I have long taken an interest in, and even done research on, this idea of “labor-saving technology.” Maybe it is because I had a front-row seat to a lot of the technological transformations that we now pretty much take for granted.

In ninth grade, I had a typing class on fully manual typewriters, the kind where the keys would jam and you had to whack the return bar. Good times. The next year, the school installed PCs for typing class. I also have lived through dot matrix printers, dial-up modems, floppy disks (the actual floppy kind), cable television arriving, cell phones becoming ubiquitous, and a whole host of other “advancements” that promised to make my life easier and better.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling it.

Making things more efficient doesn’t mean the outputs are higher quality. Rather, they just become more frequent because the actual labor it takes to do an individual thing goes down. However, as nature abhors a vacuum, the reduced time it takes to do one thing is filled by doing other things. Sure it takes a shorter time to get an email than “snail mail.” But imagine if we got as much snail mail as we do email. Only pop culture stars would get that amount of mail, and they have assistants to help them answer we. We have to answer our own emails!

What does it all mean? I’m doing more and more, but does that mean I’m more and more successful? I can be in contact with more people, but am I more connected? I can produce more, but am I more productive? I can access the most advanced health care in human history, but am I healthy? These are the contradictions of our time. We were promised one thing, but we are finding ourselves in another place. The present is not as advertised.

And I’m still waiting for the flying cars I was promised growing up.

To tackle these deeper questions, I have Dr. Camille Preston on Experience by Design podcast. Dr. Preston received her PhD in Psychology at the University of Virginia, for which her work on policing domestic violence received the APA International Best Dissertation Award. That work led to a broader interest in trauma, grief, growth, and recovery.

Today as Founder and CEO of AIM Leadership, she is an executive coach to senior leaders in major companies, a well-traveled keynote speaker, faculty member, advisor, and author. Her works include three books, “Living Real: Redefining Success, Presence, and Happiness,” “Rewired: How to Work Smarter, Live Better, and Be Purposefully Productive in an Overwired World,” and “Create More Flow: Igniting Peak Performance in an Overwired World.”

We talk about how there is a tendency to avoid difficult conversation and suppress trauma, which impacts all aspects of our lives (including being effective leaders). She discusses the challenges of building authentic connections in this technological era. As a result, organizations need to create places where people can build relationships through simple conversations and shared activities.

Camille talks about moving from the “Information Age” and into the “Wisdom Age,” where individual AI will disrupt traditional sources of power and expertise. Finally we discuss her work as a “Business Doula,” helping individuals and organizations navigate transitions and giving birth to new possibilities. After all, times of uncertainty create tremendous potential for growth. All we have to do is to start embracing the “woo.”

Dr. Camille Preston: https://www.camillepreston.com/

Camille Preston LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillepreston/

“Rewired: How to Work Smarter, Live Better, and Be Purposefully Productive in an Overwired World”: https://www.amazon.com/Rewired-Smarter-Purposefully-Productive-Overwired/dp/0984904107

“Living Real: Redefining Success, Presence, and Happiness”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F7T38495

“Create More Flow: Igniting Peak Performance in an Overwired World”:

https://www.amazon.com/Create-More-Flow-Performance-Overwired/dp/0984904115

It was quite the weekend for Nordic skiing in the United States. The World Cup visited Lake Placid, NY, and I was there along with 14,000 plus other spectators to take it all in. We saw some of the biggest names in cross-country skiing take to the line and race in the snow and even in the rain. As an avid Nordic skier, it was awesome to see it all happen in a location that I have skied (although at much slower speeds).

One of the main attractions was the retirement of Jessie Diggins, the greatest Nordic athlete ever to come out of the United States. Her legacy however goes well beyond the Olympic medals and world championships. When she talks about her career and her impact, she focuses much more on the culture she helped to create on the US Nordic ski team, and the larger impact on youth skiing.

