Tuesdays 5:00pm - 6:00pm (EDT)
EPISODE SUMMARY:
Ever felt like you’re working nonstop but still falling short? This episode cracks open the myth of busyness and builds a bold new definition of real productivity — one that actually holds up in today’s complex, chaotic work world. Because endurance in leadership isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing what matters, for the long haul.
Imagine this: You’re checking every box, attending every meeting, and still wondering: Is any of this actually moving the needle? Or you are a manager or leader wondering, "Is this the best I can get out of my people? Are the performing at their highest levels? Are we efficient enough?" In this episode, we pull apart the illusion of productivity that keeps high-performing teams spinning and introduce a sharper, saner standard rooted in long-term impact. You’ll hear insights gained from a study of 30 senior leaders across industries who’ve worked with the most productive people and teams of their careers — and what they’ve learned about real, sustainable output. We explore why the old metrics are failing, what effective leaders do differently, and how to reset the conversation about work that actually matters. If you're ready to stop sprinting on autopilot and start leading with intention, hit play.
Emma Browning is a management consultant and founder of Paradox Consulting Partners, a woman--owned consulting company and Certified B Corporation that aligns talent strategy with business strategy to create high-performing, great places for all to work. She has her MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and has advised hundreds of clients including Fortune 100 and 500 companies over her 20-year consulting career. She is an expert in helping organizations operate both productively and equitably through structure, process, and systems design.
www.linkedin.com/in/emmabrowning
https://paradoxcp.com
#RedefiningProductivity #SustainableLeadershipHabits #BusyVsProductive #WorkThatActuallyMatters #TheHardSkills
Tune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
Many leaders today find themselves overwhelmed by busyness while still feeling unproductive, which may signal a deeper issue: outdated assumptions about what productivity truly means. Dr. Mira Brancu and guest Emma Browning challenge the traditional “output per hour” model, emphasizing the need to prioritize long-term outcomes over short-term outputs—especially in today’s knowledge-driven, rapidly changing work environments. They advocate for a new, equity-conscious approach to productivity that aligns with individual capacity, evolving organizational values, and the strategic reflection time leaders need to drive meaningful impact.
In this segment, Emma Browning introduces a transformative new productivity formula: (Movement + Usage + Experience) ÷ Resources, shifting the focus from mere output to meaningful progress, engagement, and long-term impact. She explains how productive work isn't just about getting things done, but about whether that work is used, creates positive experiences, and sets up future success—emphasizing that true productivity must be evaluated at the individual, team, and organizational level. Leaders who foster trust, explicitly encourage initiative, and recognize the value of strong relationships and continuous improvement are best positioned to empower high-performing, equitable workplaces.
In this segment, Emma Browning introduces the concept of “superhumans”—ultra-productive individuals with high energy and deep engagement—but warns that their unmatched pace can unintentionally burn out their teams. She emphasizes that true productivity should be sustainable and team-aligned, not just fueled by passion and output from a single individual. To lead with endurance, organizations must redefine productivity using metrics that capture forward movement, real usage, and positive experience, all while allocating resources wisely and cultivating clarity, trust, and planning across teams.
In this closing segment, Emma Browning shares a cautionary tale about a company that over-prioritized metrics and movement while neglecting experience and usage—leading to burnout, siloed teams, and lost innovation, ultimately resulting in a lower-than-expected company exit. She highlights that real productivity requires balance: maintaining clarity on goals while also ensuring work is meaningful, used, and positively experienced across the organization. Emma closes by connecting her interest in productivity to values alignment, recovery habits, and a non-hustle mindset—modeling what sustainable, purpose-driven leadership can look like.
00:00:50.960 --> 00:01:09.299 Mira Brancu: Welcome. Welcome back to the hard skills show where we take a deep dive into the most challenging soft skills required to navigate leadership, uncertainty, complexities and change today and into the future. I'm your host, Dr. Mira Branku. I'm a psychologist. Leadership consultant and founder of towerscope.
00:01:09.890 --> 00:01:20.759 Mira Brancu: Have you ever felt like you're working nonstop, but still falling short, you're checking every box you're attending every meeting. You're still wondering. Is any of this actually moving the needle?
00:01:20.940 --> 00:01:21.960 Mira Brancu: Or
00:01:22.180 --> 00:01:31.009 Mira Brancu: are you a manager or leader? Wondering, is this the best I can get out of my people? Are the they performing at the best levels? Are we efficient enough.
00:01:31.470 --> 00:01:35.170 Mira Brancu: You might be asking yourself the wrong questions.
00:01:35.440 --> 00:01:45.490 Mira Brancu: This episode cracks open the myth of busyness and builds a new definition of real productivity, one that actually holds up in today's complex, chaotic world.
00:01:45.820 --> 00:01:57.209 Mira Brancu: And a really good topic for this season's focus on endurance and leadership, because endurance and leadership isn't about doing more. It's about doing what matters for the long haul.
00:01:57.530 --> 00:02:04.340 Mira Brancu: So whether you're a leader managing a team or simply trying to support your colleagues, this conversation is for you.
00:02:04.650 --> 00:02:09.110 Mira Brancu: and I'm super excited to introduce my guest today. Emma Browning.
00:02:09.289 --> 00:02:24.349 Mira Brancu: Emma is a management consultant and founder of paradox, consulting partners, a woman-owned consulting company, and certified B. Corp. That aligns talent, strategy with business strategy to create high performing great places for all to work.
00:02:24.490 --> 00:02:35.860 Mira Brancu: She has her Mba. From Duke University's Fuqua school of business, and has advised hundreds of clients, including Fortune, 100 500 companies over her 20 year consulting career.
00:02:36.170 --> 00:03:04.219 Mira Brancu: And she's an expert in helping organizations operate both productively and equitably through structure, process and systems design. And I have the distinct pleasure of having to know her since I started my business, and I went to see a talk that she delivered, that I just loved so must much that I went right up to her and introduced myself, and we've been good friends and colleagues since then, so welcome and great to have you on the show. Emma.
00:03:04.780 --> 00:03:07.010 Emma Browning: Thank you. I'm very happy to be here.
00:03:07.929 --> 00:03:18.040 Mira Brancu: And by requirement. Being my front end colleague, she kindly danced to my song in the beginning of the show.
