In this episode of Work Shouldn’t Suck, host Tim Cynova connects with the ever-awesome Shannon Litzenberger to explore the intersections of democracy, creative practice, and collective thriving. Together, they dive into how artistic methodologies can expand leadership frameworks and help shape more caring, equitable communities.

In this episode:

• How creative practice informs leadership and systems change
• The importance of mutual care and collective thriving
• Sensory attunement, attentional awareness, and improvisational leadership
• Disrupting default systems and embracing world-making as a practice

Fresh from the national tour of her production World After Dark and moments away from presenting at a social theory, politics, and the arts conference in Spain, Shannon shares insights on how creative practice can serve as a catalyst for personal and societal transformation. They discuss the power of mutual care, the significance of sensory attunement, and the need to reimagine default patterns in both the workplace and society.

This episode also touches on the enduring influence of Shannon’s friendship and collaboration with the late Diane Ragsdale, their shared exploration of aesthetics and embodiment, and their co-authored chapter in Democracy as Creative Practice. Plus, hear how Shannon is bringing her artistic ethos into unexpected spaces—like reimagining an academic panel as an improvisational score.

Tune in for a conversation packed with practical wisdom, unexpected insights, and a reminder that thriving workplaces and thriving communities are built on mutual care, relational leadership, and a willingness to embrace the unfamiliar.

Quotables

“This is where I find a lot of fertile ground for transformation, and why I feel it's so important for creative practice methodologies to gain purchase in this conversation around change, because they're practice-based, and practice is how we change habits. We can have lots of fruitful conversations that evoke ways of knowing that we understand, but to actually become something different than what we've already been conditioned to be requires practice, not just a kind of conceptual knowing.” – Shannon Litzenberger

“ Practice is the pathway to change. If you want to be able to expand your repertoire of being and doing, you have to practice things that are unfamiliar.” – Shannon Litzenberger

“Identity is a very powerful organizing construct in society. The pandemic especially I think really highlighted identity significantly as an organizing structure, as a way of revealing structural harms and inequities. It also started to deepen the way that we are relating in these identity-based affinity groups, and in a sense, this is a challenge when it comes to developing practices that are supportive of a pluralistic democracy. Because, in a pluralistic democracy, we need to develop an ability to be together in ways that are not so strictly codified that we are all twisting ourselves in a knot to try to belong, that actually we need to be able to embrace differences within a dynamic whole in order to work well and co-create well together.” – Shannon Litzenberger

• Values in Creative Practice (02:14)
• Exploring “World After Dark” (04:08)
• Leadership and Collective Action (09:32)
• Navigating Post-Pandemic Challenges (11:10)
• Creative Practice in Organizations (17:43)
• Improvisational Leadership (27:09)
• Collaboration with Diane Ragsdale (35:33)
• Improvisational Score as Panel Discussion (42:29)
• Final Thoughts and Reflections (45:52)

• Shannon's Substack

In this episode of the Work Shouldn’t Suck podcast, host Tim Cynova begins an exploration into the crucial intersection of Human Resources (HR) and climate emergencies. Recorded amidst recent natural disasters, the discussion explores how workplaces can prepare for and respond to climate-related challenges, underscoring the importance of planning for the unexpected, building resilient systems, and supporting employee well-being in the midst of these emergencies.

Joining the conversation are Jenna Ringelheim and Jillian Wright, bringing their insights on meaningful HR and organizational design practices rooted in equity, anti-racism, and compassion. They emphasize the importance of proactive planning, values-based workplace design, and the integration of equity, empathy, and integrity in HR practices. This spirited discussion highlights the evolving nature of workplace challenges posed by climate change and the need for resilient, people-centered organizational frameworks.

Highlights:

• Introduction to Climate Emergency and HR (00:00)
• Unplanned vs. Unexpected Events (01:06)
• Climate Justice HR: A New Approach (02:31)
• Guest Introductions and Their Work (03:04)
• Values-Centered Work in HR (04:08)
• Climate Justice HR in Practice (10:39)
• Real-World Examples and Challenges (12:43)
• Developing Compassionate Leave Policies (18:18)
• Building Resilient and Supportive Workplaces (22:16)
• The Importance of Flexibility and Empathy (34:28)
• Final Thoughts and Takeaways (44:22)

Related Resources:

