What's Your Work Fit?

Workforce thought-leader Dan Smolen believes that the future of work is in hybrid work . This week, we dig into fresh workforce market research sponsored by Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics . Their study provides a snapshot of a post-COVID workforce that splits its time between home and office. "Now, as millions of people return to the office, they recognize that the office-only workplace h...

Under any circumstance, a pivot for a future of work podcast is jarring. But for Dan Smolen, making a sudden pivot for his podcast, to a new identity, was absolutely necessary. "Now, everything seemed fine until early September 2020 when we discovered that something was amiss. The Tightrope Podcast had inexplicably disappeared from the web and social media. What happened?" The sudden pivot for a f...

Public relations executive Aimee Stern believes that bravery and meaningful work are purposely intertwined. “When you heard the process that they went through to get there, it was painful and it was my process, too. It’s like putting aside everything you’ve ever been taught and saying: I’m really good at this. And, it all came down really to the biggest problem people have which is self-doubt.” By...

Anne Holton is a nationally recognized expert on career and technical education. Furthermore, she believes that we must invest in the future of work's talent pipeline. Anne built a formidable résumé in workforce empowerment. Now, Virginia's former Secretary of Education; George Mason University's former interim president, and; current professor at GMU's Schar School drives thought-leadership for c...

Dr. Dan Hill is employing learning pods, working groups of six people, to help organizations deliver content, develop critical skills, facilitate teamwork, and foster leadership. We believe that Dr. Hill’s learning pods will positively influence the future of work. "So, I was already leaning towards this idea of six people. A [work team] should be no larger than can be fed with two large pizzas."...

Teaching in the pandemic age will certainly change how students learn and the future of work for teachers. "I think that [the pandemic] has built a conversation of what public school will look like going forward." - Maggie Hansford, Prince William Education Association President Maggie Hansford represents public school teachers, students, parents, and guardians in Virginia's second-largest municip...

Will Sarni sees the future of work in water. “When I started my career, I worked for a gentleman, David Miller. The name of the company was Geraghty & Miller , and, he said ‘[If] you want a career in water, it will last forever, it will last a lifetime, because it is a public health issue.’” -Will Sarni, Founder and CEO Water Foundry, LLC There is a future of work in water, because our planet is c...

Maurice Small supports food justice and the future of work. "We have to begin to plant orchards in our cities. We have to begin to train each other on how to graft and cross-pollinate plants so we can have food. We have to do these things, because [if we don't] we're going to end up extinct." Maurice is a nationally recognized regenerative farmer and social entrepreneur who helps people to find an...

Moses Small has embarked on a new career doing the meaningful work of TV news. Growing up as an adopted African-American child of white parents, Moses often felt "otherness." "I remember being a really little kid. My parents would give me $20 for the convenience store. And then, in a couple of instances, a person working [at the store] had to check the [$20 bill], hold it up to the light. He said...

Is Never Normal the future of work? Author and business futurist Greg Verdino believes that the answer is YES. "Leaders need to become more comfortable with how to manage [people] remotely, and, I think, [have always had] this problem in that they hire adults and treat them like children." - Author and Business Futurist Greg Verdino In his new book Never Normal: Uncommon Ideas for Leaders Who Don’...

New York Times best-selling author Daniel Pink writes that autonomy, mastery, and purpose drive our pursuit of meaningful work. About this episode: "[The idea] that if you simply dangle money in front of people and they will perform better is a fundamentally erroneous proposition." - Daniel Pink Daniel Pink inspires our future of work and meaningful work thought-leadership. The author of DRIVE: Th...

Typical entrepreneurs focus on winning funding rounds and scaling revenue. However, one woman is now guiding the Resilient Entrepreneur to make the world a better place. About this episode: "[You] can have a business plan on paper, but then the first day that you start your business, everything changes. So, the skills of how: * flexible are you? * do you adapt? * you take things as not going your...

Can work make you healthy? It's a provocative question with an interesting answer. "I truly believe that work as a medium is the purest way, and perhaps the only way, to think about actually discovering health." - Denise Brouder, Founder of SWAYworkplace As an executive in the financial services sector, Denise Brouder discovered that work can be unhealthful. The demands of a high stress career, an...

