Jazzed About Work

Today’s returning guest is William Vanderbloemen, a pioneer in executive searches for faith-based organizations. Since he started the Vanderbloemen firm 15 years ago, he and his team have done in-depth interviews with about 30,000 of their top candidates. And they have studied the information from the best of their best candidates, working to understand why some leaders so clearly stand out from t...

Not only is today’s return guest, Gerald J. Leonard, an accomplished professional musician, but he is also an expert on workplace culture, strategy and productivity. On top of that, he is an author. The full title of his interesting new book is long and descriptive: A Symphony of Choices – How Mentorship Taught a Manager Decision-Making, Project Management and Workplace Engagement – and Saved a Co...

When it was launched about 20 years ago, LinkedIn felt like a fancy Rolodex -- a robust digital address book for professionals. But today this platform (now owned by Microsoft) is the place to build and nurture your career network, forge a strong brand, and research many kinds of professional opportunities. Our guest today, Donna Serdula, wrote a book about how to make LI work for you: LinkedIn Pr...

The value of good decision-making is a theme in this episode. Our guest is Aaron Mitchell Finegold, the chief marketing officer at Kingsley Gate, a global executive search firm. As far back as college, Aaron wanted a career involving creative expression, a focus on human behavior, a business environment and a global setting, and those elements do shape his current role. Aaron describes a Kingsley...

Today we explore ways to help young people prepare for careers that are meaningful. Our guest, Erin Lewellen, had an opportunity as a college student to live in Cape Town, interning at a center for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. There, Erin says, she learned in a new way, and transformed how she viewed the world. Now Erin is CEO of Global Citizen Year, a nonprofit that creates...

In this episode we talk about personal branding, and about how your brand impacts your career, whether or not you choose to manage it. Our lively guest, Tyler Mount, is a business consultant and international branding expert. And he is the CEO of Henry Street Creative, a New York agency with expertise in social media, video production, and digital marketing strategies. Tyler is a man of many skill...

Our guest, Alex Atwood, has been interested in creating and managing businesses since childhood. And in the last 20 years this serial entrepreneur has created and led 4 startups in the hospitality and staffing space. Today he tells us about how, at the start of COVID-19, he and his staff quickly reinvented their organization and kept workers busy serving as disinfection professionals. He describes...

According to Dr. Amy Serin, many in our society suffer from stress, anxiety and all sorts of trauma. Our nervous systems are over-active; we lie awake at night, consumed by worries; and our bodies and minds become chronically unwell. In this episode, Amy describes her own struggles with excess stress, as well as her journey to “democratize” various therapies by making them more accessible. And she...

Heidi Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School, a former professor at Harvard Business School, and the leader of multiple executive education programs. She and her team have compiled vast research on why collaboration matters, and how we can be better at it. And today she shares tips from her book (written with Ivan Matviak), Smarter Collaboration – A New Approach to Breaking Down B...

The term “work/life balance” can feel simplistic because the relationship between your career and the rest of your life can be complicated and intense. Our guest today, Christina Wallace, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School, says we need a broader relationship with work. She describes how diversification can help you navigate change and mitigate uncertainty. She talks about how her ow...

Today we talk about the work force implications of climate change. Our guest, Linda Kinney, is a global legal advisor on environmental, social and governance matters. She understands how big changes happen because she played active roles in the internet and telecom revolutions. Linda says the crisis is huge, but the good news includes considerable progress in clean energy and climate-related techn...

Today’s guest is Dr. Joey Faucette, an executive coach, a culture architect, and the host of the Work Positive podcast. In this episode Joey talks about how he realized that an upbeat, caring work culture can enhance a team’s satisfaction and productivity. And he shares tips from his latest book, Work Positive in a Negative World: Team Edition. He says a starting point for feeling less pessimistic...

This episode is about your opportunity to help shape the future of higher education. Our guests are Kate Colbert and Joe Sallustio, EdD, the authors of Commencement, a massive and important new book about the future of academia. The book is an outgrowth of a popular podcast, The EdUp Experience, hosted by Sallustio and Elvin Freytes. The authors draw on insights from podcast guests, including abou...

