Working Conversations

Episode 26: How to Talk About Returning to the Office  In this episode Janel shares her ideas in a slightly different format. She’s been asked to speak to several of her client organizations recently on how to hold conversations about returning to work in the office environment, whether that be on a rotating/hybrid schedule or a full-time schedule. This episode was recorded live as Janel gave that...

Episode 25: The Big Thing that Needs to Change in Job Descriptions  In this episode, Janel addresses some of the uncertainty and ambiguity that permeates this “new normal” of work-from-home and hybrid work. She presents a revolutionary new idea that will change the expectations of both managers and employees in this brave new world. It’s a simple addition, that comes to us from existing job descri...

Episode 24: Your Step-by-step Reentry to the Office In this episode, Janel takes you step-by-step through a checklist of critical things to address as you venture back into the office. Whether you need to be in the office every single day, on a rotating schedule or (and especially) just once in a while, this checklist will help ensure you make the transition smoothly and easily – wearing clothes t...

Episode 23: Where Am I Supposed to Be: Questions about Hybrid Teams from Managers In this episode, we continue the conversation on hybrid teams as Janel shares the most frequent questions she’s received from managers as they prepare to begin leading their teams in a hybrid work arrangement. From fairness to scheduling to unrealistic expectations above and below, Janel responds to eight of the most...

In this episode we continue the conversation on hybrid teams as Janel shares the most frequent questions she’s received from employees as they prepare to transition from a largely work from home environment into a hybrid work arrangement. From scheduling to logistics like commute time and packing a lunch to a fear of missing out, Janel responds to eight of the most common questions she’s received....

In this episode we turn the tables on the host as Janel is interviewed by a friend and colleague, Jason Hunt, CEO of Eye Squared Leadership. Jason wants to know more about the challenges of returning to a hybrid workplace, as organizations continue to repopulate their buildings. He asks provocative questions and the conversation ranges from the logistical to the emotional challenges of a hybrid wo...

This is part 1 of a 2 part series. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson and Dr. Amy Jauman, both experts on workplace communication and leadership, continue to tackle the tough questions they’ve been fielding throughout the pandemic and this grand work-from-home experiment. Questions about remote work, hybrid work, sensitive management issues, annoying colleagues and so much more. Originally record...

In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson and Dr. Amy Jauman, both experts on workplace communication and leadership, tackle the tough questions they’ve been fielding throughout the pandemic and this grand work-from-home experiment. Questions about remote work, hybrid work, sensitive management issues, annoying colleagues and so much more. Originally recorded as part of a St. Mary’s University of Minnes...

Episode 18: There is More to Distance than Space and Time  We often think about not being collocated when we think of “distance,” especially when working remotely. That is a relatively simplistic way to view distance. There are many more factors beyond space and time that create distance between us and those we manage, or those who work alongside us if we are not managing the work of others. In th...

Episode 17: Why Motivation is Different when Working from Home The massive work-from-home experiment that the pandemic brought about has far and wide-reaching consequences. Among those consequences, is the impact working from home has on our motivation. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson digs into the research on remote workers, which clearly shows that what it takes to stay engaged and thriving...

Motivation comes from within. It is our internal drive or desire to do something. Most of the time, motivation comes naturally for Dr. Janel Anderson. But in this episode, she shares a time when motivation felt like a distant memory. She discusses how she got there, how it felt, and how she pulled herself out of it. You’ll take away lessons you can use when you find your own motivation in short su...

Managing up, or managing your manager, is an important skill to master if you want to grow your career. It can feel more challenging to do so when working remotely. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson discusses managing up and provides some examples of how you can effectively manage up, even if you are working remotely.  Get full show notes and more information here: https://janelanderson.com/15

Whether you are newly promoted, newly laid off or moving house, change is never easy. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson applies a model for navigating change to each of those three situations. You’ll see how this model of change helps you understand the change process and navigate it just a little bit more gracefully.  Get full show notes and more information here: https://janelanderson.com/14

Janel was recently asked by some working professionals in a Master’s Degree program how to make certain things happen in their roles. Someone in a corporate role and someone on an entrepreneurial track asked similar questions. Listen in as Janel describes how they – and you – can get anything you want. Get full show notes and more information here: https://janelanderson.com/13 13:08] It all comes...

One of Janel’s coaching clients was feeling lonely at work. In this episode I recount how we tried all the usual suspects to curb her loneliness, but they didn’t work. She was still indulging in loneliness. What did work was having a BIG problem to care about. Listen in as Janel describes how they identified a big problem (a few of them, actually), that overshadowed her problem of loneliness. Get...

Most people agree that email feels badly broken. It bogs us down, it’s ineffective at communicating nuanced information, and we often end up miscommunicating at best, and deeply offending others at worst. In this episode Dr. Janel Anderson tackles the problem of email and gives us not one, but three fixes for a number of ways in which email is broken. Get full show notes and more information here:...

You know that feeling when someone is truly listening to you? When they are giving you their complete and undivided attention? It is a gift, and it seems more and more rare these days when distractions on our attention are the norm.  In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson provides five keys to effective listening. In these 20 minutes, you’ll get everything you need to improve your relationships – at...

Dr. Kimball, a talented surgeon, was last on the email distribution list when Anne, the office manager, sent an email. Every. Time. And it bugged him. Sometimes people make a big deal out of things the rest of us never notice. But it matters. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson steps through Anne’s situation, unraveling the journey of how little things become big things and what to do about it. Ge...

Holding a difficult conversation can be hard enough as it is. But the remote work environment can make it even more challenging. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson walks you through a seven step process to make even the most difficult conversation flow smoothly when working remotely. Get full show notes and more information here: https://janelanderson.com/8

Zoom, Teams, WebEx, GoToMeeting . . . The platform doesn’t matter. What does matter is what people do on it. In this episode Dr. Janel Anderson recaps the seven most annoying habits of your coworkers (and maybe yourself!) and shares strategies for how to turn them around. From dominating the conversation to not turning on their camera to multitasking during the meeting, this episode brings you dip...

Ever had a co-worker have a TMI moment and they overshared? Or perhaps someone told your boss about something you did, without addressing you about it first. Or maybe, a customer service person told you just a little (or a lot) too much about what's happening behind the scenes at their company -- and you are a customer! This episode addresses this topic, the topic of who should be privy to whi...

Ever heard that only 7% of our communication is verbal and 93% is nonverbal? It’s one of the most widely MISUSED pieces of research ever. In this episode Dr. Janel Anderson debunks this wild urban myth and explains exactly where those numbers came from and why they are not accurate. She also pulls some valuable lessons from the original research studies that started this myth. Get full show notes...

Working from home can be a minefield of distractions. Whether it is distance learning children, your significant other, your pets or the chaos of the world around you (or all four!), it can be challenging to stay focused on work. In this episode, we bring you 10 different techniques to hack your brain and drive focus, so you can get stuff done. And, as a bonus: all these techniques work in an offi...

Your physical commute not only serves the purpose of getting you geographically from Point A to Point B (at least it did before the pandemic!), but it also serves the purpose of getting you psychologically from Point A to Point B. In this episode Dr. Janel Anderson unpacks the practical qualities of the commute – beyond transportation – and shares creative ideas on how to add a commute to your wor...

Time management and productivity are a big challenge, especially when working from home. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson makes the distinction between focus time (when you’re working on a project or in a meeting) and fragmented time, the time that’s unplanned or left over when you finish something early. She shows how to harness that fragmented time to be more productive each day. Get full sho...