Joyosity

Disagreement is a part of leadership. It’s uncomfortable, it’s hard but it’s a skill that we need to cultivate in order to lead well. This week, we dove into the art of leading when everyone isn't on the same page.   As I sat down with a plate of eggs and hashbrowns, I noticed the table conversation revolved around lab-raised meat and a skeptic — not what I was expecting at a business network...

“Just” My business is “just“ me. I’m “just” a manager. I’m “just” a stay-at-home mom. I spoke to a room of “just” 20 people.   This seemingly innocent word can creep into our vocabulary and minimize our achievements. Both Shelby and I realized how impactful it is to shift away from minimizing language and embrace our full worth thanks to Krista this month.   Krista Monson reminded us of...

Bumblebees. That was the inspiration for one of Krista’s biggest shows at Cirque Du Soleil.   Creativity comes to us in moments we aren’t expecting. It’s rarely when we’re checking emails and sitting around a board table trying to force it.   In this episode, Krista shared her 8 survival skills for how to stay true to yourself and your creativity in high pressure situations and big trans...

“More”. I am guilty of wanting to add one more sentence, one more ornament to the tree, one more side to Thanksgiving dinner. How do we know when “more” is leading us to the right thing or distracting us from what matters?   This week Krista shared with us her journey through a VERY successful career and how she knew when to step back or when to add more— not more tasks but diving deeper into...

I had a coworker who was like sandpaper for me. Every time my slack would ding with their name, I would just feel a pang of “ugh”. Have you ever felt that? Truthfully, if you work with people long enough, someone will be this for you…and this might be inevitable at some point in any relationship.   I decided to start with donuts. I knew she obsessed over donuts, and I thought maybe some time...

Chaos. October brought more than its fair share! So how do you lead in the midst of it all? The short answer? Values. They operate as a North star for your behavior and decisions.   Shelby lives in a small mountain community and saw chaos and values play out right in front of her eyes all month in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. We spoke about how values impacted so many decisions in her o...

Being seen by someone else is one of the best feelings in the world.   A dear friend gave me a necklace of three rows of clustered, bright wooden discs in every imaginable color. A necklace that she would never wear. But because she's seen my bubbly self, she knew jewelry in riotous color would not only be worn frequently, but treasured.   In this week's episode, Ken Black and I finish o...

My son’s part-time job as a boy was running into walls. The phrase “face the way you’re walking” constantly came out of my mouth. One because I was tired of dirty walls, but mostly for his success.   Ken shared the same idea for leadership success. Focus on where you want to go and so difficulties and disruptions don’t sway you from the goal. Choosing how you want to shoe up in the world or t...

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”   How many times were you asked this as a kid? How many times have you asked that TO kids?   Is that the question we really should be asking them? Or does it tie their worth to their role at work?   I love how Ken and I dove into the idea of being vs doing in this episode. Some times work doesn’t align with our values, even when it’s what w...

You’re already leading and living by your values. But the problem is… you might not know what they are and how they show up in your work.   What may surprise you is how much this impacts your success and your bottom line.   With a few stories of stuck in airports and stuck in the bosses office, Jenn shares real-life examples of how living by values (or not) and how that improved (or dest...

You have a culture whether you’re aware of it or not. Pay attention to culture, even if you’re a one-(wo)man show. Here’s why: as you grow you want to make sure it’s what drives your hires, fires and business decisions. Whether you realize it or not, culture will create conflict ,and we want that conflict productive and repairing.   In this episode, Shelby and Jenn discussed some ah-ha moment...

No leader is waking up thinking “I want to create a toxic workplace”, quite the opposite! But without self awareness, that’s exactly what you’ll create.   Every leader should be able to answer this one question: Why do you do what you do? Whether it’s a casting broken bones, serving a chai latte, or building aircrafts. That question —Why? — is so important because that is what shapes workplac...

“That’s how we do things here.” Sometimes that’s used as an excuse…at least in my experience! But at it’s best, it’s a wonderful definition of culture. Moe Carrick, workplace culture expert, defines the sometimes squishy term “culture” with “that’s how we do things here.” I love that definition for a few reasons. 1 - It implies that if ignored culture will still be there 2- It means you have to li...

In order to have joy at work you must have conflict. I know that sounds absurd but stay with me here. It’s unrealistic to have a workplace that doesn’t experience conflict. It’s unrealistic to have any relationshipe without conflict.   Conflict is the struggle of limited resources and differing goals. And I hate to break it to you, but that shows up in every workplace, home, and friendship at...

What do you do when someone tells you a story that isn’t true? Maybe you were there or you heard it from someone else differently. As a leader, knowing how to handle stories (true or not) is so important for the integrity of your team. This month was all about the science behind why stories work and tricks for engaging others through story, thank you Kindra Hall! In this episode Shelby, who works...

Having your values plastered on the office wall is not living by them. Wanting to know how to infuse them into your business so your team embodies them as well? That requires one of our people power skills — storytelling.   The best way to showcase your values is to live by them and tell your personal story around them. Storytelling is an essential skill in leadership.    Last week...

“The shortest distance between two people is a story.” My coach Harris says this frequently, and I find it true over and over. In person, in an email, a LinkedIn post, a TikTok…stories change us AND shape our leadership.   I‘ve watched Kindra Hall for a long-time as a mentor from afar. Someone who’s doing what I want to do. Author, speaker, and storytelling expert, her stories have impacted m...

“It’s fine, that’s just the way work is. It isn’t supposed to be fun”  “I just need to put my head down and work harder” “Why am I so weak?”   Have you said these things to yourself? Me too. In this episode I tell the story about the “summer of crying on couches”. It wasn’t a fun summer. But it led to the work I’m doing now, the work I believe in - joy at work.    Toil and lang...

Summer is here and that often means a revamp of routine (or what I like better: rhythms). Whether you have little ones out of school or you have vacations on the horizon, it can be hard to remember to rest. As an Enneagram 7 I’m prone to fill all the empty spaces with more! But I’ve come to realize rest is the secret weapon for leading a productive and joyful team. This week on the podcast, I dove...

We all need a reminder now and then that it's more than okay to take a break — Actually, rest is a weapon against your life collapsing around you. Especially as leaders. Giving yourself permission to rest actually increases your productivity and of course increases your joy at work! This week, I talked with Erika Biddix, Entrepreneur Strategist and CEO of Aught. We discussed how we’ve had to work...

Inevitably, at some point in your career, you’re going to outgrow a position or role that you’ve had. Maybe even something you REALLY love. Like my son's favorite shorts when he was a toddler, at some point, they’ll have to go to GoodWill. No matter how we try, we just can’t make it fit longer than it’s meant to. Whether that’s a promotion or offering something differently in your business growth...

Leadership requires ruthless self-honesty and radical self-compassion. You balance between the two with curiosity. Nicole Trick Steinbach and I share a similar belief in this and plenty of similar leadership scars! Nicole shared some really incredible stories about how she found herself in tech, what led her to an HR intervention with her leadership, and how she coaches others to become brave lead...

As a child, I heard “Silence is golden” often. (And I remind myself as an adult too!) I agree silence has its place in conversations, in negotiations, and definitely on long car rides. But I’ve learned that silence doesn’t help when there’s a problem on your team or in your family. Silence is LOUD when there’s conflict brewing. After 20 years in law enforcement, Scott Harvey realized the power sil...

I heard the term “sweaty conversations” recently and giggled. I thought it was a perfect description for those hard, uncomfortable conversations that need to happen. Whether it’s at work or home there’s really no avoiding these types of conversations in life. So how do we know when it’s time to put on some good ole deodorant and face the music? In this episode, I share three warning signs it’s tim...

“Is this what I’m supposed to be doing?!” It may sound something like me complaining to my dear friends about work one too many times or just the nagging feeling and comments from those who know you best that you should “really try something else.”    Either way, listen to that tiny inside voice that’s prodding you in a different direction and those trusted outside voices that know you b...