Management Muse

EP21 Habits: Cindi and Geoff Help Us Dump Bad Habits Like a Nasty Ex

In this episode of Management Muse, Cindi and Geoff discusses habits and how to change the ones that are not serving you well. They discuss the trigger-action-reward habit loop and then dive into the power of feelings as a way to encourage habit change. Managers care about habit loops because they care about focusing energy where the greatest contributions can be made. And habits can inhibit or enhance focus and energy. Cindi and Geoff discuss common issues managers face with daily habits and the ways those habits impact productivity. In order to break a habit, it’s necessary to update the reward value associated with it. This involves paying attention to how the habit makes you feel, because some habits are no longer as rewarding as they used to be. Cindi and Geoff also discuss starting with small habits to build momentum for larger behavior change and to avoid procrastination.Episode Highlights:• The value of rewards associated with habits often change over time. Managers should explore the feelings associated with habits to more effectively change behaviors. Sometimes, breaking a habit is easier than we think because the reward is outdated.• Strategies for improving work habits include isolating triggers, implementing small changes, and finding alternative behaviors that offer similar rewards.• New managers sometimes develop bad habits due to the uncertainty of the role, which encourages action. Reflection and deliberation about the urge to act can help reduce early missteps.Quotes:"Our feelings about rewards have a lot more to do with habit than we think and those feelings are often outdated. This can actually help us make new and better habits." -Cindi Baldi "Our advice: pay attention to how you're feeling about what you're doing and see if that doesn't lead you to stop things that aren't working as well as you thought and increase things that bring you more satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment." – Geoff Tumlin Resources:Brewer, Judson. (2021). Unwinding anxiety. New York, Avery.Clear, James. (2018). Atomic habits. New York, Avery.Duhigg, Charles. (2013). The power of habit. New York, Random House.Fogg, B.J. (2020). Tiny Habits. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Morgenstern, Julie (2005). Never Check Email in the Morning. New York CityNewport, Cal (2016). Deep Work. New York: Grand Centralwww.culsure.comwww.ondemandleadership.comwww.managementmuse.comKey words: Habits, rewards, emotions, reinforcement

EP20 Work-Life Balance: Pacing Ourselves with CEO and Triathlete Jon Calvin

How do you slay your to-do list and knock out key priorities? In this episode on work-life balance, Jon Calvin, the CEO of Lone Star Circle of Care, joins Cindi and Geoff and gets real about a balanced life. Importantly, Jon notes that everyone's path to balance is different. What may seem unbalanced to others may enable someone to live the life they love. And sometimes, we need the help and support of others to pull off a balanced life. To help us strike a balance, managers can periodically log their time and write down priorities. Lifetime learning and maintaining a growth mindset can also help managers keep their lives in balance and make their time more productive and meaningful.Episode Highlights:· Jon stresses the importance of support systems and a strong team at work.· Managers should take personal inventory of their goals, consider their schedules, and redirecting energy towards what matters most.· Exercise boosts productivity, energy levels, and provides long-term health and cognitive benefits.· A supportive work environment is essential, especially during times of intense and challenging work.Quotes:"You're always working on balance. It's a process." – Geoff Tumlin"I rely heavily on my team and their areas of expertise and I try to focus on the higher-level issues I need to work on." – Jon Calvin"I think people have more opportunities in their schedules than they may think and they can turn some bad habits into some good habits." – Jon Calvin“I think if people periodically logged where their time was going and wrote down their priorities they might see where they're out of sync.” – Cindi Baldi"Wake up early to get ahead. It's much easier to protect your time when most people are sleeping." – Jon CalvinAbout Jon Calvin:Jon Calvin is the CEO of Lone Star Circle of Care and is a competitive triathlete. He moves fast and doesn't break things. Resources:For a full Q&A with Jon Calvin and his post-episode thoughts visit www.managmentmuse.comAdam Grant (2013), Give and Take. New York: Viking.James Clear ( 2018), Atomic Habits. New York: Avery.Lewis Hamilton speaking about Nelson Mandela: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av-tn2Oao_4Texas Mamma Jamma Bike Ride: https://www.mammajammaride.org/www.culsure.com www.ondemandleadership.com www.managementmuse.comKey words: Work-life balance, habits, priorities, stress, burnout, resilience

