Random Ramblings

We are wrapping up the end of Season 3 here on the HRart of It podcast! Can you believe it? For this final episode of the season, we are taking a look back at the top 5 most listened-to episodes of the entire year. Listen along as Samm and Dave share highlights and key lessons from some of our most inspiring conversations on the podcast. After listening to this episode, head to the show notes down below to find links to each of the full length episodes featured in this list. Thanks for a great 2022, and we’ll see you next year after a short break! Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Melissa Ural, the HRart Center’s HR Apprentice, joins Samm and Dave to share her journey coming from burnout, disengagement and fear to finding her true self. With over 20 years experience in Human Resources, Melissa is now taking her talents in Intuitive Coaching and Medical Qigong into workplaces to help heal individuals suffering from burnout as well as working to heal whole workplace cultures. She shares her insights into the healing process as she both learns to heal others using a new modality as well as experiencing the healing within herself. Tune in for this inspiring and open discussion on this episode of the HRart of It Podcast. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Recognizing when you are making life decisions based upon the external expectations placed upon you is actually the first step to understanding what is truly going to make you happy, and doing so led Rebecca Morrison to a big career change. Rebecca joins Samm on the HRart Of It podcast to share her journey from being a high achiever, who realized she was only fulfilling the shoulds in her life, to changing where she put her energy and ultimately finding her happiness. Wading through those messy experiences, recognizing the season, and going deep is what led Rebecca to becoming a coach, a career which isn’t far from what she wanted to be as a child. Samm and Rebecca also chat about the benefits of having a trusted coach and the difference between needing a therapist or a coach to aid you on your healing and growth journey. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Today’s special guest on the HRart of It Podcast is both a licensed acupuncturist and stand up comedian! The always funny Jen Mason chats with Samm about the incredible healing modality that is humor and what it can mean for creating connections, easing burnout and cultivating energy. Jen explains that along with many other positives, learning how to incorporate humor into team interactions can completely change the dynamic of the group. She’s also a huge champion of pursuing the thing that scares you most (such as performing your first stand up set) in order to break down the barrier of fear that is more than likely holding you back. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Is it possible that there is a meeting point between spirituality, Qigong, Christian Mysticism and the modern day workplace? Dr. Lyle Wilson is this week’s guest on the HRart of It Podcast, and in this episode he talks to Samm about what you will find in this incredible overlap. Though the workplace is most often stripped of any mention of faith or the Divine, it’s this core component that creates the connections between us and gives breath to our organizations. Dr. Wilson and Samm also dive into the inspiring stories about a few of the female Christian Mystics. These women were oftentimes seen as troublemakers when in fact they were creating impactful change and pointing toward a new way of looking at things. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

The HRart Center’s Director of Growth Education is joining Samm and Dave on this podcast episode to share her journey to becoming one of Samm’s biggest cheerleaders and collaborators. Nancy Nicholas talks about her passion for facilitating lifelong learning which often leads to her participants experiencing some powerful ah-hah moments. As the team member who has witnessed the full evolution of Samm’s journey, which now has her fully integrating Healing Qigong and other healing modalities into leadership curriculum, Nancy explains just how potent the results have become. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

On this episode of the HRart of It Podcast, Samm interviews fellow Healer and leader in business JJ DiGeronimo. They chat about the energetic component to the working world and how things are shifting, as well as the journey energy-sensitive professionals must take to stop dissociating and to become grounded in their purpose. JJ shares her story as well as various tools to help us dive into the world of intuition and energy, including her new go-to tool – birth charts. Learn about this and more on this episode of the podcast! Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

The HRart Center’s Director of Strategy and Business Operations joins Samm and Dave to share her journey in which rethinking her career path created the opportunity for deep healing with Medical Qigong Therapy. Steph Holmes first experienced Qigong with Samm as her practitioner when she was struggling with workplace burnout at a previous job. Steph’s curiosity with this expanding definition of wellness led her to rethink her priorities, focus on caring for her energy and make the leap to a completely new career. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

To date the Great Resignation has driven millions of people to quit their jobs, so what is the actual cause of this historic shift? On this episode of the HRart of It podcast, Samm interviews repeat guest Jeff Harry who explains that this problem has been fueled by organizations that continue to fall back into old ways of thinking. Numerous factors including burnout, toxic masculinity and leadership only focused on short term gains are just a few of the major factors at the heart of this crisis. Organizations need to step up and show they truly care for their employees or be left behind in this new working world that is demanding respect, flexibility and genuine joy. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Grace Carlsen, the Production Coordinator here at the HRart Center, joins Samm and Dave on this podcast episode to share her powerful perspective on Human Resources, which she describes as ever-evolving. Writing potent articles for the HRart Center blog on topics like mental health in the workplace, adjusting systems to stay true to business values and gender inclusivity in recruitment efforts; Grace has a lot to say on the future of the workplace and HR. Tune into this episode to learn more about Grace’s foundational beliefs and the power of being an empath in HR. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