00:03:18.940 --> 00:03:38.919 Mira Brancu: even though she's an introvert by nature, and I love that so. Emma, you started out in the nonprofit world. And now you've got this hybrid company right? It's A, it's yes, it's a company for profit. But like mine, which is a social impact company, you went a step further and turned it into A B. Corp, which
00:03:38.920 --> 00:03:57.770 Mira Brancu: actually takes an incredible amount of accountability and administration to measure your impact and to demonstrate your impact every single year. So I think that already demonstrates one of your core values.
00:03:58.060 --> 00:04:11.049 Mira Brancu: which is to have a business for good, right? For the greater good. And one of your core values you shared with me is to create a kinder, more equitable world. Now, today, we're talking about productivity.
00:04:11.410 --> 00:04:20.349 Mira Brancu: And you've gotten very interested in this topic. You've done a study on it. We're going to talk about it. But I think most people, when they think about productivity, they don't think
00:04:21.041 --> 00:04:29.720 Mira Brancu: equity and social impact right? They think these 2 must be at odds. So how do you make the connection between these things.
00:04:30.150 --> 00:04:35.019 Emma Browning: Yeah, it's a great question, and there is a reason that my company is called Paradox. I'm full of paradoxes.
00:04:35.490 --> 00:04:51.480 Emma Browning: I love, I love business. But to answer that question I'm going to describe kind of why I decided to do this study on productivity in the 1st place, and the reason was, I was really having a lot of conversations that were more kind of
00:04:51.500 --> 00:05:03.420 Emma Browning: back office conversations, or kind of closed office, or kind of side conversations with leaders, and also with team members, and the conversations were going something like this. The leader would pull me aside and say, Gosh! Like.
00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:28.349 Mira Brancu: I'm having a really hard time just getting my team to be productive. I just can't get people to work like I don't know what's going on? What advice do you have? And I was having a lot of leaders saying this to me, and then, at the same time, I was having team members, you know. Also, you know, complain and say, gosh, like, you know, I just, I want to be productive. I don't understand what this organization is doing. You know whether it was kind of bringing people back into the office.
00:05:28.350 --> 00:05:38.150 Emma Browning: And people were saying, Gosh! Like I'm so much more productive at home, or you know our strategy keeps changing our priorities. Keep shifting. How can I be productive?
00:05:38.474 --> 00:05:49.830 Emma Browning: And it so it seemed like there was really this disconnect. And I think, managers, you know, we're stuck in the middle. And there was this disconnect between not having conversations in organizations about productivity
00:05:49.980 --> 00:06:18.270 Emma Browning: and having confusion around what productivity was. And I do really care about equity. And I do really care about people having equitable opportunities to succeed and achieve the goals they have for themselves. And when it's really unclear, what those expectations are, and there's not this disconnect about it. It's really hard for people to succeed in their organizations. And so that was the reason that I wanted to go into the study in the 1st place, and try to answer that question.
00:06:18.270 --> 00:06:19.095 Mira Brancu: Yeah. And
00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:36.200 Mira Brancu: what do you think is what one of the things that you mentioned you feel like is missing, or like a misunderstanding is that folks are not having a conversation around expectations
00:06:36.450 --> 00:06:52.120 Mira Brancu: right? And like what productivity means to managers versus employees? Are there other things that we're getting wrong about how we're thinking about productivity. And one of the things I think that is coming up for me as you're sharing. This is.
00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:57.110 Mira Brancu: If I think about equity, right equity is not equality.
00:06:57.630 --> 00:07:12.413 Mira Brancu: and if you apply equality to productivity, it means we're all supposed to make exactly the same widgets at the exactly the same time, with the same pace and frequency. And
00:07:14.250 --> 00:07:20.809 Mira Brancu: I don't think in real life that makes any sense. If you're working with humans, yeah.
00:07:21.280 --> 00:07:32.356 Mira Brancu: like, I'm more efficient at certain things than you are right. And you're a better thinker about some things than I am. And so,
00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.699 Mira Brancu: how are we like
00:07:34.870 --> 00:07:43.812 Mira Brancu: getting this sort of like? We'll get into your formula. But but before we get into your formula, the the sort of equity as it
00:07:44.910 --> 00:07:51.469 Mira Brancu: relates to thinking about productivity and having these kinds of conversations. What are we missing around that.
00:07:52.130 --> 00:08:04.530 Emma Browning: Yeah, I think it's a really good point that people are different, and that came out through the study, that people have different capacity and different ways of working, and you know that might vary by season of life and
00:08:04.530 --> 00:08:28.399 Emma Browning: time, of day and month of the year and different things. People have a really different way of working from each other. And I think, coupled with that, I think what we're seeing with work right now is that work is also changing a lot. And what work even means how we work, where we work, the kinds of work that we're doing, all of that is changing as well. And so
00:08:28.530 --> 00:08:48.250 Emma Browning: so I think that there one thing that was interesting in our study that came out is that people had really different definitions of productivity when we asked people to define it for us, and I can get into more of the details of the study later. But people would just would have different things that they would talk about, and it often related to.
00:08:48.250 --> 00:09:08.299 Emma Browning: You know, their organization's values or their individual personal values, that that actually changed, how people thought about productivity and what productive work is. And so going back to the equity piece as well. That also means that people are operating off different definitions. And so we can't assume that everybody in our organization actually has the same perspective on what productivity is. And yet.
00:09:08.655 --> 00:09:21.749 Emma Browning: organizations often have this, you know when we're measuring productivity, using old, old definitions and formulas, it is a more. Yeah. It's just an old definition, an old formula just isn't relevant for a lot of our workplaces today.
00:09:21.750 --> 00:09:34.909 Mira Brancu: Yeah. So so let's let's let's talk about that. What is the definition that is outdated that it still remains and lingers, and about work, about productivity that, like no longer applies.
00:09:35.390 --> 00:09:48.550 Emma Browning: Yeah. So labor productivity formula is output per hour of labor. That's that's how it's measured. You know, kind of in macro economic publishing. That's that's what it is. It's it's output per hour of labor. And
00:09:48.550 --> 00:10:02.539 Emma Browning: I think for the reason it's outdated in many ways, and that's not relevant to our workplaces is well, one in our study. When we talked about, we talked to leaders about what productivity is, everybody said, it's not about output. It's about outcomes.