• The Resilient Organization: A Guide to Nonprofit Disaster Preparedness by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy
• Scarcity and the Non-Profit People Paradox Example 2 delves into the St. John’s case study and how they approached the unplanned versus the unexpected
• Climate Emotions Wheel including a Guide to Climate Emotions
• Phases of Disaster Response from the Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth
• University of California’s Center for Climate Justice “What is Climate Justice“ and the Six Pillars of Climate Justice.
• Tulane University’s “What Is a Disaster Management Cycle?”
• Crisis Relief & Recovery on “What is Disaster Leadership?”
• “How to Lead Through a Crisis” by the Center for Creative Leadership
• “The connection between the climate crisis and outdated leadership models” by the Academy for Sustainable Innovation
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In this episode of Work Shouldn’t Suck, host Tim Cynova is rejoined by co-host Lauren Ruffin and special guest Adam Huttler, the founder of Fractured Atlas and current head of product and technology at MonkeyPod, another company he founded. Together, they dive into the nuances of starting and scaling organizations, drawing from their shared experiences at Fractured Atlas and beyond.

The conversation explores the intricacies of startups and scaling, including the critical transition points, calibrating risk between staff and boards, the importance of intellectual honesty, and the role slack plays in supporting a culture of learning.

Key Highlights:

• Product-Market Fit [02:09]
• Startup Phase Challenges [02:56]
• Transitioning to Scaling Mode [03:22]
• Experimentation & Intellectual Honesty [04:45]
• Evaluating Team & Leadership [08:35]
• Nonprofit Sector Dynamics [13:51]
• Risk Calibration in Nonprofits [20:08]
• Strategic Planning & Strategic Thinking in Organizations [26:11]
• Hybrid Workplace & Organizational Culture [32:27]
• Building High-Performing Teams [36:30]
• Creating Space for Learning & Growth [44:55]

BIOS

ADAM HUTTLER is the founder and head of product of MonkeyPod, an all-in-one software platform for nonprofit organizations that supports accounting, donor management, fundraising, collaboration, and more. A serial entrepreneur at the intersection of technology, culture, and social justice, his career emphasizes developing innovative business models and revenue strategies for mission-driven companies, in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors.

In 1997, Adam founded Fractured Atlas, a non-profit technology company that helps artists with the business aspects of their work. During Adam's twenty years as CEO, the organization grew from a one-man-band housed in an East Harlem studio apartment to a broad-based service organization with an annual budget of $25 million. When he left in 2017, Fractured Atlas's services had grown to reach over 1.5 million artists across North America and distributed over $250 million to support their work.

From 2003-2013, Adam also ran Gemini SBS, a software development firm serving the nonprofit and public sectors. Before being acquired by Fractured Atlas in 2013, Gemini worked with clients such as the US Department of Education, New York University, and the University of North Carolina, among many others.

In 2017, Adam left Fractured Atlas to launch Exponential Creativity Ventures, a boutique venture capital fund backing early-stage technology companies that support human creative capacity. ECV was fully deployed as of late 2019, but Adam continues to support and advise ECV's 18 portfolio companies.

In 2019, a personal side project became a bona fide startup when Adam publicly launched MonkeyPod.

Adam has a B.A. in theater from Sarah Lawrence College, an M.B.A. from New York University, and is a self-taught software developer. In 2011, he was recruited for the inaugural class of National Arts Strategies' Chief Executive Program. He is also an alumnus of Singularity University's Executive Program and the University of California at Berkeley's Venture Capital Executive Program.

Adam was named to Crain's New York Business's 2016 "40 Under Forty" class and was listed by Barry's Blog as one of the "Top 50 Most Powerful and Influential Leaders in Nonprofit Arts" for five consecutive years.

LAUREN RUFFIN (she/her) is the Director and Lead Strategist of Art & Culture at Michigan Central. An expert in responsible innovation, her work centers on defining and implementing best practices for organizations reshaping the world through technology to ensure

In this episode, host Tim Cynova dives back into the world of shared and distributed leadership with three leaders of Bridge Live Arts, a Bay Area-based nonprofit dedicated to equity-driven live art. He's joined by Cherie Hill, Hope Mohr, and Rebecca Fitton as they unpack the unique journey of implementing a distributed leadership model at BLA as it transitioned from Hope Mohr Dance.

The team shares the origins of the distributed leadership model, how their particular model works, how engaging with community informs and evolves the model, some of their “ahas” and lessons learned along the way, and where to from here.

Episode Highlights

• 03:50 Understanding Bridge Live Arts
• 05:27 The Journey to Shared Leadership
• 08:20 Implementing Distributed Leadership
• 14:45 Challenges and Assumptions in Shared Leadership
• 19:47 Exploring Dancing Distributed Leadership
• 20:35 Initial Phases and Learnings
• 22:47 Improvisation in Shared Leadership
• 24:26 Future Directions
• 26:47 Challenges and Reflections
• 30:36 Advice for Implementing Shared Leadership

Related Resources

• The Dancing Distributed Leadership program
• Shifting Cultural Power: Case Studies and Questions in Performance by Hope Mohr
• Check out the new book Artists On Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography featuring an in-depth case study of Bridge Live Arts.

GUEST BIOS

Cherie Hill (she/her) is a curator, co-director, and the Director of Arts Leadership at Bridge Live Arts (B.L.A.). She has co-curated Power Shift: Improvisation, Activism, & Community; Anti-Racism in Dance; Money in the Arts; and Transforming the Arts: Shared Leadership in Action series. In 2023, she curated Liberating Bodies: dialogue and movement workshops with Black Diaspora dance artists. She co-presents on distributed leadership, advocates for equity and inclusion, and is a choreographer, dance educator, and Assistant Professor in Dance Studies at CSU San Marcos. Cherie collaborated with B.L.A. former co-directors Hope Mohr and Karla Quintero to lead HMD/the Bridge Project, an organization with a hierarchical model to Bridge Live Arts, a model based on Distributed Leadership. Cherie is a researcher and has published articles in Gender Forum, the Sacred Dance Guild Journal, Dance Education in Practice, Stance On Dance, In Dance, and most recently co-authored "Embodying Equity-Driven Change: A Journey from Hierarchy to Shared Leadership" for Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography. Cherie presents at national and international conferences and has held multiple residencies, including choreographic residencies with Footloose Productions, Milk Bar Richmond, the David Brower Center, and CounterPulse’s Performing Diaspora. She holds a BA degree in Dance and Performance Studies and African American Studies and an MFA in Dance, Performance, and Choreography with graduate certificates in Women and Gender Studies and Somatics. Cherie is a mother of two incredible sons and lives in Luiseño-speaking Payomkawichum homeland/Temecula Valley, CA, with her life-long partner.

Hope Mohr (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and arts advocate. She has woven art and activism for decades as a choreographer, curator, and writer. After a...

Season 6 of the WSS podcast here!

In our inaugural episode of the season, host Tim Cynova is joined by Katy Dammers, Indira Goodwine-Josias, and Christy Bolingbroke as they explore reimagining of value-centered workplaces through Creative Administration. In organizations dedicated to creative expression and innovation, why is it that so many have workplace practices and policies that are dusty?

The spirited discussion dives into the challenges and opportunities within the creative sector to rethink “traditional” approaches, asking when it might be better to reinvent the wheel or even asking if a wheel is what’s needed. The conversation underscores the critical balance between stability and creative experimentation, reflecting on how new approaches can support long-term change and longevity in the arts.

Episode Highlights

• 02:15 Meet the Guests
• 05:44 Diving into Creative Administration
• 09:20 Balancing Structure and Improvisation
• 17:26 Challenging Conventional Wisdom
• 20:46 Navigating Institutional Change
• 24:26 Reevaluating Policy: Balancing Ethics and Values
• 25:09 Navigating Crisis with Established Policies
• 25:51 Incremental Change in Nonprofit Organizations
• 26:37 Creativity and Experimentation During COVID
• 26:58 The Snapback to Pre-COVID Norms
• 27:38 Fear of Change and Embracing New Solutions
• 28:44 Creative Administration and Sustainability
• 29:49 The Role of Artists in Institutional Change
• 34:11 Balancing Administrative and Artistic Growth

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• Check out the new book Artists On Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography.
• Christy Bolingbroke’s Masters Thesis, Designing a 21st Century Dance Ecology: Questioning Current Practices and Embracing Curatorial Interventions

GUEST BIOS

Christy Bolingbroke is the Founding Executive/Artistic Director for the National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron (NCCAkron). She is responsible for setting the curatorial vision and sustainable business model to foster research and development in dance. Previously, she served as the Deputy Director for Advancement at ODC in San Francisco, overseeing curation and performance programming as well as marketing and development organization-wide. A key aspect of her position included managing a unique three-year artist-in-residence program for dance artists, guiding and advising them in all aspects of creative development and administration. Prior to ODC, she was the Director of Marketing at the Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, NY. She earned a B.A. in Dance from the University of California, Los Angeles; an M.A. in Performance Curation from Wesleyan University; and is a graduate of the Arts Management Fellowship program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She currently serves on the Akron Civic Commons Core Team; as a consulting advisor for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Arts Innovation Management initiative; and on the New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project Advisory Panel. In 2017, DANCE Magazine named Bolingbroke among the national list of most influential people in dance today.

