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About this Episode:

In this episode of The Transformative Leader Podcast, I’m excited to bring you a discussion with consultant, author, TEDx speaker, and entrepreneur, Moe Carrick. Moe seeks to help people thrive in the companies for which they work and grounds her approach in a unifying and undeniable truth: successful work is dependent on human relationships. Recognizing that most of us spend most of our lives at work, and that consequently, work plays a huge role in the meaning and satisfaction we experience in life, Moe offers a fresh, honest, and direct roadmap for leaders everywhere who seek to make their workplace “fit for human life.” This message, about the absolute indispensability of “soft skills“ and taking care of the human side of work, is relevant to leaders in all organizations, at every level, as well as those in development, HR, OD, coaching, and consulting who advise others about organizational culture, leadership, structures, and teams.

In our intriguing conversation, Moe recounts the fascinating story of how she came to organizational development from beginnings in wilderness therapy, and how she still sees part of her role as guiding clients through the sometimes daunting “wilderness” of work and life. Moe discusses her upcoming book, Bravespace Workplace, in which she makes the case, with hard data among other evidence, that companies need not choose between profits and people to ultimately be successful. Rather, it is those companies that create a workplace and leadership culture in line with values such as authenticity, courage, integrity, introspection, and understand the importance of relationships and individual flourishing, that tend to thrive in both results and satisfaction. Moe goes on to share the 7 universal needs that we all have relative to this flourishing and thriving in the workplace, as well as the practical importance of applying these principles when it comes to leaders and organizations. Closing out the conversation, she leaves our listeners with two specific calls to action: to know themselves, and to figure out what their call to courage is in work or life.

In case you can’t already tell, yes, Moe is definitely another kindred spirit, who recognizes the unique importance of the role of culture, human relationships and potential, and “soft stuff“ in creating extraordinary companies that deliver breakthrough results and unprecedented fulfillment. While, as I always say, “the hard stuff is easy, and the soft stuff is hard,“ it is the latter that is always more essential to the organization and tends to give you a better return on you investment. After all, no matter what systems or processes you roll out, they will all have to interface with people at some point, and unless you have the skills to create a culture in which each member is energized and inspired—as a whole person, not just a worker—to move toward a common vision, the organization will never reach its full potential.

When it comes to this type of work, I personally tend to rely more on my intuition and gut feeling than actual studies. Which is not to say that I have no evidence to support this approach; on the contrary, that “gut feeling“ is based on over 3 decades of personal experience that this stuff really works. But this is why I always appreciate learning about actual hard data, research-based approaches to leadership and culture, such as what Moe shares in her book and our interview. It’s far easier to persuade critics of the “soft skills“ approach with data than with even 30+ years of anecdotal evidence, and almost invariably the data-driven studies end up proving what myself and other kindred spirits have been saying for years: that the culture and people are what really make the biggest difference! So, if you are on the fence when it comes to culture, or if you’re just a fellow kindred spirit who wants to go a little deeper, I suggest you check this episode out!

Moe Carrick is the Founder of Moementum, Inc., a certified B corporation which helps brave people do the hard things that make organizations great, thus benefitting people, results, partners, the environment, and the community. Moe holds a Master’s degree in organizational development, is a Certified Daring Way™/ Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, a coach, and an administrator of a variety of tools in her trade. She is a regular blogger on topics related to people at work and is a contributor to Conscious Company magazine. Moe’s upcoming book Bravespace Workplace: Making Your Company Fit for Human Life (Maven House) will be released in May 2019.

Guest Links:

To learn more about Moe and her work, you can visit her website. To learn more about her upcoming book, visit the book’s website, where you can also download a free chapter. You can also preorder the book on Amazon. If you are interested in Moe’s previous book, Fit Matters: How To Love Your Job, you can learn more about it on its own website. You can connect with Moe on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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