Three Tips to Draw Employees Back to the Office

If you want to draw people back to the office, build a Connection Culture, writes Michael Stallard. Here's three tips to get started.

A Practice to Finish the Year Strong

The end of each year brings an opportunity to foster connection around shared goals and motivate your team to reach the finish line. Here's how.

You May Be the Most Important Person in Your Co-worker’s Life

Yes, it’s true. You may be the most important person in your co-worker’s life. Here are three simple actions you can take to help them feel like they belong.

Extraordinary Opportunity to Win the War for Talent

With just 1 in 10 jobs considered to be a great job, employers have a tremendous opportunity to win the war for talent by taking these three steps, writes Michael Stallard.

Now Is a Critical Time to Create an Upward Spiral of Positivity

Rising negative emotions may be contributing to the Great Resignation, but stimulating positive emotions through connection can improve engagement and performance.

I’ve Led Hybrid Teams for 15 Years – Here’s the Truth About What Works

From fostering connection to navigating in-office schedules, Randy Conley shares what works when leading hybrid teams in the workplace.

5 Strategies for Building High Trust, High Performing Teams

The most successful and high-performing teams are built on trust, writes Randy Conley. Here are five strategies to establish high levels of trust.

Celebrate Moments of Resilience

By celebrating moments of resilience, we help people stay connected to the team and persevere through the inevitable challenging seasons, write Brandon Kozar, Katharine Stallard, and Michael Stallard.

Lasting Change = Head Knowledge + Heart Knowledge

To create lasting change in your organizational culture, people need to embrace it with both their heads and their hearts, write Michael and Katie Stallard.

5 Actions to Keep Culture Alive and Thriving

Nurturing your organization's culture is like tending to a garden, writes Paul LaRue. It requires constant care to ensure that everyone thrives.

To Cope with Labor Shortage, Raise Emotional Compensation

Is "emotional compensation" the key to attracting and retaining talent in today's tight labor market? Michael Stallard explains why it matters.

Preparing for Re-entry into the Physical Workplace: Lessons from NASA

Re-entering the workplace after a long period of social isolation is something NASA astronauts have done for decades. Michael Stallard shares lessons we can learn.

Hope Employees Will Return to the Office? Start Here.

If employers hope to convince employees to return to the office after the pandemic, then fostering a connection culture will be essential writes Michael Stallard.

Stop Enabling the Workplace Bully

Many leaders put up with workplace bullies because the bully produces results, but that approach ultimately harms the culture of the organization reminds Paul LaRue.

Don’t Abandon Your Core Values During a Crisis

In a crisis, do your organization's leaders take a fight or flight approach? Paul LaRue shares why staying true to core values matters.

Protecting Remote Workers’ Productivity and Performance

As an increasing number of people become remote workers, it is critical for organizations to be intentional about fostering connection to encourage high levels of productivity and performance.

Protecting Employees from Covid-19 through Connection

How can we protect people in the workplace so they don’t contract Covid-19? Workplace cultures that emphasize connection are part of the answer. Here's why.

The Case for a People Support System

In a world where employees are increasingly asked to do more with less, Paul LaRue makes the case that businesses need to invest in People Support Systems.

The #1 Obstacle to Great Workplace Culture

We know how to create great workplace cultures, but we don't take the necessary steps. Michael Stallard explains why the "knowing-doing" gap is hurting our workplaces.

Caution: Your Employees Will Fill in the Blanks

Paul LaRue shares strategies to communicate, fill in the blanks, and close the information gaps in messages to employees to avoid false conclusions and rumors.

Millennials and Gen Z: Connecting with and Managing Younger Generations in the Workplace

How can you build strong, mutually beneficial work relationships with the youngest members of today's workforce - millennials and Gen Z? Katie Russell shares her perspective.

Bringing Connection to School

Michael Stallard explains why teachers and students thrive when schools encourage a connection culture mindset.

Keeping Culture When Scaling Your Company’s Growth

Keeping a company's culture intact through all growth stages is challenging, particularly for companies with many offices. Paul LaRue shares thoughts on addressing this challenge.