00:10:02.540 --> 00:10:19.850 Emma Browning: So just right off the bat. It's not about. Everybody said that from, you know, Ceos of startups to Senior Level leaders in Fortune 500 companies. Everybody said that it's not about outputs. It's about outcomes. So that's the 1st piece that I think isn't relevant. And then.
00:10:19.850 --> 00:10:25.449 Mira Brancu: Let's let's stop there for just a second. Let's define output versus outcomes.
00:10:26.150 --> 00:10:43.290 Emma Browning: Oh, yeah, that's a good question. So output is more. I mean, I think it's more short term. It's you know, it's something tangible that you can. You can feel, you can see. And I think the difference between output and outcomes is outcomes can be very long term.
00:10:43.290 --> 00:11:06.440 Emma Browning: So when you're you know, I think a lot of us today are working on outcomes that can take, you know, weeks or months, years, sometimes even a lifetime. You know that people are working towards. When you think about outcomes, it's, you know, the impact, the long term impact of something. And so it's really, you know, when you're thinking about outputs. That's a much more short term. Look at productivity than I think is realistic for.
00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:06.800 Mira Brancu: My number.
00:11:06.800 --> 00:11:07.710 Emma Browning: Work today.
00:11:08.117 --> 00:11:13.012 Mira Brancu: Okay, great. Okay, so keep going with the sort of outdated model
00:11:13.420 --> 00:11:17.330 Emma Browning: Yeah. So I think that's a big piece of it. I know another part is
00:11:17.793 --> 00:11:28.119 Emma Browning: just thinking about the work we're doing. So most of the companies that I talked to and organizations I talked to were knowledge based industries. And I think you know, most
00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:46.959 Emma Browning: companies and jobs today honestly, are kind of knowledge based jobs just with more automation. AI, too, that just most jobs and industries are headed that way. And so when you think about output per hour of labor again, like, that's just that doesn't bring in kind of the creativity and the innovation. And
00:11:46.960 --> 00:12:03.589 Emma Browning: a lot of the, you know, research and different things that are just such a big piece of the work that we're doing today. So again, you know, I think that's just an outdated formula, at least from a practical standpoint, when we're really looking at talking with people in our organizations, about about their work.
00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:18.899 Mira Brancu: Great. The 1st time I heard about knowledge work was from Adam Grant, and for those folks who are listening who don't know what this term means. Can you share a little bit about how you think about, or what goes under the bucket of knowledge work.
00:12:19.160 --> 00:12:44.029 Emma Browning: Yeah, I mean, obviously, so much does. Now, I think you know anything that involves research or really thinking is part of your work, that there's really kind of head work involved, that it's it's not just kind of it's not just physical labor that it involves research or other thinking. You know there's so. And that's why I think today, you know, almost everything is to some degree knowledge type work. So anything kind of it related
00:12:44.130 --> 00:13:00.509 Emma Browning: or technical, related health care science, you know, so many industries really are knowledge based industries at this point, or even in industries that are not typically knowledge based industries. There are many, many knowledge knowledge jobs in those industries.
00:13:00.510 --> 00:13:05.770 Mira Brancu: Yeah. And I think that is so important to
00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:12.390 Mira Brancu: acknowledge that so much of our work is knowledge work. Because
00:13:13.330 --> 00:13:19.490 Mira Brancu: if you're still functioning under an old model of productivity. Right? Hourly work.
00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:28.539 Mira Brancu: And you're trying to increase quote unquote old type productivity and efficiency.
00:13:29.290 --> 00:13:34.419 Mira Brancu: Somehow, the assumption is, you will produce more knowledge.
00:13:35.186 --> 00:13:53.309 Mira Brancu: If I just think faster and work faster at my job. But the reality is that most leaders that I work with. Their greatest problem is they can't focus on strategic vision because there's too much going on
00:13:53.450 --> 00:14:19.060 Mira Brancu: in the day for them to actually think and reflect in order to be thoughtful enough to create a an intentional strategy that makes sense, and sometimes the only time they have in the day to think is when they're meeting with me once a month for coaching, you know, and that is not good enough. That is not good enough. And so a lot of the work that that I do with them is just
00:14:19.460 --> 00:14:28.799 Mira Brancu: finding ways to carve out critical focus and thinking time and reflection time, because that is going to get them the best
00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:36.440 Mira Brancu: outcome right and for some people that takes
00:14:36.770 --> 00:15:00.800 Mira Brancu: a long time to come up with something creative or innovative, or to piece together a high complexity, you know. In in the the work and information that they're receiving like nonstop during the day, and the constant fires are putting out and trying to make sense of it all and all of that stuff. So I'm really appreciating how you're piecing together.
00:15:01.380 --> 00:15:09.010 Mira Brancu: why, the old productivity model just does not make sense. If you're doing knowledge work. And you're focused on long term outcomes.
00:15:10.140 --> 00:15:12.985 Mira Brancu: Yeah, so with that in mind,
00:15:13.890 --> 00:15:24.820 Mira Brancu: we're reaching an ad break. And when we come back I want to talk about a little bit more about. If that does not make sense the old formula.
00:15:24.880 --> 00:15:49.580 Mira Brancu: what does make sense? What is the formula from the studies that you've done? So we're reaching an ad break. You're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mira Branco and our guest today, Emma Browning. We air on Tuesdays at 5 Pm. Eastern. At that time you can find us streaming, live, streaming on Linkedin, Youtube and several other locations@talkradio.nyc. And we'll be right back with our guest in just a moment.
00:17:32.890 --> 00:17:52.420 Mira Brancu: Welcome. Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and our guest today, Emma Browning, who's talking about the new formula for productivity. We just got done talking about what was the old formula, and why? So? What is your new formula and break it down for us?
00:17:52.730 --> 00:17:58.969 Emma Browning: Yeah, I will. And then it sounds very mathy at the beginning. But it is productivity equal
00:17:59.360 --> 00:18:04.610 Emma Browning: plus usage plus experience, divided by resources.