EP19 Nonverbal Communication: Stop Staring at My Mustache with Darrin Griffin

What you say and how you say it matters. In this episode of Management Muse, author and researcher Darrin Griffin discusses the importance of nonverbal communication. As managers, we should be master noticers and to pay attention to how nonverbal cues like dominance behaviors, body language, and timing impact those around you. This episode also covers importance of perception checks to reduce miscommunication.Episode Highlights:• Paying attention nonverbal behavior can help identify others’ interests and conversational goals and aid in better communication.• Nonverbal communication varies significantly from person to person. Translation: people are often quirky.• Nonverbal communication can help build trust and make people feel understood.• Because miscommunication is common, and feedback and perception checks are essential.Quotes from Darrin Griffin:“When you send a message nonverbally, you send it to someone and they receive it. But it may not be the same message that you intended, so somewhere in there you got to align your perceptions.”“If you're going to hone your nonverbal skills, you do it in a way that is goal driven and mutually ethical between you and your interactants because you're not doing it just to benefit yourself, right? You want to better understand people so you better understand them and then you can react to them more accurately.”“We know how to communicate. But nonverbal communication as managers is often challenging when you're doing it with a lot of people with different perspectives.”“Don't try to interpret nonverbal behavior with certainty. Be tentative and reality check what you are seeing.” “It's okay to be wrong. And by acknowledging that you might have been wrong, misunderstood, or the source of miscommunication, you'll build trust and rapport. People will like you more. They'll think you're human.” About Darrin Griffin:Darrin Griffin is the communication department chair at the University of Alabama and is a prominent author and researcher. His academic expertise is in nonverbal communication and deception and his practical expertise is in BBQ and motorcycles.Resources:Lying and Deception in Human Interaction by Mark Knapp, Billy Earnest, Darrin Griffin, Matthew McGlonewww.culsure.com www.ondemandleadership.com www.managementmuse.comKey words: Nonverbal communication, body language, self-presentation, influence, power

EP17 Resilience Part One: The Art and Science of Getting the Dings Out

In life, we get dinged up by things that happen to us. Resiliency is the science and art of getting the dings out and continuing on. In this episode on resilience, Cindi and Geoff share strategies on keeping perspective, reframing situations, and taking action to get through challenging hard times. One current management challenge is change fatigue, which can lead to more dings. In adversity, managers can benefit from the 3A’s by acknowledging what the current situation is, adjusting their thinking and taking action.Episode Highlights:Three big insights from resilience research: 1. Resiliency isn't a stable trait. 2. Everybody has a breaking point. 3. Not all adversity causes trauma.Cindi's mom highlights the value of resilience and also shows that resilience varies depending on the individual and the nature of the adversity.Geoff's experience shows how acknowledging the situation, focusing on positive emotions, and avoiding counterproductive emotions can help build resilience.Remember: building resilience is a muscle that requires strengthening over time. Resilience is about growing in the face of adversity, not merely surviving.Before adversity, it is important to build a buffer of emotional and physical reserves to better handle tough times.Doing things that bring balance and recentering are important resiliency tools.Reframing from pervasive negatives (like everyone is lazy) to specific negatives (like Jim is lazy) and permanent hardship (my job seems impossible) to temporary hardship (my job seems impossible this week) can help increase persistence in the face of obstacles.Quotes:“ Not all adversity causes trauma.” - Cindi Baldi (From the research of George Bonanno.)“Resilience is not a stable trait.” - Geoffrey Tumlin“You have to look adversity it in the eye and deal with it the way that it is. Then, you can go forward, plan, and react.” - Cindi BaldiResources:Bonanno, G. (2021). The End of Trauma: How the new science of resilience is changing how we think about PTSD. Basic Books.Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner/Simon & Schuster.Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset. Ballantine Books.Konnikova, Maria. "How people learn to become resilient." The New Yorker 11 (2016).www.culsure.com www.ondemandleadership.com www.managementmuse.comKeywords: Resilience, Reframe, Adjust, Growth Mindset, Positive Psychology