America's Loneliness Epidemic: A Hidden Systemic Risk to Organizations

Michael Stallard explores the science of loneliness, explains why loneliness poses a systemic risk to today's organizations, and shares a case study on how Mayo Clinic is approaching the challenge.

Seven Practices That Protect Your Organization From the Lethality of Loneliness

Rising loneliness is taking a toll in our workplaces. In an article originally published by Forbes, Michael Stallard shares seven practical ways to fight loneliness in your organization by boosting connection.

How to Talk About the Elephant in the Room

Addressing the "elephant in the room" is uncomfortable, but sometimes it's necessary to resolve workplace issues. Paul LaRue shares advice on how to approach these tough conversations.

Realign Your Team to Finish 2018 Strong

With the end of the calendar year quickly approaching, Michael Stallard shares why now is the perfect time to realign your team to reach annual goals.

Leadership: Three Inconvenient Truths About Teams

True teams don't develop overnight. Wally Bock shares three truths about teams every leader needs to know.

Fear or Vision: Two Cultures with Different Results

While vision-driven companies seek to gain influence, fear-driven companies seek to avoid losing influence. Paul LaRue explains why vision-driven companies are more successful in the end.

Feedback: You Get What You Ask For

All organizations need to challenge themselves to create feedback mechanisms that reveal potentially fatal flaws in their system, writes Paul LaRue.

3 Steps to Improve Quality and Safety

Organizations that desire high levels of quality and safety must be intentional about creating a culture that achieves both task excellence and relationship excellence, writes Michael Stallard.

Successful Cultures Foster Servant Attitudes

No matter what your company's goals are, fostering an attitude of service across the entire organization is an important step to valuing and caring for customers writes Paul LaRue.

Theory C: A New Theory of Management

In light of new research on the conditions necessary for humans to thrive and persistently high levels of employee disengagement, Michael Stallard writes that it’s time to consider a new approach to management theory called Theory C.

3 Ways to Encourage Knowledge Flow

A.G. Lafley turned P&G around in part because he increased the cultural element described as knowledge flow or voice. Here are three ways to maximize knowledge flow in your organization.

The Team’s the Thing and the People are the Team

In the end, the difference between a great work environment and a poor work environment comes down to team dynamics. Wally Bock shares why teams matter.

Beware the Brutally Honest Workplace

Honesty is an important element of healthy workplace cultures, but Michael Stallard writes that it must always be balanced with respect.

The Vibrant Workplace

How do you create a vibrant workplace? Dr. Paul White explains that many organizations fall short because they fail to express authentic appreciation.

A Surprising Way to Reduce Mistakes and Accidents

In industries like healthcare where the cost of mistakes and accidents is high, it's important to provide the support employees need to do their best work.

Vince Lombardi’s Most Important Lesson

Vince Lombardi did the hard work to transform the culture of a losing football team into a culture of champions, explains Wally Bock.

Strong Vision Leads to Clear Expectations

By developing a strong vision within your organization, you will create an environment where everyone knows what is expected of them.

What Mayo Clinic Discovered About Burnout

Could something as simple as having a meal with colleagues to discuss work experience-related issues help reduce burnout? Here's what Mayo Clinic found.

4 Vital Truths of Team Culture

Culture is your team’s unwritten rules and core values. Wally Bock shares four vitally important truths about team culture.

5 Ways to be a Buffer in a Negative Culture

Paul LaRue shares the story of a leader with a rare but important ability: being a buffer in a negative culture. Here's how you can develop the same skill.

Do You Have a Colleague Who Seems to be Easily Offended?

A person's primary language of appreciation is often the language in which they are most easily offended, explains Dr. Paul White.

Now It’s Time for the Company’s Annual Review

What would happen if we designated a time for our company's annual review? Paul LaRue explains what it would entail and the many benefits.

Make Communication Personal To Establish Greater Connection

In the age of digital communication, we often miss opportunities to connect with the message recipient. Here are tips to personalize work communication.

5 Ways to Tell If a Workplace Is Toxic

Toxic workplaces take a major toll on employees, customers, and vendors. Dr. Paul White shares five symptoms of a toxic workplace.

To Promote Innovation, "Let’s Try It and See"

Wally Bock shares a lesson learned from musicians about why the mindset "let's try it and see" is a great way to promote innovation in your team.

