We’re hearing more and more about including love in the way we lead. This may seem like a new topic in relationship to work, but we believe it is imperative. It’s an approach rooted in the deepest human needs of every person within our organizations. When we can understand the needs our team members have to be loved and fill that need in appropriate ways, there are powerful things that will happen. Colin’s guest on this episode is Ann Shannon understands these issues and consults with teams and companies to great success. You can hear Ann’s insights about loving leadership and the profound impact it has on the sports industry.
Basic human needs for love can be met in the workplace.
We all have the need for love. Hardly anyone would contest that assertion. But is it something that should even be on the radar in the workplace? Ann Shannon says it should be a high priority for leaders because when a team member has the sense that they are loved and belong, the entire team benefits. Beyond that, clients will be served better when an entire team is a cohesive unit that does its job well. If it sounds strange to you to hear the words “love” and “business” in the same sentence, you may want to hear what Ann has to say on this episode.
Is there a gender difference when it comes to showing love in the workplace?
The stereotypes would insist that women are better at showing love in a team context than men are, but is it true? There’s not a hard and fast rule. Women may generally find it easier to express love than men but there’s no evidence that men are averse to expressing care for their co-workers, they just show it differently and may take longer to get there. In this conversation Colin and his guest Ann Shannon discuss the powerful impact a healthy approach to love in the workplace can have and how leaders are on the hook to lead the way in expressing care for the people they lead.
In the competitive world of sports, we can accomplish much more together than we can apart.
An important area Ann Shannon has been working in more often these days is that of sports leadership. Though sport is an area of great competition she’s finding that bringing connections between the competitors, both on and off the field, is producing incredible results that go far beyond the end result of a scoreboard. On this episode of Leaders, Bosses, and Bastards you can hear how Ann is seeing administrators, coaches, and players come together for the good of society and produce benefits to communities and individuals that flow out of their participation in sports. It’s an intriguing subject you’ll enjoy hearing about.
Is the idea of inclusion just an excuse to favor some people and make others feel bad?
One of the arguments against the idea of inclusion and sensitivity training is that the end result is that people come away feeling pigeon-holed as the “bad guy” in the workplace rather than truly understanding the supposed problem that is said to exist. But Ann Shannon insists that the real point of inclusion training is not to beat up anybody or insist that people are bad, but to highlight the way that real people in the workplace feel about their role and position within the organization, and to help everyone work better together as a result. On this episode, Ann shares how she approaches inclusion training with an aim to enable everyone involved to feel more valuable within the organization.
Outline of This Episode
- [0:12] Collin’s introduction to his guest, Ann Shannon.
- [1:13] Ann’s history and contributions to the business world.
- [2:14] The approach Ann has been taking to leadership in sport.
- [6:06] The things leaders in sports are grappling with these days.
- [8:45] The difference connections on and off the field make.
- [9:45] The power of love in sports and in the work environment.
- [13:00] The impact love has on the contributions people make.
- [14:30] Is a gender difference seen when it comes to applying love to organizations?
- [17:40] What is the outlook for leadership and inclusion in the future?
Resources & People Mentioned
- Connect with Ann on LinkedIn
- Connect with Ann on Twitter
