Be Verdant Podcast

Rob Lawless joins me for the first in a series we are doing on HR Wellbeing in partnership with SHRM. As a speaker at the SHRM22 Annual Conference, Rob will be bringing his perspective to the stage, which you can get a sense of from our discussion. In 2015, Rob set out to meet 10,000 people, and our episode catches him halfway through this journey. Rob shares tips on how and why people should make connections with others, and we discuss this within the context of the wellbeing of HR professionals. Given that human connection is part of self-compassion and how HR teams can help bolster their wellbeing, the topic was pretty timely.

Stay tuned for additional episodes from other SHRM22 speakers! 

To learn more about offerings to help your HR team thrive and flourish, visit our website or reach out to us!

Lindsay Recknell and I participate in the "podcast exchange program and mutual admiration society" by appearing as guests on each other's shows. :-)

As President and CEO of Mental Health in Minutes, Lindsay brings a wealth of expertise to our show, sharing her insights into the innerworkings of employees and leaders in the workplace. Our focus is on departments often perceived to lack emotional needs, specifically exploring the IT departments. 

We kick off our discussion with a few of the learnings from a 2022 study that demonstrated the power of minor changes from leaders on the overall wellbeing of their teams. It turns out, when managers do something as simple as allowing employees more control over their work schedules decreased overall negativity on the team. Go figure!

Author, entrepreneur, and host of Mass Business Podcast, Matt Ward, joins me to discuss that ever-illusive concept of joy. We begin our discussion with a study of joy, flow and meaning in the workplace. Matt then shares his mission of helping business leaders and fellow entrepreneurs find joy in the work they do. 

Ben Eden, HR coach, CEO of Reach Your Ultimate Potential, and co-founder of the HR Wellbeing community, joins me to discuss how leaders can undermine their own resiliency and accelerate burnout for their teams and themselves. We start with the article, "Your Boss is the Problem and the Solution," which explores "hinderance stressors," which are ways in which certain behaviors or thoughts can prevent people from performing at their best. It turns out that creating red tape, role ambiguity, role conflict, and engaging in office politics increases employee's job neglect by over 1/3rd, which increases even more the higher the stress on the job.

We then explore all the ways in which we have seen leaders get in their own way, and what we recommend they do to change.

Parenting expert and Co-founder of Well & Ready, Sarah Porter-Braun joins me to discuss how parenting impacts leadership skills and behaviors at work. We start with a review of a study that looks at how positive family events the night before can increase consideration and leadership behaviors by 17 percent. Sara shares how companies can encourage better parenting experiences by providing parental coaching and services. She also shares some amazing tips for us working parents, which should not be missed!

The always thoughtful, kind, and giving Sal Vergara joins me for this week's episode to discuss the impact of gender identity on emotional wellbeing, particularly masculinity. We start with a 2019 study of help seeking and masculine stereotypes, which shows that these biases hinder healing and positive coping behaviors. Sal shares how an organization he volunteers for, Merging Vets and Players, helps overcome these stigmas.

You can learn more about how your company can break down these barriers by reach out to us at info@verdantconsulting.net

Jon Hyman, Esq joins me for a unique episode. Rather than focusing on a study, we take a tour of Jon's social media feeds to review what's hot in the world of work. As an employment lawyer, Jon is very knowledgeable about the emotional impacts of work on employees, and he shares his awards for Worst Employer of the Year awards.

You can learn more about the work Jon does on his blog (ohioemployerlawblog.com), his website (OhioBeerLawyers.com), and his own podcast, The Norah and Dad Show.

You can also learn more about building resiliency and emotional agility in your leadership (and hopefully avoiding joining Jon's list) by visiting our website.

Sille Østergaard, CEO & Founder of From Balance and former HR Business Partner and head of talent, joins me to discuss belonging and it's impact on safety, both physical and psychological. We discuss a 2020 study that shows a positive impact on safety compliance when employees (in this case, pilots and manufacturing technicians) felt they belonged. 

