The Behaviorist

Courageous Leadership

On this week's Behaviorist, Sarah goes deep with Aiyana Ehrman, Co-Owner & Co-Founder of Imagine Goods Sustainable Supply Co. Imagine Goods partners with survivors of sex trafficking to design and create ethically made clothing.  Over the last 12 years, Imagine Goods has helped countless skilled artisans in Cambodia, Haiti, and here in the U.S. through job training and income generation to establish financial stability and dignity. This year, the company is courageously launching a new, upscale brand of ethically made fashion to appeal to new markets.  Listen to learn how Aiyana uses the "sacred ordinary", inspiring podcasts, and her own work wisdom to boldly use business as a source for good in the world. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com .
 

The Power Of Charisma

What makes an influencer influential, anyway? On this week’s episode of The Behaviorist, Sarah sits down with Melisa Baez to discuss the power of charisma and influence. Melisa works as Director of Entrepreneur Training of ASSETS, a Pennsylvania non-profit that cultivates entrepreneurial leadership to alleviate poverty and build vibrant, sustainable communities. Melisa reveals what people in her life have resonated with the personal magic of charisma - and what advice these magnetic leaders gave her that she carries with her every day.
You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com
 

Authentic Communication

"What are words for, if no one listens anymore?" - Missing Persons
What does it mean to be an authentic communicator? It's not merely being honest - it's learning how to say things that are challenging in a way that doesn't cause tension or mistrust in a relationship. It's fostering a kind of exchange where you maintain respect - even when things get messy. On this week's episode of The Behaviorist, Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio and Kedren Crosby explore how authentic communication can transform virtually every relationship and group dynamic in one's life for the better - as a supervisor, colleague, friend, partner, parent, or family member. Learn the crucial first step to successful authentic communication to begin to boost your authentic communication skill set right now - and what specific communication practices Work Wisdom's clients have come away with wishing they'd known about years ago. You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com . 
 
Music: Words // Missing Persons
 

Influence

"One voice can change a room." - President Barack Obama
What makes someone a powerful influencer? Why is influence important, especially for people who are using their work lives to change the world in big or small ways? On this episode of The Behaviorist, Work Wisdom's Kedren Crosby and Sarah Colantonio discuss influence and its potent power to create change and transform leadership. Referent power - a leader's magnetism, charisma,likability, and presence - is more potent than any other type of power.  Unlike other types of power (i.e., informational power or legitimate power, which you either have or you don't) - referent power is something that can be researched, learned, and strengthened. Find out what one thing you can start doing today to begin increasing your referent power and influence. 
You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.
 

How We Built This

If you could travel back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?  How I Built This is a fascinating podcast hosted by NPR's Guy Raz that reveals the stories behind some of the world's best known companies with the men and women who started them.  On this week's Behaviorist, Sarah pays homage to her favorite podcast by asking Work Wisdom's founder Kedren Crosby about the story of Work Wisdom's remarkable beginnings and improbable success. Listen to find out how Kedren never intended to be an entrepreneur - but that once she rather unexpectedly found herself owning a company, the first year of Work Wisdom shaped her in more ways than she could have ever predicted. 
 
You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com  
 

Strategy Meets Culture - Part 2

Is traditional strategic planning dead? Join Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio and Kedren Crosby in a conversation about what works - and what doesn't - when organizations sit down to think big picture and long term. Find out how to filter your questions to create a "Strategy Screen" that will help you frame your exploration more tactfully, allowing people and teams a "positive no”. This tactic will help you get comfortable saying what you won’t do so that you can focus intentionally on what you will. Think of it as "The Organizational-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" for your company. Focusing your strategy goals this way can drive your team to create a "winning aspiration" for your organization that everyone will buy in to and believe in. Boiling down 5 and 10 year plans that may be obsolete before then into 2-3 "Big Questions" will help you and your team keep your eyes on the prize of that winning aspiration.
You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com  
 

Strategy Meets Culture - Part 1

Can a healthy, vibrant corporate culture and shrewd business strategy peacefully coexist within one organization? Yes, if you understand the differences between the two - and work intentionally to cultivate them both. In this episode of The Behaviorist, Work Wisdom’s Matt Sware and Sarah Colantonio discuss the intersection of culture and strategy. Strategy is the road map that your business needs to succeed, culture is the fuel for the vehicle to get there. Find out what concrete steps you can take as an individual and company to nurture both of these crucial concepts. And don’t miss Part 2 of Strategy Meets Culture - in next month’s episode, Kedren Crosby will share Work Wisdom’s methods for weaving culture and strategy together to go farther, faster as a stronger company.
You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.
 

Equitable Work

In this week's episode, Sarah is joined by Work Wisdom's Donunshae Sanders to talk about Workplace Equity. Creating at atmosphere that makes all of your employees feel heard and valued increases morale, retention, and profitability. Sarah and Don discuss the many tools leaders can use to help uncover their own bias, like the Implicit Association Test, or IAT. Listeners will also learn about an interviewing tactic that will ensure an equitable and positive experience for both your team and potential candidates. 
You can follow Work Wisdom on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com. 

PSYCAP

What is PSYCAP? Positive Organizational Behavior expert Fred Luthans defines Psychological Capital as an individual's positive psychological state of development that is characterized by efficacy and confidence. Join Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio and Kedren Crosby as they walk through the four pillars of PSYCAP - Confidence, Optimism, Hope, and Resiliency. These mindsets are not set in stone - they can be practiced and learned. Kedren shares some concrete practices that you as an individual can bring into your daily life and workplace to begin improving your PSYCAP and moving your organization to a place of positive growth and unlimited potential. 
You can follow Work Wisdom on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.  
 
 

The Review Club

This week, Work Wisdom's Sarah Colantonio and Jaime Arroyo are joined by Joe McMonagle, Vice President of Set Construction at Atomic Design. Joe is a member of Work Wisdom's The Review Club, a cohort of leaders and rising leaders who meet monthly to quickly and collaboratively digest and discuss articles from the most current issue of the Harvard Business Review. Jaime Arroyo, co-facilitator of The Review, explains how the group benefits from a concise and focused conversation about each HBR article, and how it can relate to and benefit each members' workplace culture and habits. Joe shares what practices he has learned from the diverse and disparate group of leaders in his Review cohort to take back to his workplace - practices that have made real and rapid changes to how his team handles challenges. 
You can follow Work Wisdom on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @workwisdom, and learn more at our website at https://www.workwisdomllc.com.