The Employee Success Podcast

When we say that our top priority is student success, a common refrain in higher education, what does that mean in terms of prioritizing faculty and staff success?  This week's guest, Suhail Johnson of Texas Christian University, says the two are inextricably linked and that student success doesn't happen unless we invest first in employees.  Johnson left her mark on UofL as a leader in residence life and has since shifted her focus to training and supporting faculty and staff, guided by her belief that one cannot be successful without the other.  

Gallup’s research on employee engagement includes a data point you might find surprising:  Having a best friend at work is highly correlated with productivity, job satisfaction, and a sense of purpose.  While many of us learned that we should keep our relationships strictly professional in the office, Gallup’s findings suggest that we are happier and more successful when we have someone who is personally there for us as a sounding board, reflective mirror, and supporter.   Zach Greenwell and Olivia Biven, both from UofL Athletics, are best friends at work and in this episode they share what their friendship has meant to them in term of job success.

We are starting Season 3 of the Employee Success Podcast with a look at the Cardinal Principle of Noble Purpose and offering some tips for making 2024 your best year of work yet.  Guest Errol Wint shares his journey toward discovering his “why” and how defying conventional wisdom was a secret to unlocking his true purpose. Finding your “why” can make life more exciting, whether your purpose happens at work or if your job provides the resources for you to pursue it in other ways.

All children are inherently creative, but somewhere along the way in adulthood we all start to lose a little of the courage and joy that once fueled our creativity. By the time we are in the midst of a professional career, we are often too risk-adverse to take the chances that come with creative expression. But Dr. Jabani Bennett says living a creative life is possible for all of us, and in fact often necessary for success at work. As a self-identified creative, she has taught others to rediscover their joy by looking at life through a creative lens. As a bonus to our chat in this episode, Jabani also shares how her stepfather, Dean Blaine Hudson, expressed his creativity and what his legacy as the Dean of Arts and Sciences at UofL means to all of us today.

Maybe the most often cited of the eight Cardinal Principles is “community of care,” but what does it really mean? Dr. Douglas Craddock has been exploring that question in his role as Vice President for Community Engagement and as a busy faculty member. He says it starts with caring for self and realizing that the more we practice self care, the better able we are to be there for others. And once you’ve done that, Doug advocates for finding a need you are passion about, and jumping in to make a difference. Thankfully he and his team are there with some resources and suggestions for getting started.

This week’s guest is Dr. Kevin McClure, whose research at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington illuminates the workplace challenges and opportunities that exist in higher education. His findings and social media presence have made him a popular and respected advocate for the folks who work at colleges and universities, and we couldn’t resist the chance to talk to him while he was visiting UofL doing research for his next book. In this episode, we talk about the origins of the ideal worker norm and how it gets perpetuated in higher education. Kevin explains how unrealistic norms affect the experiences of employees who are caregivers, disabled, chronically ill, and grieving. And also offer some solutions for leaders who want set policies and practices that work for real people.

What do positive leaders do differently? In his work studying leadership, Dr. Ryan Quinn noticed that successful leaders are often break with conventions and exhibit virtues that transform those around them. And now through his work at the Center for Positive Leadership, he’s gathering virtue experts from the university and surrounding community to provide us with tools we can use to develop a stronger connection to the virtues and skills for applying them to the challenges we face. Tune in to our conversation and find out which virtue he’s working on at the moment!

Join us for an authentic, personal exploration of faculty burnout with Dr. Cynthia Ganote, who shares her own experience in the academy and the lessons she learned as a result. The demands to constantly achieve higher and higher levels of perfection, coupled with the crippling exhaustion that results, make burnout a very real possibility. And staff aren’t exempt either. Dr. Ganote talks about how she identified burnout in her professional life, the radical steps she took to heal, and how she recovered through radical self-care. A critical two-part episode for anyone working in higher education. (part 2 of 2)

Join us for an authentic, personal exploration of faculty burnout with Dr. Cynthia Ganote, who shares her own experience in the academy and the lessons she learned as a result. The demands to constantly achieve higher and higher levels of perfection, coupled with the crippling exhaustion that results, make burnout a very real possibility. And staff aren’t exempt either. Dr. Ganote talks about how she identified burnout in her professional life, the radical steps she took to heal, and how she recovered through radical self-care. A critical two-part episode for anyone working in higher education. (part 1 of 2)

The stereotype of an introvert is someone who doesn’t like people, never speaks up, and never contributes at work.  But nothing could be further from the truth, says Katie Partin, who’s learned to embrace introversion as a strength that she can call upon.  In fact, introverts are often gifted problem solvers and relationship builders who bring thoughtfulness and strategic solutions to a project.  In this episode, Katie shares some tips for introverts at work and also suggests ways their more extroverted allies can support them.  Listen to the very end for the “ah ha” moment Brian had when Katie shared the one thing supervisors should never say to their introverted team members!

Katie Partin, PhD, is the Director in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (IE) at the University of Louisville.

The pandemic taught all of us that the only thing constant is change.  So it’s powerful that our Cardinal Principles include agility as an institutional value, the ability to change when circumstances require it.  Dr. Matt Bergman is back on this episode talking about change, why it’s so hard to embrace at times, and what we can all do at work to lean in to those times when change is inevitable.

In our season finale we are chatting with Maggie Schneider, a new UofL employee who finished a thru-hike of the 2,600-mile Appalachian Trail just before starting her job in Advancement. This was an exciting opportunity to get two thru-hikers together for some of their favorite trail stories and to talk about what they learned about leadership by spending six months in the woods.

Maggie is the Senior Director of Prospect Development in Advancement at the University of Louisville.

Even though she has only been at the university since February 1, our new President Kim Schatzel has learned a lot about the faculty and staff who work here and what makes UofL a special place. In this new episode, we checked in with her to see what she is thinking about as a result of her listening tour, why inclusion and belonging are central to her leadership approach, and her advice for navigating career transitions.

In today’s workplace, very few of us operate in true isolation and depend on relationships for our success. So, what do skilled relationship builders do to cultivate the connections and networks that help them reach their goals? In this episode, we learn tips from student affairs professionals Glenn Gittings and Quanta Taylor on effective networking and how we can cultivate a community of care at work that will help us be our best.

Glenn Gittings and Quanta Taylor both work at the University of Louisville. Glenn works as the Chief of Staff in the School of Medicine and Quanta is the Executive Director Student Involvement.

As we explore the Cardinal Principles in our podcast, in this episode we talk with Marian Vasser about diversity and inclusion.  Marian shares some skills and concepts everyone should have in their toolbox when creating a workplace that is welcoming to a diverse campus community.  She explains how the idea of “belonging” is the next-level goal we should all strive to cultivate for those around us.

Marian is the Assistant Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging and facilitates workshops for campus and community audiences.

We will be exploring all eight Cardinal Principles this season on the podcast, learning what they mean and how we put can them to work for us.  This week, we chat with Dr. Cherie Dawson-Edwards about the principle of accountability.   She tells us what it looks like when we live and lead from a space of accountability and offers some tips for reaching the next level as a champion for this principle.

Dr. Dawson-Edwards serves as the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Louisville. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and directs the Social Change Program in the College of Arts & Sciences.