Serial entrepreneur Isar Meitis' tribal lessons foster meaningful work. About this episode:  "In my core, I'm a teacher. If there was a great way to make a living as a teacher, I'd be a teacher. I thrive when I teach." - Isar Meitis, Founder of the e-tribe Isar Meitis ' life story and experience are truly inspiring. With a deep passion for teaching and empowering people, Isar provides tribal lesso...

Discover how a radio deejay's meaningful work is rewarded with a global following for 1970's-era Disco music. About this episode: We travel across-the-pond to chat with Russell White , a London-based executive recruiter who doubles as a radio deejay or presenter playing 1970s-era Disco music. During the day, Russ places professional talent in executive jobs for United Kingdom and European Union co...

Virtual professionalism is critical to doing meaningful work. About this episode: "Not only are we at an inflection point, what [it feels like to me] is an acceleration of catch-up, because the world is moving in this direction, anyway." - Adrienne Shoch, Workforce Engagement Expert Workforce engagement expert Adrienne Shoch  of five to one takes The Tightrope Podcast's listeners through a crash c...

Student leadership and meaningful work go together. About this episode: "We're all leaders in some way, shape, or form." -Courtney Owens, Assistant Director of Student Leadership; Ithaca College Office of Student Engagement Student leadership leads to meaningful work. Coincidentally, leadership programming prepares college students for success doing work that protects the planet and empowers peopl...

About this episode: "What I do, on a day in and day out basis, is that I am there for them [and just build] relationships and become a trusted companion." -Mike Shochet, Lead Chaplain of the Fairfax County, Virginia Police We are well into June 2020, a month informed by the grotesquely shocking death of George Floyd —under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. That shockwave has led many to ca...

About this episode: "One of the things that [companies] haven't done that we start to see is tell you 'Hey, take a moment and take stock of your life. Where are you? Where do you want to be? And, how do we help you get there?'" -James Sinclair, Chief Executive of EnterpriseAlumni In 2020, a major inflection point in the future of work has emerged. Forward thinking companies that furloughed large n...

Homes and Hops: a realtor becomes the ambassador for her city's craft brewers. About this episode: " Studies have shown that [craft] breweries have a positive impact on residential real estate sales. And over the past 5 years, we've had several breweries pop up in our area." -Lisa Resnick, Realtor, Craft Brewers Ambassador, and Host of Homes and Hops Podcast It’s the first week of June 2020 and, a...

Summer Camp: Where Fun and Friendship Lead to Meaningful Lives and Careers About this episode: "We see a lot of people do well in their [adult] careers who, coincidentally, did well in their careers at camp. I have no data, other than the anecdotal experiences of the time [we spent] there. But you see people who rose to leadership positions in camp and were viewed as successful staff members that...

Onboarding helps people achieve success in the work from home age. About this episode: “Forty percent of new leaders fail in their first 18 months, defined as getting fired, forced out, or quit. [Our work over the last 18 years] has reduced that failure rate from 40 percent to less than 10 percent.” -George Bradt, Founder & Chairman of PrimeGenesis A new hire failure can cost a company up to 20 ti...

Water expert Will Sarni explains why water matters to work. “When I started my career, I worked for a gentleman, David Miller. The name of the company was Geraghty & Miller , and, he said ‘[If] you want a career in water, it will last forever, it will last a lifetime, because it is a public health issue.’” -Will Sarni, Founder and CEO Water Foundry, LLC Why water matters to work: our planet is cov...

Read people with facial coding. You can use it on Zoom. About this episode: "Even a person born blind emotes the same way as you or I. [It is hard-wired into the brain] and the face is the only place on the body where the muscles attach right to the skin." - Dan Hill, Ph. D. It is hard enough to be face-to-face with another person, to read their facial expressions and determine what they are truly...

New financial realities: A financial consultant offers insight on money and the future of work About this episode: "Your question about how do you deal with all this stuff? The answer is just like anything else: with a good counselor, the most important thing that they can do is shut up and listen." -Steven M. Oriol, Chartered Financial Consultant It is Week 7 of sheltering in place. It’s also the...