Do you work with a Teflon person? Does nothing stick to them? Do they miss, ignore, or even refute constructive criticism, responsibility or blame?

Why is the idea of connection so important? And then what is the practicality of connection in the workplace? On the surface we understand that in order to do a job well, we understand relationships and connections must be made, and yet it is important to take a deeper dive and examine what does connection really mean to us–and how connection relates to deeper relationships.

Stress and work-life balance can be an issue for just about anybody working a typical 9-5 job. From employees who experience stress and anxiety because of difficult bosses and deadlines, to those employees who might be burned out from doing the same thing everyday, it's safe to say that stress is bad for productivity. The most important thing you can do when facing stress at work is learning strategies on how to deal with stress.

Have you ever thought about what the internal and external pressures, that we all feel, could do to your organization or your team? Your leaders are feeling these pressures too–and that could spell disaster if it is not kept in check.

How do you create psychological safety for your team members to feel vulnerable in the workplace?

One of the reasons for high turnover in any business is the boss. Employees feels devalued by their managers. People want to be heard and seen and when they are not, they are much more likely to leave organizations. We can change this by building trust and connection--by providing feedback, and sharing concerns. So what has caused you to feel devalued? Have you ever left a company because you weren't given the support you needed?

Is there ever a time where it is ok to judge someone? Does it come back to conditioned beliefs? Are we re-inforcing "othering" with our judging? We have our own set of standards by which we judge the world. How do social norms affect how we judge people?

When is it that you are least in tune with your emotions? What puts you into a defense mode? As we feel attacked... is it more just a perception of attack? Then how do you deal with it, dissolve and resolve the situation? And then better, avoid this trigger in the future.

Most of us probably deal with shame at some level and in some area of our life. It can be small... or overwhelming shame. In fact, there's levels of shame, and toxic shame is probably one of the worst and "crippling toxic shame" is what often causes people go down the a rabbit hole. Guilt and shame are different. Guild is "I did something wrong" and shame is "I am something wrong."

Ever hear the phrase "your poor planning is not my emergency"? But how to we guard against the impulse to jump each time the phone dings, or the phone rings?

Who is holding you back? Are you attracting the right people? Some people raise you up... others pull you down. Learn more about how to surround yourself with people who have a growth mindset.

Negativity bias - Did you know that negative events or feelings typically have a more significant impact on our psychological state than positive events or feelings? Did you know that you can change that?

What do you do when confronted by a negative thought? Do you deflect? Ignore? How about if it is another person who is bringing negativity into your space? Do you react the same way? We all have negative thoughts from time to time. But some people seem to make their problems a profession!

Conflict in the workplace is common. Get any group of people together in an office and there will be some kind of strife–from not refilling the copier paper, to full on management disagreements–but regardless of the type of conflict, it can cause disharmony, hurt feelings and loss of productivity.

Each week Kevin McCarthy and Likky Lavji facilitate authentic conversations with leaders just like you to help you discover what it takes from being a manager who is good at getting stuff done to being a great leader who inspires others to do their best.