Having moved around a lot herself, helped others with belonging through coaching, and even written about it, Sille brings a lot of expertise to the discussion.

Leadership coach, former reliability engineer, and host of the Leadership Launchpad Project podcast, Rob Kalwarowsky, joins me this week to discuss physical safety in mining and construction. One quote I read during the show was this:

"Male-dominated industries tend to have more suicides. The macho, tough guy, and stoic nature of construction workers can even discourage those who are most at risk for suicide from seeking help. Men, especially white men in their early 20s through their 50s, account for the bulk of suicides."

You can learn more about this work on the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention website.

At the top of the show, I share a 2020 study on mining safety, which shows that supervisor commitment to safety resulted in higher self-efficacy, optimism, hope, resilience, safety compliance, & safety participation.

Rob mentions The Thin Book of Trust and the 4 tenets of trust: sincerity, reliability, competence, and care. In addition, Rob shares the following, which I love:

"As you grow as a person, your values will change. Don't judge yourself for that. That's part of the process." 

Chief Talent Officer of Rubicon, Adrienne Kimball, joins me this week to discuss strategic HR and creating fit in non-profits (although we also touch on wellbeing topics like how traditional performance review models re-traumatize our employees and supervisors). We walk through a 2021 article that looks at the impact of strategic HR on fit within non-profits. Adrienne shares her point of view on the "nature vs nurture" question of hiring for fit vs values, and much more!

Ryan Wolf joins the show for our first episode of 2022, and this is a great one! Ryan is the Physical Wellbeing lead at Gallup, so he brings a wealth of insights about the latest research. We discuss the topic of "toxin handlers," with a specific focus on HR, based on a 2021 article. We also refer to a December 2021 report from Gallup that showed an increase in burnout for people managers, as well as a Gallup report showing that increasing engagement factors (like having a best friend at work) can help reduce burnout. Ryan and I demonstrate how to apply strengths to managing toxin handling, as well as a few other tips for HR and people leaders alike. 

Annabel Fitzsimmons and Amy Brown, Co-Founders of MindMGT, join us for a final "Season of You" episode to help us find a bit of calm as we round out the year. We discuss a November 2021 study that demonstrates how mindfulness and suspending judgement can help increase motivation. Amy provides us with a short exercise, and we discuss the science behind mindfulness. Annabel also drops some fantastic sayings, one of which I have added to our Verdant Supply Co t-shirt collection.

You can catch Amy and Annabel in January at HR Wellbeing Week, where they will be presenting about mindfulness for HR professionals.

Brian Henderson, Founder of Whole Business Wellness in Hong Kong, joins me to discuss one of my favorite topics: leaders. With recent data (which we will discuss on a future episode) showing an increase in manager burnout, and as part of our "Season of You," this is a timely topic.

We kick off our discussion with a review of the recent article, "When Leader Self-Care Begets Other Care," in which the authors explore the emotional strain of people management. One quote I liked in particular was this one:

"Our theoretical model proposes that on days when leaders take a self-compassionate stance toward their leader role, they approach themselves with kindness and patience in that role, seeing the inherent hardships of leading not as an indictment of their leadership (e.g., that they are not really a leader if things are this challenging), but as a normal part of the leader role."

Leader self-compassion is focused on accepting that leadership is hard, can challenge us emotionally and intellectually, and we won't get it right all the time. 

Brian is the perfect guest to discuss this topic, as he was an executive who experienced burnout himself and has great tips for our listeners. Check it out!

Author, coach and cancer survivor, Savio Clemente, joins me for this episode, where we continue our "Season of You" by focusing on building resiliency. We share findings from a 2021 meta-analysis of resiliency training effectiveness, which reveals that formal training can result in a 70% improvement on post-traumatic stress indicators. Web-based or self-paced programs have such a limited participation rate, they don't really qualify.

Hmmmm.

