Talking Talent Angela Scalpello & David Foy

The Value of High Performing Teams
Most work today is done in teams. Even “individuals’ whom we think of as great inventors or entrepreneurs don’t see the culmination of their idea without the efforts of others, those others often being the people on their team.
So why are some teams greater than the sum of their parts? Why do some teams simply achieve and others achieve greatness? What does the research tell us about what really matters in creating high performing teams that perform even better over time? You might also be surprised (we were) by what wasn’t a factor in creating high performing teams (hint: one of them has particular relevance in a post-pandemic world of work). 
Tune in as David and Angela discuss the factors that go into creating high performing teams and what you can do to replicate this success in your own teams
Resources:
Collaboration & Creativity: The Small World Problem 
Republic Of Letters - Stanford project showing the interlocking relationships of enlightenment thinkers
Why It’s Time to Forget the Pecking Order at Work
Three Things Nascar Pit Crews Can Teach You About Geek Work
Google Study On Teamwork - Insights On What Makes Great Teams
Twilight of the Imperial Chef
Why makes a Broadway show succeed
The Captain Class: A new theory of leadership by Sam Walker
The Culture Code:The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School - “Building a psychologically safe workplace”
The difficulty of figuring out cause & effect - Skinner’s experiment
Emma Hayes Chelsea FC Coach - Leader’s being open about their failability

You probably know the words “apprentice” and “apprenticeships.” However, what do you really know about the critical role they’ve played in the transfer of skills and capabilities across centuries? In this episode David and Angela explore apprenticeships, when they began, the role they’ve played in human evolution (ever wondered why the Neanderthals died out and modern humans became the dominant life species?), and their critical role in helping individuals learn and develop, organizations thrive and society at large flourish.
 
In the making of this episode we learned quite a bit ourselves. We were helped in this effort by experts in the field. Thanks to Esta Bigler, Director Labor and Employment Law Program at Cornell University, ILR School.  Esta provided us with a rich overview of apprenticeships specifically in New York State. Esta also generously opened her network to us and introduced us to a number of  the people from whom you’ll hearing in this episode.
 
Thanks also to Jane Thompson, Director of Apprenticeships for the New York State Department of Labor. Jane helped us understand about registered apprenticeship programs and the New York State’s Department of Labor’s role in working with organizations to help them register and establish certified apprenticeship programs.
 
We started our recording by talking to Dr. Rudolph Bell, who among his many talents, is a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University, an expert in Italian civilization and culture from the Middle Ages to the present. We were especially keen to get his insights on apprenticeships as a factor during the European Renaissance. Dr. Rudolph Bell is the author of multiple books including How To Do It: Guides To Good Living For Renaissance Italians. 
 
We spent time talking to Martha Ponge. Martha serves as the Director of Apprenticeship for the Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY) and represents the statewide alliance of manufacturing associations who make up the NYS Manufacturers Intermediary Apprenticeship Program, MIAP.  She was joined by her colleague Laury Ferguson. Laury is the Associate Director of Apprenticeships with MACNY, where she works with manufacturers as well as educational institutions. Both women bring a real passion to their work.
 
We also spoke with someone who had been through an apprenticeship program and could share her lived experience. Tamara Rivera is a council representative for the New York City District Council of carpenters. In that role Tammy works in the organizing department, which is now called area standards. However, long before this Tammy herself was an apprentice carpenter where she learned her trade.
 
If you are interested in learning more, here are some sources and resources.
 
Bait & Switch Intro: The Story of Grandparents - Senior Citizens As The Key To Civilization & The Evolution of Grandparents
 
Linkage to how we learn, learning from watching others: 
Jiro Dreams of Sushi - Documentary Movie
How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens - 
Manufacturing Industry Producing More With Less People
https://www.urban.org/events/policy-matters-reflections-past-and-future-apprenticeship?fbclid=IwAR0sFIJUbdvjI60l4HKYgDKkXMyeJnDp2j_MeyL0cgcFUYGuQsnLka3UuOo
 
https://www.econtalk.org/robert-lerman-on-apprenticeships/?fbclid=IwAR24Ql9PegTTLadq-x0PwMueFIln8NrIoLOFovzcHcCKK8r00Vsk4CR7z-M
 
Economist Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute talks about apprenticeships with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Lerman argues that apprenticeships--a combination of work experience and classroom learning--have the potential to expand opportunities for young people who don't want to attend college. https://www.apprenticeship.gov/

Ripped From The Headlines: What You (& The Mets) Can Learn From Headhunters
What can organizations do to better vet candidates? Why are organizations seemingly constantly blindsided by post hiring scandals? We look at this through the recent story regarding the fired New York Mets General Manager Jared Porter. 
 
What does the “just like me” bias have to do with these recurring issues? How does the lack of diversity within industries make abuse more likely?
 
https://reflectionsonbaseball.com/ambushed-mets-face-unsettling-and-complex-front-office-decisions/ - Why Jared Porter is just the “poster boy” for an ongoing problem in baseball (and other sports?)
 
