Treating people unkindly at work isn't just a personal issue; it's a systemic problem that affects everyone's performance. The evidence shows that when people understand how behaviour impacts performance, they're more likely to change their own conduct, reducing disrespectful behaviour in the workplace.

Dr Chris Turner is an emergency medicine consultant in the UK, and the cofounder of an organisation called Civility Saves Lives. Chris rose to prominence during a local NHS crisis, where he was recognised in official inquiries for speaking truth to power. His work on workplace behaviour started with one small talk that went viral, eventually leading to TEDx talks and broader recognition.

Three reasons to listen

• To understand how poor treatment affects workplace performance
• To transform your perspective on workplace behaviour from an individual issue to a collective cultural challenge
• To see how even the experts struggle with self-regulation in challenging situations, and what to do when that happens

Episode highlights

• [00:10:40] How behaviour impacts performance
• [00:14:03] Even the experts get it wrong
• [00:18:31] What is univil behaviour?
• [00:21:42] Why civility matters in business
• [00:23:10] When is it time to change your behaviour?
• [00:33:14] The case against hot takes
• [00:35:45] What to do next
• [00:38:13] Chris' media recommendations
• [00:39:27] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Chris via LinkedIn
• Civility Saves Lives
• The Culture Code, by Daniel Coylke
• You Can't Outrun the Radio, by Jonathan Byrd
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note

Kindness and productivity are not opposing forces in business. In fact, kindness can be a powerful driver of success when treated as a practical approach rather than just a nice-to-have value.

Shifting from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, and focusing on collaboration rather than competition, can transform how teams work together.

Graham Allcott is an author and the founder of Think Productive, a global company that helps teams improve their work through productivity and leadership training. He’s written multiple books, including the international bestseller How to be a Productivity Ninja. His latest book, Kind, explores the relationship between kindness and business success.

Three reasons to listen

• Shift your thinking to create more opportunities for kindness
• Build stronger teams without defaulting to competitive behaviour
• Create ripple effects of positive change by understanding how self-kindness and kindfulness influence team dynamics

Episode highlights

• [00:11:24] When you're kind, you win
• [00:14:05] The scarcity mindset
• [00:17:06] How we can develop kindness
• [00:19:07] The myth of the business bastard
• [00:22:17] Psychological safety in teams
• [00:23:20] Case study: Timpson
• [00:27:37] How to build an abondance mindset
• [00:28:42] Kindness vs niceness
• [00:30:10] Case study: Jacinda Ardern
• [00:32:04] Kindness and difficult decisions
• [00:35:53] Kindness starts with you
• [00:37:57] Graham's media recommendations
• [00:40:18] Takeaways from Pia and Dan

Links

• Connect with Graham via LinkedIn
• Kind: The Quiet Power of Kindness at Work – Graham’s most recent book
• Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith
• Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference, by Rutger Bregman
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note

Traditional ways of working are failing in today's complex world, with global engagement levels dropping and productivity losses reaching $438 billion.

Adopting business agility – not just its tools and processes, but its mindset shifts – helps organisations move beyond outdated approaches and create more effective ways of working.

Joining Dan and Pia is Natal Dank, an HR author, speaker, and consultant specialising in helping businesses become great workplaces. Her work particularly focuses on HR and people teams, bringing business agility principles to organisations.

Three reasons to listen

1. To understand how business agility can help solve multifaceted problems in uncertain environments
2. To build effective teams that break down silos and harness diverse skills
3. To focus on solving real business challenges rather than getting caught up in tools and terminology

Episode highlights

• [00:09:16] The Agile mindset
• [00:13:46] Misconceptions around Agile
• [00:18:19] Agile people teams
• [00:23:05] Teams in name only
• [00:24:17] The challenges in adopting Agile
• [00:27:11] The evidence for Agile
• [00:31:58] Common objections to Agile
• [00:40:05] Leaders need to embrace complexity
• [00:41:26] What does "done" look like?
• [00:44:20] Protecting time for deep work
• [00:46:10] Where to start
• [00:48:58] Natal's media recommendation
• [00:50:35] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Natal via LinkedIn
• On the Level – Margaret Heffernan’s Substack newsletter
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note