Savio shared his experience reading over 300 submissions for his series on resiliency for Authority magazine (one of which was mine). We discuss the themes and surprises he saw through this process, as well as his own experiences through his cancer journey. 

You can learn more about Savio's work and podcast through these links. 

And check out our content pages or reach out to learn more about the Verdant Resiliency training program! 

As part of our "Season of You," accomplished author, former Assistant Director at the Obama White House, and psychologist, Dr. Monica Ramirez Basco, joins me for our second session on perfectionism. In her book, Never Good Enough, she describes inward- and outward-focused perfectionism (what she calls "Innies" and "Outies"), as well as many specific activities and tactics for using perfectionism to our advantage. We start by exploring this 2021 meta-analysis on the volume of studies on perfectionism, which has grown significantly since Dr. Basco's book was published (I mean, this was when Oprah was on the air!)

We further discuss the impact of perfectionism on BIPOC and women, as well as some of Dr. Basco's top tips for addressing perfectionism in our lives.

You can learn more about Verdant Consulting's offerings to help support your resiliency journey and build acceptance and compassion on our website. Thanks for stopping by!

This week we cover the causes and education of perfectionism with the high-energy insights of Geraldine McGrath. You may recognize her from her TedX Talk on this topic, where she shares her story and how she developed perfectionism. On our show, we go through a 2021 meta-analysis of how perfectionism is taught online. Geraldine than further describes approaching perfectionism from the point of embracing self-awareness and being I.M.P.E.R.F.E.C.T.:

• I: inspiration
• M: meaningful life
• P: peace
• E: empathy
• R: reconciliation
• F: fabulous
• E: expressive
• C: captain
• T: thankful

You can learn more about Geraldine on her website, and more about our offerings on ours, as well. We also recently launched specific pages for industries and use cases we support, as well as this overview video.

As part of our "Season of You-le" series, the lovely Christopher Shen joins me from across the globe to talk about self-compassion, mental toughness, machismo, and more. Christopher is a psychologist in Melbourne who works with athletes and construction employees to manage their emotions and build resilience. He is also a badass himself, as a former wrestler and mixed martial artist.

We start by a review of the study "Can athletes be tough yet compassionate to themselves?," which shares even more data about the benefits of self-compassion. We then discuss Christopher's book, Wrestling with Resiliency and Mental Toughness, and the complicated concept of control.

If you want to learn more about our offerings to build resiliency and emotional wellbeing, check out our website at verdantconsulting.net.

Dr. Taisha Caldwell-Harvey, psychologist and founder of The Black Girl Doctor, joins me this week to discuss the poignancy of the Strong Black Woman schema. According to the study we cover, this construct causes damage in the black community, including:

• Perfectionism
• Loneliness
• Anxiety
• Lowered Self-Compassion

We also cover some of the amazing work and insights from "Dr. Tai"'s work, including her one request of HR leaders. This episode is not to be missed!

Speaker, coach and author, Anita Lawrence joins me from across the globe to discuss one of the major stressors for leaders: employee feedback. While this is a basic need for employees, a recent study shows that a low sense of power for leaders can make them 50% more likely to see employee input as negative, even if the message isn't. We discuss leader motivations and starting internally to develop as a leader, with many insights from Anita's 20 years of leadership coaching experience. 

You can learn more about our leadership development offerings to help leaders manage stress for themselves and their teams by visiting our website.

Ingrid Wilson, Sr Human Resources Executive, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Strategist, joins me to review how HR professionals can avoid burnout and build resiliency. We start with a 30-year-old article on HR burnout, which is strikingly familiar to the struggles of today, and includes issues like 

• Senior management's inability to see the importance of HR
• a lack of appreciation for the professional expertise of personnel managers
• The pressure created by HR executives' unique position between top management and the work force
• poor communication channels
• lack of opportunities for professional advancement.

Sound familiar?

You can learn more about this topic during our upcoming roundtable on 11/17. Click here to learn more!