3 Practices to Protect Your People from Toxic Stress and Burnout

Burnout is on the rise in healthcare and is taking its toll on healthcare workers. Here's how to protect your people from toxic stress and burnout.

Create Big Pictures Daily To Drive Vision

When things aren't going well, it's easy for employees and leaders to become discouraged. Keeping your focus on the big picture is the key to success.

Do You Have “Still Face” Managers in Your Organization?

Do you have “still face” managers in your organization? Here's why a supervisor's lack of emotion can be problematic...and how to resolve the situation.

Angry With a Coworker? Try Releasing the Debt

It’s difficult to connect with others and enjoy work when you are angry. Rather than holding on to grudges, try this approach to release the debt.

3 Simple Steps to Detoxify Your Workplace

“Toxic workplaces” are on the rise, but you don't have to be a victim. Dr. Paul White explains steps you can take to detoxify your workplace.

5 Research Backed Practices to Build a High Performing Team

What makes a team greater than the sum of its parts? As Dr. Todd Hall explains, research reveals five practices to build a high performing team.

Do You Have a “Difficult to Appreciate” Co-Worker?

Let's be honest, some people are more difficult to work with than others, and appreciating these individuals can be even more challenging. 

4 Ways “Connection Culture” Improves Risk Management

If your organization creates and maintains a Connection Culture, it will improve risk management efforts in four key areas. Here's how. 

18 Ways To Create A Workplace Your Employees Love

Shawn Murphy writes that there are similar traits in the cultures and climates of great workplaces that can be leveraged to produce spectacular results.

Meeting Them Where They Are: Navigating Tough Work Relationships

We all face work relationships that test our patience. Mary Jo Asmus explains how to improve those relationships by meeting people where they are.

When You Should And Should Not Use Email

When should you opt for verbal communication over email? Halelly Azulay explains how the science of communication can help us make that decision.

Curiosity: a Pillar for Great Relationships at Work

Curiosity is the fuel for creativity and a foundation for great relationships, writes Mary Jo Asmus. Here's how to appropriately use curiosity at work.

Why Hierarchy Stifles Creativity

Hierarchies are efficient, but they can stifle creativity and innovation. David Burkus explores ways to combat the problem by giving people a voice.

Addressing Workplace Incivility

Creating a workplace culture where people feel valued involves eliminating behaviors that make people feel devalued, such as workplace incivility.

Pfizer’s Straight Talk on Culture

Pfizer, the multinational pharmaceutical giant, has become increasingly intentional about shaping its culture. Michael Lee Stallard examines their approach.

How Meetings Make Us More Creative

David Burkus writes that meetings might seem like a bore, but they can boost our creativity. Here's why you shouldn't abolish all meetings.

3 Lessons from the Attack on Amazon

In light of the New York Times story on the culture at Amazon, what are we to believe and what does this controversy say about the modern workplace?

What Leaders Can Learn from America’s #1 Cancer Center

Earlier this year, U.S. News and World Report named Memorial Sloan Kettering the #1 cancer center in America. Here's why that announcement isn't a surprise.

Creating Harmony: A Teamwork Lesson From A Cappella Groups

A capella groups know that you can't create harmony unless you have harmony in the group. Here's how to foster harmony and teamwork in your workplace.

How HP and the Celtics Teach Collective Input

Collaboration, or the process of collective input, in making key organizational decisions requires openness and the right culture, writes Paul LaRue.

6 Research Backed Practices to Create a Connection Culture

Positive practices boost organizational effectiveness by creating connection cultures. Dr. Todd Hall shares six ways to put connection into action.

3 Ways to Attract and Retain Millennial Employees

Attracting and retaining Millennial employees is a major concern for organizations today. Here's what you need to know to connect with this key group.

Q&A with Michael Lee Stallard: What is a Connection Culture?

An interview with Michael Lee Stallard, author of Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy and Understanding at Work.

Need Better Ideas? Ask More Women

If you’re having trouble solving difficult problems with your team and feel like nothing is working, adding more women may be the answer. Here's why.

6 Needs to Thrive at Work

Are you performing at the top of your game at work? Consider these six universal human needs and how each is being met, or not, in your job.