00:18:04.610 --> 00:18:07.350 Mira Brancu: That down a little productivity equals. Yeah.
00:18:07.350 --> 00:18:08.929 Emma Browning: Yeah. So let me go through each of those.
00:18:08.930 --> 00:18:09.889 Emma Browning: Yes. So starting.
00:18:09.890 --> 00:18:25.620 Emma Browning: so, productivity equals. The 1st piece is movement, and so movement measures forward progress towards goals and objectives, and I think this is probably the most obvious or simplest part of the formula. Most organizations have goals and objectives.
00:18:25.690 --> 00:18:54.560 Emma Browning: I mentioned earlier about how it's, you know, outcomes are really important versus outputs. And the reason we don't have outcomes in the formula is because a lot of them, can, you know, take a lot of time to get to. And so if you're trying to measure your productivity today, sometimes it's hard to measure outcomes, because, you know, it may take months or years to get to some of those outcomes. So if you're measuring that forward progress towards goals and objectives, that is your progress towards outcomes. So that's the 1st part of the formula.
00:18:55.970 --> 00:19:19.970 Emma Browning: Second part of the formula is usage. And so usage measures people's engagement or application or use of whatever it is that was produced or created or served. And so that's the second. The second piece is usage. So it's actually using whatever it is that was created. And this part, I think, is really important, because.
00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:37.869 Emma Browning: you know, we can spend time and effort and energy, you know, creating something or doing work, but if nobody ever sees it or applies it, or we don't learn anything from it. Then the time that we spent doing that wasn't as productive as it could have been. So that's the second part of the formula.
00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:55.980 Emma Browning: The 3rd part of the formula is experience and experience measures people's experience with the work or work product. So sometimes there's a little confusion here. And people think that it's about kind of the skills or experiences that the people have. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about somebody's experience
00:19:55.980 --> 00:20:17.980 Emma Browning: with whatever it is that you produced or did, and so that experience it could be your own experience. So if you're thinking about your own productivity, you know. What was your experience? Was it a positive experience working on this or not? Was it for your team. How was their experience working on this? How was your customer, your supplier working with you on on this
00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:31.659 Emma Browning: product, or whatever it is that you are working on. And the reason we found that experience was so important in the conversations we had is because it impacted future productivity. And so if people aren't paying attention to the experience part
00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:56.649 Emma Browning: of the formula, then they may be negatively impacting future productivity for the team or organization, because people are having a bad experience in the moment. But if they're having a positive experience today, with whatever work you're doing, and it's actually going to increase your productivity, it'll be easier to sell to your customer. It will be easier to retain or hire people on your team if they have a good experience today.
00:20:56.650 --> 00:21:02.780 Emma Browning: And so that part is really important. Again, for that long term, long-term outcomes.
00:21:02.970 --> 00:21:03.850 Mira Brancu: Brilliant.
00:21:05.100 --> 00:21:23.129 Mira Brancu: so that means that those roles that companies hire for that are called customer experience, user experience, employee engagement experience. All of that sounds like it falls under that part. Is that right?
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:38.030 Emma Browning: Yeah, I mean, those roles are super important for yeah, for experience. So absolutely they would. But I would also say that any I mean, if you're thinking about this at individual level or team level or organization level, all the pieces of this formula apply.
00:21:39.110 --> 00:21:40.729 Mira Brancu: okay, and then
00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:51.920 Mira Brancu: people's the the usage piece, is that only customer experience for the usage part
00:21:52.150 --> 00:21:56.280 Mira Brancu: or, how is that? How do you like separate that from the experience part.
00:21:56.570 --> 00:22:14.149 Emma Browning: Yeah. So the usage is, you think about it this way, like, is anybody ever thought about or created? Say, you had to do make a report for something. And you spend all this time creating a report that was done internally, but nobody ever used it or looked at it like all of that, was just wasted time, and that.
00:22:14.150 --> 00:22:14.570 Mira Brancu: I mean.
00:22:14.570 --> 00:22:29.590 Emma Browning: Really frustrating. So it can actually impact experience, too, or think about, you know, a scientist doing research. And if they spend all this time doing research, and nobody ever reads that research or applies it.
00:22:29.730 --> 00:22:56.010 Emma Browning: or if they themselves, it might not even be other people if they themselves don't actually use it, or refer back to it or learn anything from it, then it wasn't as productive as it could have been if. But you know, contrast that to a scientist who does all this research. And you know it's used by lots of other researchers. Lots of people read it. People learn new things about it. They learn a lot that informs more research that they're doing, then that would be much more productive.
00:22:56.010 --> 00:23:08.501 Emma Browning: So it's not, you know, it could be internal customers, but it could be yourself as well. So it's not necessarily just your external customers. It really is whatever you're doing or creating
00:23:09.350 --> 00:23:16.480 Emma Browning: whoever is engaging with that, the more engagement there is with that, and the more that it's actually used, the more productive it is.
00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:25.819 Mira Brancu: Got it, got it so I would guess that what types of activities could increase
00:23:26.550 --> 00:23:52.399 Mira Brancu: good usage would involve things like market research, piloting minimal viable product, like making sure that you're always testing and evaluating whether it's actually going to be useful to people over time instead of just the old model of productivity which is just like, plug away, plug away! Do the thing, never try it out, never test it, because it's only focused on
00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:56.629 Mira Brancu: the development of the thing instead of the evaluation of the thing.
00:23:57.260 --> 00:24:03.209 Emma Browning: Yeah, yeah, I think that's right. And I think the other parts about usage that I think are important is
00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:15.169 Emma Browning: often it's not just dependent on ourselves. So I think again, the kind of the old definition of productivity can be very kind of individual, focused and kind of checking off the boxes and getting things done quickly.
00:24:15.260 --> 00:24:35.500 Emma Browning: but really for something to have a lot of usage. It's often not just dependent on you. It often involves the help of another department within your organization. You know, if you're doing a learning and development program, you need to make sure that people actually show up for that for that training, and that might not be dependent on the person who created that training.
00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:35.979 Mira Brancu: I mean that might.
