podcast

You’ve walked into a meeting and felt it immediately – something’s off. The energy is flat, or there’s a tension nobody’s naming. What do you do with that? In this practicast, we share a simple, repeatable practice for reading the emotional temperature of any room.

What if the key to getting more done is doing less focusing? In this episode, Erin introduces the concept of unfocusing – not slacking off, but intentionally giving your brain a chance to rest and recharge.

Have you ever asked, “So what do I do with this?” after listening to a Practicing Connection episode? Put the pieces together with us on our first Q&A episode!

In this episode of Practicing Connection, Jessica introduces the Expectation Audit, a simple but powerful practice rooted in organizational psychology. Drawing on research about unspoken workplace expectations, and what Brené Brown calls “stealth expectations,” Jessica and Erin explore why crossed wires at work are rarely about performance or personality.

Everyone needs encouragement – but great encouragement does more than make people feel good. It helps them believe in their ability to meet challenges, connect to purpose, and keep going when things get difficult. In this episode of Practicing Connection, Jessica and Erin dig into the science behind effective pep talks, inspired by research from Harvard Business Review and Motivating Language Theory.

Bravery isn’t just about big, dramatic moments—it also shows up in everyday choices, like meeting someone new, stepping into an unfamiliar space, or staying curious when you feel uncomfortable. In this episode, Jessica and Erin explore how to build everyday courage for collaboration, using skills like curiosity, empathy, and intellectual humility

In this week’s episode, Erin and Jessica discuss intellectual humility – the willingness to recognize that what you think might be wrong, and to make real space for other people to be right. Together, they explore how this shows up in everyday collaboration, from project meetings to tough decisions, and why it matters so much for psychological safety and trust at work.

In this Practicing Connection practicast, Erin and Jessica unpack what organizational resilience is, where the idea comes from, and how it shows up in our everyday work lives. Resilience is often framed as an individual trait, but it’s also a property of our organizations – how they anticipate disruption, respond to it, and support recovery.

In this episode, Jessica Beckendorf talks with Havelock, North Carolina Mayor Will Lewis about what it looks like when a city and an installation grow together.

In this episode of Practicing Connection, Jessica and Erin explore how to stay grounded and connected when collaboration gets tough. Erin shares a reflective practice that helps you rethink how you see the person on the “other side” of disagreement, using social intelligence skills like awareness and generosity of perspective.