That’s a Wrap: The Best of TalentStorm in 2020 – Where Talent and Organizational Performance Intersect

As we call a wrap on 2020 (which is a reason to celebrate in and of itself!), we’re also closing out the first few months of our TalentStorm podcast. For the past 15 weeks, interviewstream CEO Ron Wilson has been chatting with peers about a multitude of people-focused topics.

As we’ve peeled back all the layers of performance– acquiring and retaining top employees, organizational leadership, and culture– we’ve consistently see that they all have the same core: talent. Since TalentStorm is all about the intersection of talent with organizational performance- our thesis has held! 

The TalentStorm episodes we’ve held already break down so many topics and help professionals build a roadmap for success with advice and anecdotal evidence from our industry peers. For a quick read, in case you haven’t been able to listen (or just want a refresher), here are just a few of our favorite “aha” moments from TalentStorm episodes so far:

Everything’s intertwined

Our personal lives, our work lives, our mental health, our physical health, and our performance. In Episode 4, Tim Furlong, President of My Quarter Turns shared, “what impacts the work life is going to affect your life outside work and what’s going on outside of work, impacts the workplace. So, wherever you make an adjustment that un-kinks the hose a little bit and lets the water flow… that’s going to impact every aspect of your life.”

All of the little pieces of our lives make us whole, so when one is not in alignment, just a small shift can make a huge impact. As we move forward into a new year, it’s a great time to reflect on this concept, and find the places in our lives that we could use tweaks of improvement. It’s likely that if you fix one, you’ll reap the benefits everywhere.

Happy is as happy does… Right?

In Episode 7 of TalentStorm, the wise Jill Christensen, best-selling author and employee engagement expert, told Ron, “a lot of people think employee engagement means [employees are] happy, but it doesn’t.

MIND BLOWN. Jill explained that, just because you may provide a cool, fun work environment, where employees can hang out, drink a beer, and play ping pong, doesn’t mean those same workers are going to go above and beyond when it comes to their performance. Your culture, communication, and collaboration as humans is the more important focus, as these are the things that inspire employees to step up and give 100%. Employee engagement is an approach to create the right conditions for everyone to give their best each day, and you need to dig deeper than surface-level or temporary emotions to create it.

Don’t check up, check in

“Managers check up on people but they don’t check in with people.” An awesome insight in Episode 11 from Jess Von Bank, Head of Marketing at Leapgen and Global Community Leader for Now of Work.

Performance is directly tied to your people’s ability to be… well, people. Before anything else, we have to connect as humans, and care for one another, as humans. Instead of just seeing the part of someone that shows up to the office, leaders need to take the time to embrace the entirety of their team members. Those that understand and put the effort into supporting their employees for themselves above all else will see the impact it has on performance. Afterall, the title of this episode is “know your people as well as Amazon knows your people.”

Take time to fuel up

In Episode 12, Dr. Jo Lichten talks about the importance of fueling ourselves for success and peak performance. It’s easy to forget about what actually fuels our bodies (and if we’re honest, even when we remember, we don’t always take the time to make it happen.)

With this in mind, Dr. Jo said, “the way we eat, sleep, move, and think fuels the human body.” So, if we’re craving peak performance – it starts there. Leaders need to not only be on board with prioritizing their own “fuel”, but they need to provide employees the flexibility and support they need to do the same. And what better time than the new year to start!

When we decided to dive into the podcast world, we had no idea how much we’d learn about our company, our teams, and ourselves. Not only do we get the opportunity to do what we love each week, but we’ve been able to walk away with so many amazing insights to better the workspace around us — we can only hope that you’ve been able to do the same.

Click here to download our recap episode for more incredible quotes from our guests this year and subscribe to TalentStorm on your favorite podcast platform to receive weekly guidance every Thursday morning at 6 AM CT.

And, as Ron always says, it’s all good!

About The Author

Monique Mahler is the CEO of interviewstream. She is an avid researcher of facts, a self proclaimed marketing geek, and an equestrian in her spare time.