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-jared-porter-sexual-harassment-20210119-r556mbcwrvfadjypc7otbnkc3a-story.html - Baseball cannot be surprised by Jared Porter
 
https://sports.yahoo.com/former-mets-manager-mickey-callaway-accused-of-unrelenting-lewd-behavior-toward-women-in-media-020746255.html - Mickey Callaway
 
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/20/sports/mets-firing-gm-jared-porter-reveals-an-ongoing-hole-mlbs-vetting-process/ - Alderson talks Porter’s vetting process
 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/incoming-premier-league-chief-resigns-following-allegations-11575052379#:~:text=Joshua%20Robinson,-Biography&text=The%20newly%20appointed%20chief%20executive,toward%20a%20female%20former%20employee. - David Pemsel dismissed as Premier League CEO prior to even taking the role due to sending sexual explict 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/jaguars/2021/02/11/jacksonville-jaguars-hire-chris-doyle-ex-iowa-coach-accused-racism/6723057002/ - Chris Doyle Hired By Jacksonville Jaguars

The Future of Work with Todd Cherches 
 
In Season One of Talking Talent, David and Angela discussed The Future of Work. That conversation focused on the changing nature of work and the impact that change will have on education, the role of cities, our political systems and what capabilities will be prized and those that will have less importance. David and Angela promised that this would just be the start of a series of conversations that would continue in Season Two, with guests who would bring insight about specific aspects of not only how work is changing but how it will change society and us.
Spoiler alert! Since that episode in Season One we have been living with a global pandemic. Businesses and other organizations that wanted and needed function have taken actions that have accelerated our race to that future state of work.
This new episode features guest Todd Cherches. Todd Cherches is the CEO and the co-founder of BigBlueGumball, which is a New York City based management and leadership consulting, training and executive coaching firm. In addition, he's a TEDx speaker and a two-time award winning adjunct professor of leadership at the NYU School of Professional Studies. And he's a lecturer on leadership at Columbia University. He is also the author of the recently released book, VisuaLeadership, Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking, in Leadership and in Life. 
According to Todd, we've been talking about a “Vuca” world for  years -  Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. However, because of the pandemic, everything's gotten expedited by at least five years. So the things that we have been slowly, methodically planning and talking about are now here. Specifically people working from home and leveraging technology and video and living on Zoom or similar platforms. All of those things that seemed wildly futuristic when we saw them in cartoons such as robots, artificial intelligence, all of these things are here now.
In a VUCA world leaders need to do the opposite. So what does the idea of “opposite” evoke? The opposite of volatile is calm. As Todd says, “In a world of volatility as leaders, we need to create a sense of calmness. Now, we may be in panic mode, there's a sense of urgency, we don't know what's going on. But how do we calm people down? Because there's a difference between urgency and panic.”
Listen in to hear more of Todd’s ideas as he also talks about how being a Visual Leader will help leaders lead more effectively now ans in the future..
WEBSITE:
www.toddcherches.com
TEDx TALK:
“The Power of Visual Thinking”
BOOK:
VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life
(Post Hill Press/Simon & Schuster, May 2020)

The best current English striker Harry Kane just might finish his career as the greatest striker in Premier League history. However, his career path has not been one long coronation towards greatness. On today’s podcast we look back on the beginnings of Harry Kane’s soccer journey, how contingent his opportunities were, and what we can learn about talent identification through an analysis of what almost went wrong for Harry Kane. 
NOTE: Episode was recorded in November 2020 after Harry Kane scored his 150th Premier League goal. Since Harry has scored another 5 goals and his ex-coach Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed as Paris Saint-Germain.
 
The Rise of Harry Kane - First team breakthrough 
The Fall & Rise of Harry Kane - Why anointing youth players is a fools game
Leicester City Fans Labast Harry Kane - Foul language incoming

We ended 2020 by looking back at 2020. We start the New Year, 2021, by looking ahead and more specifically by looking ahead to what the Future of Work holds in store.
We had this conversation with no less a leading expert than Paul Miller, CEO and Founder of the Digital Workplace Group (DWG), rated by the Financial Times in 2020 as one of the UK’s leading management consultancies in digital transformation. On January 14th, only a week after we drop this episode, Paul will be releasing his latest book Nature of Work: The new story of work for a living age. Co-written with his Digital Workplace Group colleague, Shimrit Janes, Director of Knowledge, the book is already receiving lots of pre-publication praise!
Paul’s previous books include The Digital Renaissance of Work: Delivering digital workplaces fit for the future’ (co-authored with Elizabeth Marsh), which was shortlisted for the Management Book of the Year 2016 Award. Before that Paul’s book, ‘The Digital Workplace: How technology is liberating work’, helped popularize and explain the term “digital workplace”.
 
Paul Miller
Paul Miller is a business and social entrepreneur. Paul has given many inspirational talks on the digital future of work, for audiences at Microsoft, IKEA, Google, Accenture, Harvard Business Review, Cisco, European Commission, IMF, Adobe and Oxford University. He hosts the Digital Workplace Impact podcast. 
Paul hosted the pioneering internet radio show Digital Workplace Live and is Executive Producer of the 24-hour global digital experience Digital Workplace 24. Prior to founding DWG, Paul was Founder and CEO of a communications company The Empowerment Group; Publisher and Editor of social and digital innovation magazine “Wave”; and, in pre-internet days, co-founder of the Ideas Café salon. He lives in the Cotswolds in the UK and is a keen tennis player and long-time yoga practitioner.
Connect with Paul on Twitter: @paulmillersays