Our return guest, Kevin Eikenberry, is widely known as one the world’s top leadership experts. And his comments are always fun, interesting, timely and helpful. In this episode, Kevin shares insights and tips from his latest book (with co-author Wayne Turmel): The Long-Distance Team – Designing Your Team for Everyone’s Success. He shares his model for shaping both teams and cultures, and says the...

Today’s extraordinary guests, Dr. Mishkat Al Moumin and Judge Gayle Williams-Byers, create curriculum for the nation’s judges. Dr. Mishkat is Academic Director, and Judge Gayle is the Judicial Fellow, at the National Judicial College. Together they create not only programs focused on legal issues, but ways to support judges’ leaderships skills -- so important in the challenging courtroom environme...

Our satisfaction and success at work – and our character -- are shaped by small choices we make all day long. But often our choices aren’t so good, so today we talk about how to make better decisions. And our expert guest, Dr. Jim Loehr, has all the latest research on exactly how to do that. Jim is a world-renowned performance psychologist who has helped thousands of leaders and athletes to be at...

Our return guest is Joan Lynch, a prize-winning producer and Chief Content Officer of WorkingNation. That’s a non-profit journalism and media company that brings attention to issues impacting the workforce, and shines light on solutions that can make a difference. Joan explains how implementing the Infrastructure Act requires more trained workers, which means employers and government officials are...

Today we discuss ways to overcome the polarization that’s everywhere in our society, and sometimes is a destructive, wasteful element in the workplace. Our guest, David Livermore, is an expert on how people from different cultures can bridge the gap and find ways to talk and work together. He shares insights from his interesting and instructive book: Digital, Diverse & Divided: How to Talk to Raci...

Our guest, Mark Miller, writes about financial matters for publications like the New York Times, Reuters, and Wealth Management. And Mark is widely recognized as an expert on retirement and aging. His latest book -- Retirement Reboot: Commonsense Financial Strategies for Getting Back on Track – is a terrific guide to planning for a secure and rewarding lifestyle in the years after your primary car...

Many agree that listening is a career superpower. But just because it’s important, doesn’t mean we’re all good listeners. Today’s guest, Oscar Trimboli, is a coach, consultant and podcaster who helps leaders, and lots of other people, become better, deeper listeners. His most recent book, how to listen, offers practical tips for improving the way we communicate. The book describes what listening i...

Our guest, William Vanderbloemen, was a senior pastor and then a corporate HR specialist. From there, he created a thriving search firm, which he called Vanderbloemen. At the beginning, the firm focused on finding candidates for churches seeking pastors. Today, Vanderbloemen also consults about succession planning, diversity, organizational culture and other leadership issues. Their broad client b...

Today’s return guest, Mark Anthony Dyson, is a respected career consultant, writer and podcaster. And he describes himself as “a job seeker advocate.” His robust website, thevoiceofjobseekers.com, is packed with free advice, and this key message: “Job search is a lifestyle!” In this episode, we talk about 2023 trends in the world of work, and why a strong resume isn’t enough if you’re considering...

Today we discuss new trends in the complex effort to address climate change, as well as career opportunities related to building a more sustainable world. Our guest, Geoff Dabelko, is a professor at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. He’s also associated with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and...

Our guest today, Jon Snyder, has spent 30 years in biomedical and healthcare companies, including as a founder and CEO. Jon held a variety of marketing and other jobs on his way to the top, and throughout his career he’s been a mentor, a guest teacher, and a board member for many nonprofits. Jon now manages investor relations at Ohio Life Sciences, an association committed to growing a thriving li...

Today we talk about the life-changing power of asking meaningful questions. Our guest is Marc Champagne, a consultant who has studied the self-management practices and reflective questions shaping the lives of brilliant and successful thinkers around the world. And in his book, Personal Socrates, Marc uses profiles of fascinating people to illustrate the magic of asking yourself questions, and bei...