Connected Teamwork Podcast

Keep it Zen Short and Simple. Connected Communication Practice #7.   Silence is the sacred pause between stimulus and response where truth breathes. Our ego wants to fill this space: be seen, claim its stake. This gets in the way of really being in conversation with the other. Being brief requires us to consider what we really need to say. We practice WAIT: Why Am I Talking? We say what we need to...

Share with Humility. Share in Chunks. Connected Communication Practice #6 It’s much easier to lose each other in conversation than to move together, especially when stressed. Sharing in bitesize chunks helps the other person stay on the same page with us. Chris Argyris’ Ladder of Inference tells us to share the facts, then interpretations, then opinions, then decisions and actions and to keep chec...

Choose Altitude. Don’t Nosedive Choosing the level the conversation is an act of leadership. It can be a brave one if there are competing priorities. Important to mitigate the tendency to do a fly-over, and avoid the core issue, or nosedive into the details forgetting the larger context. We set a powerful altitude by asking ourselves: what is of service here and what do we need to talk about today...

Connected Communication Practice #4 : Connect before sharing Context and Content Building connectedness at the outset of any conversation provides the foundation from which to have the conversation. Without connection to each other as human beings, we tend to fall back into reactive patterns: overexplaining, overpreparing, not listening, avoiding the hard issues or just railroading over others. Es...

Share Your Authentic Truth with Deep Honesty and Kindness Holding back uncomfortable feelings and thoughts creates unrest, tension and  distrust. How do we share our truth even when it is uncomfortable? Enter the practice of Authentic Truth Distillation. Notice what you are feeling and thinking. Don’t just blurt it out. Be aware of where you are in judgment and trying to control. Let that go. Paus...

Go to the Beach. Be in Appreciative Presence a 10 On a scale from 1 to 10 how present are you now?  A 1 equals being totally distracted and a 10 is being totally here. Being present at work, in meetings, in life in general is a choice. Probably one of the most important choices we have as leaders and team members. Not being present, we likely feel stressed, maybe in some kind of judgment of the ot...

The 1% Principle Connected Communication Practice #1 Who do you choose to be in the conversation no matter how the other person reacts? Enter the power of the 1% principle: focus on what you can control and let go of your attachment to what you cannot control, the 99%. Being grounded in our intentions, for example of being deeply honest, deeply kind and deeply of service, we stay more focused on w...

Support & UpliftAppreciating others is the oxygen for relationship and performance. “I have some feedback for you.” When we hear this, we tend to have some anxiety. That’s why letting people know that we value them, that we have their back, is so important, especially when giving feedback. It reminds people that they are valued and have something to contribute. Even the hardest feedback needs...

Team CQ Practice #11 Give Your Best & Be Resourceful What do you do when you are overwhelmed? First look at yourself. What is the story you are telling yourself? Is this true? Also ask yourself, what is a rubber ball and what is a glass one? Which todo’s I can play with and which ones are non-negotiables for today? Challenge three foundational myths that block resourcefulness: 1. You are the o...

Reach Out Often Team CQ Practice #10 Offer and ask for help purposefully. Work together for a shared vision. Follow through. Asking for help requires vulnerability. We need to be able to admit where we need help. And sometimes we ask for help because we want to create team energy toward a shared purpose. We give others an opportunity to be of service when we ask for help. Since asking for help is...

Connected Teamwork Work Practice #9: Create & Maintain Balcony Perspective   Connect before sharing context and content. Keep your eyes on a clear, higher goal. In the grip of thesurvival brain, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture of theconversation. Enter the need to go on the balcony. Take a deep breath and askyourself and possibly the other person a balcony question, for exam...

Make Amends Promptly: Own your action, recognize impact, offer reparation. Do it for integrity. “I am sorry” is a little sentence that can make a big difference. We hesitate to say it because our ego wants us to be perfect and doesn’t want to give other people reasons to judge and dislike us. Making a quality amend is an act of truth. We do it because deep down we know we harmed ourselves and/or o...

Listen deeply. Create Dialogue. Conflict is confluence. Deep listening is an act of leadership and it magnetizes both the listener and the speaker. We learn to listen deeply to what is underneath our surface thinking and feeling and access a deeper truth together when joined together in a space of listening. Listening is also an act of courage. It requires us to not react, force solutions and be t...

