From the playroom to the boardroom: What leaders can learn from children's play with tonies’ CXO Ginny McCormick

Raising the temperature on leadership: The power of third spaces with Therme’s Adam Tanaka

Here’s a scorching hot take: modern workplaces make it nearly impossible for employees to forge real connections. But according to third space culture expert Adam Tanaka, it’s not the connections themselves that are impossible – it’s the space where they’re (not) happening in. So we took this episode into a wood-fired Finnish sauna pop-up on the Brooklyn waterfront to test his theory.  Topic Highlights: – The power of physical space design to create real human connection  – The case for wellness as infrastructure, not luxury – What the "dinner party rule of six" tells us about why most meetings and offsites fail – The analog advantage: why real human experience offers an exponential premium in an AI-saturated world Guest Bio: Adam Tanaka is the COO of Therme Group, a global wellness infrastructure company. Adam holds a PhD in the sociology of culture, which means he's probably spent more time studying in a bathing suit than anyone you know. Episode Links: Therme Group [https://www.thermegroup.com/] Culture of Bathing (Substack) [https://cultureofbathing.substack.com/] Building a park in the sky (Robbie Hammond’s TED Talk) [https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_hammond_building_a_park_in_the_sky] Connect with Us: theliftpod.com [http://theliftpod.com] Let’s stay in touch [https://www.theliftpod.com/#newsletter] Subscribe to The Lift [https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1saWZ0] Find Ben online: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrooksny/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/benbrooksny/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

From the playroom to the boardroom: What leaders can learn from children's play with tonies’ CXO Ginny McCormick

No one loves a genuine truth bomb more than kids – unfiltered, no social contract, no concern for how it will land. Ginny McCormick has spent her career figuring out what that kind of radical honesty, and the play that produces it, can teach the rest of us. Turns out the principles that work in the playroom work just as well in the boardroom. We just forgot them somewhere along the way. Topic Highlights: – Why "clarity always wins over complexity" – The "first pancake" ritual: a team practice for normalizing failure that actually works – Why structured gamification at work is inauthentic and what real play actually looks like in an adult environment – What children's unfiltered feedback reveals about the feedback loops most organizations are missing – The one parenting skill that every leader should be stealing right now Guest Bio: Ginny McCormick is the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at tonies, a screen-free children's audio platform operating in over 100 markets globally. She is a veteran of Disney, Mattel, and Hasbro. Episode Links: tonies [https://us.tonies.com/] Play by Stuart Brown [https://www.porchlightbooks.com/products/play-stuart-brown-9781583333785] Full Article [https://www.theliftpod.com/episodes/episode18] Connect with Us: theliftpod.com [http://theliftpod.com] Let’s stay in touch [https://www.theliftpod.com/#newsletter] Subscribe to The Lift [https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1saWZ0] Find Ben online: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrooksny/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/benbrooksny/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Conflict at work: Amy Gallo on how to have the hard conversation you’ve been avoiding

When was the last time someone on your team told you something you didn't want to hear? If you have to think about it, you have your answer (too long ago). Too many leaders have spent their entire careers avoiding conflict, and now they're running teams where nobody tells them anything useful, nothing real gets decided, and everyone is very, very pleasant about it. According to Amy Gallo, this isn't harmony – it's dysfunction with better manners. Topic Highlights: – Why the cost of staying silent is almost always higher than the cost of speaking up – The "eight-lane highway to harmony" metaphor about conflict avoidance – How AI is quietly making us worse at disagreeing with real humans – The important difference between being liked and being respected – The practice of "conversational receptivity" Guest Bio: Amy Gallo is an expert on workplace conflict and feedback, a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, and the author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People). Episode Links: Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) [https://store.hbr.org/product/getting-along-how-to-work-with-anyone-even-difficult-people/10482?srsltid=AfmBOopPTj41AYj4agxiCsX7040eZEyKTNG5PekZfUwF9bMx5zdBOKe-] Radical Candor [https://www.radicalcandor.com/] The Five Dysfunctions of a Team [https://www.tablegroup.com/topics-and-resources/teamwork-5-dysfunctions/?srsltid=AfmBOooDRMH55bacBm7b_xk35B7ZqdAaSmH1gD-nHtQ-2wrxqD0aDxT-] Full Article [https://www.theliftpod.com/episodes/episode17] Connect with Us: theliftpod.com [http://theliftpod.com] Let’s stay in touch [https://www.theliftpod.com/#newsletter] Subscribe to The Lift [https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1saWZ0] Find Ben online: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrooksny/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/benbrooksny/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Your best meeting ever: Why meetings are broken and how to fix them with Dr. Rebecca Hinds

During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services published a manual teaching ordinary citizens how to sabotage the enemy from within. One of the tactics: hold unproductive meetings.  Nearly a century later, Dr. Rebecca Hinds is dedicating her career to studying why meetings fail – and what it actually costs when they do. Topic Highlights: – The WWII sabotage manual that became standard business practice and makes meeting culture work against you – The 4D CEO test: a two-part filter for deciding whether any given meeting should exist at all – Why AI is making meetings worse, not better, and the one rule that changes that – The "meeting doomsday" intervention: what it is and why it works – The Babble Hypothesis: who's actually perceived as a leader in meetings Guest Bio: Dr. Rebecca Hinds is an organizational psychologist, author of Your Best Meeting Ever, founder of the Work Innovation Lab at Asana, and founder of the Work AI Institute at Glean.  Episode Links: Your Best Meeting Ever [https://www.hachette.com.au/rebecca-hinds/your-best-meeting-ever-7-principles-for-designing-meetings-that-get-things-done] The Surprising Science of Meetings [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-surprising-science-of-meetings-9780190689216?cc=us&lang=en&] The Simple Sabotage Field Manual [https://www.cia.gov/static/5c875f3ec660e092cf893f60b4a288df/SimpleSabotage.pdf] Asana Anatomy of Work Index [https://asana.com/resources/anatomy-of-work] Connect with Us: theliftpod.com [http://theliftpod.com] Let’s stay in touch [https://www.theliftpod.com/#newsletter] Subscribe to The Lift [https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1saWZ0] Find Ben online: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrooksny/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/benbrooksny/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Religion at work: Moving from passive tolerance to active inclusion with Rev. Mark Fowler

Roughly 75% of the global workforce has a faith identity that shapes how they work, when they need time off, and whether they feel like they can truly show up. Reverend Mark Fowler isn't asking leaders to get a theology degree. He's simply asking them to be a better host. Topic Highlights: – How religion is already happening at work – usually in quiet corners and over lunch – and what leaders are missing by pretending otherwise – The legal reality: religious accommodations aren't special treatment, they're a protected right – The "hospitality framework" for religious inclusion that can be more useful than DEI training – Why "manage your behavior, not other people's beliefs" might be the most useful leadership principle you’ve heard yet Guest Bio: Reverend Mark Fowler is the CEO of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, an ordained interfaith minister, and a conflict resolution specialist who has been helping organizations navigate diversity at work for 20 years. Episode Links: Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding [http://www.tanenbaum.org] How to Be a Perfect Stranger (multi-faith etiquette guide) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27783.How_to_Be_a_Perfect_Stranger] Connect with Us: theliftpod.com [http://theliftpod.com] Let’s stay in touch [https://www.theliftpod.com/#newsletter] Subscribe to The Lift [https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1saWZ0] Find Ben online: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbrooksny/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/benbrooksny/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].