Works Well

In this episode of Works Well, Melissa addresses the global engagement crisis, where only 23% of employees feel engaged at work. She highlights the pivotal role managers play in shaping workplace culture and offers four actionable strategies for fostering engagement: creating a culture of coaching, appointing and protecting devil's advocates, and testing boundaries to encourage innovation. Melissa emphasizes the importance of holding managers accountable for prioritizing employee satisfaction and offers resources for listeners to implement these strategies effectively.

Ever wonder why some goals or decisions feel so much easier and less yucky than others? I believe its because we can make decisions from two places: shoulds or values. You can have the same goal, but having it rooted in your values system will make you much more likely to succeed.

This week we are debunking the idea that we should be focusing our time an energy on improving weaknesses. The world will be a different and happier place if we all focus on our strengths and connect with others who are stong in our weaknesses! I love this episode because it offers an invitation to do what feels good and natural versus trying to "fix" something about yourself.

We are creators no matter what. We have the power to create what we want or create situations that make our lives harder. As a creator, you can take back the power in how you show up, how others feel around you, and how your environment supports your goals. This feels like a magic secret to the universe that will generate more opportunities and alignment with your vision.

There is so much magic in vulnerability. Sharing mistakes, asking for help, making it clear what your capacity is- all ways that we can show vulnerability. We are seeing the expectations of leaders change and younger generations want to see their leaders as humans. In this episode, I share the difference between pitty and vulnerability and a few tips for how to ease into appropriate vulnerability at work.

Have you ever found yourself lying to get out of plans?? ME TOO! This week I want to walk you through an exercise I did to prioritize my life and most importantly ... how I communicated the re-organization of priorities with my people (and where I am falling short). I love you and cannot wait to hear what you get out of this one!

The world needs who you are! A big miss I see in leadership development is supporting leaders in using their heart and intuition alongside their business acumen to make decisions. This week I talk about my own experience with ignoring my gut instincts and challenge you to think of a time when you did the same and reflect on that feeling.

Look, I get it... Time management can seem daunting, lame, over-talked about, or even impossible. But I am here to give tips and tricks plus some touch love when it comes to taking action. Time management is a non-negotiable skill set for leaders and I challenge you to take ONE step after you listen to this episode to improve your relationship with time.

This is a totally off-the-cuff, heartfelt conversation about your personal well-being. If you want to be a powerful culture-creator, the work has to start with YOU! I love you and I am so glad you are here for this conversation.

Leaders have endless competing priorities. At the same time, I believe we are at a pivotal moment to stand up for what's right when it comes to prioritizing people's well-being. In this episode, I share the following tips to become a master people-prioritizer: 1.      Evaluate your priorities as they stand today based on your calendar It’s easy to say that something is a priority, but then you look at your calendar and you have zero time dedicated to that thing. Think about what % of your time makes sense for people management and work up to that number over time.                      2.      Ask yourself what the quality of your relationships with your team is. If it’s good- how you can continue to make it better? Ask your team what they need from you to do that and be open to what kind of feedback you might receive. 3.      If your calendar is completely stacked and people have a hard time accessing you, consider blocking your calendar for open office hours, or just free time to do chat check-ins with people. The idea is that you’re presenting yourself as available for support and connection.   4.      Work with other leaders to understand how they prioritize their people. This may not be something you can carry yourself if as a leadership team, you’ve all committed to the same strategic plan. If you find that organization-wide there is a gap in how people are prioritized, is there room for re-evaluation with your team if you find you need more space for your people?

I know that leadership can feel hard. But here is the thing...you have a choice in your hard. You can either keep grinding and trying to GET people to do the things you want them to do. Or, you can create an environment where they will naturally make that choice. Neither option is the easy route. But one is going to be much more productive and fulfilling than the other. Listen to the episode to find out which is which!

This season we are starting episodes with deep breaths and leaving all of the self-judgment at the door. In this episode, we dig into what it means to be a partner leader. I propose 7 different pieces of evidence of a non-partner leader for you to reflect on and leave you with TWO ideas to create a deeper, more trustful relationship with your people. Just in case you want to reflect more deeply on the pieces of evidence you can find them below. Allow this list to challenge you: Feedback loops do not exist. There is no way for teams to provide honest feedback to leadership without threat or fear of retaliation. You make decisions without consulting anyone OR you are only consulting other leaders at the same level as you. You find it very difficult to delegate, you are a leader that is still doing tasks that make no sense for your role. It feels difficult for team members to take on responsibility. When you ask, there are crickets or you have to force people to take on tasks- people are not jumping up and down to take on new work. People don’t share creative, new ideas with you often. You yourself are burnout from how much work you’re doing. You manage all creative thought work in your company – all other team members are task doers vs. thinkers

I am so excited to bring you season two! This season we will be talking about WHO you need to be to create a culture where your people can trhive.

Have you every been disappointed because someone didn't meet your expectations? ME TOO! I've discovered a pattern I have of expecting people to read my mind and discovering the option to lead by agreement has changed my life... I know it may sound dramatic, but this discovery has genuinely changed how I approach my life. I am excited to share a deeply personal story about how this has helped me in my marriage and a few tips for how you can transfer this to your team!

The final episode of season one. WHAT! In this episode, I share what I've learned over the last few months of creating this show and my ideas for the next season of Works Well. I love you. Thank you for being with me on this journey!

Listen... I get it. Feedback can be really hard! Communication is so heavily connected to our environment and childhood experiences that it's no wonder so many of us don't have the tools necessary to give and receive feedback productively. In this episode, I share my personal journey with feedback and leadership while giving you some tangible tips that you can use to become a feedback- receiving CHAMP!!

I used to be paralyzed by feedback. It would cause me so much anxiety that I would eventually just choose not to share it because I was more concerned with what others thought about me and I didn't want to shake the boat. Today. I feel MUCH more confident in my ability to share feedback. In this episode, we will explore two models for sharing feedback - The Feedback Sandwich and Pendleton Model. I am SUPER excited to share some real-ness with all of you here.

Episode 15 was all about the role of middle management. Consider this part TWO to understand what is required at the leadership level for successful workplace wellness. Together, we will take a deep dive into how to align the vision and mission of your organization with the well-being of your people and how a human-centered approach fits into the strategic plan. This is an amazing episode for any leaders who feel pulled toward workplace well-being but just aren't sure where to start!

When you hear the words "communication strategy" do you get spooked?! I have totally been there. I thought communication strategies required a marketing background. Now I understand that it really can be SO simple. In this episode, I provide tools for understanding your population's needs, setting goals, developing an annual calendar, and more. I also make a special offer to share my calendar template with you! All you have to do is message me on Instagram at WorksWellPodcast to get your hands on it!

I am so, so convinced that middle management is the key to healthy work environments. Middle managers have a really unique opportunity to connect with employees while simultaneously holding leadership's goals and vision. They set the tone for culture to form. Research tells us that poor management is the top indicator of stress for employees. We have a MAJOR opportunity to build up our managers to create better work environments. In this episode, I offer tactical advice on where managers can start. 1. Knowing your benefits package WELL. 2. Develop communication with your team to share resources. 3. advocate for human-centered training. You can get the entire overview in this episode!