Indira Goodwine-Josias was born and raised in Queens, NY, and believes in the power of art to educate, inspire, and advance change. With a dual background in dance and arts administration, she is currently the Senior Program Director for Dance at the New England Foundation for the Arts

If you’ve ever wondered about the ins-and-outs of executive coaches – how does it work, how do you find one; I’m not an “executive,” is it still for me? – this is an episode for you!

Host Tim Cynova is in conversation with Farah Bala, a certified executive coach and founder of Farsight, an agency dedicated to leadership and organizational development with a focus on equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-oppression practices. Their conversation covers a lot of ground, from the philosophical to the practice, with some highlights from the discussion below.

Episode Highlights

• 04:15 The Essence and Impact of Coaching
• 08:10 Coaching for Everyone: Breaking Down the Myths
• 12:09 The Intersection of Coaching and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• 18:28 Navigating Privilege and Responsibility in Coaching and Beyond
• 24:00 The Power of Perspective in Coaching and Creating Change
• 25:10 Choosing the Right Coach: A Personal Journey
• 26:16 The Impact of Identity on Coaching Choices
• 27:26 The Art of Asking the Right Questions
• 29:55 The Evolution of Coaching in Virtual Workplaces
• 33:32 Self-Care: The Coach's Perspective
• 41:02 Leveraging Improv for Coaching Skills
• 42:36 Understanding Coaching Costs and Arrangements
• 46:36 Expanding Access to Coaching

Mentioned on the podcast: Farsight Friday EP26: Coaching for Inclusion

FARAH BALA is a Leadership EDIA (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Oppression) Executive Coach, Consultant and Speaker. As Founder & CEO of FARSIGHT, Farah's mission is to support organizations and leaders redefine the concept of leadership by making Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Oppression a core leadership competency. Her clients include executives in the C-suite, creatives and entrepreneurs, and organizations across wide-ranging sectors and industries. She is also a faculty coach at multiple learning and development institutions. Farah believes equity and inclusion are the foundational pillars for effective leadership and communication.

Farah’s speaking engagements include Yale University, Ford Foundation, Voice America, NY Travel Festival, Travel Unity, Adirondack Diversity Initiative, Asian American Arts Alliance, among others. She is a sought after speaker at national conferences, most recently at SHPE and SASE. Farah is also the creator and host of FARSIGHT FRIDAY, a video podcast started in 2020 in response to the heightened racism and divisiveness of marginalized communities. communities. She is a recipient of the Diversity Award by the World Zoroastrian Organization, recognized for her work in raising awareness towards gender, culture, racial equity and inclusion globally.

Farah holds an MFA in Theater from Sarah Lawrence College, and is a graduate of the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) Program. She is a Professional Certified Executive Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation, and is certified in the Energy Leadership Index (ELI), EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 assessments, and Character Strengths Intervention. She is featured in Umbrage Edition’s national award-winning book Green Card Stories as one of 50 profiles of recent immigrants from around the world.

Having worked as a performing artist and producer for over two decades, Farah has used the tools of the theater in arts education developing social-emotional learning in NYC public schools and...

In this episode, host Tim Cynova interviews Ann Le and Meg Buzzi, authors of the book "The In-Between: A Companion for Uncertain Times." The discussion brings in many of the challenges of work in the current chaotic and uncertain landscape, and offers insights on how individuals, teams, and organizations can stay engaged and motivated. At the heart of the discussion, Ann and Meg invite listeners to rethink their relationship with work and explore new possibilities.

