BW CEO Bob Chapman often tells a story about meeting Steve Jones, who was formerly a high school football coach who led his teams to five consecutive state titles from 2013-2017 with an incredible run of 70 consecutive victories, a Wisconsin state record. With those impressive credentials, Bob asked Steve what he taught his players about winning and losing. Steve said they didn’t. He said that they teach them to play their position well for their fellow team members. Do it as an act of respect for their fellow team members.

He said, “When people truly care for one another, it’s amazing how hard they will work for each other.”

To Bob, it begged the question: if you create an environment of unconditional care, wouldn’t the people there want to “play their position well” for their teammates?

Our friend, Shawn Murphy, has written a book about teams, team building and team performance: Work Tribes: The Surprising Secret to Breakthrough Performance, Astonishing Results and Keeping Teams Together. To Shawn, one of the key aspects of an environment of unconditional care is belonging. As he wrote in a guest post on our Truly Human Leadership blog:

"As human beings, we are wired to belong. Some researchers say that belonging is what bonds people together. It’s the bond that is either life-giving or life-depleting... Of course, the reverse is true when you don’t feel a sense of belonging. You protect your thinking. You become hyper-focused on yourself. You limit pro-social behaviors. You close yourself off to relationships. Your potential is limited. Yet, when a leader can help someone feel like they belong to the team, the team benefits. Ultimately the company benefits. Human potential is unleashed. Mediocrity is diminished."

As we often say, everyone wants to know that who they are what what they do matter. That is important for every leader to remember. On this podcast, you'll hear a discussion with Shawn as he talks about Work Tribes and the idea of helping your people feel like they belong.

Marcel Schwantes is a speaker, author, acclaimed executive coach, and an Inc. Magazine Contributing Editor. Marcel writes and delivers presentations, workshops, courses, and coaching programs about the human side of business and how cultures of care, connection, and belonging power companies to thrive and outperform the competition. Marcel also hosts the popular "Love in Action" podcast, on which our CEO, Bob Chapman has been a guest.

Marcel has a new book that just came out, Humane Leadership: Lead With Radical Love, Be A Kick-Ass Boss. There are a lot of parallels in Marcel’s writing with what we talk about at Barry-Wehmiller. In his book, Marcel draws on personal experiences, case studies, and compelling research to reveal how leaders can transform organizations by embracing genuine care for their people.

On this episode, we talk with Marcel about how he defines "Humane Leadership" by exploring what he calls the five principles of effective leadership: patience, kindness, humility, advocacy, and trustworthiness.

explains the five principles of effective leadership: patience, kindness, humility, advocacy, and trustworthiness.explains the five principles of effective leadership: patience, kindness, humility, advocacy, and trustworthiness.

This podcast features a story from Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute, Barry-Wehmiller's consulting arm that specializes in helping other organizations unleash the extraordinary in their businesses and their people. They do this by helping those organizations identify, develop, and equip their leaders. You can learn more about Chapman & Co. at ccoleadership.com.

Chapman & Co. has a dedicated branch in South Africa which has worked with Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages on leadership development for a number of years. Peninsula Beverages is the largest Coca-Cola franchise in South Africa with 1300 team members. To date, more than 60 percent of their organization has taken the Listen Like a Leader class, which is Barry-Wehmiller's groundbreaking empathetic listening training.

Mike Budden is a partner at Chapman & Co. and the managing partner of their Cape Town South Africa office. On this episode, we’re going to feature a conversation between Mike and his friend and colleague, Bryn Morse, Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages HR Leader.

Mike and Bryn talk about their journey to bring Cola-Cola Penn Bev’s company culture to another level. They talk about the difference it has made in the company and why the journey was important. And they talk about the importance of Barry-Wehmiller, our CEO Bob Chapman and Chapman & Co to that journey. They talk about a trip to a Barry-Wehmiller facility in Phillips, WI and a lot more.