00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:48.699 Emma Browning: Dependent on other people. And so there's often a lot of teamwork and collaboration. And so it also, when you're thinking about usage, it kind of forces you to think about. Okay, what needs to happen? That's going to maximize
00:24:49.090 --> 00:25:08.839 Emma Browning: the productivity of the time and effort that I'm spending, you know, creating or doing this thing? And you know, who else do I need to bring in? Or as a leader who you know? What do you need to do, to remove obstacles, or bring other people into some situation in order to maximize the usage of something that a team or an individual is creating.
00:25:08.840 --> 00:25:34.450 Mira Brancu: Got it. Yes, and and I could see how it it's also the same ideas apply to the forward movement or progress is that you're relying on a lot of people to make that happen. And so productivity. Therefore your formula is not necessarily just evaluated at the individual level. It's evaluated at the team and organizational level. Is that right?
00:25:34.560 --> 00:25:42.990 Emma Browning: Yeah, it can be applied actually in any way. So you can apply it to your own productivity or a team's productivity or an organization's productivity.
00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:49.313 Mira Brancu: Yeah, yeah, I love it. What I'm hearing in this formula is,
00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:53.750 Mira Brancu: The the old definition was about doing.
00:25:54.810 --> 00:25:57.119 Mira Brancu: And the new definition is about impact.
00:25:57.430 --> 00:25:58.820 Emma Browning: Is that right?
00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:00.890 Emma Browning: Yep, I think that's exactly right.
00:26:00.890 --> 00:26:06.546 Mira Brancu: Okay, beautiful. And that that makes a lot of sense. So
00:26:07.730 --> 00:26:12.409 Mira Brancu: what have have you encountered in your study?
00:26:13.010 --> 00:26:16.700 Mira Brancu: Like people who are exceptional at all of these?
00:26:17.150 --> 00:26:35.220 Mira Brancu: And or are the most productive people versus least productive? And what makes a difference? Is there something about this formula that you've identified, that they are struggling with more, or are really good at that. We can extract some like insights for all of us.
00:26:35.220 --> 00:27:01.530 Emma Browning: Yeah, there was a lot of things. And one of the questions we asked when we conducted the study was, you know, think back over your career and describe the most productive person. We also asked them about teams, but the most productive person that you ever experienced, and how they worked. And then we asked them to tell us, kind of how do you know that person was productive because we didn't want to define productivity for them, but have them define it for us. And so some of the things that came out for individuals.
00:27:01.946 --> 00:27:10.280 Emma Browning: You know, people who took initiative was a big thing, and I think again, that's actually important for equity, because.
00:27:10.280 --> 00:27:33.919 Emma Browning: depending on how you were raised, or your background or prior work experiences you've had, or your personality that might not always come naturally to people. And so it's important to kind of think about that. But take initiative was something that came up a lot for the most productive people improve and innovate. So the people who are always looking for ways to improve upon something
00:27:33.990 --> 00:27:45.769 Emma Browning: that came up a lot, another was build others capacity which I think is interesting. It wasn't just the people who are productive themselves, but if they could leverage other people's strength.
00:27:45.870 --> 00:28:10.969 Emma Browning: coach and train others and build others up. So they're actually kind of that exponential impact of the team. Those people were seen as very productive. And then also, the people who had strong relationships, and that was because they could. They would know where the opportunities were. They would know where funding was coming from. They would be able to get information to get products if they needed them.
00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:21.580 Mira Brancu: Very interesting to me. When I look at this list, take initiative, innovate build, capacity, leverage others strong relationships. They're very empowered people.
00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:43.489 Mira Brancu: and I'm very intrigued about like your comment around the initiative you mentioned equity. So is there something related to building an equitable workforce in order to help people feel more empowered so that they could do all of these things.
00:28:44.510 --> 00:29:06.819 Emma Browning: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I know, you know, trust is something that you know people talk about a lot. But I think that that's super important that people are going to take initiative, you know, if their leader, their manager, or their team trusts them, and they know that they're trusted. So I think that's 1 piece. I think another on the initiative is honestly just telling people. You know, it's okay. You don't need to ask permission.
00:29:06.820 --> 00:29:07.230 Emma Browning: No.
00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:18.839 Emma Browning: you know. Go and do this like you have. You can do this. I trust you like honestly saying that. And as a leader, if you don't feel like you can do that, I think, to really kind of unpack. Why.
00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:41.209 Emma Browning: you don't trust the person to do it, you know. Is it? Is it your own sense of control? Or is it because, you know, they don't have the skills? And if that's the case, then you know, how are you going to build those up so you can get to the point that you really can trust people to, you know, to be able to take initiative. But I think it's something that honestly needs to be explicitly said to people.
00:29:41.210 --> 00:29:49.000 Mira Brancu: Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking that a lot of managers and leaders don't think about literally just saying.
00:29:49.150 --> 00:29:51.240 Mira Brancu: I want you to take initiative.
00:29:51.350 --> 00:30:08.469 Mira Brancu: This is what I'm looking for, or I'm looking for, you know, a workforce or a team that innovates, that shares their ideas, that can leverage others. Skill sets that can demonstrate strong relationships and build them like
00:30:08.590 --> 00:30:14.110 Mira Brancu: these are assumptions. I think many leaders make that like everybody knows that.
00:30:14.280 --> 00:30:24.309 Mira Brancu: And that is not the case. You just have to always over communicate those kinds of things. If that's actually what you're looking for. I also do think that a lot of leaders
00:30:24.730 --> 00:30:41.422 Mira Brancu: don't know that that is what they're looking for or need. And so there's also part of like recognizing from your study and things like this, you know, understanding team dynamics, team development, that it is something that
00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:55.199 Mira Brancu: is important to build in in order to not just, you know, help people feel good about where they are and be productive, but also feel like they're valued, you know, in in the workforce.
00:30:56.320 --> 00:31:16.629 Emma Browning: Yeah, there were 2 great quotes from the study around the initiative. One was a leader who said, You know, we really want productivity, plus. But we don't ask for productivity. Plus was one quote that I thought was a really good point, and the other one was that initiative is the thing that we don't know we need until we get it.
00:31:16.950 --> 00:31:22.849 Emma Browning: So it was kind of that idea that, you know, once you get it for people you're like. Oh, that was productive! That's what I needed.