With the majority of job seekers being working parents, this conversation is an important one. On this episode of the HRart of It Podcast, Samm interviews Play Expert Gary Ware about being a father and how that has inspired his work. Not only has fatherhood transformed Gary’s career and life journey, but his son has also influenced how Gary approaches facilitation entirely. Stay tuned and Gary even delves into some practical tips on how to heal and prevent burnout by incorporating some simple play techniques. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Fresh off the HRart Center Team Retreat, Samm talks strategy for building a great team, a team that is full of people from vastly different backgrounds who bring different strengths to the table. She and Dave also dive into his more recent arrival onto the HRart Center roster. This healing modality and workplace holistic wellness stuff – what’s in it for a Business Insurance Executive? Dave shares the story of how he found himself at the heart of this healing work and his insight into this new purpose. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Samm has Spiritual Intelligence expert Amy Lynn Durham back on the HRart Of It Podcast, and this time they are talking about the Ego’s role in our growth. Let’s unpack this ongoing balance between our Ego and our Higher Selves, a balance we strive for inside and outside of our workplaces. Though we are often taught that the Ego is “bad”, it’s actually an essential element in learning to show up as our whole selves no matter the environment. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

On this episode of the HRart of It Podcast, Samm and Dave talk retention and recruitment strategies during the Great Resignation. The old way of finding and keeping good employees has become irrelevant during this time of great upheaval, so what can leaders do to apply those human-centered principles we’re always talking about and keep their organizations running smoothly? Tune in and learn more about navigating this new retention landscape. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Great leadership begins with self leadership. On this episode of the HRart of It podcast, Samm interviews Megan Warren about the importance of self leadership and the impact these learnable skills can have on our ability to lead others well. Megan and Samm even make some interesting connections between cultivation in Qigong and the type of cultivation needed in leadership development. For those listeners who may be feeling too overwhelmed to start on this path, Megan shares some very practical steps to help you remove yourself from the burnout cycle so you can start from a place of clarity. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Awakening your intuitive guidance means recognizing your intuition and then following it. Sounds easy, right? Well, not necessarily. On this episode of the HRart of It podcast, Samm and Dave talk about this growing process in depth. Sometimes listening will be easy, but other times, you'll experience a situation that is a lot more complicated and presents you with a decision that makes it a lot harder to follow that little voice. Tune in to learn more about this process of awakening your intuition and how the results of listening can sometimes be downright magical. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

On this week’s episode, Samm and Dave discuss energy. What is it, why should we pay attention to it, and how do we find energetic balance without having to renounce our modern day lives and escape up to the mountains to live as monks? As we awaken and become more aware of this essential element in our lives, we’ll begin to recognize it everywhere – at home, at work, when interacting with other people. We’ll recognize that energy is all around us. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com. Warning: This episode contains adult language.

It’s hard to go anywhere nowadays without seeing a “now hiring” sign. The other day I pulled into a drive thru at a local Burger King, where a now hiring sign was posted on the intercom begging customers to be patient and kind to the staff that was working. It begs the question, why do these employees show up while others have been abandoning their positions all together? Could it have anything to do with their manager’s leadership style? It seems like a no-brainer - we’ve talked about leadership styles for decades. However, our discussions have typically been from a more theoretical perspective, and now is the time to talk about them from a survival perspective. Who must we be as leaders to cultivate an organizational culture that is worthy of the energy being expended by all parties needed. In this episode, I am joined by leadership expert, Jodi Woelkerling to discuss the three types of leaders and why people-driven leaders are the way forward. Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.

Technology -- we absolutely rely on it but sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by it. In this podcast episode, Samm chats with Phil Strazzulla, an HR technology expert, all about how to approach integrating technology into our organizations and lives while actually enhancing the humanity in our processes. HR Technology has become the go-to solution for many HR Departments of One. It makes sense to look to software to serve as a form of delegation to improve overall efficiency. However, it is important to keep in mind that when we invite new technology into our organizations, it will impact the balance of energy. Our hope is that it preserves it, but we also have discovered that some of the side effects of increased use of technology actually rapidly deplete our energy and negatively impact overall wellness. So what is that balance? Phil helps us to get strategic about the process of integrating new systems and inspires us to use HR technology to enhance the experience our employees, customers and job candidates

Intuition is a game-changing leadership skillset, but what is intuition exactly and how does it manifest in the workplace? We kick off Season 3 of the HRart of It podcast with this conversation all about intuitive leadership. Samm is joined by the literal voice of The HR Intuitive, Dave Chiaverini, to discuss the intuitive leaders they've encountered as well as the newest workforce generation and how they tap into their intuition. Could it be that the workforce to come is perhaps more attuned intuitively than generations before? And, when it comes to recruiting and hiring for culture fit, isn’t it intuition driving those decisions? Join us for this episode of the HRart of It podcast! Find the show notes at www.hrartcenter.com.