Working Conversations

Episode 68: How to Stop Tip-toeing Around Hyper-Sensitive People It seems everyone has a person in our work lives that is hyper-sensitive and that we need to tip-toe around. When we do so and we refrain from sharing important information with them, typically about their performance, how they could do something better, or if they’ve done something incorrectly, we do them a disservice. In this episo...

Episode 67: 6 Ways to Manage Distractions It's summer here in the northern hemisphere and many people are experiencing extra distractions in their workday. From beautiful summer weather that calls to you, to kids home from school for the summer, to projects around the house, it is hard for many to stay focused on their work. Dr. Janel Anderson shares her own personal experiences with summer di...

Episode 66: The Main Problem with Hybrid Work Spaces People who are back in the office on a part-time or hybrid basis have been complaining about their workspace. Everything from lack of privacy, to sharing their desk with others on alternating days, and more are getting in the way of productivity and satisfaction. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson uses design thinking to shed light on what does...

Episode 65: Jeff Bezos Has Communication All Wrong In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson takes Jeff Bezos, founder of the online retail giant Amazon, to task on his perspective on communication. He says communication is dysfunctional and that teams should communicate less, not more. Dr. Janel Anderson dismantles a quote about communication from Bezos, sentence by sentence, showing how his interpreta...

Episode 64: 10 Ways Kayaking is Like Difficult Conversations  In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson shares observations she had while kayaking and makes the comparison to holding difficult conversations. From doing the hard part first to taking risks and discovering unexpected surprises along the way, you’ll get tips on how to take difficult conversations further than you thought you could while exp...

Episode 63: Stop Apologizing!  Do you have someone in your life who apologizes for every little thing? Sorry when they make a wrong turn. Sorry when they bump into you. Sorry when they can’t find their keys or don’t have the right change when buying a product. In this episode Dr. Janel Anderson explains that all of these small apologies are not merited, and in fact, result in giving away your powe...

Episode 62: What to do with a Conversational Narcissist  In this episode, join Dr. Janel Anderson as she takes on a listener question in the first Ask Janel Anything episode. She fields a question from a listener who is distraught by a person in their lives who always turns the conversation back on themselves: a conversational narcissist. Dr. Anderson explains what conversational narcissism is, wh...

Episode 61: Why You Need a Mentor Having a trusted mentor can be a very strategic part of your career growth strategy. And having a mentor isn’t just for those who are early on their career journey. In this episode, join Dr. Janel Anderson as she distinguishes having a mentor from having a sponsor or a coach. She provides guidance on how to select a mentor, how to ask them to be your mentor, and h...

Episode 60: Words Create Reality The difference between “I have to . . .” and “I get to . . .” may seem small at first glance. But the results you generate from just a bit of semantic adjustment are huge. The words we use to label things in our world define how we engage with others and our own emotional state. In this episode, join Dr. Janel Anderson as she explores the impact our vocabulary and...

Episode 59: How to Communicate Strategically At work, so much of our communication is tactical. It’s about the nuts and bolts of getting the work done. And, our communication at work has become even more task-oriented and tactical with so many people working from home. Sometimes, however, it is very important to be more strategic in our communication, especially if you need to influence or get som...

Episode 58:How to Deal with Angry Customer It’s inevitable that you will encounter angry customers. We all have customers, whether they areexternal customers that are buying products and services from us or our company or internal customerswho are in need of ourwork product in order to complete their own work. Invariably things go wrong. In this episode, I share ideas on how to diagnose what is be...

Episode 57: Three Powerful Ways to Influence We are influenced in big and small ways every single day. The products we purchase, where we live, and what we deem as valuable uses of our time all have outside influences. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores three powerful types of influence and brings examples and stories from her life to show how influence works. She explores expert authori...

Episode 56: When Leaders Make Mistakes Leaders are human and in their humanity, they make mistakes. It’s how leaders handle and learn from those mistakes that make all the difference for those they lead. As people begin to return to the office in larger and larger numbers, mistakes will be made. Plenty of them. When leaders demonstrate humility and take responsibility when things go wrong it makes...

Episode 55: Leadership Lessons from a Fifth Grader My son came home from school recently absolutely buzzing with excitement about running for Mayor in Biz Town, a real-world curriculum developed by Junior Achievement to give kids practical knowledge of how business, the economy, and banking work. Along the way, they also learn valuable communication and community building skills. As my son shared...

Episode 54: Don’t Leave These Leadership Lessons Behind The pandemic foisted major changes on how and where work gets done. Leaders across all parts of organizations responded and adapted their teams, their organizations, and their leadership style to make it all work – in highly ambiguous, uncertain, and changing times. As we begin to return to the office, it is imperative that we carry forward s...

Episode 53: Grieving the Way Things Used to Be If you are pining for the way things used to be at work prior to the pandemic, or you work with or know someone who is, you won’t want to miss this episode. From leaders, to human resource professionals, to individual contributors, there are solid reasons why people might not want to go back to a changed workplace. After all, our identities are tied u...

Episode 52: Return-To-Office Rescue Guide With Coronavirus cases on a significant downturn, many organizations are asking employees to return to the office (RTO). If you are about to go back or have already started back to the office occasionally, you will benefit from the strategies Dr. Janel Anderson shares in this episode. She covers all the bases so you will arrive at the office ready to conne...

Episode 51: Are You an Overthinker or an Underthinker? Do you overanalyze everything and frequently land in analysis paralysis? Or are you more impulsive in your decision making and actions? In this episode we take a look at the drawbacks of both overthinking and underthink. We explore the relational and decision making costs of both over-analysis and under-analysis. Dr. Janel Anderson shares her...

Episode 50: Futurecasting: Predicting Your Amazing Future In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson shares glimpses of her high school and college life: specific moments that revealed what she wanted to do with her life and her career. These moments were captured in letters she wrote to one of her brothers decades ago and he recently shared those letters back with her. After sharing her own moments, she...

Episode 49: Outsmarting the Human Brain In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores what’s going on when someone claims to want something but then takes no action to get the desired outcome. This is almost always because the pain of taking new action is greater than the pain of the status quo. In this episode I uncover some of the most basic aspects of human motivation and share ideas on what to...

Episode 48: Workcation – Good Idea or Bad Idea? In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson digs into the new trend of workcation – essentially a work from home arrangement in a destination where you might otherwise be on vacation. She explores the pros and cons of going on a workcation from both the perspective of the employee and the employer. Depending on your specific circumstances, it could be a terr...

Episode 47: What To Do When You Don’t Get What You Want In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson addresses the reality of not getting what you want. She shares the coaching she recently gave to a client who had to deliver bad news to several of his employees who did not get what they wanted: promotions, transfers and stretch assignments. The model she lays out distinguishes the bad news from the opport...

Episode 46: All You Have is Now In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson asks the question: What if I told you that there is no past and there is no future? She reminds us that the past and the future don’t exist and that the present moment is all we have. Throughout the episode she offers techniques that can put you in a mindfulness state, living in the now. Additionally, she shows that living in the...

Episode 45: 4 Ideas You Can Steal If You Are Hiring In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson acknowledges the extreme challenges of hiring in this very competitive job market. Then, she offers four tips you may want to steal if you are a hiring manager having a hard time filling positions. And if you aren’t a hiring manager, you’ll still get some great tips that will help you provide support to your ma...

Episode 44: 6 Tips for Accepting Negative Feedback Whether it is part of an annual performance review when it is expected or if it comes out of “nowhere,” constructive feedback presents an opportunity for growth and development. However, many of us have a tendency to take it personally. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson zeros in on why it’s not personal and how to change your mindset about takin...