I love the holiday season. My daughter Caroline and I start singing Christmas songs in November, and I never miss my annual movie night watching the Sound of Music in our matching Hanukkah PJs. I also love thinking about my favorite things from the past year.
What a year it’s been in the ever-evolving world of work. This year, the big topic was AI. I saw every headline from “A.I. Is Going to Disrupt the Labor Market” to “AI will save the world” to “AI is going to ruin humanity.”
Here’s my take on the AI frenzy. Yes, we need to invest time and energy to learn about AI (and whatever technology comes next), but what our employees want for Christmas (or Hanukkah or whatever holiday they celebrate) are Great Human Leaders.
Here are some of my favorite things that I’ve read, watched, and listened to this year to help us all become great human leaders.
Favorite Book
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. Having written three bestselling business books, I have a high bar for other people’s books. But this book really spoke to me and shared great examples of getting the company values off the walls and into the halls.
Here’s a taste of what I loved about it:
“When I encounter someone who thinks their work doesn’t matter, it’s usually because they haven’t dug deep enough to recognize the importance of the role they play. When I spoke at a real estate conference, it was easy for me to tell when someone was operating with passion and purpose. Many told me they sold houses; the great ones understood they were selling homes….It’s the difference between coming to work to do a job and coming to work to be a part of something bigger than yourself.”
Favorite TV Show
Survivor. I skipped a bunch of seasons of Survivor and just started watching it again. I love seeing how important the interpersonal (aka human) part of the game is. The winners are not only physically strong, but they also bring their human to the remote island! And then they win a million bucks!
Favorite Movie
Does anyone else have trouble sitting through an entire movie these days? I don’t have a favorite pick, so feel free to reply back with recommendations of your most human-inspired movies of 2024.
Favorite Podcasts
Tied for my favorite HR/Leadership podcasts are:
Modern People Leader. Cousins Daniel and Stephen Huerta interview HR leaders in a fun, unassuming way and have fun doing it. I especially like that they start each episode with a ritual where everyone shares their good news of the week.
The Future of HR Podcast. Take a listen to the episode on Nov. 19th: Purpose as Your Company North Star with Stacey Hoin, CHRO of Guardian Life. It’s a great example of how connecting people to purpose positively impacts performance.
Favorite Great Human Leaders
My fall cohort! Wow, did this group of leaders bring their human to our sessions each week! They were vulnerable, supported each other and inspired me to be the best human leader I can possibly be.
Favorite Courses
Managing a Multigenerational Team by Lindsey Pollak
There are up to five generations working together (or at least trying to) in the workplace today. Great human leadership requires us to understand what each generation brings and create a culture where all generations thrive!
Human Leadership by Yours Truly. This topic clearly resonates, because it’s my most successful LinkedIn Learning course to date with over 80,000 learners having taken it. In the short, 35-minute course, I take you through four ways to be a more human leader: Communicate to create connections, Rethink your meetings, Recognize that professional development is everyone’s business, and Build a culture of wellbeing. If you haven’t taken it yet, sign up today!
12/10/24
