Do you hear Yanny or Laurel? These questions have captivated our minds. People pick sides and arguments ensue. After hundreds of thousands of people weighed in online as to whether they hear yanny or laurel, votes were essentially split down the middle. I’ll save you some time and perhaps relationship strife: Both sides are right. We all know this leadership lesson, but it’s easy to forget: Everyone doesn’t see (or hear) things the same way…
Globally celebrated author, speaker and leadership coach Jason Barger is hosting the second annual Thermostat Cultures Live event in Columbus this fall featuring longtime Starbucks President Howard Behar and other culture visionaries. The intimate event, which is Nov. 9 at The Wells Barn at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, is an engaging day for leaders and change agents who are passionate about authentic leadership, meaningful connection and building compelling cultures. It includes conversations with national…
In 1999, Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez founded salesforce.com, a cloud computing company that has grown into one of the most highly valued American companies in its market. From the very beginning, they specialized in delivering “software as a service” and Benioff, as chairman and CEO, has been committed to creating an open, transparent culture. Salesforce has consistently shown up over the last few years with a Top 25 ranking on…
We all have a presence when we come into a room and that presence sends vibrations to those around us. We can’t control everything about what people feel about us, but we can become more mindful about how we enter and what is the focal point of our vibrations. When a boss rushes hurriedly into her office while on a phone call and doesn’t make eye contact with the staff members along her path, vibrations…
We live in a time of metric mania. We know it’s important to measure how we’re doing and that metrics can lead us to better decision-making. But we’ve got to make sure we’re measuring the right things and also know that some elements are tricky to measure. For example, how someone “feels” on your team or within your organization isn’t always the easiest thing to measure when it relates to wins and losses. However, ask…
As we begin traveling the 6 A’s (Assess, Align, Aspire, Articulate, Act, Anchor) to create a compelling Thermostat Culture, we begin with why. To properly align as a team, we have to be willing to have conversations that lead us into why we’re doing what we’re doing. We have to touch the meaning, the engagement, the mind, and the heart. Adam Grant, the very talented Wharton professor as well as bestselling author, shares research in…
Conversations are the currency for change, and they need to “Start With Why.” They can’t just be conversations for the sake of conversing. People want meaning. They are thirsty to contribute. They want to know that they are valuable and what they are doing is making a difference to someone else. They want to be connected to a greater mission than themselves. This is why I say that the real work I’m doing with teams…
As Jim Collins so eloquently put it in his game-changing book Good to Great, you’ve got to have the “right people on the bus” and then also “in the right seats.” His point: It’s important to asses the individuals who make up your team or group to make sure you’re leveraging strengths. For individual team members, I use what I call the Step Back 360 assessment to help them understand where they are on their…
This past summer, my family had the great opportunity to visit the Galapagos Islands, which are nearly six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador and the northwest corner of South America. The Galapagos are an archipelago of volcanic islands that sit on either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most preserved and treasured parts of our world. We spent much of our time traveling throughout the islands…
It is all too common to walk into a room with any team and for them to be confused about where they actually are. They might be very excited to talk about where they’re going and what Point Z is going to look like, but they aren’t totally honest about where Point A is. When I ask them the state of their team or their company, I might get five or ten different descriptions on…
