Send us Fan Mail

Most of us don’t mean to work in silos - but our calendars and inboxes quietly build them for us.

In this episode, Jessica and Erin guide you through a five-minute exercise to map your work relationships, notice who’s missing, and take one small step outside your silo this month.

We get busy, go to the people we already know, and stay in our lanes. In this episode of Practicing Connection, hosts Jessica and Erin walk you through a simple, five-minute exercise to map your work network and make the invisible visible.

You’ll list the people you’ve talked with about work over the past month, then explore patterns across sectors, roles, geography, and experience. Along the way, you’ll surface quiet assumptions, notice who’s overrepresented, and identify whose voices are missing from your conversations.

Finally, Jessica and Erin invite you to choose just one gap to focus on this month—and to reach out for one conversation that takes you a step outside your silo. It’s a gentle, practical way to start building a more intentional, inclusive network that strengthens your work and your community.

LinkedIn Practice:

If you’re working to solve complex problems or serve a community, who’s not in your network matters.

What’s one gap you notice in your own network right now?

Links and resources from this episode:

• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org

Send us Fan Mail

This month’s listener Q&A gives us three juicy areas to cover: struggling with frequent task switching, dealing with burnout and unachievable workloads (and the expectations associated with this), and how our practices integrate with personal reflections.

Erin and Jessica respond to your questions with insight, experience and resources, to give you some great, actionable steps in your daily life.

Episodes referenced in this episode:

• Everyday Practices for Organizational Resilience:
  https://oneop.org/learn/everyday-practices-for-organzational-resilience/
• Turning Conflict Into Collaboration:
  https://oneop.org/learn/turning-conflict-into-collaboration/

Links and resources from this episode:

• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org

Send us Fan Mail

You've walked into a meeting and felt it immediately - something's off. The energy is flat, or there's a tension nobody's naming.

What do you do with that?

In this practicast, we share a simple, repeatable practice for reading the emotional temperature of any room.

Reading the Room is a short practice in social awareness — one of the core skills of emotional intelligence.

In this practicast, we walk through three steps for tuning into the emotional temperature of a group before and during meetings: the early arrival observation, the 3-person scan, and the traffic light check.

Perfect for service providers, coalition leaders, nonprofit staff, and anyone who facilitates groups.

LinkedIn Practice:

1. Pick one meeting per day to practice a deliberate 3-person scan.
2. Afterward, jot down one thing you noticed that you might have otherwise missed.

Over time, this kind of intentional observation becomes second nature.

Links and resources from this episode:

• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org

Send us Fan Mail

What if the key to resilience is practicing together?

This episode fom the Practicing Connection archives features a conversation about burnout and resilience with guests Dr. Charles (Chip) Benight and Nicole Weis from the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

Their research on human resilience paves the way for therapies that address the needs of trauma survivors, including service providers and others who may suffer secondary trauma.

Links and resources from this episode:

Greater Resilience Information Toolkit: https://grit.uccs.edu/

Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/

Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org

Send us Fan Mail

What if the key to getting more done is doing less focusing?

In this episode, Erin introduces the concept of unfocusing - not slacking off, but intentionally giving your brain a chance to rest and recharge.

Drawing from Dr. Srini Pillay's book Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try, we explore why hyperfocusing leads to burnout, mental rigidity, and even impaired decision-making.

Then Erin walks us through a simple, low-pressure practice to help you build a healthier cognitive rhythm — no major schedule overhaul required, just a 10-minute alarm.

Links and resources from this episode:

• Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try by Dr Srini Pillay : https://drsrinipillay.com/resource/tinker-dabble-doodle-try/
• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org

Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever asked, “So what do I do with this?” after listening to a Practicing Connection episode?

Put the pieces together with us on our first Q&A episode!

Join Erin and Jessica as we answer listener questions on how to start actually doing practices, including must-listen episodes and what practices you can combine.

We share some of our favorite episodes and practices, along with suggestions for listeners to take the next steps in their own practicing journey.

There's lots here, so bookmark this one, these episodes will keep you company for a while!