EP18: Resilience Part Two: Building Bouncy People with Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin

What do you do after adversity to manage the challenge and build reserves for the future? Geoff and Cindi talk through strategies for deploying resilient responses and decreasing the incidence of adverse events becoming trauma. In this episode, Cindi and Geoff discuss cooling our emotions, how to reflect and not ruminate on adversity, and finding meaning in the hand life deals us. EpisodeHighlights:CRM = three strategies for building resilience: Cool the emotions, Reframe adversity as an opportunity for growth, and find Meaning in the challenge.Cindi shares a story about escalating emotions and how she cooled things down in a tense situation.Finding meaning in adversity is essential to lower the odds that it becomes traumatic. We can do this by identifying a purpose or mission that helps make sense of our difficult experiences and therefore provides value to adversity.Having a growth mindset and an internal locus of control (that is, feeling like we have a hand in our fate) help build resilience.Tendency is not destiny.We can intentionally cultivate a more resilient mindset even if it doesn't come naturally.Homework for building resilience: practice reframing adversity as an opportunity for growth and identify a sense of purpose or meaning in a challenging experience.Quotes:"When faced with adversity, we can decide that we're going to look for where we can make a difference." – Cindi Baldi"Sometimes the manager's job is just to help people ID – what am I actually feeling? And get the right label on it." – Geoffrey Tumlin"The science is pretty clear. An internal locus of control, where we say things to ourselves like I can work through this and There are things I can do help generate more resilient responses." – Geoffrey TumlinResources:• Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset. Ballantine Books.• Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner/Simon & Schuster.• Konnikova, Maria. "How people learn to become resilient." The New Yorker 11 (2016).• Diane Coutu- How Resilience Works https://hbr.org/2002/05/how-resilience-works• Bessel van der Kolk M.D. - The Body Knows the Score• Martin Seligman- Learned Optimismwww.culsure.com www.ondemandleadership.com www.managementmuse.comKey words: Resilience, Adversity, Locus of Control, Growth Mindset, Reframe

EP16: What Do Tom Cruise and the King of Jordan Have in Common? With Jefferson Howell

In this mini episode, retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Jefferson “Beak” Howell shares a few fun stories from his life and relates some lessons on leadership. If you missed his earlier episodes, check out our 3-part series on Crisis Management, episodes 4-6.Timestamps[00:50] General Howell shares a story about Tom Cruise coming over for dinner during a visit to the Johnson Space Center.[06:59] General Howell talks about his surprise promotion to General.[11:43] General Howell shares a story from his time as an infantryman.[22:27] General Howell shares an important leadership lesson.[25:34] General Howell discusses balancing big-picture thinking with individualized attention to members of a very large team.[27:24] General Howell talks about having lunch with the king of Jordan.Episode Quotes by Jefferson Howell:“You gotta take care of the organization. You gotta get the job done. The mission always has to be completed. And that’s paramount. At the same time, look after your people. Take care of them. Try to help them do wonderful things.”About Lieutenant General (retired) Jefferson Howell:Lieutenant General Jefferson Howell had a 37-year career in the Marine Corps, serving at all officer levels, and then was Commander of the Johnson Space Center. Following his retirement from NASA, he served on the faculty at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

