’s recognized by Inc.com as one of the top 100 Leadership and Management thinkers in the world. Kevin has spent nearly 30 years helping organizations around the world in the areas of leadership development, learning, teams and teamwork, and communication.

You’ll discover:

  • Why getting involvement from everyone is important when designing your team
  • A simple and clear definition of Culture
  • Differences in creating culture in a new team vs. an existing team
  • The 3 Cs that are the pillars for long-distance teams…and why they are essential
  • The distinction between expectations and agreements for both individuals and teams

Watch the episode:

Connect with Kevin

        

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Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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207: Building Trust at Penn State Health

207: Building Trust at Penn State Health

207: Building Trust at Penn State Health

Have you ever gone on a Listening Tour? That’s what Hillary Miller did in her first 3 months at Penn State Health in her role as Chief Learning Officer. What she learned in her conversations with hundreds of people allowed her and her team to design programs that were relevant and well received.

Hillary has also set up a Learning Council across the organization that enables people in all types of positions to have a voice. You will love the types of questions Hillary shares throughout this conversation that encourage people to speak openly and build strong trust.

You’ll discover:

  • The 4 questions Hillary asked each person she met with during your listening tour
  • What Hillary has done to build trust and high performance with her own team
  • The weekly Development Sessions Hillary and her team have…and how she’s expanding them to other parts of the organization
  • The growth she went through to make it easy for her to say “I’m not perfect” and “I made a mistake”
  • Why Hillary is a big believer in humor and laughter

Watch the episode:

Connect with Hillary

  

Hillary’s Resources

Website

Penn State Health

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202: UC Berkeley’s Focus on People and Culture

202: UC Berkeley’s Focus on People and Culture

202: UC Berkeley’s Focus on People and Culture

What’s wrong with the term, Human Resources? In this enlightening conversation, Eugene Whitlock explains why he prefers People and Culture. He also describes the valuable work his DEI team has done to put in place an Equity Training Series and an Inclusive Leadership Academy for faculty and staff.

Eugene is Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and the Chief People & Culture Officer at the University of California Berkeley. Eugene leads a 75-person human resources department including talent acquisition, people and organization development, employee and labor relations, total rewards, diversity equity, inclusion and belonging, and human resources information systems. During his time at UC Berkeley, Eugene has emphasized the creation of a workplace where everyone can be themselves and feel like they belong.

You’ll discover:

  • What Eugene did when he became a leader for the first time
  • Why he’s a big believer in feedback
  • The reason for changing from Human Resources to People and Culture
  • Why Eugene set up a DEI team and the programs now offered to faculty and staff
  • Two research projects in the Psychology Department and the Haas School of Business that Eugene is involved with

Watch the episode:

 

Connect with Eugene

 

Eugene’s Resource

Website

UC Berkeley’s GROW Program Offerings

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill