When we receive negative feedback at work the floor can shake beneath our feet and it is very hard not to take it personally. We can feel our job is at risk. We can feel diminished by the person pointing to our flaws. Sometimes we shut down and stop listening.

Most people would agree that giving and receiving feedback can be complex. That is why so many managers feel inhibited around these on-the-spot performance conversations.
However, feedback is a critical ingredient in creating an engaged and high-performing organisation. Therefore building a thriving, performance-based feedback culture needs to priority for every leader.

In this episode of the Leadium podcast, Sharon Longridge chats with Dr Anne Lytle. Dr Lytle holds a BSc from Cornell University in Neuroscience and her MS and PhD in Organisational Behaviour from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. Anne has taught, presented, and consulted in organisations and universities across the globe. She served as Director of Leadership at Monash Business School. For 20 years, she has been the Director of Lytle and Associates, providing consulting to public, private and non-profit organisations in leadership, influence and impact.

Anne explains that meaningful performance feedback is one of the main drivers of flourishing organisations. She talks about the ideal ratio of negative and positive feedback and why it is crucial to keep an eye on our emotional state during these workplace conversations.

What we cover

• Corrective feedback - why we ten to take feedback personally
• The S.C.A.R.F model - five hardwired aspects of the human social experience
• The status threat - how feedback can undermine our sense of personal power
• Certainty and feedback - the human habit of catastrophising
• Loss of autonomy - why feedback can trigger a loss of control
• The relatedness principle - how social and physical pain activate the brain
• Fairness at work - our hardwired need for equity
• Being preparation - using framing to build receptivity and minimise threats
• Connection credits - How to balance affirming and corrective feedback

Resources

• Ream more about Anne Lytle: https://www.leadium.com.au/about-us
• David Rock explaining SCARF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wu33SdjeCs
• Book: Your Brain at Work by David Rock https://davidrock.net/books/

Without notice, the coronavirus pandemic forced companies to radically change how their people worked. Nearly 90% of businesses globally mandated or encouraged their employees to work from home, as the virus spread exponentially (Gartner, 2020).

Twelve months later, with vaccines being rolled out, organisations are developing return-to-work strategies. Leaders have a unique opportunity to engineer smarter ways of working. The research indicates that for many organisations working-life will look very different to pre-2020 norms. A recent Gartner study reports that close to half of all employees will work remotely at least some of the time in the post-pandemic world, compared with 30% before Covid-19.

A larger remote workforce will force leaders to rethink their approaches to leading teams. Many challenges surfaced last year including trust issues between remote managers and staff working from home. The cost of working in isolation and losing the social aspect of the office also became apparent. So how can we skilfully redesign post-pandemic work-life?

In this episode, Sharon Longridge turns to the science of work design in this timely conversation with the Director of the Center for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University, Dr Sharon Parker.

Dr Parker is an acclaimed expert on organisational behaviour and she has created the ‘SMART' work design model. If you haven’t come across it then you must stay tuned. She explains that this evidence-based model can positively impact wellness, performance and retention levels. Don't miss this episode if workforce engagement and return-to-work issues are front-of-mind for you.

What we cover:

• Tethered or Trusted?: Triggering trust issues between managers and teams
• Remote working: What effective remote work looks like for a company
• Return-to-work: How to reintegrate teams back into the office effectively
• SMART model: ‘SMART' work design and its advantages and benefits
• Offsite disconnection: The risks involved with 100% remote working
• Check-in vs check-up: How leaders can offer skilful support
• Acceleration of AI: The effects on post-pandemic work
• Recovery activities: Energy management and detaching in downtown

Resources:

• Connect with Sharon Parker at the Center for Transformative Work Design
• Sharon Parker on Linkedin
• Smart Work Design
• The University of Western Australia
• Australian Academy of Science
• Here are the Top Five Leadership Challenges During the Pandemic by Nihar Chhaya
• Sign up for Leadium mailing list and access exclusive offers

'You are what you eat' is a maxim with layered meaning. Having a balanced, healthy diet not only boosts our immune system but also our emotional fortitude. While poor food choices can make us less resistant to life’s inevitable stressors and infections.

Seemingly harmless choices like giving soft drinks to our kids or consuming coffee with sugar on an empty stomach can have negative effects on our health and wellbeing. The good news is that we can bolster our overall resilience with simple changes to our diet and by eating diverse, seasonal foods.

In this episode of the Leadium podcast, Sharon Longridge interviews respected naturopath and clinical nutritionist Tabitha McIntosh. Tabitha is the Founder and Director of complementary medicine and natural health clinic, Awaken Your Health, and co-author of the book 'One Bite At A Time’. She is passionate about integrative health and takes a refreshingly pragmatic approach to sustained wellness.

Eating for resilience is the focus of this conversation and Tabitha explains the importance of eating colourful, well-formulated meals. She also explains why it is crucial to properly nourish the billions of bacteria living in our gut, the microbiome. The impacts of eating processed food and excess sugar are also explored.

What we cover

• Eating for wellness - why well-formulated meals so important
• Iron women - why women should have iron-rich diets
• The 80/20 rule - giving our souls a treat now and then
• Bittersweet - added sugar and the tricky fructose
• Eating the rainbow - the importance of eating colourful foods
• Stress and digestion - how stress impacts our digestive system
• The microbiome - why it is vital to nurture friendly bacteria
• A champion's breakfast - nailing the most important meal of the day
• Short black - myths vs. facts about coffee

Resources

• Tabitha McIntosh's Website
• One Bite At A Time by Tabitha McIntosh
• IG:@awakenyourhealth
• Sign up for Leadium mailing list and access exclusive offers at http://www.leadium.com.au