HR: Human Revolution (featuring Katrina Ghazarian)

Love in Leadership

HR: Human Revolution (featuring Katrina Ghazarian)

Putting the human back in human resources

GUEST BIO:

Katrina Ghazarian is a dynamic CEO of Gameday HR, known for her innovative approach to human resources and workplace culture. With a background that spans from banking to HR, she brings a unique blend of practical experience and insightful leadership to her role. Katrina is recognized as one of the top HR consultants in the nation, driven by her deep passion for people and commitment to employee success. Katrina advocates for proactive change in corporate America, focusing on holistic development and the power of a positive and inclusive workplace environment.

Links

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[0:30] - Insecurity: From College to the Job Hunt

Flipping the script on the employer-applicant relationship

Mike McFall opens the conversation by discussing his recent interaction with college students. He observes their insecurity regarding employment, noting their perception of employers as all-knowing entities. Mike remarks, "They're so insecure about the process... like the employer is this all-knowing czar." The truth, he says, is much different — employers are often trying to figure things out as they go, and in new employees they’re looking for a partner to help them do it.

[23:55] - There Is No “Traditional” Workweek

Longer hours don’t add up to better performance

Mike and the gang question the conventional 40-60 hour workweek in corporate America, proposing that optimal performance doesn't necessarily correlate with longer hours. He challenges the notion of hard work equating to actual output. We tend to assume that the people who work the hardest make the most impact, but this isn’t always the case.

[33:10] - Flexibility, Autonomy, and Joy

How work life has changed in the last decade

The team highlights how the evolution of workplace flexibility, particularly the shift towards hybrid work environments, has made the professional world much more human-friendly. Katrina emphasizes the importance of adapting to modern work demands, and how the last ten years has seen a monumental shift in flexibility of schedules and the physical places people can work and work from — though there’s still a long way to go.

[42:12] - HR as Human Growth Advocate

Putting the “human” back in “human resources”

Katrina discusses the significance of HR in facilitating not just professional but personal growth of employees. She shares her belief that love in leadership means “accepting everyone for who they are as they are now,” combining this acceptance with the ambition to be a true resource for spiritual growth for every individual at your organization.

[1:00:57] - Busting Stereotypes in HR and Business

How Katrina is helping change the game in HR

Katrina challenges the traditional perceptions and stereotypes in HR and business, particularly regarding women in leadership roles. She advocates for a more inclusive and understanding approach, saying: "You have to be a good person, which means you have got to do a lot of your inner work." This flies in the face of the profits-first, people-second approach of many companies

RESOURCES:

• [11:24] Gameday HR
• [59:52] Loving What Is, by Byron Katie
• [1:00:57] Women Who Run with the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
• [1:02:06] Letting Go, by David R. Hawkins

Follow Katrina Ghazarian:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Follow Laura Eich:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram

Follow Mike McFall:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• X
• Instagram

Follow BIGGBY® COFFEE & LifeLabTM:

• Website
• Facebook
• X
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• About LifeLabTM

ABOUT LOVE IN LEADERSHIP:

At the Life You Love LaboratoryTM and BIGGBY® COFFEE, we’re out to prove that financial success and healthy workplace culture aren’t two separate goals. BIGGBY® COFFEE's own cultural transformation is proof that not only is it possible to have a successful company where people aren’t miserable at work, but that the happier your people are, the more your business will grow. Each week, join host Laura Eich, Chief Purpose Officer at BIGGBY® COFFEE, and her co-host and BIGGBY® COFFEE co-CEO Mike McFall as they’re joined by guests from around the world to learn how they are fostering a culture of love and growth in the world’s most innovative and people-centric companies. Get inspired. Get real. Get ready to transform workplace culture in America with us. This is the Love in Leadership podcast.

Learn more at: loveinleadershippodcast.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS:

Mike McFall began his journey with BIGGBY® COFFEE as a minimum-wage barista at the original store in East Lansing in 1996. Over the span of 23 years, alongside business partner Bob Fish, he has helped create one of the great specialty coffee brands in America. Today Mike is co-CEO with Bob, and BIGGBY® COFFEE has over 250 stores open throughout the Midwest that sell tens of thousands of cups of coffee each day. But more importantly to Mike and BIGGBY® COFFEE, the company is a profoundly people-first organization.

Mike is also the author of Grind, a book which focuses on early stage businesses and how to establish positive cash flow.

Laura Eich is BIGGBY® COFFEE’s Chief People Officer, having worked in a variety of roles at BIGGBY® COFFEE for the last 11+ years. She helped launch BOOST, the department at BIGGBY® COFFEE which ultimately became LifeLabTM — BIGGBY® COFFEE’s inhouse culture cultivation team designed to help people be the best versions of themselves and help companies support them along the way. In her role, Laura helps people build lives that they love through the process of building profitable businesses and robust, growth-filled careers.

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As a nod to the past, Detroit Podcast Studios leverages modern versions of Motown’s processes to launch today’s most compelling podcasts. What Motown was to musical artists, Detroit Podcast Studios is to podcast artists today. With over 75 combined years of experience in content development, audio production, music scoring, storytelling, and digital marketing, Detroit Podcast Studios provides full-service development, training, and production capabilities to take podcasts from messy ideas to finely tuned hits.

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