There was a 4 inch gap between the bottom of the couch and the floor in the storage closet turned office 3 of us shared at Wunderman many years ago.

So naturally, that space became the “goal” when we played hockey with a crumpled up piece of paper and a couple of old sticks.

I don’t remember how many games I won back then but I do remember creating a ton of work I’m really proud of to this day. We all did.

Because we (and our bosses) knew that those impromptu games were part of our jobs. Play time equals “let the junk in your head jostle around for a bit so it can turn into an interesting nugget or two” time.

And we knew we wouldn’t be judged for taking that time. In today’s language, this would be called psychological safety. Back then, it was just a basic understanding of how creative brains work.

This is the kind of behavior Jaime Raul Zepeda recognizes in his role as EVP at Best Companies Group. The best places to work are the ones who provide psychological safety, where leaders are vulnerable and understand what their teams need. Because they ask.

We need work to be more like this again. We’ve turned it into a hyper-optimized s**t-show of efficiency but we don’t even know why we do half of what we do.

We need to be less busy and more thoughtful.

Maybe I should stop coaching folks and just show up at companies with a few hockey sticks and some crumpled up paper.

Hmm…

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

You can follow Jaime on LinkedIn. And check out his company’s site at bestcompaniesgroup.com to learn more about their best places to work programs.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

Bonus question from Jaime to our audience:When’s the last time you asked your team what it was like to work at your organization, and took some actionable steps on that data to make it better?

If you want remote work to work you have to work at it.

You can’t just show up and expect it to be the same as in office. It’s not the same. You’ve only got 2 of your 5 senses working together. You can’t just strike up a casual conversation with the person next to you. You can’t walk the halls as a leader and feel what’s going on.

That doesn’t mean it can’t work. It absolutely can. Plenty of companies are doing it right, right now.

But they’ve put in the work. And Tim Currie has put in the work to figure out what work needs to be put in.

His book, Swift Trust, is all about how to build connections that go beyond the surface level BS that keeps us stuck in tactical mode.

Want to do real, meaningful work? Here’s what leaders can do that actually helps:

🐱 Create “in-between” moments online to build rapport. Use non-work channels on Slack, Teams, etc to connect over sports, movies, music, cats. Hit someone up to talk about how they’re doing, not what they’re doing.

🐱 Shift your one-on-ones from task-focused check-ins (that’s what email is for) to relational coaching sessions.

🐱 Become an internal influencer, using short videos and social media to keep teams in the loop and remind them you’re a real human who actually exists.

🐱 Give your big events (like all-hands) some production value. Invest some time and money in making those meetings engaging and worthwhile.

Remote work works. But not the way most of us are doing it. The good news is, none of the stuff Tim mentions is all that hard.

What do you think? What’s helped make remote work more workable for you?

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Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

——

You can follow Tim on LinkedIn. And check out swifttrustbook.com to learn more about how to make remote work, work.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

——

Bonus question from Tim to our audience:What are the authentic moments, the memories, the anecdotes that live in your consciousness about past work experience with colleagues that you don’t think you could have today?

Chaos is a candy store.

The disorienting swirl, a chance to be useful.

We’re swimming in that swirl right now. AI, layoffs, mergers, tariffs, the headlines bonking us on the head every time we try to surface.

We need a lifeline. No, scratch that. We need to become a lifeline.

That’s how this works. “They” are not going to save us. We are. And in the midst of the madness, opportunity is everywhere.

CB Bowman Ottomanelli has been gobbling up the chaos candy for much of her life. Finding ways to serve others when we need it most. How does she see the candy when most of us are getting clobbered?Strategic courage. She’s written books about it and has more on the way. It starts with framing change as an experiment, where learning is the primary goal. Life is a university. As we learn, we’re able to make small calculated leaps, which she calls Microcourage™.

Don’t leap without a net though. Make sure you have a personal board of directors to keep you honest and keep you from falling back into the swirl.

Who would be on your board?

—

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

——

You can follow CB on LinkedIn. And check out her site at courage-consulting.com. You should also visit acec-association.org to learn more about the executive coaching organization she created.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

——

Bonus question from CB to our audience:When is the last time you gave yourself permission to have strategic coverage?

All organizations are dysfunctional.

Those are the words of Michael Wade, consultant, advisor, author and former Equal Employment Opportunity Administrator for the City of Phoenix. And I tend to agree with him.

We’re just not that good at coming together to do stuff. We get in our way. We play politics. We blame. And we forget why we’re even doing the damn thing in the first place.

His solution? Three words: “wait a minute.”

Remember waiting? Pressing pause for a second to look inward, to see if we’re on the right track, to think. Remember thinking?

🐱 Imagine waiting a minute before deciding to redo the entire deck when all it needs is a few word changes.

🐱 Imagine waiting a minute before laying people off and realizing you can cut costs in a different way.

🐱 Imaging waiting a minute before scheduling a meeting that could easily be an email.

A few “wait a minutes” a day could save us hours of chasing down bad decisions. And help us do everything better than we’re doing it right now.

Here’s a good decision. Listen to Michael. He really knows his stuff.

—

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Michael is an advisor.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

——

You can follow Michael on LinkedIn. And check out his site at execupunditconsulting.com. And be sure to read his Substack newsletter as well. It’s awesome.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

——

Bonus question from Michael to our audience:How can you better connect with other people? What can you do to help the community? What can you do to help other people? Because there are people out there who are hurting.

It’s 3am. You wake up to discover you’re on the couch, cuddling with your laptop. You cringe, ugh, another night wasted, working through dinner, ignoring your family. You should get to bed and grab a few good hours before the day starts up again.

