The Indigo Podcast

Rachel Wernicke is a clinical psychologist and leadership coach, currently serving as an associate dean and chief mental health officer at George Mason University. She's also a U.S. Army veteran, and in today's episode, we talk with her about self-talk--what it is, why it matters, and how it can be harmful or helpful. We discuss:   - What is self-talk - Different types of self-talk and examples -...

What do you think about when you think about the word, "bureaucracy?" If you're like most people, it's probably not something positive. Truth be told, there is plenty about bureaucracy that's not great. But might bureaucracy have some redeeming qualities? In this episode, we discuss: - What is bureaucracy and why does it have a negative connotation? - What might "good bureaucracy" look like - Impl...

Surveys have become very common, and it can be annoying. But are surveys worth doing? The short answer is yes, but it depends. It turns out there are a number of best practices that have to do with surveys and how to make them a useful tool for management, leadership, and overall organizational development. In this episode, we discuss: - Should you do a survey - Top items to keep in mind if you ar...

Among the scholars who study the world of work, Paul Spector is a giant. A 2012 Indiana University study and a 2019 Stanford University study listed Paul as one of the 10 most influential business management researchers worldwide. In this episode, we discuss: - The field of occupational health psychology and why it matters - Signs of healthy and unhealthy workplaces - How to create organizations t...

Co-hosted by organizational psychologist Ben Baran and management consultant Chris Everett, The Indigo Podcast takes an evidence-based approach toward solving problems at work and in life in a way that's always thoughtful and spit-out-your-coffee funny. The Indigo Podcast is on all major platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more. Visit: https://www.indigotogether.com/i...

Even with the best hiring and coaching, good organizations and leaders need to be ready to fire someone who isn't working out. Letting poor performers linger doesn't help anyone. But firing people isn't an activity to be taken lightly. It's full of emotions and lasting consequences. It's one of those things you want to handle with care as a leader. We discuss:  - Managing the termination process ...

When it comes to managing people, one of the toughest parts is hiring. But if you want a good organization, you have to get hiring right. The good news is that there's a mountain of evidence about how to hire people. Listen in, and we'll explore:  - The challenge of selection - A process backed by 100 years of science - Implications for job candidates, hiring managers, and executives Links and Oth...

Leading people is hard. It's especially hard when many of the people you're trying to lead don't like you. But you have to lead anyway. In this episode, we talk about what you can do, exploring:  - Situations in which leading other people is challenging - The central nature of trust and leadership - Implications for people, leaders, and organizations  Links and Other Information Burke, C. S., Sims...

In this episode, we discuss training at work. Specifically, we examine what's widely known in the training industry as the 70:20:10 rule. One part of this idea is that most of the learning that occurs at work happens informally and not through more formal experiences like those in the classroom. But does this idea stand the test of science? We explore:  - The 70:20:10 rule and a review of the evid...

Microsoft released a report on March 22, 2021 that outlines seven urgent business trends and five ways forward with regard to the world of work. We discuss the report and provide our analysis and commentary. Specifically, we discuss: - An overview of Microsoft's new report, "The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work -- Are we Ready? - Our evaluation of what we see as most (and least) valuable  - Im...

Organizations must prepare for low-probability events like having an active shooter because the stakes are so high. In this episode, we draw upon our own military experience, guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and some of Ben's research to help people and leaders everywhere with regard to this sobering topic. In particular, we explore: - What is an active shooter and what you...

We cut through the numbskullery and unpack what resilience really means, along with an associated characteristic: hardiness. These ideas are tremendously important for all of us. Specifically, we discuss:  - What resilience and hardiness are and why they matter - Individual and environmental factors that influence resilience and hardiness - Implications for people, leaders, and organizations   Lin...

Everything is awesome! Except when it's not. Positivity, although generally valued, can have real downsides in our human relationships and in our organizations. We explore in this episode, specifically: - What toxic positivity is and some different forms of it - Why toxic positivity can be harmful - Implications for all of us Links and Other Information There's a dark side to looking on the bright...

Everywhere we turn, it seems, there are amazing solutions to all of our modern problems. But when things sound too good to be true, they often are. In this episode, we unpack the problem of seemingly novel ideas in management. Specifically, we discuss: - What are management fads and how to spot them - Novelty bias: what is it and how does it play out - Better decision making for individuals, leade...

Amid the chaos and many challenges we face in society, what can we do so that we don't fall apart? We explore in this episode, including: - Why it might feel like the world is falling apart - What institutions are and why they matter - How we can strengthen human institutions and move forward with hope Links and Other Information All episodes of The Indigo Podcast Like us on Facebook Follow us on...

Lists of trends abound. Yet this list--the Top 10 Work Trends for 2021--come from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, so it reflects the views of workplace experts from that field. In this episode, we provide: - An intro to the top 10 work trends for 2021 as reported by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - A discussion of the actual trends  - Implication...

The COVID pandemic continues on, yet it will end someday. And it's a good idea for leaders everywhere to be thoughtful about preparing for the future--starting TODAY. In this episode, we discuss what the post-pandemic environment might look like for leaders and organizations, specifically:  - What practices might stay in place - What might change - What leaders can do now  Links and Other Informat...

Conspiracy theories hijack the minds of people from all walks of life. They affect families, friends, coworkers, and leaders. Dealing with conspiracy theories can feel helpless, but there's hope--and there are evidence-based approaches that we can use to make society better and win back those lost to falsehoods. In this episode, we talk about conspiracy theories; in particular:  - What is a conspi...

Outrage sells. Division is rampant. And sometimes it might feel like our world is falling apart. But there's hope, and we all can make a big difference. We explore in this episode, discussing in particular: Finding your purpose What we all can do right now How we can all have a broader influence Links and Other Information All episodes of The Indigo Podcast Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

Scott Tannenbaum is the co-author of Teams That Work: The Seven Drivers of Team Effectiveness , which we discuss in this episode. Tannenbaum, who wrote Teams That Work with Eduardo Salas, has spent more than 25 years working with, providing evidence-based advice to, and conducting highly cited research on teams across a vast array of settings and challenges. As the President of the Group for Organ...

This year has been such a challenge for you, us, and the rest of the world. But there is hope. We discuss in this episode, specifically: How 2020 was tremendously challenging Why we should have hope going into 2021  Ways in which we can position ourselves for flourishing this year   Happy New Year to you and yours! SUBSCRIBE TODAY. Links and Other Information COVID-19 data from Johns Hopkins Unive...

We are taking a pause.  Please listen as to why. More about Vincent William Baran's life, including the eulogy that Ben delivered for him, is online at www. MightyVincent.org

Do veterans make good civilian employees? How do veterans and civilians avoid talking past each other in corporate settings? We discuss this and more with Kristin Saboe who  leads employee listening, research, and talent strategy at The  Boeing Company. She is responsible for authoring and leading Boeing's Enterprise Veterans and Military Spouses Strategy. She also sits on several national level a...

John Kroger, a vice president at the Aspen Institute, previously served as the inaugural Chief Learning Officer of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, providing oversight for all education institutions and programs for more than 900,000 civilian and military personnel, with a budget of more than $1.7 billion. Before that, he served as the president of Reed College, the Attorney General of Ore...

If you want to motivate people, you need to understand the nature of rewards in the workplace. Otherwise, you might be really missing the mark. You might actually be demotivating your employees. In this episode, we unpack the basics of rewarding employees, including the following:    Extrinsic versus intrinsic rewards Fundamental ideas about employee motivation Implications for people, leaders, an...