EP15: Thoughts on American Healthcare with Rhonda Mundhenk

This mini episode is a standalone conversation that occurred during turnaround episode 12 with Rhonda Mundhenk, Chief Executive Officer of Clinical Health Network for Transformation (CHN). In this mini episode, Rhonda discusses what she would do if given the chance to turn around American healthcare.Episode Highlights· The ways in which social investments and preventative care are central to successful healthcare.· Differences in attitudes about healthcare between the United States and other developed countries.· How America’s focus on treating disease rather than creating health shapes our approach to healthcare.Timestamps[01:17] Rhonda discusses what she would do if asked to turn around American healthcare.[02:04] Rhonda talks about how important social investments and preventative care are to a successful healthcare system.[04:07] Rhonda speaks about how the US healthcare system focuses on treating disease and morbidity rather than creating health.[07:13] Rhonda points out the positive correlation between the health of a nation’s women and children, and the overall health and economic well-being of that nation.Episode Quotes by Rhonda Mundhenk:“When you think about the US healthcare system, this is the fundamental question: Are we treating disease, or are we trying to manufacture health? And therefore, where should we spend our resources?”AboutRhonda Mundhenk is the Chief Executive Officer for the Clinical Health Network for Transformation (CHN) in Central Texas. Previously, Rhonda was CEO of Lone Star Circle of Care (LSCC), a system of federally qualified health centers in Central Texas. The has a Master’s in Healthcare Transformation from the University of Texas at Austin, and a law degree from Northwestern University in Illinois.

EP14: The Tooth Fairy Entrepreneur with Nate Self

Note: Not recommended for kids who still believe. This mini-episode of Management Muse is a great story from Nate Self’s Transitions episode 8. We loved the story so much, that we didn’t want it to die during editing. So, here it lives. In this mini-episode, Nate talks about a time his youngest child, Griffin, caused him to suffer an involuntary and abrupt transition. About Nate Self Nate is a former U.S. Army officer and founder of the Praevius Group. Nate graduated from West Point with honors and served on active duty in Germany, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Nate travels the world speaking to audiences on topics related to personal and organizational effectiveness. He lives in Central Texas with his wife and four children, and he coaches a ton of youth sports.

EP13: Inequality In Healthcare with Welela Tereffe

This mini episode is a standalone conversation from the culture episode 2 with Welela Tereffe, M.D., the Chief Medical Executive of the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. In this mini episode, Welela shares important lessons about healthcare inequality, and discusses ways to improve the American healthcare system.Episode Highlights· Why there is a massive racial disparity in U.S. healthcare.· Implicit biases affect the quality of healthcare people of color receive.· How stress and aging take a disproportionate toll on African Americans.· How minority representation in healthcare plays a key role in correcting some inequalities in the U.S. healthcare system.Timestamps[00:53] Welela speaks about poor health outcomes in the state of Texas.[01:58] Welela discusses racial disparity in relation to breast cancer.[04:54] Welela shares why healthcare disparity is sometimes rooted in racism.[08:18] Welela gives an example of how implicit biases affect the healthcare people of color receive.[09:48] Welela and the hosts discuss the importance of representation in the medical field.[12:31] Welela explains some of the ways we can increase healthcare equality.[13:12] Welela talks about how to correct implicit biases. [14:24] Welela defines systemic racism.[15:21] Welela shares some of the incremental changes that could be made in healthcare to improve the system.[16:11] Welela discusses how our lifelong health outcomes are driven by the environment we grow up in.[17:43] Welela defines weathering and how it affects African Americans.[21:00] Welela offers an example of environmental racism.[22:25] Welela asks the question: How do you engage more people of color to become healthcare workers?[24:48] Welela speaks about how to help reduce implicit bias in the workplace.Episode Quotes by Welela Tereffe:“A recent study showed that when black women have a black obstetrician, their risk of maternal and infant mortality is something like three times lower. So, why is that? What’s the cause of that? I would say it’s likely the minimization of social distance, misperceptions, misdiagnosis, inattention, etc. that can happen because of our own implicit biases about people who are a different color than us.”“A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our educational system is really, really important. That will increase the number of people of color who are in healthcare… It’s also very important for ensuring that we increase the number of women and minorities on clinical trials. Clinical trials are the way we advance in science.”About Welela TereffeWelela Tereffe, M.D., is the Chief Medical Executive at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She’s a graduate of Brown University, New York University Medical School, and Harvard University. Her medical specialization is in radiation oncology.Related ResourcesPatterson, Evelyn J., Andréa Becker, and Darwin A. Baluran. "Gendered Racism on the Body: An Intersectional Approach to Maternal Mortality in the United States." Population Research and Policy Review (2022): 1-34.Seligman, Martin EP. "Learned helplessness." Annual review of medicine 23.1 (1972): 407-412.Wakeel, Fathima, and Anuli Njoku. "Application of the weathering framework: Intersection of racism, stigma, and COVID-19 as a stressful life event among African Americans." Healthcare. Vol. 9. No. 2. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021.