Episode Highlights:

• 03:18 The Genesis of The In-Between: A Book for Uncertain Times
• 05:06 Unpacking Work Culture: Insights from The In-Between
• 08:00 Navigating Work and Life in a Post-Pandemic World
• 08:43 Redefining Work: From Transactional to Transformational
• 15:52 The Future of Work: Adapting to Change and Embracing Uncertainty
• 16:29 Bridging Old Systems and New Realities
• 19:09 Practical Advice for Organizations in Transition
• 24:32 Evolving Ideas and Unexplored Themes

Explore the authors’ website. Buy their book.

Ann Le is thinker, leader, and finance/operations pro, working on building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems and organizations. She's leaning into how we can leverage new technologies, finance and community to combat racial and economic injustice. Ann spent a decade as a VP in investment banking, then spent 5 years at a major film studio. After her MBA, Ann has worked and held leadership roles with over 50+ organizations from large corporations to start-ups, non-profit, government, and has served on numerous boards. She's also written a great, but not best-selling cookbook, and produced an award-winning Sundance independent film. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics, with a focus on history and labor, and has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Business. Ann will ask you if any of this matters as we move out of the In-Between, and we enter a new paradigm of work and community: there's a new way to see and value ourselves. Ann has been described as a great teammate, a caring, intuitive human with a strong Slack game who also writes the "opposite of boring" emails.

Meg Buzzi is a change artist helping to build imaginative solutions to systemic challenges, especially at work. She is a PCC-certified coach, writer, and co-founder of the Present of Work (presentofwork.com) consulting group and the Starter Cultures (startercultures.us) change community. She helps teams and leaders level-up and reconnect to what truly matters to them. A former Chief Information Officer, Meg has led multi-million-dollar change efforts in K-12, higher education, government, and tech. But her most valuable learning is about building community and practicing trust when we are faced with complexity and challenge. Meg is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, an Art of Hosting facilitator and a contributor to the books Fieldworking (Bedford St. Martin's), The Rhetoric of Inquiry (Macmillan), and Narrative Generation. Send her a note at meg@presentofwork.com.

In this episode, Tim Cynova is in conversation with Tammy Dowley-Blackman, an entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in leadership and organizational development. A differentiator for Tammy in this work comes in that she’s sat in many of the proverbial seats at the table: serving as a CEO and key decision-maker, a board member, a sought-after consultant, a leadership development content creator, and a key partner to corporations, government entities, nonprofits, and philanthropic institutions.

Episode Highlights:

• The needs and expectations of Gen Z in the workplace,
• The impact of the pandemic on work and how organizations can adapt to the changing landscape,
• The importance of rethinking and reimagining performance evaluations and strategic planning,
• Developing futurist mindsets,
• And, the need for organizations to invest in professional development and create equitable and inclusive work environments.

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes on executive coaches who center equity and inclusion in their practice, and the authors of "The In-Between: A Companion Book For Uncertain Times.” Plus, catch season two of "White Men and the Journey Towards Anti-Racism" as well as an episode on values-based collective bargaining processes.

TAMMY DOWLEY-BLACKMAN (she/her) collaborates with the corporate, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to build an intergenerational pipeline of leaders equipped to deliver solutions for today’s complex global workplace. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and Harvard University is an author, entrepreneur, leadership expert, nonprofit executive, philanthropic leader and professor.

She is the CEO of Tammy Dowley-Blackman Group, LLC, a certified National Supplier Development Council Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Small Business Administration (SBA) Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Women’s Business Enterprise Network Council (WBENC) woman-owned company, as well as a graduate of the C200 Champion Program and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. The company is comprised of a suite of brands, including TDB Group Strategic Advisory, a management consulting firm specializing in organizational and leadership development for the corporate, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors; Looking Forward Lab, a media content company focused on Gen Z, which partners with corporations and higher education systems to offer a full-service learning engagement model that delivers workforce development solutions; and Cooper + Lowe, a company that serves as an incubator offering full back-office management support for women interested in transitioning to entrepreneurship and thought leadership. Each of the companies has a long legacy of embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging (DEIAB) in its values, collaborations, and outcomes.

In addition, Tammy recently completed her six-year term as the president of the TSNE Board of Directors, where she helped lead the $64 million-dollar organization through unprecedented leadership and business model strategic alignment and planning. She also provides leadership as a Board Director for the Proteus Fund and as an Advisory Board member for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the University of North Carolina School of Law Director Diversity Initiative. Find Tammy online at tammydb.com.

TIM CYNOVA, SPHR (he/him) is the Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., an HR and org design consultancy helping to reimagine workplaces where everyone can thrive. He is a...