You guys. This episode is so good! Alright, you're gonna join me for this conversation. Deb and I got to know each other on LinkedIn, which is where I find a lot of my network expanding over the past ten plus years. Deb was in corporate as an HRIS, which is more of the IT side of HR technology data, working for fifteen to twenty years. Now she's out on her own under the consulting business called Insights Occur. I love her mentality. She says she is all about love and logic intertwined. You're gonna really enjoy her energy but here's the value in this conversation. Deb really considers herself a philosopher and she is doing this work herself to think clearly and also encouraging other people to do the same. There are many parallels in this episode on how you can take her advice and mentality as a philosopher to both improve your own career and improve the performance of your team. There are deep insights for us individually and collectively and I challenge you to listen, pause when you need to and do that individual reflection. You may even need to listen more than once. So, this podcast episode is my gift to you. I hope you find at least a nugget of something that you can implement here. Do not leave this overwhelmed, write down all of your nuggets, and then pick one at a time. This is one of those episodes where it's heavy lifting. We're talking about a lot, but I know you can do hard things and so can I. Let's get to it!

"It comes down to one phrase that I've coined life-centric. We are managing the leaders or managing people as widgets, as we're factory-farming humans in corporate cubicle captivity." At minute 11:55, Deb raises an awareness that most workplaces view their employees as machines or widgets, rather than people. She stresses the importance of bringing humanity back into the workplace.

"I am saying to the leaders that they are going to have to pivot their thinking…You used to be managing against past results and improving them. COVID-19 has built a world of entirely new questions. Now, if you're trying to solve the old questions, you will not be around much longer. And you know I have no predictions on when your corporation will self extinct. But if you don't put keeping people alive first your customers are going to desert you." At 28:33, Deb encourages leaders to think of the people in their organization first and foremost during this major pivot due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic has brought entirely new questions to the forefront of our minds.

"View your employees as consultants who you want to rotate, not somebody in one stream late in one vertical. Some people will want to think like that and their brains will work like that. But again, maybe 20% of the workforce should be constantly consultants. Your business should think of them as internal consultants that you rotate around. They're getting bored." At minute 38:42, Deb shares insight about using your employees as consultants in your business and rotating their roles to keep them engaged and innovative in the workplace.

Deb shared a lot of valuable information about how to think as a philosopher and make life-centric decisions. She also gave a lot of helpful tips for all of us, so make sure you stay tuned!

Don't forget to connect and follow Deb through her website Insights Occur, Twitter, and on LinkedIn. Check out her Youtube Channel and her New Webseries #DeeperwithDeb. Go follow her now!

I hope you liked today's episode. Please don't forget to subscribe on all podcast platforms and while you're there, please don't forget to rate and review! I truly appreciate and love you, and can't wait to see you in the next episode!

Check out Anxiety at Work: A Guide for COVID-19 and Beyond

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Watch my TEDx Talk on Leveraging Your Now to Get Your Best Next

P.S. Please don't forget to tag me on Instagram @theannaoakes and connect on LinkedIn to share your big takeaways and for more Build High Performing Teams updates. I'll see you there!

Peace & Progress,

Anna

A Philosopher's Take On Performance with Deb Helfrich