00:31:22.850 --> 00:31:32.778 Mira Brancu: Yeah, I remember. My, my 1st hire when I hired. You know my assistant? And I've had many assistants and
00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:38.460 Mira Brancu: it was the ones that took initiative that finally made me realize. Oh.
00:31:38.910 --> 00:31:41.389 Mira Brancu: that's what I need that I never
00:31:41.770 --> 00:31:47.630 Mira Brancu: asked for, but I desperately needed that, and I really appreciated it when it happened. And I noticed that. Yeah.
00:31:48.050 --> 00:31:59.006 Mira Brancu: so you're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mira Braku and our guest today, Emma Browning, and we are reaching an ad break, and so we're going to take a break where
00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:09.579 Mira Brancu: here live on Tuesday at 5 pm. Eastern, if you're listening or watching right now, we're on Linkedin Youtube twitch and several other areas, and we will be right back in just a moment.
00:33:39.930 --> 00:33:50.130 Mira Brancu: Welcome. Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and our guest today, Emma Browning. And we're talking about a new definition and formula for productivity.
00:33:50.380 --> 00:34:08.049 Mira Brancu: And your study describes superhumans. The concept of superhumans. Is that similar to what we were just talking about with what it takes to have a high productivity level? Or is this like another level above that.
00:34:09.050 --> 00:34:30.210 Emma Browning: Yeah, this is a little bit different. And this was a word that we just coined to describe. Some of the people that we are hearing about repetitively in the study, and I do want to 1st say that most of the most productive people that were described by the study participants were not these superhumans. Most of them were people who
00:34:30.210 --> 00:34:48.539 Emma Browning: were really good at project management. They planned their time, they knew what they should be focused on, and so they said no to a lot of things that was who most of these productive people were. And they weren't. The people who, you know, worked really long work days or worked incessantly. Most of them weren't.
00:34:48.760 --> 00:35:08.750 Emma Browning: but there were a handful of people in the study that we called superhumans, who were described as people who just had, you know, incredible amount of energy, you know, worked incredibly long hours, and were really, really productive because of all of that, they did all the things, you know, in our productivity formula.
00:35:08.810 --> 00:35:24.550 Emma Browning: and they worked really long hours. You know, they were deep into the business. Some of them were Ceos. Some of them were founders, some of them were team members. They ran the gamut, but people describe them as just. This person has so much energy. They work constantly, but they never burn out.
00:35:24.700 --> 00:35:41.859 Emma Browning: And those were the people that we kind of called these superhumans. But one thing that was really interesting about these superhumans that I want to talk about is that a lot of people said, you know, even though they didn't burn out, they would burn out their team, and we heard this over and over again.
00:35:41.860 --> 00:35:42.509 Emma Browning: and that these people
00:35:42.510 --> 00:36:10.589 Emma Browning: who they had so much energy and they loved their work, and they were having a great experience. You know, their productivity was high, even using our formula because they were having a great experience. They threw themselves into the work. They loved it, but it was really really easy for them to burn out their team, and we heard this over and over and over again. And so I think it's just one of those concepts to think about that. You know, that person just needs to be aware of how their productivity and their experiences
00:36:10.590 --> 00:36:18.910 Emma Browning: is impacting others in the team. And therefore, if they're burning out the team, the longer productivity for that team or organization.
00:36:19.160 --> 00:36:43.580 Mira Brancu: Yeah. Yeah. I think I talk about that similarly to with leaders where? We say they have a pacing leadership style, which is that their pace is extraordinarily fast, and the rest of the teams is not. And how is that influencing? You know? The team's experience with them, and you know, is.
00:36:43.860 --> 00:36:56.470 Mira Brancu: are there ways for them to slow down and match the team? Or you know, just acknowledge the pacing differences, and you know have conversations explicitly about pacing.
00:36:57.110 --> 00:37:08.049 Emma Browning: Yeah, I think that's right. And there was one great example we had in our study of somebody, I think an organization that had figured this out how to do this. Well, they had somebody on the team who was one of these superhumans.
00:37:08.050 --> 00:37:15.150 Emma Browning: and he worked, you know, really long hours was always improving and innovating, and do all these things that were outside of his job description.
00:37:15.150 --> 00:37:39.990 Emma Browning: When they hired this individual that we were interviewing, she said they were very specific to me, they said, You know you're going to meet, you know. We'll call him John. You're going to meet John, and he does, you know, he just works all the time we value him. He's incredible. Know that you don't have to work like John to be successful here. So they were very explicit about that. So it wasn't setting the culture and the tone for the whole organization.
00:37:40.420 --> 00:38:04.450 Mira Brancu: That's great. Yeah. I remember working with a team like this. It's interesting. It was an entire team, and at least half of them worked like this, and the other half did not, and it was, I think, a quality of the kind of people that are drawn to the kind of work that they did. It was all like kind of strategy work, and they were just like
00:38:05.723 --> 00:38:06.826 Mira Brancu: very
00:38:08.530 --> 00:38:23.947 Mira Brancu: very excited about influence, promoting ideas, idea generators. Nonstop idea generators, producing, like super interesting product, like the the entire. You know,
00:38:24.700 --> 00:38:32.101 Mira Brancu: experience of developing ideas and putting them out into products was their thing and
00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:56.026 Mira Brancu: The problem is, yes, they were burning out or annoying the other half of the team with that style. And the leader of this team was so opposite. He was calm, and, you know, chill and relaxed and took his time and thought through a lot, and you know they
00:38:56.930 --> 00:39:06.869 Mira Brancu: didn't realize that they had such distinct styles that was causing friction. And it was just about talking about that kind of style, too.
00:39:07.620 --> 00:39:10.239 Emma Browning: Yeah, yeah, I think that's a great, great example.
00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:11.360 Mira Brancu: Yeah.
00:39:11.520 --> 00:39:16.849 Mira Brancu: Okay, now. So it's clear to me how this
00:39:17.240 --> 00:39:24.330 Mira Brancu: relates to endurance in leadership. Right? If you're thinking outcomes that could take years
00:39:24.782 --> 00:39:33.700 Mira Brancu: sometimes to get to. If you're thinking about impact in the long run. And how do you set yourself up for success when it comes to
00:39:34.040 --> 00:39:52.730 Mira Brancu: making progress on. You know how people actually use and engage in the work, the service, the product, whatever that is, and the experience. That means that you really need to take a much longer term big picture perspective
00:39:52.850 --> 00:39:56.699 Mira Brancu: on productivity. And I'm curious about
00:39:57.323 --> 00:40:00.960 Mira Brancu: when you come into an organization and you present this.
