Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

Organizations thrive and survive on the creativity of their employees. But what constitutes "creativity"? Are we born with it? Can it be drawn out of us by our teammates, manager, or the type of work we do? And what is the relationship between creativity and employee engagement, and how do both impact problem solving? Dr. Tracy Stanley, a social scientist and author of The Engagement Whisperer, and Barbara Wilson, an executive coach, and creativity facilitator and trainer provide some answers.

The performance of U.S. education is often the recipient of criticism – and much of it is justified. Despite mountains of research on what works and the strong effort of most educators, many of the students coming out of our K-12 system are only basically equipped to participate in and contribute to society. Why? Jay McTighe, a renowned educator, and Dr. Judy Willis, a neuroscientist and teacher make a cogent case for radically changing how we prepare teachers, develop curricula, and provide instruction.

Why do some of our communications land as intended and others don't? Say "Hello!" to Lila Smith, a messaging consultant and "Communications Breakthrough Coach." Lila has successfully leveraged her theatrical training to become one of the world's most recognized and sought-after communications experts. Here, we'll learn how to improve our messaging so that it's serving our purpose and the listener's.

Most of us encounter adversity of some juncture during our lives. How we respond to it says a lot about who we are. Heather Younger certainly encountered adversity through a particular set of circumstances early in her life. We'll learn how Heather responded through the remarks she made at the May 2019 Colorado Springs TEDx. The title of her talk was "Transform Adversity into Opportunity with One Simple Technique."

In this "Transformation Story," we talk with Jessica Du Bois. Jessica is a consultant and leader in the employee benefit industry who helps organizations by creating people- and purpose-focused benefits programs. Jessica's transformation story began when she was asked to join a small gathering of influential leaders. Listen to what two of the participants said to her and how that catalyst prompted her to begin a journey of self-discovery.

What does it mean to provide candid and compassionate feedback? Why is this "ying" and "yang" of helping staff to improve so important to changing behavior? We'll get answers to these questions and others from two seasoned educators and prolific authors, bloggers, and podcasters, Joe Jones and T.J. Vari.

How might you think differently about how your organization works and approaches change? Here, we'll learn how Rona Wilensky, Ivette Visbal, and a team of educators wrestled with this question when they decided to break the mold of the traditional high school. Rona is the founding and former principal of New Vista, an alternative high school in Boulder, Colorado, and Ivette Visbal is currently the school's Dean of Students.

How human is your workplace? How can what works well at work, work even better? Whom do you rely on to initiate change at work: Yourself? Or "leadership" from above? We'll discuss these and other questions with Mike Vacanti, an organizational change catalyst. Mike is also the inspiration behind the #Human First Club – an intimate conference that seeks to "address the future of work, personal and organizational development, wellness and strategies for success in today's transformational business climate."

In this episode of "Getting Unstuck – Shift for Impact," we're joined by Kris Macc. Kris is the founder and president of KMACC Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in emotional intelligence and leadership development in the workplace. She is also the author of the recently published and highly acclaimed #NOAPPROVALNEEDED, a book that brings together the consistency of voice of women in their 40s from all over the world. Women in their 20s, 30s, and 50s and beyond – and men – listen up!

Kevin Strauss is the CEO of Uchi, an app for connecting with others authentically and privately. Kevin trained as a biomedical engineer and invented medical devices for improving people's lives. Over time, he realized that a key element in whether individuals and teams could innovate successfully had more to do with soft-side human skills than their hard-side technical skills. Kevin turned this passion for connection into a consulting practice where he works with organizations to improve emotional wellness.