But then. Hey, it wouldn’t hurt to just crack that laptop open for a minute, make sure no critical emails have come through. I’ll just skim through a few to make sure…

“Good morning, honey!”What? Who? Where? You glance at your phone—it’s 7am. You’re still on the couch. Spooning the laptop again. Your spouse doesn’t bat an eyelash. Just another Tuesday.

F%ck.

This is work addiction. It’s insanely common. And it’s where MaryBeth Hyland was not so long ago. Now, she helps folks fuel their ambition in a healthier way. By connecting to what matters most—our core values. Finding the stuff that truly energizes us and doing more of it.

When we do that, we don’t feel the need to chase some invisible, unattainable marker of success into the wee hours each night. We feel full at the end of the day. We feel excited to share ourselves with family, friends, our pets, our other interests (wait, we can have those?!)

MaryBeth has traveled this road and come out the other side thriving. Just check out the view behind her on the video version of this episode to see how well things are going.

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

You can follow Mary Beth on LinkedIn. And check out her site at sparkvisionnow.com to learn more about the awesome work she’s doing and get a free values assessment.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

Bonus question from Mary Beth to our audience:What is the core value that’s serving you most in this season of your life?

To watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.

What if the problem with our politics is also the problem with our workplaces?

Our inability to truly see the people around us, keeping us from doing anything meaningful.

They’re far right, far left, too hardline, too accommodating, stupid, evil, “the problem.”

They’re account, creative, production, legal, stupid, clueless, “the problem.”

What if “us vs. them” became “what can I learn from someone I disagree with?”

Wilk Wilkinson is trying to make this “what if” real, with his podcast “Derate the Hate,” as an advisor to the ProHuman Foundation and in his role as Director of Media Operations at Braver Angels.

The key is focusing on shared purpose. Something I find a lot of common ground on when I talk with folks I disagree with politically.

And something that workplaces need to do a much better job of creating. What was the purpose at most of ad agencies I’ve worked at? No idea. And that’s a problem.

I invite each listener to start by getting clear on your own purpose. In life and at work. Why do you show up each day? What would the best day look like? What would the worst?

Once you answer those questions, start talking to the folks around you. And more importantly, start listening.

—

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Wilk is an advisor.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

—

You can follow Wilk on LinkedIn. And check out deratethehate.com to learn more about his work and check out his podcast.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

——

Bonus question from Wilk to our audience:When you think about the 2,080 hours a year you’re putting into your current job, is that the place where you’re going to fulfill the purpose that you have in life? And if not, is there a way for you in your mind to make that the most meaningful place that you can be to spend your working life?

If you would like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.

There’s a controversial piece making its way around the interwebs right now, called “The Great Feminization” by Helen Andrews.

Despite its edgy title and often-incorrect conclusions (in my opinion), it’s generating some useful conversation.

How can men and women work together in a way that is beneficial to all?

Rachel Wallis Andreasson brings a POV to this topic informed by 30+ years as a leader. And she collaborated with 3 other authors to create The Sixth Level, a book about leadership that infuses a distinctly female perspective into this conversation.

The Sixth Level model is derived from the narratives of 16 women leaders as seen through the lens of Self-in-Relation theory, which defines the psychology of women as oriented to connection and care.

🐱 It creates a framework for creating cultures where no one wants to leave🐱 Reframes “soft skills” as leadership strengths🐱 Introduces four core differentiators: intrinsic motivation, mutuality, justness, and ingenuity

We also touched on the frustrating truth that a lot of “feminine” work is not valued very highly. Caretaking, teaching, social work, etc.

I think we’d do well to bring the full spectrum of approaches to the table. From the “feminine” to the “masculine” and anything in between. Let’s see what we learn.

Personally, I’m grateful that work cultures have evolved to a place where I can be more vulnerable, more caring and more connected in my approach. If you prefer the boiler room world, have at it.

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

You can follow Rachel on LinkedIn. And check out thesixthlevel.com to learn more about her book and the philosophy behind it.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

Bonus question from Rachel to our audience:Who could you reach out to today that you have a difference of opinion with, and you just want to have a conversation and start reconnecting?

If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.

How you feel about human nature tells you everything you need to know about leadership.

If you think human nature has stayed constant over the years, you’ll find great value in the words of Socrates, Confucius, Jesus, Shakespeare and Sarah Breedlove (the first self-made black woman millionaire in the US).

If you think human nature has evolved over time, you’ll see little point in the wisdom of the past and constantly seek out new thinking to guide your approach.

Richard Battle falls firmly into the first camp. And he’s written several books—including his latest, AmeriCANS Who Made America!, spotlighting past wisdom for our present and future benefit. And we talked about a bunch of it on this week’s podcast.

🐱 How his great-great grandmother’s 100+ year old table showed him that our actions today can influence folks in the next century.

🐱 How a four-minute radio interview in the back office of a car dealership helped a man grieving the loss of his daughter.

🐱 How an early “dead end job” can teach our future self more about leadership than most modern day “gurus.”

In fact, I can’t help but wonder if most gurus take advantage of those who believe in an ever-changing human nature, shellacking ancient wisdom with buzzwords and bullet points for easy consumption.

No buzzwords here. Just a fresh look at some old-school truths that can help us lead better right now.

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Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

——

You can follow Richard on LinkedIn. And check out his site at RichardBattle.com where you can learn more about each of his 12 books.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

——

Bonus question from Richard to our audience:Where do you want to be at the end of your work life? And are you taking steps to get there?

If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.