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Workforce expert Adrienne Shoch joins the podcast to encourage us to create hybrid workplace presence.

“[We are] constantly helping people get comfortable with certainty. It likes the same thing. It likes routines and all kinds of things. And, we don’t live like that, anymore.”

Adrienne Shoch of five to one in Washington, D.C. is a brilliant thought-leader in workforce and the future of work.

A frequent guest, she returns to The Dan Smolen Podcast to help us make the hybrid workplace model, that splits time between home and traditional office settings, more meaningful. To that end, Adrienne wants us all to create hybrid workplace presence. When we do that, we will get more out of our work experience.

Actually, we will thrive.

In this episode, Adrienne discusses:

• Key insights of clients who have migrated to hybrid workplaces. Starts at 2:20
• Steps that hiring managers and people take to make hybrid successful and enabling of presence. Starts at 6:20
• How people may be paired with others to work remotely or at the office. Starts at 13:24
• Helping people thrive where and when they want to work. Starts at 19:59

Adrienne gets to “why” we should create hybrid workforce presence:

“So the game is, the trick is, to help people get comfortable with uncertainty. It is not about being agile or resilient; it is about being adaptive. And that takes different skills and intentions.”

About our guest:

Adrienne Shoch is the founder of five to one and an expert on workforce engagement. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Towson University and studied at University of Paris – Sorbonne, and, the Neuroleadership Institute. She lives and works in Washington, D.C.

EPISODE DATE: October 30, 2020

Social media:

– Website

– Adrienne Shoch LinkedIn Page

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One key outcome in how we work and where we work is fast emerging: a workforce revolution supports hybrid work.

The radical shift in our podcast’s branding inspired us to explore deeply the suddenly changing nature of work. Not surprisingly, we found that hybrid work has emerged as the way many of us will operate, splitting time each week between home and office.

“[The revolutionary forces] unleashed by the pandemic are numerous. But the-most notable paradigm shift is that people who work full-time are getting the tools they need to make work a successful part of their day.”

In this episode, we highlight fresh insight from SkillCrush which supports the workforce revolution to hybrid work. When remote work options are available:

• People become more focused on the job;
• Workers better manage their mental health, and;
• Introverts (half of the total workforce) gain solitude and control over interpersonal engagements, making them happier and more successful.

A workforce revolution that supports hybrid work is happening now.

Last week, we discovered that 80 percent of people who work full-time will opt for hybrid work.

“There is much to be worked out to make hybrid work a successful option. People who share time at home with children are still struggling to create a sense of balance.”

Still, when people who work full-time are allowed to work in a remote or hybrid fashion, they will become happier. What is more, hybrid work helps them make work part of a day, and not the day. Their relationships with co-workers and family members will become stronger and more fulfilling.

EPISODE DATE: October 23, 2020

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Workforce thought-leader Dan Smolen believes that the future of work is in hybrid work.

This week, we dig into fresh workforce market research sponsored by Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics. Their study provides a snapshot of a post-COVID workforce that splits its time between home and office.

“Now, as millions of people return to the office, they recognize that the office-only workplace has become a relic of the past. With more offices resuming operation, four out of every five [of their full-time workers] will pivot to hybrid work.”

Survey findings:

• 70 percent of full-time employees worked from home during the pandemic
• workers on average saved $473 per month in out-of-pocket expenses for commuting and other needs
• 20 percent of those working from home clocked more hours than they had in the office
• 77 percent indicated that a post-pandemic work-from-home option would make them happier
• about half of respondents have increased their use of Zoom and other conferencing tools
• working from home added on average 40 minutes to the day that had been used for commuting

KEY FINDING: 80 percent of full-time workers said that they expect to work 3 times a week from home, 2 times a week at the office

Clearly, the future of work is in hybrid work. And the ramifications of the shift in how we work, and where we work, will hasten sudden and seismic shifts throughout the economy, infrastructure, and workforce.

“The future will involve constant pivots and reassessments. And we will need to real-time reimagine a future of work doing meaningful work.”

EPISODE DATE: October 16, 2020

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Under any circumstance, a pivot for a future of work podcast is jarring. But for Dan Smolen, making a sudden pivot for his podcast, to a new identity, was absolutely necessary.

“Now, everything seemed fine until early September 2020 when we discovered that something was amiss. The Tightrope Podcast had inexplicably disappeared from the web and social media.

What happened?”

The sudden pivot for a future of work podcast is now complete. Today, we debut The Dan Smolen Podcast.

Some back-story:

One week ago today, on October 2, 2020, we discovered that well-known academic and social media pundit Dr. Cornel West launched “The Tight Rope Podcast.” Surprisingly, his podcast [with the same name as ours] redirected our listeners and prospects to his podcast hosting destinations. What is more, Dr. West aggressively promoted his podcast episodes to over 750,000 followers across social media; his podcasting campaign kicked into high gear during the first week of September 2020.

Looking back, it all makes sense as to why our listenership fell off of the tightrope.

We were astonished by our discovery. And we knew that we had to pivot our future of work podcast quickly to a new brand identity.

The re-branded Dan Smolen Podcast focuses on future of work and meaningful work topics. We will host experts in business, academia, public service, and workforce to benefit our future of work and meaningful work journeys.

Looking forward, we will “real-time reimagine” how the future of work presents in our lives. And right off the bat, we will tackle challenging issues that keep us up at night, like hybrid work arrangements and policies, so that we thrive in the face of sudden change and adversity.

The best minds in branding say that the process of re-branding a product, a service, or a podcast should take time. A re-brand should carefully consider the full array strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the podcast and its community.

But in our case, we had no time for careful and deliberate processing. Our re-brand from The Tightrope had to happen immediately. In fact, the sudden pivot for [our] future of work podcast happened in less than seven days.

Now, as The Dan Smolen Podcast, we know that our best days lie ahead. Please join us each week on this podcast for new episodes and an amazing journey to a future of work doing meaningful work.

EPISODE DATE: October 9, 2020

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Public relations executive Aimee Stern believes that bravery and meaningful work are purposely intertwined.

“When you heard the process that they went through to get there, it was painful and it was my process, too. It’s like putting aside everything you’ve ever been taught and saying: I’m really good at this. And, it all came down really to the biggest problem people have which is self-doubt.”

By all measures, Aimee Stern was a successful executive. Her business portfolio was profitable and scaling.

Regrettably, her high quality work often benefitted people she didn’t respect.

That’s when she channeled bravery from within to do good and do well in her professional career.

In this episode, Aimee describes:

• The first act of bravery. Starts at 2:13
• Why many people are not brave. Starts at 4:23
• How Generation Z became our bravest workforce cohort. Starts at 9:38
• The impact bravery has on a meaningful work career. Starts at 17:29

About our guest:

Aimee Stern is the Chief Bravery Officer of Brave NOW PR based in Washington, D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Education from the State University of New York Oswego.

EPISODE DATE: October 2, 2020

Social media:

– Brave NOW PR Website

– Brave NOW Courageous Content Website