Lately, I hear, Nashville’s been feeling more like January than May. I’m attending a conference here, and the seasonal weirdness has totally messed with the HVAC brain of the meeting space. The result’s been uncomfortable. The thermostat, thinking we were enduring a hot and soggy summer day, has poured down frigid air on our heads.
Some people were sorta okay with the cold. Not me. I zipped up my jacket, pulled my hood, and felt homesick for balmy Grand Rapids.
The longer I thought about it, the more it felt like a parable for how emotions circulate in a workplace. Let’s say a distressing email arrives from the company president. Budget cuts are coming. Layoffs are threatened. The client rejected the bid. Whatever it is, the cold air starts pouring through the ductwork, and everybody’s under stress. So, tell me: what do you do when your coworkers get cranky? How do you engage your team when they go dark and get quiet? What happens in you when your work bestie starts spouting vast opinions?
Here’s a recommendation: listen to this conversation with Geoff and Cyd Holsclaw, who offer good advice for better attachment strategies at work. Geoff’s a theologian and an entrepreneur who runs the Embodied Faith podcast, focused on the intersection of neuroscience and spirituality. Cyd’s a professional coach and a pastor who works with organizational leaders. They’ve co-written the forthcoming book Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You Into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection.
These two funny and smart people join this week’s Mode/Switch Pod to discuss how to cope with other people’s feelings at work. As usual, you’ll hear Ken the Boomer, David the Xer, Emily the Xennial, and Haley the Gen Z asking questions and telling stories. (Okay, I’m in the mix, too. Is my reluctance to put myself in the list an avoidant attachment style?)
Do you know the old country song that asks, “Is it cold in here, or is it just you?” It’s a question that comes to mind when the meeting room at work goes frigid. Sometimes your anxious brain—like a seriously confused thermostat—urges you to cope by avoidance or aggression. But this week’s podcast helps you move towards steadier responses and stabler attachments, not just with your coworkers but with your work itself.
-craig
So glad to welcome new subscribers!
New to the Mode/Switch? This is a work-culture brand that helps you do more than cope when work’s a lot.
Each Tuesday, you’ll receive a newsletter that alternates (the following Tuesday) with a podcast. I write the biweekly newsletter, while the alternate-week podcasts feature a team from Calvin University: Emily Bosscher, LaShone Manuel, David Wilstermann, and Ken Heffner, along with an assortment of Gen Z participants. We’re not gurus. We’re in the trenches with you, trying to make sense of all the things at work.
Although this week’s guests are people of faith, our roundtables welcome participants from all standpoints—and always with the same goal: to help you and your team flourish in the midst of vocational overwhelm.
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