Joy at Work Thinking
Written by Ed Cook
As a leader, it can be difficult to convey how you want the team to be. Not what the team does but how the team is. People know how their team feels. They know the culture and norms and habits of the team. But is the feeling, on the team, what the leader intends? For leaders to g...
In this short video, Roxanne talks about her experience of being let go and having to let her team go. This conversation is with Bunny Young -- a coach, licensed therapist and all around wonderful person. Roxanne also talks about a technique she used to get to joy -- something Bunny calls "wall ther...
Dear Family and Friends,
As we sit here at the start of a new year and reflect on the last, we see this past year as a series of extremes. Chinese spy balloons drifted over North America, yet Presidents Biden and Xi met for the first time. Open AI brings science fiction-like capability to the world...
Ed and Roxanne talk about what people say in answer to the question: What does Joy at Work mean to me? And how that might apply for you during the holidays.
Written by Ed Cook
A growing tension exists between employers and employees. Many employers want their teams back in the office, while many employees are happy working at home. Employers highlight diminished culture and productivity with employees out of the office while employees shrug their s...
Dear Friends and Family,
In previous years we have used the words “momentous” and “unprecedented” to describe the year. This year we are grateful to call the year Joyful. Many good things happened for us as a company. Much of that was because of the increase in the number of people we connected wit...
Written by Ed Cook
The last couple of years forced two global experiments, one in remote education and the other in remote work. Much of these two experiments are about human interaction. They explore what it means to communicate, to lead, to teach. The final and full understanding of those two...
Written by Roxanne Brown
For good reason, managing up gets a bad rap. When the concept was first introduced to me it was in the context of working for a difficult boss. Later it became a recommended strategy for getting promoted or keeping senior management happy. Applied in these situations it...
Written by Roxanne Brown
What's a Trust Fall? Or rather, what’s the point of it? The trust fall is an exercise meant to increase confidence between people: “I can rely on you for my safety and success when I’m at risk personally. And you can rely on me in the same way.” The hazards of the exerc...
Written by Roxanne Brown
Imagine if you trusted everyone you work with to do everything you need them to do, in the way you need them to do it. Imagine how liberating that would be. Imagine what you could accomplish, what your team could accomplish. It’s all about Trust.
Trust is complicated. ...
Even in the worst situations you can spread joy by joining forces with others to shift the energy and atmosphere at work. And, what’s great about doing this with others is it can lift your spirits too!
Written by Ed Cook
With the Great Resignation causing distressing amounts of employee turnover and dismal employee retention numbers, Employee Engagement is front of mind for many leaders. What employee engagement is, however, can be elusive. Some see it as activities associated with team buil...