One of her trademarks is wearing glitter on her cheeks during her races. At the event, hundreds (if not thousands) of people were also wearing glitter. While perhaps a small symbol to some outside of this culture, it speaks to how the outcome of the race is not the only thing. Rather, it is the joy of participating in a community with others who share the passion you all have for this activity.

On her legacy, she said the following:

“I think the team is going to be just fine without me,” Diggins said. “And I feel like that’s how I know I did my job. There’s so much leadership coming from so many people, because this team is filled with individuals who have put their heart and their energy into the team and who spend time thinking about, How can I make this team better? Not just what can I get and how can the team help me, but how can I make sure that we succeed? And I think that is why we succeed.”

On the point of leadership, I welcome Dalmo Cirne to Experience by Design podcast. Dalmo wrote the book “The 4 Streams of Leadership: Transform Yourself into an Overachiever Manager.” In this book, he talks about how being in a position of leadership doesn’t prepare you for being a leader. People often are promoted into leadership positions because of their technical competence, but that doesn’t translate into effective leadership.

We talk about the overtaxing of middle management when placed into this position, and how it impacts those who are reporting to them. We discuss the concept of leadership and the importance of understanding and managing different streams in an organization, including downstream (team and projects), upstream (communication with upper management), and sidestream (interactions with peers in other departments).

Dalmo examines the nature of leadership, agreeing that while organizational hierarchy is necessary for making difficult decisions, true leadership is demonstrated through actions and behaviors rather than just position

Dalmo highlights the significance of understanding one's own motivations for seeking leadership roles, contrasting those who are naturally drawn to leadership with those who seek it for external recognition or financial gain.

Finally, we have some conversation about the properties of snow, including heavy and wet New England snow versus light and fluffy Colorado snow. And what better time to talk about snow and leadership than with the retirement of Jessie Diggins and the emergence of the next generation of Nordic leadership for US cross-country skiing!

Dalmo Cirne: https://dalmocirne.com/

Dalmo Cirne LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalmocirne/

“The 4 Streams of Leadership”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1510785183

Well we did it, folks! Experience by Design podcast has hit 25,000 downloads. I don’t know what all that means in real terms other than a lot of you like to listen to this on a regular basis. First, that’s a testament to the great guests who spend their time talking with me about their lives and their work. Second, it is a testament to you for being interested in these stories and the field of experience design. Third, I guess it is a testament to me, even though I don’t feel comfortable giving myself credit.

So thank you for 25,000 downloads. And I promise more great guests for the next year.

We have had a run of great episodes on employee experience, and it is one of my favorite topics to explore in experience design. In discussions of workplaces, the framing typically is either around the workers (at the bottom of the org chart) or the leadership (at the top of the org chart). When people talk about organizational change, it is framed as either ‘top-down’ or ‘bottom-up’. These formulations leave something important out: the middle.

In many ways, middle management often goes unresourced, underappreciated, and stressed. But it also is where things need to get done, and ultimate strategic success can depend.

My guest today on Experience by Design is the author of the book “The Elevated Leader” who talks about ‘the messy middle’ in organizations. Laurie Maddalena is first notable characteristic is that sociology was her favorite class. Along with that topic, we explore the challenges of having five generations in the workplace right now, and what that means for management and leadership.

She talks about the Six Saboteurs in the workplace, which she lays out in her book and consulting. We explore how there are no “hard skills” or “soft skills”, but rather just essential skills. The key goal is to create environments where people can do and become their best.

Laurie provides practical leadership tools with training that gives actionable tips rather than vague statements. She stresses the need for career paths besides leadership. We explore the evolution of human resources into being a strategic partner that are shaping the culture of the workplace.

Finally, we talk about while conflict is natural and necessary for team growth, the key is managing it constructively rather than avoiding it. Laurie also offers a free assessment tool to help leaders identify and overcome their specific saboteurs.

Laurie Maddalena: https://www.lauriemaddalena.com/

Laurie Maddalena LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriemaddalena/

“The Elevated Leader”: https://www.lauriemaddalena.com/elevated-leader-book