Team Lab

Human First, Employee Second: Leading Through Global Chaos

In this solo session, Cori and Angela dive into the "new normal" of leadership—where project plans and deadlines often collide with emotional distractions and global crises. They explore how the Efficiency Paradox can seep into all areas of teamwork and leadership decisions, often increasing individual productivity but inadvertently eroding team trust. Plus, the rise of the "Octopus Organization" model, a peek into the reality of why most leadership offsites fail to create lasting change, and a roundup of super action Monday morning actions to help move your team from "spinning in circles" to "creating a ripple effect". Key Takeaways Acknowledge the Elephant: Leadership starts with recognizing the person before the role. Use low-stakes "check-ins"—like picking a color or a "rubber duck"—to gauge how teammates are arriving without hijacking the entire meeting. The AI Trust Test: Why AI integration mandates and workstreams aren't necessarily breaking trust; they're essentially testing it. The Octopus Organization: Modern companies should mimic the octopus: highly adaptable, curious, and possessing "intelligence in the arms" (departments) that can move independently yet stay synchronized toward a common goal. The "Dishwasher" Problem: Offsites are often the corporate version of a "marriage-saving vacation". Real change doesn't happen at a resort; it happens when teams are coached in the flow of their daily challenges. Resources Your Monday Morning Checklist Designed to help you transition from "business as usual" to a more human-centered, high-performing team dynamic. 1. Conduct a Structured "Arrival" Check-in Before jumping into project updates, acknowledge the human beings behind the roles. The Question: Ask every team member, "How are you arriving today?" The Constraint: Limit responses to one or two minutes per person to respect the meeting schedule. The Vibe Check Tool: If the team is hesitant, use a "palette" like colors or "rubber ducks" to help them express their emotional state quickly and safely. The Rule: Respect confidentiality; if someone isn't ready to share details, a simple "I'm a deep blue today" is enough. 2. Convert AI Friction into "Empowered Requests" Use the "efficiency paradox" as a catalyst for trust rather than a source of erosion. Acknowledge Frustration: When a teammate hits a "dead end" with an AI tool, normalize the discomfort instead of ignoring it. Promote Transparency: Dedicate five minutes for teammates to share "successes, lack of success, and dead ends" from the previous week. Reframe Complaints: Turn criticisms into learning moments by asking, "What did we learn from this, and what will we do differently next time?". Build Collective Intelligence: Use these shared insights to ensure no one feels "left behind" by the pace of technology. 3. Audit the Team "Operating System" Recognize when your team's "wheels are wobbly" and prioritize "going slow to go fast". Focus on Outcomes: Re-center the conversation on the actual value the team creates to support the end goal, rather than enforcing rigid hierarchies or "the way we've always done it". The "Thought Jar" Exercise: If you sense unresolved friction, have everyone anonymously write down what is getting in the way of their work. Review and Address: Read these items aloud and have the team collectively acknowledge and address them to clear the air. Synchronize the "Arms": Ensure every team member (or "arm" of your octopus) has the agency to move independently while staying connected to the ultimate goal. Connect with US! Submit an anonymous sticky team dynamic story [https://form.typeform.com/to/SxbDaK2n] you'd like to hear unpacked on a future episode. Angela Migliaccio [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelamigliaccio] - Follow & Connect on LinkedIn Cori Caldwell [https://www.linkedin.com/in/coricaldwell] - Follow & Connect on LinkedIn

Soul at Work: The Three Elements Every Leader Needs to Build a Team Worth Showing Up For

