Getting Past "US vs THEM" w/ Laura Kriska

01/23/24 • 62 min

Laura Kriska is an expert on cross-cultural relations with more than thirty years of experience bridging gaps in diverse workplaces. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies on four continents, helping thousands of professionals build trust across Us vs. Them differences based on nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, age, or any factor of identity. Her WE-Building framework provides practical and actionable insights for creating a more inclusive and productive world.
Mentioned on the Show:

Laura Kriska's book, The Business of We: https://a.co/d/bcm1SVq
Learn more about Laura at her website: https://www.laurakriska.com/
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-kriska-0a93902a
Marcus Buckingham (author): https://www.marcusbuckingham.com/
Bonus! Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old (baby sleep training book): https://a.co/d/aklrwro

Timestamps:

(2:16) - Welcoming Laura
(3:15) - Why are we so afraid of those who are different than us and how do you see that showing up in the workplace?
(5:03) - Can you give us a little bit about your background that led you into this field?
(10:10) - What’s your response to the attitude of ‘let’s buck up and move on’ in relation to that kind of situation?
(16:44) - Are microaggressions real or no?
(21:45) - How can we 'reframe' some group identities we may hold?
(29:25) - How do we do this in corporate environments?
(35:19) - How do we open ourselves to embrace new and diverse situations?
(43:02) - Are there ways to do this that don’t fall into 'tokenism'?
(48:56) - How can leaders harness truly improve communication among various groups?
(50:29) - What do we really have to get at to be bridging these connections?
(55:49) - Do you have any suggestions for business leaders on how to make room for nuance and allow difference of opinion to exist?
(1:00:21) - Laura invites us all to WE-build

Laura Kriska's book, The Business of We: https://a.co/d/bcm1SVq
Learn more about Laura at her website: https://www.laurakriska.com/
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-kriska-0a93902a
Marcus Buckingham (author): https://www.marcusbuckingham.com/
Bonus! Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old (baby sleep training book): https://a.co/d/aklrwro

Timestamps:

Previous Episode

High Performance Professionals w/ Kendra Brodin

Kendra Brodin is the Founder and CEO of EsquireWell, a lawyer well-being and professional development company providing consulting, training, and the EsquireWell Academy, a cutting-edge online learning community, to help lawyers be happier, healthier, and more successful. Before founding her company, Kendra was Chief Attorney Development Officer at a large national law firm where she managed firm-wide lawyer training and development as well as well-being initiatives. In this episode, we talk about the performance expectations placed on attorneys and what they (or professionals in any industry) can do to be at our best in a demanding environment.
Mentioned in this Episode:

Kendra's Coaching firm Esquire Well: https://www.esquirewell.com/
The Feeling Wheel developed by Dr. Gloria Wilcox: https://cdn.gottman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The-Gottman-Institute_The-Feeling-Wheel_v2.pdf
The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal: https://a.co/d/7DQEt4Q TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en

Timestamps

(1:44) - Welcoming Kendra
(2:01) - What do you do and how did you come to be doing that work?
(5:26) - Is it safe to say that this conversation is not just limited to corporate attorneys but to all who think about the workplace as performance?
(6:39) - What are the demands placed on attorneys?
(10:48) - What are the traits required to navigate the legal field at a high level?
(15:35) - What are good ways people can start to do this work and recognize the impact of their emotions?
(22:23) - Can we do this on our own? Are there any exercises to start to do this?
(40:01) - Is discussing these "soft" emotional matters a distraction?
(42:31) - How do you think about grit and mental toughness?
(46:53) - How do you help clients determine where they are in the spectrum and whether they need to hang in there or stop and take a break?
(50:43) - What does good recovery look like?
(1:00:08) - Is there anything you’d like to add to sum up our conversation?

Next Episode

Global Benefits Management w/ Shannon Boyle

Shannon is the Practice Leader of Lockton's Global People Solutions team in the United States where she works with multinational companies, helping them organize and manage their global benefits programs.
Mentioned on the Show:

Lockton People Solutions: https://global.lockton.com/us/en/products-services/people-solutions
Connect with Shannon Boyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-boyle-8299604
Learn more about Shannon at Lockton: https://global.lockton.com/us/en/news-insights/shannon-boyle-named-practice-leader-of-lockton-global-people-solutions

Timestamps:

(2:14) - Welcoming Shannon.
(2:54) - How did you get into global benefits?
(4:59) - How should a leader think about rewards and benefits globally?
(7:20) - When does it make sense to bring global benefits oversight in-house and when is it better to keep it with a global PEO model?
(8:20) - Are there good global payroll companies?
(12:24) - Can you talk about the variety of benefits from country to country?
(16:01) - Where do you start when consulting with a new client?
(23:16) - Are companies looking for equality or equity when it comes to benefits across the globe?
(25:58) - What is the state of wellness or well-being programs around the world?
(31:17) - How should employers think about managing small and large populations under the same umbrella?
(34:01) - Has EAP utilization changed around the world?
(38:42) - What are best practices for avoiding cross-cultural mistakes?
(39:54) - Can you define "governance" when it comes to managing global benefits?
(42:32) - How can leaders tap into the local market while keeping decision-making centralized?
(44:35) - What types of benefits are available to Expats?
(49:16) - What is multi-national pooling?
(51:50) - How is Lockton approaching global benefits differently than competitors?