Episode 5: From Cubicles to Clouds: Building the Right Connections with Your Team

Glenn Carroll, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Michael Arena, a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, share new leadership insights on why the work-from-home vs. work-in-office debate must go beyond the working environment and instead focus on intentional leadership. They discuss building better connections across your team on and off the screen.

Hosted by Stuart Paap

Does proximity matter when it comes to performance? Michael Arena, a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, is no longer convinced it does. 

In this episode, discover the latest insights and thinking around what connections teams need to make to spur innovation, build collegial bonds, and boost productivity regardless of where they work. Hear why Michael and Glenn both urge leaders to be more intentional regarding how they connect their teams, with a key focus on creating more informal moments for employees to interact. Learn how remote managers can make the most of virtual working environments and how leaders can deliver more effective messages to their teams on and off the screen. 

Michael Arena is the Chief Science Officer and Co-founder of Syndezos. He is a faculty member in Penn’s Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics program and acts as a design thinking coach within the Stanford School. Michael is the author of the book: Adaptive Space: How GM and Other Companies are Positively Disrupting Themselves and Transforming into Agile Organizations. 

He was the Chief Talent Office for General Motors Corporation, where he launched GM2020, a grassroots initiative featured in Fast Company and Fortune Magazine. Michael lives in Detroit with his wife and two daughters. You can follow Michael and connect with him via Connected Commons or LinkedIn. 

Glenn Carroll is The Adams Distinguished Professor of Management at the Stanford School of Business, teaching executives and MBA students. He has taught in many programs, including most prominently several high-level custom executive education programs for global Fortune 50 companies, including General Motors’ “Transformational Leadership Program.” 

Glenn is the author of several books, including: Making Great Strategy, Culture and Demography in Organizations, and Logics of Organization Theory. He grew up in Indiana and has visited many universities and institutes worldwide, including the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the National University of Singapore. 

You can connect with Glenn via his Stanford faculty bio. 

The Influence Lab

You’re moving fast, working hard, and facing trade-offs with your time and energy. How can you be the most effective leader? How can you share your message with purpose and power? What can you do to boost your influence at work? In each episode, we sit down with experts to talk about leadership, teamwork, communication, and how to deeply affect the behaviors and beliefs of those around us.

Stand up to stand out. 

Stuart Paap is laser-focused on helping more people unlock brilliant and bold ideas. He works with pioneering biotechs, technology companies, and healthcare companies and regularly presents at universities and tech incubators like the Harvard Innovation Lab. He’s also a former stand-up comedian and is a yellow belt in Judo, which strikes fear into... no one.

 Podcast Timeline (timecodes coming soon)

1. Why Chance Encounters Spark Innovation
   
2. Going Beyond the Blanket Work From Home Policies
   
3. Why the Water Cooler Really Matters
   
4. The Difference Between Informal and Formal Meetings
   
5. Virtual vs. Face-to-Face Bonds
   
6. How to Find Out What Works for Your Team
   
7. Constructive Challenging: Encouraging Healthy Debate
   
8. Four Elements to Communicating Strategy
   

Learn more about the show at influencedna.co/podcast

Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn.