Quotes:“There’s a growing body of research that finds organizational kindness, in how people treat each other, how leaders manage the workforce, how customer-facing employees interact with their clients....has enormous benefits. It’s just great for business.” [0:35] As Marcel opens the episode, he begins with an excerpt from his forthcoming book, expected Fall 2024. He discusses kindness and the difference it holds from just “being nice." It’s about intention, and it goes beyond surface level politeness. When you’re truly kind, it impacts everything. “I'm going to take a break from the podcast to get this book project done and off my plate. We will be back at full strength with weekly episodes featuring world-renowned guests in April 2024.” [2:55] Marcel announces that the Love in Action Podcast will be taking a break while he puts in the work to finish the manuscript for his aforementioned book. The book is important for businesses and leaders around the world. Listeners can look forward to the podcast returning in April ‘24, until then, Marcel would love to hear from you about topics and guest suggestions for the future.Mentioned in this episode:Marcel Schwantes - Ooltewah, Tennessee, United States | LinkedInMarcel SchwantesSend Marcel a text message!

Erica Keswin is a globally renowned workplace strategist, consultant, speaker, best-selling author, and professional dot-connector. Her latest book is The Retention Revolution. Erica first joined Marcel in the very first episode of Love in Action. Now in a post pandemic world, she returns to share the “7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your Company” as written in her latest book. Quotes:“The world of work has changed, there is no going back.” [10:00] As Erica Keswin dives into the why now of her latest book, The Retention Revolution, she explains how these pretty standard ideas and predictions on how work would progress were accelerated due to the pandemic. One point being that the young members of the workforce are no longer staying at companies for their lives; they look at work differently than previous generations, and they expect their treatment to reflect that.“[The book] is not necessarily tying them to the chair…it’s keeping them connected”. [14:50] In a 30,000 ft. view of her book, Erica gives a synopsis of the 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your Company. She compares the new ways of thinking to the old mindset when it comes to onboarding, autonomy, flexibility, professionalism, offboarding, and more. “If you have intentional onboarding, it’s drastically related to your ability to retain your employees.” [15:45] Erica’s book explains 7 old ways of thinking and the new ideas that should replace them. She starts with something important but is often thought of as a thing before the work starts. Instead, intentional onboarding looks like strategic relationship building from recruitment and beyond. Erica shares really impactful ideas on the new way to onboard from major companies like Hulu and Gusto.“There’s a need, AKA demand for leaders to be more human.” [25:18] During the pandemic, Erica says, leaders were defaulting to a more loving and caring management style. But now, a year later, we're all but forgetting that piece, no longer checking in or asking how the staff is truly doing. The problem is that employees still need this human professionalism from their leaders. “The people are your work now, as it should be because expectations change when you’re elevated into a leader role.” [37:00] Marcel quotes Erica’s book with a story from OC Tanner, which explains the way culture must elevate and celebrate middle managers. Often, middle managers are on the front lines, in the mess of it all, but they have the power to influence the rest of the culture in an organization, and they need the support to do so. “Left to our own devices we are not connecting, take some time and make sure that you’re connecting, especially as we celebrate Thanksgiving…that you’re connecting with others in your personal life, your work life, and also taking time to connect with yourself.” [44:40] Erica closes out this Thanksgiving (if you’re listening from America) holiday with a special and important sentiment about connection. Mentioned in this episode:Erica Keswin Get your electronic copy of Erica’s first book, “Bring your Human to Work.” Email Erica for your free copy: erica@ericakeswin.comThe Retention Revolution: 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your CompanyErica Keswin on LinkedInErica Keswin (@ericakeswin) on InstagramMarcel Schwantes on LinkedInSend Marcel a text message!

Dr. Michelle K. Johnston is a renowned executive coach and business professor. She is the author of The Seismic Shift in Leadership. Dr. Johnston is a champion of connection in the workplace. She talks with Marcel in this episode on how leaders can serve their team and ultimately how connection drives results.Quotes:“You have to figure out right now how you can communicate and lead in a way that makes your people feel seen, heard, valued, respected, and appreciated.” [11:51] Dr. Michelle K. Johnston dives right into the long list of expectations for our leaders in today’s world. The center of all of these important qualities: connection. “If you really want to build trust and safety and team cohesion, then embed time to do an offsite with your team, bring in a facilitator and start with the question: what’s your story?” [18:11] Creating an environment of psychological safety is more than just blurting out your origin story. Dr. Johnston peels back the layers of what it really means to get to know your coworkers and how that builds true trust and community.“Connecting with your team…the foundation of that is truly turning the speaking/listening equation on its head.” [29:13] Are you giving your team the space and the environment to be heard? She explains how leaders can do their job better by listening before speaking. As a servant leader, your job is to serve your team, helping them to do their job and hearing them out. “He [Todd Graves] adds laughter and levity, he makes it fun.” [38:20] Speaking about fast food chains, Raising Cane's CEO, Todd Graves, and his success across the world, Dr. Johnston talks about his championing of what he wants to see in his organization. The future of work and leadership is encompassed by this idea of fun and enjoyment, making it more than ‘just work’.“Connection drives results.” [42:20] This is the basis for Dr. Johnston and Marcel’s entire conversation today. She explains that result oriented leaders will only accomplish goals by going back and embedding time to connect.Mentioned in this episode:Dr. Michelle K. JohnstonThe Seismic Shift In Leadership: How To Thrive In A New Era Of ConnectionMichelle Johnston on LinkedInCommunication Preference Profile Assessment | Dr. Michelle K. JohnstonMarcel Schwantes on LinkedInMarcel SchwantesSend Marcel a text message!

Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani, co-founder of Mindvalley and author of Becoming Flawsome, discusses personal transformation, authenticity, and the path to happiness. She explains the difference between behaviors and authenticity and challenges the barriers of perfectionism. Kristina also talks about combating imposter syndrome and the importance of recognizing that you may be wrong. The podcast explores the prevalence of hustle culture in Western society, the difference between self-care and self-love, and the definition of success separate from happiness and fulfillment.

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, and is renowned for her research on psychological safety. She is the author of Right Kind of Wrong. In this interview, Amy sets the stage for how leaders can learn and thrive through intelligent failure. Quotes:“That is love in action, when you find work that you feel is almost meant for you and you can do it in a way that people seem to appreciate.” [13:04] Amy Edmondson shares her journey from engineer to her unlikely position at Harvard Business School where her work is world renowned. “Mistakes are deviations from best practice in known territory whereas intelligent failures are an experiment that didn’t work out the way we’d hoped.” [17:41] Why are leaders afraid to fail? Amy explains the difference between mistakes and failures. To operate a failure free organization means there are no risks being taken. Leaders must embrace intelligent failure or fail to innovate and ultimately fail altogether. “It’s good to have high standards, it’s good to pursue excellence but perfectionism is this crippling belief that ‘I cannot make mistakes, I cannot come up short or I'll die.’” [25:56] Explaining perfectionism, Amy draws this mode of thinking as a mindset at odds with healthy failure. Marcel and Amy discuss the small failures and how you react and respond can help perfectionist attitudes by relieving the pressure. “If you’re a leader in an organization, get out ahead of these predictable failures in mindset and behavior that your employees and managers will fall prey to.” [37:27] Amy sets leaders up with the steps for setting up a culture that allows for healthy failure, by breaking the path to perfectionism. Leaders must start emphasizing purpose and encouraging curiosity. “As soon as you remind yourself to be humble, you are almost naturally curious.” [42:47] How does humility connect to failure? Amy describes that humility allows the questions to arise that you don’t have all the answers. Providing opportunity for risks and chances to learn from these intelligent failures.“We are all fallible human beings, that’s just a given. Now, how do we thrive?”[55:14] As Marcel and Amy close out the episode, she answers her own question connecting it all to love in action. We thrive through intelligent failure, with love, interconnectedness, facing an unknown future together. Mentioned in this episode:Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy EdmondsonAmy Edmondson on LinkedInAmy Edmondson (@AmyCEdmondson) on XTomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Amy Edmondson (Episode #87)Marcel Schwantes on LinkedInMarcel SchwantesSend Marcel a text message!

“Leadership and life is about human relationships.” [1:04] Servant leadership has emerged over the last 40-50 years as a solution for leaders in the business world changing their attitude when it comes to leading their organizations“Listening lands first on my list because it’s a crucial yet frequently absent trait in leaders.” [3:08] Marcel credits Robert Greenleaf as responsible for the modern Servant Leadership movement as he dives into the characteristics of a servant leader.“Empathy has been proven to drive performance.” [3:32] Listing empathy as the second characteristic of servant leaders, Marcel explains that it is an extension of listening. Where leaders are able to be understanding and listen to others without judgment. “How have you been a servant leader?” [6:23] Marcel poses this question after he shares the other 3 characteristics of a servant leader: Self-Awareness, Foresight, and Commitment to the Development of people. Consider how you have modeled the traits of servant leadership. What would it do for your team if you were to think and act this way?Mentioned in this episode:Marcel Schwantes - Ooltewah, Tennessee, United States | Professional Profile | LinkedInMarcel SchwantesSend Marcel a text message!

HUBERT JOLY is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy and is now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School. He is also a member of the board of directors of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren Corporation, a member of the International Advisory Board of HEC Paris, and a Trustee of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Joly has been recognized as one of the top 100 CEOs in the world by the Harvard Business Review, one of the top 30 CEOs in the world by Barron’s and one of the top 10 CEOs in the U.S. by Glassdoor.Quotes:Marcel asks Hubert what he believes business is about. “At the heart of business... is the pursuit of a noble purpose, putting people at the center, embracing all stakeholders, and treating profit as an outcome, not the goal,”[3:12] Hubert responds. “There are three imperatives to an organization and tackling them in the correct sequence leads to optimal outcomes: a people imperative - having the right teams properly motivated and equipped; a business imperative - having happy customers who you sell good products to; and a financial imperative - about profit. [10:05]” Hubert shares how financial results have to be the end focus. First, you have to start with people; when you do this, the financial results will come. “The old model of leadership portrayed a leader as a superhero here to save the day, probably the smartest person in the room, and, unfortunately, too driven by power, fame, money or glory,” Hubert claims. “This [type of leadership] doesn’t work... [people] want to be part of the journey and the solution.” [16:55] Hubert debunks the concept of perfectionism as a key to success; he shares how demonstrating his imperfection actually helped create the right environment for optimal performance at work. “Operational progress creates routine degrees of freedom, so sometimes you have to start with the basics before you think about creating an amazing future,'' [35:47] Hubert advises. He describes the five ingredients for creating a fabulous work environment, which are: connecting dreams, developing authentic human connections, fostering autonomy, achieving mastery, and putting the wind at your back. “Work is love made visible... Business is about embracing all stakeholders… This is a beautiful friendship you’re building with all stakeholders, treating all of them, in a sense, as customers.” [50:30] Hubert shares how he thinks leaders love in a practical way, day in and day out.Mentioned in this episode:Hubert JolyMarcel SchwantesSend Marcel a text message!

Dr. Jennifer Nash, a leadership expert and consultant to Fortune 50 organizations, is the bestselling author of “Be Human, Lead Human”. She invites you to radically disrupt your leadership thinking and practice to lead effectively in a post COVID-19 world. She shares a research-based, actionable framework to transform leadership thinking and practice, engaging human connection as the cornerstone of organizational performance.Quotes:“There is no personal self and no professional self, we’re all one human being.” [6:50] We don’t leave part of ourselves at the door when we walk into work each morning, says Dr. Jennifer Nash, as she describes the power of innate curiosity to understand the way humans operate in the corporate world.“We have leaders that for the most part want to do the right thing, they wanna lead well but they don't have the tools to do so”. [11:55] In a post COVID-19 world, Dr. Nash says we’ve been in a leadership pandemic. Leaders want to fall back to the old school mentality and old tools because they can't get comfortable in the new normal. She takes a look at what is driving this discomfort and what tools they need to make the change. “The first part of that internal GPS, the ‘Leading Yourself’ is figuring out…what are your values?” [22:55]  Dr. Nash discusses the Human Leading Operating Model, a triangle that features three legs: Self, Others, and Business. She explains the first step: determining the values that guide decision making. This model works together so that leaders can take a look at how they lead themselves so they may lead others and the business more successfully.“There should be a lot more emphasis placed on building relationships in the workplace, because that is what helps work get done, it’s the glue that holds the social fabric of the organization together.” [27:00] It's not just the output or just the work employees are doing; who your people are and all of the different facets of their being are important. Dr. Nash explains the fuel and power that is relationship building in the workplace. “The HUMANS Framework came out of all of the research that I did for the book, it addresses all of the needs that we all need as humans.” [30:00] Dr. Nash created the HUMANS framework to highlight 6 elements: Hearing, Understanding, Mattering, Appreciating, iNspiring, Seeing… all connected to these important dimensions of humans and powered by relationships. “Where do you fall on this human leader paradigm?” [36:35] In Dr. Jennifer Nash’s book Be Human, Lead Human is the Human Leader Index, a 67 question assessment. You can also find this online on her website. Not only can you gauge where you are as a human leader, but if you want to move the needle and do the work, Dr. Nash has resources and activities as well.  Mentioned in this episode:Dr. Jennifer NashJennifer Nash, PhD, MBA, PCC on LinkedInHuman Leader Index (HLI) Assessment | Dr. Jennifer Nash | Coaching and ConsultingMarcel SchwantesSend Marcel a text message!

When it comes to using love in the workplace, our guests on this podcast literally wrote the book. Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone are the co-authors of Leading with Love and Laughter. Zina has been leading development and diversity programs in the U.S. government for 20 years. Patrick Malone spent 23 years in the Navy, serving as an officer in the medical service corps. Today, Zina is also a faculty member of the key executive leadership program at American University, where Patrick is the director. Quotes:“I look for people having fun at work – laughing. If I see people in a staff meeting cracking up with each other… that’s a good team. So, why hasn’t anyone written a book about this?” [8:55] The two talk about how they decided to write a book about love, laughter, and the workplace. “The perspective that we had on love was that it was a mutual admiration, respect, and care for one human being to another.” [10:54] It’s important to define ‘love’ early on – there are a lot of different types of love, after all. “People have this false idea that having emotions in the workplace, feeling love and exuding that love for other people is a weakness.” [13:33] This isn’t true, as Zina says: “But the exact opposite is true: When you are so confident in yourself, in who you are, you know yourself well enough to know boundaries, to know what is right and wrong, how to approach people, what love feels like to you, what it should feel like to others, then you become the strongest person in the room.” [13:47]“If you think you’re a leader, and you look over your shoulder and no one is following you… you’re just taking a walk.” [15:07] Patrick talks about how there are a lot of people in positions of leadership who can direct and tell people what to do, but are they really leading? This happens at all levels of an organization. “The single most important factor for organizational success and accomplishment is psychological safety.” [17:42] Patrick shares the science that backs up Zina and Patrick’s book. Technology isn't the most important factor, according to Microsoft's research.“Laughter in the workplace, people think, ‘OK, I’m going to be a joke teller’. But that’s not what it is at all. It’s much deeper than that.” [29:18] If you can develop environments where people feel free to laugh and love one another, you’re on the right path. If you walk into the room and everyone stops talking, there’s a problem. It’s important that your presence in the workplace breeds positivity and good feelings—in other words, love and laughter. “Love starts with the self.” [39:46] Everyone, from the bottom of the corporate ladder to the very top, should focus on loving themselves. That’s how you really begin to love others. Take time out of your day to do self-analysis and determine what 'self love’ means for you.“Don’t make it about work,” [41:02] Patrick says small, one-on-one interactions create love, and when you do that, don’t make it about work. Ask your employees or coworkers about their lives and what’s going on with them. That’s how you create real, authentic connections. Mentioned in this episode:Leading with Love and Laughter: Letting Go and Getting Real at WorkSutch & MaloneZina Sutch - LinkedInPatrick Malone, PhD - Director - Key Executive Leadership Send Marcel a text message!

Dr. Natalie Baumgartner is Chief Research Officer and Partner at Contemporary Leadership Advisors (CLA) and Chief Workforce Scientist at Achievers.  She has spent over a decade focused on driving the translation of culture research and theory into SaaS based software, working to help make it possible for organizations to solve problems and achieve goals that advance their performance. In this conversation, Dr. Baumgarnter brings home her passion for connection within organizations with the four pillars of manager effectiveness. “It was very eye opening in terms of where managers are thriving and where they’re struggling, and how employees are feeling about all of the above."  [9:52] Dr. Natalie Baumgartner is talking about the Achievers Report on The Foundations of Manager Effectiveness. Using a variety of factors of effectiveness, the report found that only 28% of employees would actually recommend their managers to others.“Managers aren't getting the training, the support, the scaffolding that they need to deliver these really critical factors that employees need to receive."  [13:01] It’s no surprise managers are not reaching their employees effectively; Dr. Baumgartner says 1 in 5 managers never received any training. So many employees are promoted to managers, but there is no clear guide on what it means to shift from an individual contributor to a manager. This lack of empowerment is creating a systemic issue of failure in management.“There is no such thing as too much recognition as long as it’s meaningful”. [22:08] Recognition is one of the Four Pillars of Manager Effectiveness, in addition to meaningful contact, coaching, and development. Dr. Baumgartner speaks to the great impact of recognition. Managers must give some form of recognition once a month at the bare minimum, but she explains that weekly specific, individual recognition can make all the difference in manager effectiveness and team productivity.“Manager effectiveness and manager empowerment are two different concepts that are linked. We must be empowering, supporting, developing, training our managers to deliver." [25:29] Dr. Baumgartner asks the question, How can we measure and monitor effectiveness if we are not first empowering? First, managers need to set themselves up for success with education, support, and empowerment, and then ask team members how they’re doing. When it comes to measuring effectiveness, the employees ARE the measuring stick.“We’re seeing that female managers are struggling in even more ways than the general population of managers.” [35:17] In their report, findings showed an overall lack of development in managers, but Dr. Baumgartner was surprised to find just how lacking it was when it came specifically to women. She describes the challenge women managers face to move out of middle management and how they are deepening research in this area.“We need to be creating connections inside our organizations. Between managers and employees, between one function and another function, up and down. We need that connection; people aren't getting it, and it’s hurting all of us.” [36:50] Throughout the conversation, Dr. Baumgartner shares the effects of isolation as it relates to this post pandemic era. Now more than ever, in our organizations, in order to be effective, connection is so important.Mentioned in this episode:AchieversAchievers Workforce InstituteThe foundations of manager effectiveness reportSend Marcel a text message!