What if the antidote to Sunday Scaries isn't a better job — but a more soulful team? In this episode, we welcome back Jardena London for a deeper dive into what it actually looks like when soul is present in an organization. Jardena is a business transformation and agile consultant, author of Cultivating Transformations: A Leader's Guide to the Soulful and the Practical, and a member of the Org Design Forum conference committee. In this episode, we get into what it looks like when soul IS present in the workplace — and what leaders can do to cultivate it, even inside complex, change-resistant systems The Big Questions We Tackle: What are the three elements of a soulful workplace? Jardena breaks down dignity, creativity, and connection — and why dignity is the one most leaders are unknowingly undermining every day through common management practices like performance reviews, carrot-and-stick incentives, and poorly handled layoffs. Why does the "hub and spoke" leadership model quietly kill teams? When every conversation flows through the leader, the team stops talking to each other. That's when the leader becomes the bottleneck without ever meaning to. Jardena shares how she coaches leaders to redesign the dynamic so the whole team activates, not just the person whose turn it is to report. How do you make it safe to ask for help, especially in cultures where everyone values 'perfection'? Jardena shares how simply reframing "do you need help?" into "is there an obstacle I can knock down for you?" can break through cultural resistance and unlock the kind of cross-functional collaboration that actually moves the needle. What's the real cost of blunt-instrument decision-making? Whether it's layoffs, restructuring, or budget cuts, Jardena makes the case that leaders have more precision tools available than they're using, and that imprecise decisions don't just hurt people, they quietly destroy the business case for moving forward. Resources in this episode: * 📘 Cultivating Transformations: A Leader's Guide to the Soulful and the Practical [https://www.cultivatingtransformations.com/] by Jardena London — available on Amazon and all major booksellers * 🗓️ Org Design Forum Annual Conference [https://organizationdesignforum.org/] — Pittsburgh, April 28–30 | Theme: Transforming in Motion: Designing for Continuous Change * 🔗 Find Jardena on LinkedIn, Substack, JardenaLondon.com, or RosettaAgile.com

Who's Looking After the Relational Layer? Navigating AI Implementation with Your Team

What if the biggest hurdle to your team's AI adoption isn't the technology at all, but what it reveals about the cracks in your human workflows? In this episode, we sit down with Yadin Porter De León, a marketing leader at Salesforce and co-host of The AI Edge for Enterprise Marketing podcast. He established one of the industry's first Global Marketing AI Councils to drive generative AI adoption and efficiency across organizational workflows. Yadin is a voice of reason in the "madness" of the current AI wave, moving past the hype to discuss how AI impacts team culture, the necessity of documented processes, and why cracking the code on the "human relational layer" remains the holy grail of business. Big Themes We Tackle: * The Importance of Explicit Communication When introducing new tools, it's crucial to be explicit about expectations. For instance, if you're implementing a tool promising to reduce workload, clarify whether you expect increased productivity or simply a more efficient workflow. This clarity helps prevent misunderstandings and fosters an environment of trust. * Managing Uncertainty with AI Yadin points out that the most disruptive element of AI is not the technology itself, but the uncertainty it introduces into teams and decision-making processes. * The Impact of AI on Leadership and Culture As AI technologies become more integrated into business processes, the role of leadership evolves. Leaders are no longer just decision-makers; they must also be cultural architects who guide their teams through uncertainty. * The Relational Layer: As we tinker with job roles and AI workflows, Yadin asks the critical question: Who is looking after the relational layer? We dive into why trust remains the "holy grail" of business At its core, this conversation is about the "critical core"—the idea that AI is a tool to collapse the boring tasks so that humans can double down on what actually matters: empathy, creativity, and connection. Connect with Yadin * * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/porterdeleon [https://www.linkedin.com/in/porterdeleon] * Podcast: The AI Edge for Enterprise Marketing [https://open.spotify.com/show/73SYevxKzDFTtxvFK2uzCl?si=9ca643b587e2423d]

