Season 3
Sandy Gunn
Episode 83: Time After Times

Mindset

Episode 89: What’s That Now? The Great Regret??

So just when many of us have accepted and gotten used to the phrase, The Great Resignation, another one has emerged, and that is, The Great Regret.

What we are hearing is that a lot of people who participated in The Great Resignation are now experiencing feelings of regret – that new position they went to is a bit of a let down and not nearly as awesome as they thought it would be. Bummer.

Intriguing? Confusing? Unexpected? We get into it!

Key Takeaways:

  • Wait. Wait. Wait. Are these really “great regrets”? Or are they doubts? It is pretty common to have doubts!

  • If you are feeling doubts, gather your support people – your boosters! Remember what motivated you to make such a big decision in the first place.

  • And slow down. If you are going to make any sort of “great” decision in life, it’s probably worth putting in the time to really think about it!

Episode 87: The Great Cliché

This time, we talk about Tara’s very recent decision to quit her job and make a departure, after 20 years, from the animation industry. This is definitely a Great Resignation story, and we discuss how this is both simultaneously uncomfortable AND reassuring. As of the publish date, Tara is one week into the rest of her life! What’s next??

Key Takeaways:

  • Sometimes the biggest A-HA moments come when we see ourselves reflected by the people around us.

  • Our careers can be really impactful to our identities. When we are so often asked, “So, what do you do???” – Who are we without our careers?

  • If you are thinking about an idea and want to see it become more real, consider talking about it with your people! Talking about it may create more accountability. Annnnnd, if you are making a big life-change decision, find your “boosters”!! And talk to them often.

Also:

  • Is a “retirement job” something that other people are planning on?? Asking for a friend…

Episode 84: What's Next???

It’s 2022! What the heck!!?

We've been away for…awhile. First, it was our usual summer break. Then, we determined we needed a bit more time off. Hello Covid fatigue. Simultaneously, we were generating ideas for what season 4 would look like and we had a plan…

But, it just wasn’t clicking. We felt uninspired. Over 3 seasons, we had talked about a LOT of jerky, and non-jerky, workplace stuff. If we felt maxed out on workplace jerks, had DBAJAW run its course? And if not, what’s next??

Eureka!!! WHAT’S NEXT????

Everyone is feeling it. 

We are inspired to explore this, because we KNOW it’s really sitting with people, and it is heavyyyyyy. And exciting! And scary. And freeing! And…let’s talk about it. Welcome to season 4!!!

Episode 73: Mirror Mirror

Lately, it seems that we have had a lot more time to be introspective. Maybe it’s because of COVID (for sure, it is partially related to COVID), maybe it is because of the general state of the world… Who knows? What we do know… is that introspection and self-reflection generally lead to self-awareness, and self-awareness hopefully reduces jerkiness at work! In other words, when it comes to not being a jerk at work, it all starts with YOU! And US! (Not just you. We need the mirror, too!)

Key Takeaways:

  • Reflection is thinking...about...something. 🤔 How is that for descriptive??

  • If you notice you generally reflect during challenging times, try doing it when something has gone really well, too!

  • It’s okay to be uncomfortable when we self-reflect. Keep looking anyway! Practice, practice, practice.

Episode 71: Toxic Positivity at Work

We thought it would be a strong contrast to follow up our gratitude episode with one on toxic positivity. Before we could even get into a discussion on this topic, we had to get clear on what the heck it is! Our nutshell definition goes something like this: glazing over or ignoring the crappiness of a situation and not acknowledging how hard something might be, and how negatively it may be impacting someone, a team or a company. Often, it’s combined with a lot of finding-of-silver-linings, something that the three of us, who lean towards being positive, are prone to do. We’ve got some contrasting points of view this time! At least we are still friends though. (See what we did there?) :)

Key Takeaways:

  • One thing we all agreed on is that, at first, the notion of this made us mega eyerolllllll.

  • Don’t pretend the tough stuff isn’t happening! If you’ve got crappy news to share with your team, be up front about it, having an authentic conversation, and then move to solution-finding.

  • Positivity and platitudes are going to impact people in really different ways, and, as always, positive intention doesn’t mitigate impact. Three things to keep in mind: topic, timing, audience.

Episode 70: Gre-Attitude? Grrr-Attitude? What’s Your Attitude About Gratitude?

Are you a glass half full, silver lining, always-look-on-the-bright-side kind of person? Are you good at turning towards what you have? Does practicing gratitude come naturally to you? Or, are you someone who thinks that they could be better at feeling grateful for what you have? Or, are you someone who thinks that this gratitude stuff is way too woo woo for you? 

The three of us generally trend towards the optimistic and grateful side of the spectrum. But gratitude can be tricky. In this episode we discuss the paradoxical nature of gratitude: sometimes it serves us AND sometimes it might just lead us to tolerating more than we should. Conundrum? Yes, we think so.

PS: This episode was recorded in early November 2020.

Oh! And we kick off the episode with a quick statement of our guiding words/phrases for 2021.

Sandy: Reflection and Celebration
Sarah: Roll with It!
Tara: Lift

Key Takeaways:

  • What’s the motivation to express gratitude? Is it a grounding practice? Is it to shift perspective? Is it about recognition of another? Or is it about connection?

  • It’s possible that the pressure to be grateful (externally or internally applied) can lead us to inauthenticity, or to stay in situations that are less than awesome.

