Crucial Talks Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Crucial Talks Episode 25 They Wanted To Blow Up My Town - Groupthink and Identity Apr 01, 2018

Show notes

Groupthink happens in cohesive groups where the people involved seek consensus above all else. It is the negative outcome of good things. Good things like team cohesion and members liking each other can lead to groupthink. It's like bacon, too much of a good thing could be a bad thing. You also don't want a group made up of different individuals each using separate identities to make decisions and guide behavior. A shared identity is important to group behavior. What we want to do is balance between the two. We want to stay in the middle. There are tools we can use to reduce the chance of groupthink. These tools do two things: 1. Protects the group identity while 2. allows for positive conflict. To contact me about the podcast, speaking to your organization, or if you have any questions, please visit www.crucialtalks.com

Crucial Talks Episode 24 Buford T Justice and the Social Power of Identity Mar 25, 2018

Show notes

Power is not a bad thing. It is part of the social interactions that occur within and between groups. Some people talk about power as a negative part of existence: that it is based on an individual's selfish needs. This is a little too easy to describe a complex social process that drives behavior. This episode lets us put on a positive lens to view power in a social way. We get to see power is based on the roles people play, the power assigned to those roles, and the way power is used toward in-groups and out-groups. This helps leaders figure out if coercive power is being used in their organizations and what the danger is with that. It shows us all that organizations made up of in-groups have trust and are healthy while those where bosses treat their employees as out-groups creates a toxic environment.

If you would like further information, please visit www.crucialtalks.com and contact me. I would love to talk more about this or present the information to your organization.

Crucial Talks Episode 23 Rocky vs. Thunderlips - Roles and Rules Mar 18, 2018

Show notes

The roles we play and the rules we think are guiding an interaction drive our behavior. In this episode, we talk about how roles, stereotypes, and rules guide what people do. We also get a chance to talk about how the groups people belong to impact how they experience life. At the micro level, we can see people, but as we back away, we see how individuals are merely the pieces that make up groups that are categorized so that we can make sense of situations we are in.

This episode is valuable to understanding how people interact in different situations and gives some tools people can use to help them understand others and analyze situations they are in.

As yourself:
1. Who is playing what role.
2. What stereotypes drive their behavior.
3. What game do they think they’re in?
4. Who is making the rules?
5. Who knows the rules?

Please visit www.crucialtalks.com to contact me. If you have any questions or would like to know more about the presentations I give to organizations about these topics, please contact me! Thank you for listening.

If we want to understand behavior, we need to understand what drives people...

Crucial Talks Episode 22 Swiss Cheese, Little Ninjas, and Capacity Building - Appreciative Inquiry Mar 11, 2018

Show notes

Building capacity in a positive way can help us make better lives, create better businesses, and impact our organizations. In this episode, we blend the concept of Reason's Swiss Cheese Model with Appreciative Inquiry so that we can learn techniques that can help us build capacity. In this episode, we talk about three concepts from Appreciative Inquiry that can help us:

1. Adopting optimism over pessimism

2. What we observe, practice, and study is what we change

3. Visualizing the future it causes us to move in the right direction.

For more information, to contact me, or to hire me to speak at your organization or function, please visit www.crucialtalks.com

Crucial Talks Episode 21 Changing Behavior - Coaching and Categorization Mar 03, 2018

Show notes

Coaching and self-improvement require that behaviors are changed. This episode uses the self-categorization process to explain some tactics and theories on how we can improve the behavior of others or ourselves. When there is a mismatch between the role we are playing and the role we should be playing, there is an increased chance that we will not perform at an acceptable level. In addition, when we adopt the right role with the right behaviors, we can not only do well, we can excel! Please visit www.crucialtalks.com for to contact me with any questions or if you would like me to speak at your organization. Thanks for listening!

Crucial Talks Episode 20 Crowds, Conflicts, and Compromise - They're not zombies, they're just fans Feb 25, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, we talk about the power of in-group/out-group relationships. By looking at extreme group behavior, such as those that occur during riots, we can see that group behavior is not mindless. People behave because of the expectations of the group. Even in cases where we think the behavior is irrational, people still must have a shared identity before behavior takes place. The behavior we think is irrational isn't cause because people lose their sense of self, or aren't thinking rationally. It's because of identity, not mindlessness. Finally, if we can figure out a way to bring our group a little closer to a group another group, we have a better chance of impacting behavior. If you would like more information on my presentations or any of the podcasts, please visit www.crucialtalks.com and reach out to me. I'd love to hear form you!

Crucial Talks Episode 19 Selflessness and Sacrifice Lessons from Parkland, FL Be For Someone or Something Feb 18, 2018

Show notes

This week we honor the 17 people who were killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. I will not mention the shooter's name. This is in honor of:

Alyssa Alhadeff

Martin Duque

Nicholas Dworet

Jamie Guttenburg

Chris Hixon

Luke Hoyer

Cara Loughran

Gina Montalto

Joaquin Oliver

Alaina Petty

Meadow Pollack

Helena Ramsey

Alex Schachter

Carmen Schentrup

Peter Wang

And the two heroes this podcast will focus on:

Aaron Feis, a 37 year old security guard and assistant football coach who literally put himself between kids and the shooter.

Scott Beigel, a 35 year old teacher who was shot when he was helping students into his room.

The decisions made by Mr. Feis and Mr. Beigel were not rational. They were emotional. These two heroes played the role of protector. They acted on behalf of the students, the community, and the school. They acted for a purpose higher than themselves. They were selfless and they sacrificed for others. They exemplified what makes humans special.

www.crucialtalks.com

Crucial Talks Episode 18: Acting As If - Comparative and Normative Fit (Lessons by Ferrell and Wahlberg) Feb 11, 2018

Show notes

People react to situations based on fit. How well do they fit given a set of circumstances? How well do others fit? Are you only grabbing round pegs because you only see round holes? Is your lens limiting your decision-making? In this episode, we get to listen to a couple of fun audio clips from the movie, "The Other Guys," starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. They show us what happens when gaps between people are too large, and they also show us how trust and belonging can help people get through anything while backstabbing and gossip results in groups who can't stand up to the lightest breeze.

Crucial Talks Episode 17 Fear, Feelings, and Failure - Bullying is Bad Feb 04, 2018

Show notes

Workplace bullying is an awful, immature, and unsophisticated way to run organizations or groups. In this episode, we are introduced to a case where decisions were made by a person that resulted in his own death and the deaths of others. It shows the power of social motivators and the absolute destruction that can be caused by social punishments. Treat each other with respect, have open communications, learn from mistakes, and think about the need all people have for esteem. This is episode is based on a presentation I give to organizations. If you would like more information, please visit www.crucialtalks.com and contact me. I am also happy to provide more information outside of presentations, so please connect with me via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Crucial Talks Episode 16 Generating More Than Electricity - Diversity Lessons from a Geothermal Power Plant Jan 28, 2018

Show notes

Diversity is valuable. There is no question about that. It is also hard to measure the benefits of diversity. Although it's easy to measure different nationalities and languages, we also need to consider workplace responsibilities, education, experience, and training as diversity. It is hard to measure how diversity benefits our organizations. In this episode, we talk about three important points:

1. Diversity is great when it doesn’t cause silos in our organizations.

2. Diversity allows us to harness each person’s individual strengths toward larger common goals.

3. Diversity lets us solve problems in the right way at the right time.

For more information, please visit www.crucialtalks.com. Presentations are available.

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