The Game-Changing Assist: Leadership Lessons from the Court to the Boardroom

What if the secret to a high-trust, highly collaborative, results-driven corporate team is hidden in the drills of a Division I basketball practice? And what if the key to resilience isn't just "bouncing back" to where you were, but "bouncing forward" into something better? In this episode, we sit down with Angela Lewis, a former professional basketball player and coach turned corporate leadership advisor and author. Angela brings the intensity and discipline of the court into the workplace, helping teams understand how to leverage their "game-changing assists" to drive growth, harmony and high performance. Big Themes We Tackle: * The Culture of Winning: Angela breaks down why honesty in feedback and a shared vision are the bedrock of successful teams. * Confidence vs. Competence: Why it's okay (and even healthy) to NOT feel confident in every area of your role. * The "Go-For-It Muscle": Practical advice for young women entering leadership. * Feedback Loops: What corporate teams can learn from the "micro-doses" of feedback used in sports. The 6V Framework At the heart of Angela's coaching is the 6V Framework, a roadmap for moving teams from a state of struggle to a state of success: * Valley: Conducting an honest assessment of how you got to a challenging point. * Vision: Defining exactly where you want to go next. * Voice: Managing the mindset and communication style of the team. * Value: Aligning your daily actions with the ultimate goal. * Volunteering: Sharing knowledge and helping teammates grow. * Victory: Tracking the "small wins" that build the confidence needed for the big goal. Connect with Angela * LinkedIn: Angela R. Lewis [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelarlewis/] * Website: angelarlewis.com [https://angelarlewis.com] * Book: The Game Changing Assist [https://a.co/d/06io0gEt] * Upcoming Book! A Ball and A Chance [https://angelarlewis.com/store/pre-order-a-ball-and-a-chance] - Children's book releasing in March

Blow up the Hierarchy: Why Building Teams Around Value Creation is the New Competitive Advantage

In this episode of the Team Lab Podcast, we sit down with Greg Petroff to discuss why traditional hierarchies often hinder work and how leaders can transition toward value-driven, outcome-oriented teams. Greg is a veteran design and technology leader who has driven major organizational transformations at companies like GE Digital, Google, ServiceNow, Compass, and Cisco Secure. He's a founding member of Design Executive Council, and advises organizations of all sizes on how to rethink workflows and team agency through the lens of new technological capabilities. In his public work – from Substack essays to podcast interviews – he's a leading authority on how the nature of work is evolving. In this conversation, a common theme emerged: there's no more important task than removing obstacles and friction from your team's path, and that includes helping to optimize focus and time management. Greg shares his insights on everything from protecting your team's "organizational calories," and the importance of flow states, to how Gen AI is shifting the boundaries of product development. Conversation Highlights * Outcome vs. Output: Customers buy outcomes (goals accomplished), not outputs (lines of code or feature velocity). Teams that own an outcome have more agency to satisfy customer needs with the "least number of most useful things". * The "One More Thing" Trap: Leaders must publicly declare what they are not doing. Adding "one more thing" to show performance consumes vital organizational "calories" and prevents the completion of higher-priority work. * Above the Line Prioritization: Borrowing from the Amazon model, teams should prioritize outcomes and assign resources until capacity is reached. Anything "below the line" is not touched until a higher priority is completed. * The Power of Flow States: High-quality creative and technical work requires uninterrupted blocks of time—ideally two-to-three-hour periods—to reach a "flow state". Constant meetings disrupt this state and leave teams exhausted rather than accomplished. * AI as a Boundary Disruptor: GenAI tools are allowing roles to merge; designers can write front-end code and engineers can draft requirements. This requires a new "social contract" where teams are adaptive and collaborative rather than protective of their specific silos. * Reversing the Double Diamond: Historically, organizations spend too little time on discovery and too much on execution. Greg argues for a large first diamond (discovery) and a small second diamond (execution) to ensure you are solving the right problem in the simplest way. Connect with Greg * LinkedIn: Greg Petroff [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregpetroff/] * Substack: Improbable Futures [https://gregpetroff.substack.com/] — Greg's newsletter exploring the intersection of design, technology, and the future of work * Threads: @gpetroff [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.threads.net/%40gpetroff] Resources * Two-Minute Fridays: Have each employee and leader record a two-minute video detailing what they did, what they planned to do, and what they were proud of. * Leadership Club: Set up a structured monthly meeting for "leaders of leaders" to set their own agenda and discuss what they want to learn, giving senior leadership visibility into "facts on the ground". * Career Mapping: Actively help employees identify what gives them energy, explore how those interests, skills or strengths map to their existing growth path or another path within the organization that might better align.