June 2018
"From Memos To Emojis: How Being Together Builds Bridges in the New Workforce" by Josh Hart (TED Talk Video - Approx. 15 minutes)
Article: Harvard Business Review - "Managing People from 5 Generations" by Rebecca Knight
Book: "Clash of Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality" by Valerie M. Grubb
May 2018
"The Power of Vulnerability" by Brene Brown (TED Talk Video - Approx. 20 minutes)
Brené Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share. Brené Brown studies vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame.
Article: Strategy + Business - "The Strength of Vulnerable Leaders" by Augusto Giacoman
Book: "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown
Quote: "Believe you can and you're halfway there" - Theodore Roosevelt
April 2018
"The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TED Talk Video - Approx. 19 minutes)
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an author named one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” by TIME magazine in 2015. She is also a Bowdoin College honorary degree recipient.
Article: Ethos3 - "3 Lessons From Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Danger of a Single Story" by Sunday Mancini
Book: "Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People" by Mahzarin R, Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
Quote: "The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story" - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
March 2018
"Everyday Leadership" by Drew Dudley (TED Talk Video - Approx. 6 minutes)
We have all changed someone's life -- usually without even realizing it. In this funny talk, Drew Dudley calls on all of us to celebrate leadership as the everyday act of improving each other's lives. Drew Dudley believes leadership is not a characteristic reserved for the extraordinary. He works to help people discover the leader within themselves.
Article: HuffPost - "7 Ways to be an Everyday Leader" by John Schlimm
Book: "The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha
Quote: "Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence." - Sheryl Sandberg
February 2018
"The Happy Secret to Better Work" by Shawn Anchor (TED Talk Video - Approx. 12 minutes)
We believe we should work hard in order to be happy, but could we be thinking about things backwards? In this fast-moving and very funny talk, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that, actually, happiness inspires us to be more productive. Shawn Achor is the CEO of Good Think Inc., where he researches and teaches about positive psychology.
Article: Harvard Business Review - "Positive Intelligence" by Shawn Achor
Book: "The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work" by Shawn Achor
Quote: "Each one of us is like that butterfly the Butterfly Effect. And each tiny move toward a more positive mindset can send ripples of positivity through our organizations our families and our communities" - Shawn Achor
January 2018
"The Power of Believing that you can Improve" by Carol Dweck (TED Talk Video - Approx. 10 minutes)
“Growth Mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field. Carol Dweck is a pioneering researcher in the field of motivation, why people success (or don't) and how to foster success.
Article: Harvard Business Review - "How Microsoft uses a Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders" by Carol Dweck and Kathleen Hogan
Book: "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol Dweck
Quote: Growth Mindset: "Failure is an opportunity to grow", "I can learn to do anything I want", "Challenges help me to grow", "My effort and attitudes determine my abilities", "Feedback is constructive", "I am inspired by the success of others" and "I like to try new things" - Carol Dweck
Quote: Fixed Mindset: "Failure is the limit of my abilities", "I'm either good at it or I'm not", "My abilities are unchanging", "I don't like to be challenged", "I can either do it, or I can't", "My potential is predetermined", "When I'm frustrated, I give up", "Feedback and criticism are personal" and "I stick to what I know" - Carol Dweck
December 2017
"Forget the Pecking Order at Work" by Margaret Heffernan (TED Talk Video - Approx. 16 minutes)
Organizations are often run according to "the superchicken model," where the value is placed on star employees who outperform others. And yet, this isn't what drives the most high-achieving teams. Business leader Margaret Heffernan observes that it is social cohesion — built every coffee break, every time one team member asks another for help — that leads over time to great results. It's a radical rethink of what drives us to do our best work, and what it means to be a leader. Because as Heffernan points out: "Companies don't have ideas. Only people do." Margaret Heffernan, The former CEO of five businesses, explores the all-too-human thought patterns — like conflict avoidance and selective blindness — that lead organizations and managers astray.
Article: Harvard Business Review - "3 Ways to Encourage Smarter Teamwork" by Jim Whitehurst
Book: "Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes" by Margaret Heffernan
Quote: "People have been known to achieve more as a result of working with others than against them" - Allan Fromme
November 2017
"How to Make Stress your Friend" by Kelly McGonigal (TED Talk Video - Approx. 15 minutes)
Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others. Kelly McGonigal translates academic research into practical strategies for health, happiness and personal success.
Article: Harvard Business Review - "Are you too stressed to be productive? Or not stressed enough?" by Francesca Gino
Book: "The Upside of Stress" by Kelly McGonigal
Quote: "That's the purpose of stress. It's a friend. It's an alarm clock, built in to let you know that it's time to do The Work" - Byron Katie
October 2017
"Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are" by Amy Cuddy (TED Talk Video - Approx. 21 minutes)
Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy argues that "power posing" — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident — can boost feelings of confidence, and might have an impact on our chances for success. NOTE: Some of the findings presented in this talk have been referenced in an ongoing debate among social scientists about robustness and reproducibility. Read "Criticisms & updates" below for more details as well as Amy Cuddy's response. Amy Cuddy’s research on body language reveals that we can change other people’s perceptions — and perhaps even our own body chemistry — simply by changing body positions.
Article: Harvard Business Review - "What Great Managers Do" by Marcus Buckingham
Book: "First, Break all the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers do Differently" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
Quote: "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader" - John Quincy Adams