Walk in Their Shoes Everyone you meet is facing a hard battle somewhere. In conflict? Reflect on the other person with empathy on what may be happening for them. What are their fears? Their anxieties? When you can sit together in the storm, you will walk in the sunlight. Have the courage to open up to the other person, even if it feels uncomfortable. Don’t fall into the trap of judgment. Instead o...

Team CQ Practice #5: Be Humble Judgment is part of being human. Yet it is the number one obstacle to relationships and teamwork. Humility is the core antidote. Do we know for sure what we are thinking and believing about the other person? Who would we be without this judgment? We become curious about the other and realize that they are so much more than their opinions and our judgments about them....

Be Where Your Feet are Team Connectedness Practice #4: Be Present and Authentic. Stay in the moment. Shareyour truth honestly, respectfully and purposefully. We create fertile groundfor real connectedness, by choosing to be present, no matter what. Being inthis moment may feel like we are shrinking our bubble. The noise dissipates,even if it’s still noisy around us. The truth of the moment comes i...

Pause. Let Go & Welcome Deeper Wisdom. Team CQ Practice #3 Release attachment and control. Allow intuition & flow. Wisdom is what we receive. We receive it when we get out of the way by letting go of our attachments. We may notice we have three kinds of should-attachments: I ( what I should be and do), We (what you should be and do), and It (what should be happening). These attachments che...

Team CQ Practice #2 Always Grow How do we work with challenges in a way that brings peace to our hearts and pride in our action? We first get right with ourselves. What are our values? How can we live and lead more from these? What habits may we need to let go of to help us focus on what is mission-critical? Don’t get lost in worrying about the 99% that is outside of your control. Focus on the pro...

Take Good Care of Yourself If we don’t take care of ourselves, who will? Bringing ourselves into balance helps us to be of service to others. Not taking care of ourselves, we burn out, create relationship imbalances and are less able to focus on what is truly needed and do that. How do we take care of ourselves? It starts with becoming aware that selfcare is important. Self-acceptance is the found...

I Have Your Back “Being a leader means taking responsibility for the impact you have on other people,” says Sam Murley, General Manager at Microsoft. We need to make it safe for people to speak up. Leaders role model openness by going themselves first. This takes courage. Leaders need to be open enough to acknowledge their growth opportunities and give themselves and each other grace at the same t...

How do I build a high performing team that people want to stay part of? It’s about courageous connectedness. It goes beyond IQ and EQ. It’s about having team members be deeply connected to themselves, each other and their purpose together. In the Connected Teamwork podcast, we explore with leaders from all kinds of teams how to build deep connectedness by growing through the most challenging team...

Feeling your inner Vitamin D is low? “Take a pause,” says Dianna Bergman, Chief of Staff and Head of Portfolio, “however you do it. I go Rebound: jump on the trampoline for a little bit between meetings.” Taking a pause helps us focus on the bigger why and creates the inner space to listen deeply to others. We need to really understand where people come from, what drives them, how they are feeling...

By prioritizing meaningful relationships, leveraging technology, engaging with communities, practicing self-care, and embracing empathy, we can maintain our connections and thrive even amidst chaos and uncertainty. How do you stay truly connected and resilient in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty? In today's world, conflict and uncertainty seem to be constants—wars, famine, political strif...

“We didn’t bring a gun on the Appalachian Trail, only bear spray,” shared Susan Otten, Chief Executive Officer at Indiedogood about her 2,194.3miles in 154 days hike to raise $94,000+ for Parkinson's research. Susan has held leadership positions at major companies, including Apple and shares three principles that help her succeed: tools, training and team. “I couldn’t have done this hike without m...

“To build great teams, we need to empower people,” shares Evren Ozkaya, Founder & CEO of SCW.AI and Supply Chain Wizard. People need to become owners of the company and vision for the company, then they can lead. Then they make decisions that reflect the whole and are not about just optimizing their sub-systems. “Don’t make anyone wrong,” says Evren. Everyone has a positive intention and is tr...