Episodes referenced in this episode:

• Encouragement That Works: How to Give a Real Pep Talk https://oneop.org/learn/how-to-give-a-real-pep-talk/
• Beyond Sleep: Four Kinds of Rest We All Need https://oneop.org/learn/beyond-sleep-four-kinds-of-rest-we-all-need/
• More than a Meal: Building Community and Resilience with Chef Mary Long https://oneop.org/learn/more-than-a-meal-building-community-and-resilience-with-chef-mary-long/
• Collaboration in Action: Serving Military Families through Strengthening Communities https://oneop.org/learn/collaboration-in-action/
• Adventure-Ready: Strengthening Military Families Through Teen Camps https://oneop.org/learn/adventure-ready-strengthening-military-families-through-teen-camps/, https://fcs.mgcafe.uky.edu/MTAC
• Do Less of What Drains You https://oneop.org/learn/do-less-of-what-drains-you/
• Using the Feeling Wheel to Know Your Emotions https://oneop.org/learn/using-the-feeling-wheel-to-know-your-emotions-s-4-ep-11/
• Listening for Strengths and Values https://oneop.org/learn/listening-for-strengths-and-values-s-5-ep-2/
• An Ecosystem of Military Family Support with Nicola Winkel https://oneop.org/learn/learning-from-each-other-s-5-ep-5/
• Notice Offers & See Them as Gifts, with Shannon Hughes https://oneop.org/learn/notice-offers-see-them-as-gifts-s-5-ep-13/
• Strengthening Military Community Connections with Amy Rodick https://oneop.org/learn/strengthening-military-community-connections/
• Habit Stacking https://oneop.org/learn/habit-stacking/
• Ending the Day Strong: A 5-minute Daily Reset https://oneop.org/learn/ending-the-day-strong-a-5-minute-daily-reset/
• Reconnecting with Wonder to Spark Creativity https://oneop.org/learn/reconnecting-with-wonder-to-sparl-creativity/

Further links and resources for the podcast:

• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/
• Send us a message:

Send us Fan Mail

You're frustrated with someone you’re collaborating with, but you can't quite explain why.

Chances are, the problem isn't their performance - it's the unspoken expectations neither of you knew the other had.

Most of us walk into collaborative relationships with an unwritten rulebook, and then feel quietly frustrated when others don't follow it.

The problem? We never handed them the book.

In this episode of Practicing Connection, Jessica introduces the Expectation Audit, a simple but powerful practice rooted in organizational psychology. Drawing on research about unspoken workplace expectations, and what Brené Brown calls "stealth expectations," Jessica and Erin explore why crossed wires at work are rarely about performance or personality.

More often, they're about invisible norms we've never made visible.

You'll walk away with a practice you can use on your own or with your team to turn frustration into honest, productive conversation.

Links and resources from this episode:

• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org

Send us Fan Mail

A good pep talk isn’t just about saying “you got this.”

When done right, it can reignite purpose, build trust, and help others find strength when things get tough.

Everyone needs encouragement - but great encouragement does more than make people feel good. It helps them believe in their ability to meet challenges, connect to purpose, and keep going when things get difficult.

In this episode of Practicing Connection, Jessica and Erin dig into the science behind effective pep talks, inspired by research from Harvard Business Review and Motivating Language Theory.

Erin walks listeners through how to write a meaningful pep talk using three key ingredients: direction, empathy, and purpose.

You’ll also learn how to bring these ideas into everyday encouragement, whether you’re leading a team or supporting a friend through something hard.

Listen in to learn how the right words - offered with care - can make all the difference.

LinkedIn Practice:

Think of someone who’s facing a big challenge right now - a colleague, a friend, or even yourself.

• What would you say to encourage them today?
• Do they need more direction, empathy, or meaning?

Post your short pep talk or reflection in the comments, or join the discussion in our Practicing Connection LinkedIn Group.

Let’s practice encouragement that truly inspires action.

Links and resources from this episode:

• The Science of Pep Talks by Daniel McGinn
• Season 7, Episode 11: Humble on Purpose: A Practice for Better Decisions
• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org