00:40:01.740 --> 00:40:08.419 Mira Brancu: how do you help them shift that mindset from? Yeah. But
00:40:08.550 --> 00:40:17.579 Mira Brancu: we need to get XY, and Z done, and so and so is not performing at the level of blah blah, which is a very tactical short term thing, into
00:40:17.870 --> 00:40:24.770 Mira Brancu: not only changing the mindset, but like sticking to it, like only staying at that higher level. Long term.
00:40:25.100 --> 00:40:27.159 Mira Brancu: endurance, leadership, kind of view.
00:40:27.730 --> 00:40:47.200 Emma Browning: Yeah, those are, yeah. Those are big questions. I think that one is, I think, just looking at productivity in this way, and actually putting this definition around, it expands people's thinking about what productivity is. And I think that one nuance, too, because we also talk about performance. And people will say, kind of what's the difference between this
00:40:47.350 --> 00:40:51.949 Emma Browning: this definition of productivity and performance and kind of long term performance? And I think there's
00:40:52.240 --> 00:41:10.759 Emma Browning: 2 differences. I think that one, there's a resource piece to it. So really thinking about the time and the energy and the money that are being directed towards the activities that will help maximize, the movement, the usage, and the experience. And then I also think
00:41:11.270 --> 00:41:12.310 Emma Browning: there's.
00:41:12.530 --> 00:41:33.300 Emma Browning: you know, when you're thinking about productivity, you are thinking about what you're doing today. So you're thinking about your immediate activities, your short term activities. But you're thinking about how those are going to impact those longer term outcomes. And I think it can be really tough sometimes to think about. You know, gosh, is what I'm doing today.
00:41:33.300 --> 00:41:59.029 Emma Browning: you know, is that going to have impact? Is that really going to, you know, down the road impact, those long term outcomes. And I think that what this formula does is it helps us say, okay, we know, based on this research that these are the things that are going to impact long term outcomes. So let's make sure that we're focused today on those activities and investing all those resources into into those pieces that are going to do that. So I do think that it helps teams just expand their thinking, and have
00:41:59.190 --> 00:42:14.649 Emma Browning: really common language to talk about productivity in this way, and you can assign metrics to these as well. So you know, it's hard to kind of divide it by resources, but you can look at specific metrics around your goals and objectives and what your performance
00:42:14.650 --> 00:42:38.939 Emma Browning: is related to those, and you can look at usage and have, you know, some specific metrics. And even for a team to really identify. Okay, what are those usage metrics that are really important, and whose experience matters the most for our team's future productivity, and really identifying who those people or groups are having that conversation can start to shift. You know what the focus is for that team.
00:42:39.100 --> 00:42:49.769 Mira Brancu: Hmm, yeah. And I think that your comment before about
00:42:50.030 --> 00:43:04.594 Mira Brancu: like the other, the other characteristics that help people be very productive. What included project management. And you know, people who are good planners and who can say no when needed, like
00:43:05.400 --> 00:43:08.190 Mira Brancu: it's amazing to me how few
00:43:09.024 --> 00:43:14.470 Mira Brancu: managers and leaders. Do this well, and how few
00:43:15.057 --> 00:43:25.900 Mira Brancu: team meetings incorporate this, you know, into their work. And I find that that is a skill set that addresses what you just said about
00:43:26.160 --> 00:43:38.349 Mira Brancu: moving back and forth from long term to short term, and measuring the short term in a way that tracks. How is this aligned with our long term? Vision around these areas.
00:43:39.020 --> 00:43:54.860 Emma Browning: Yeah, that's a really good point. And we did. We heard about that project management a lot. And often in our study, the way it played out. When we asked about kind of the most productive teams, somebody would describe a team that was incredibly productive. And they would say, You know, a lot of that is because we had, you know.
00:43:55.040 --> 00:44:07.750 Emma Browning: Susie, on this team. And she was such a great project manager. She taught us all the skills and just kind of how to how to apply this to our work. And that just became the standard practice for our team. And then that team.
00:44:07.750 --> 00:44:08.200 Mira Brancu: Didn't really.
00:44:08.200 --> 00:44:17.580 Emma Browning: Productive, which meant that they weren't scrambling. They were having a better experience. They were planning things out, so they had higher usage. So all the pieces were starting to flow together.
00:44:17.800 --> 00:44:23.110 Mira Brancu: Excellent excellent. So let's get into tactics.
00:44:23.220 --> 00:44:39.809 Mira Brancu: How you know. Let's say, a team comes to you and they want to get started with this? How do? How do they get started with looking at their their metrics around the productivity formula that you just presented? And what do they do with that information?
00:44:40.140 --> 00:45:06.279 Emma Browning: Yeah. So for a team, I would recommend honestly, once they understand the different components to actually identify those metrics and not a lot because we don't want this to become a whole exercise in, just, you know, checking off metrics, but identify the key metrics under each of those 3 areas, and then also figure out from a resource standpoint, how are you going to measure that? You know? How are you going to measure that? The resources you're expending whether it's time or money
00:45:06.280 --> 00:45:34.830 Emma Browning: or effort, you know, actually are being directed towards those activities. So I think there is really a metric piece of that. And the process of developing those metrics really does help the team get aligned on what productivity is and solve the problem that I was seeing right at the beginning of this work that led to the study was this kind of confusion and lack of consistency or understanding among individuals, in an organization about what productivity really looked like and really went for that team.
00:45:35.360 --> 00:45:38.549 Mira Brancu: And do you find that most teams are able to
00:45:39.060 --> 00:45:46.820 Mira Brancu: those metrics around movement, usage, or experience? Do they struggle with it? If they struggle with it? Are there areas that are harder
00:45:46.950 --> 00:45:52.010 Mira Brancu: to get at? You know how they measure those things.