EP12: Rhonda Mundhenk Tells Us to Run with The Wildebeest

Managers are often decent at waging bets, but what if you had to take over a losing hand? Management is hard on a good day, but leading an organizational turnaround takes special skills and a willingness to persist in the face of imposing obstacles. How do you condition yourself to lead an organization when the odds are stacked against you? That’s what we cover on this episode of Management Muse. In this episode, we discuss Organizational Turnarounds with Rhonda Mundhenk. Rhonda is the Chief Executive Officer at Clinical Health Network for Transformation (CHN), and former Chief Executive Officer at Lone Star Circle of Care Under her leadership, Lone Star survived a multimillion dollar financial restructuring to become one of the nation's leading federally qualified health centers. She’s got major turnaround skills. Tune in to get the scoop.Timestamps:[00:01:35] Tenacity is a common characteristic of many managers; however, turnarounds require an especially invested leader. Rhonda shares why this matters.[00:02:59] Rhonda explains a 3-step process for turnarounds. 1) Preserving the core of the organization, 2) Redefining the organization, 3) Recasting the organization[00:08:28] Restructuring relies heavily on committing to a new vision and endlessly communicating the vision to everyone involved. Here, we discuss how that's best done.[00:12:41] Here, we talk about the traits necessary when turnaround work gets especially hard.[00:16:12] Rhonda talks about the importance of your team, and accessing resources outside of your organization.[00:16:55] Not every job survives a turnaround. Here’s how to keep your sanity during this tough phase.[00:19:15] Rhonda reflects here on her top turnaround lessons learned[00:24:55] Here is what the pandemic taught us all about navigating uncertainty, which is a common trait of turnarounds.[00:29:02] Rhonda advises on how to influence change when you're not the CEO by: identifying your audience, communicating your why, overcoming inertia by appealing to emotions[00:37:40] Rhonda discusses looking back and seeing your good work continue.[00:43:10] What wildebeest migration and organizational restructuring have in common—the answer may surprise you.Quotes by Rhonda Mundhenk:“When you're in the moment, it just seems all consuming and there's so many things to do, but you also have to provide a vision for the future that's actually going to get people through [to] the other side.““You have to be able to understand your audience, understand what actually needs to happen, and then just write it to your audience in a way that [has] the emotional component. It's very rarely actually the rational things that make people change big, deep seated, you know, deeply felt beliefs.”“You just have to have that understanding that like, yes, this is the whole herd that I am responsible for, but I do understand that not the entire herd is going to make it to where we're going, because that is not the nature of migrations. So, there will be some attrition along the way. But your goal is to get that critical mass of wildebeest to jump in the water. Because actually when they all jump in the water, very few of them are gonna be eaten by crocodiles.”Resources:McKinley, William, Scott Latham, and Michael Braun. "Organizational decline and innovation: Turnarounds and downward spirals." Academy of management review 39.1 (2014): 88-110.Useem, Michael. Leading Up. New York: Currency, 2001.www.managementmuse.comhttps://culsure.com/product/organizational-benchmark/https://ondemandleadership.com/strategic-planning/