  • There isn’t a templated way of expressing gratitude that works for all. Singing gorillas are not a one-size-fits-all approach. :)

Episode 59: Who do you BE?

WHAT do you want to be when you grow up? Or, what do you want to DO when you grow up? This is a classic question that, probably, many of us have been asked in our lives. What if the question was different? Rather, WHO do you BE? Take the focus off the what, and really make a bigger deal about WHO we want to BE.

How much does this version of the questions make us pause and really reflect? In this episode's conversation, we see we really have a lot in common when we look at who each of us are striving to be. 

Key Takeaways:

  • Pause, take a moment and think, “Who do I want to be in this moment?” Will that prevent some jerky behaviours?

  • Traveling...the great re-start! It’s like you get to be a fresh version of yourself!

  • Dr. Bonnie Henry. Wow. She is really showing us another style of leadership. She is showing up as who she is. What an inspiration. You be YOU, Dr. Henry! Thank you!

Episode 57: The Gift of Asking for What You Need

These days, if you are fortunate to be healthy and working, you are probably working from home. If you are a boss, you have likely discovered that a “management by walking around style” doesn’t work as well during a pandemic. And, if you are an employee, it has likely meant that you need to take more responsibility for “being seen” and asking for what you need. But are you asking for too much? What is too much? When does asking for what you need start becoming “needy?”

Key Takeaways:

  • Many of us are scared to ask for what we need. To overcome that fear, consider:

    • What will be different if I ask for what I need or ask to be supported differently?

    • What will happen if I continue keeping it to myself?

    • How would I feel if someone asked me for the same help/compassion we are asking of them?

  • Challenge your own perceptions of why you might see someone as “needy”

  • It’s a gift to help someone. And it’s a gift to allow someone to help us!

Episode 48: Attention Attention

A few episodes ago we conversed about emotional intelligence and how developing a high EQ may help us to reduce some jerky behaviours. Continuing on that thread, this week, we are talking about paying attention and noticing the people and work being done around us. If we intentionally tune in, do we notice things differently? If we want to be better workplace humans, what are the things we need to be noticing?

Key Takeaways:

  • Three questions to ask ourselves:

    • How do I want to show up today?

    • How did I show up today?

    • How do I know? (Did I leave the impression I thought I did??)

  • Reflect back on some feedback you’ve received; take stock and identify what might be areas for you to focus on for professional development. It might even be something you are already good at and you can get even better at!

  • Make sure we don’t only notice the negative stuff. Make an effort to notice the good work people are doing, too!

Episode 43: Fear is a Jerk

We all have that little voice that tells us we could screw up, get hurt, look stupid, fail. Sometimes it's a whisper, sometimes it's using a megaphone. It's fear, and it's a jerk. In this episode, we talk about how it shows up for us, and what you can do to get it to shut the heck up!

Key Takeaways:

  • That fear voice can be very smart and can camouflage itself with logic. Watch out for it trying to "protect" you!

  • Fear can supply ALL sorts of reasons to avoid hard conversations. And while that may feel like a relief in the moment, it's not helpful in the end...to ourselves or to the persons we really should be speaking with.

  • Why doesn't fear hold more people back from karaoke?? We (two of us, anyway) wish it did. Kidding! (Sort of.)

Episode 39: It's All About Me

Happy New Year! We are back.

While we hope 2020 is a great year for YOU, in this episode, we talk about how employee entitlement shows up at work and what can happen when we behave in a way that comes across as, “It’s all about me!” We discuss where the attitude comes from, what to do if someone on your team shows these tendencies, and how to recognize if you may be showing up as entitled.

Key Takeaways:

  • Ego is a common driver of the entitlement attitude - when we compare ourselves to others versus focusing on the goals of our roles and the objectives of the company.

  • Be curious - try to understand where the other person (the entitled one!) is coming from. Don’t take it personally! And be curious with yourself - why is this bugging you?

  • Watch out if you take the avocados away! That will bite you in the ass. (When the perk is no longer a perk because it has become expected.)

Episode 27: Jerk and Confidence

In this episode, we are confidently speaking about...confidence! Is there a way to believe in yourself, exude confidence and also not be a jerk? We think so, and we’re full of ideas on how to do just that.

Key takeaways:

  • There is a difference between confidence and arrogance. Confidence = good. Arrogance = bad.

  • Both overconfidence AND underconfidence can lead to jerky behaviour.

  • Just because someone is young and doesn’t have a ton of experience, they can still be confident! Rather than thinking, “How dare??”, be inspired by them.

Episode 3: You Should No Better

Consider this: every time you say ‘yes’ to something, what are you saying ‘no’ to?  Why is saying ‘no’ so hard for some of us?  How can you say no without coming across as a jerk, feeling guilty, disappointing someone, or all of the above?  This week is all about the importance of setting boundaries and how knowing what is important to you directly impacts your personal and professional development. We share personal examples of things we struggle to say ‘no’ to, but we also talk about what you should consider saying ‘yes’ to. In this episode, we reference, “Lean In,” by Sheryl Sandberg and, “Year of Yes,” by Shonda Rhimes; two powerful reminders of reason to say ‘yes’ and knowing your boundaries.

This podcast will be of interest to anyone new in their career as well as anyone looking to move into a more senior or management role.