00:45:52.750 --> 00:46:07.997 Emma Browning: Yeah, it's a good question. I think, that the goals and objectives is usually assuming that they have, you know, goals and objectives. That's usually the easiest part, and I think it honestly, I think it depends a lot by the function. Whether the usage is easier or whether the experience is easier.
00:46:08.280 --> 00:46:26.810 Emma Browning: you know, somebody is very customer focused, you know. It's going to be more, you know, customer metrics around experience. But if you are a team. That's more you know, internal customers, if you're an it. You know department, for example, you know whose experience matters is is going to be different for you. So so I think that.
00:46:27.229 --> 00:46:32.259 Emma Browning: Yeah, I think it depends on on the function. But I
00:46:33.250 --> 00:46:44.659 Emma Browning: but it's mixed. I think that you know some guidance is needed. But I also think once you have a good definition, and you know what you're trying to achieve, like the team can figure it out.
00:46:45.450 --> 00:46:48.400 Emma Browning: You know what's most important for them to focus on.
00:46:48.400 --> 00:47:02.740 Mira Brancu: Great, great. Okay, we are reaching another ad break. So you're listening to me, Dr. Mira Braku and our guest today, Emma Browning, on productivity, the new definition, and we will be right back in just a moment.
00:48:46.980 --> 00:49:07.590 Mira Brancu: Welcome. Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Bronco and our guest today, Emma Browning, and we've talked about how teams have been able to quickly pick up this new formula and start identifying some ways to measure each in order to apply it.
00:49:08.240 --> 00:49:12.080 Mira Brancu: Have there been any teams that have found it challenging?
00:49:12.240 --> 00:49:16.420 Mira Brancu: And if so, like.
00:49:16.570 --> 00:49:22.279 Mira Brancu: What has gotten in the way? What are some sort of lessons learned that could be applied for others to learn from.
00:49:22.840 --> 00:49:36.869 Emma Browning: Yeah. So I'm gonna I think I'm gonna share a story, about a team or a company that that wasn't using this formula and kind of what that, how that played out, and and what happened in this situation. So
00:49:36.970 --> 00:50:03.719 Emma Browning: this was one of the interviews that we had in our study. It was a company that was kind of an early entrant into a super kind of high value market. So it was a new company, super high value. They had all the potential in the world for this to be just really, really significant. And they were doing really well. Super innovative. They were at top of their game. They were doing great private equity. Came in
00:50:04.053 --> 00:50:10.390 Emma Browning: and you know, invested in the company and put a lot of a lot of metrics in place.
00:50:10.390 --> 00:50:26.490 Mira Brancu: So they were definitely focused on that 1st part of the formula on the movement. So there was goals and objectives really clear milestones, you know, really, really, really specific numbers that they were focusing all the time. And I love metrics. So I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
00:50:27.335 --> 00:50:30.420 Emma Browning: But they also
00:50:30.770 --> 00:50:38.960 Emma Browning: didn't look at the usage and didn't look at the experience. And so what the participant in our study described was a situation in which.
00:50:39.030 --> 00:51:02.499 Emma Browning: you know, the work became all about checking the boxes. You know all about those metrics, and that became the work so that it wasn't actually all the other innovation and creativity and all the other things they were doing to to move the company forward. And so what that meant was that people's experience went significantly down. So people, you know, weren't putting their effort in anymore. They weren't able to be creative and innovative
00:51:02.720 --> 00:51:32.560 Emma Browning: because the usage metrics weren't there either silos built up in the organization. And so when they were, you know, the market changed. There was, you know, information about changes in the market that really influenced the product and the innovation that should have happened. And even though, like they heard some of this information, and maybe in one department. They, you know, they had that, and but nobody was focused on that. They weren't sharing that with the other department in the company who needed to know that information so that they could make changes.
00:51:32.740 --> 00:51:58.989 Emma Browning: And so, after all of this, they did have an exit, but it was for far, far lower value than it should have been. And this individual we were talking to said, you know, it was really because it was all about shortsightedness, you know, once we became so focused on just the metrics. And we forgot about people's experience. And we didn't start. You know, we didn't communicate with other functions anymore, because we were just only focused on those things and checking off the boxes that we needed to get done
00:51:58.990 --> 00:52:23.200 Emma Browning: on our to do list and on our, you know, our milestones that we were focused on. We didn't do these other things. And so we became very short sighted, and we stopped innovating. And so I think that's more of kind of a cautionary tale that that's why you need to make sure that even if you're focusing on the metrics and the movement and all those things that are important to move forward. You also need to not lose sight of the experience and the usage at the same time.
00:52:23.420 --> 00:52:25.759 Mira Brancu: Oh, my gosh! I can so
00:52:25.870 --> 00:52:46.840 Mira Brancu: resonate with that experience, and I'm I'm sure so many people listening to this can resonate with this experience, regardless of whether, where they have been in an organization, we have had those experiences right and and like it might for some of of us it might have felt like micromanaging right.
00:52:47.135 --> 00:52:47.430 Emma Browning: Oh!
00:52:47.430 --> 00:52:59.829 Mira Brancu: Over focusing on minute details of the metrics and under focusing on the big picture or the impact or the strategy, or those kinds of things.
00:53:00.080 --> 00:53:26.120 Mira Brancu: and for others it might feel like a loss of purpose and meaning. All humans need to feel like they are here to make some kind of difference that there's a purpose to the work that they're doing. And when you don't focus on those other pieces, the way that you described it may made me feel like. If I was in that environment I would feel like I lost my purpose and my meaning.
00:53:26.190 --> 00:53:31.325 Mira Brancu: because I was too entrenched in like the you know, the widget counting.
00:53:32.460 --> 00:53:35.484 Emma Browning: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I think that's exactly what happened.
00:53:35.820 --> 00:53:53.253 Mira Brancu: What a great example. Okay, now, I'm gonna ask you one last very quick question, a random question about you, because I've never met anybody in my life that has never had an experience with being burned out.
00:53:54.060 --> 00:54:01.020 Mira Brancu: What about you and your interest in productivity is like who you are as a person.
00:54:01.940 --> 00:54:16.516 Emma Browning: Yeah, it's a really good question. And I, I never really thought about this before. So let me. Yeah, I don't know what the connection is. But I'm just gonna I'm gonna guess at some things. So so I think for me,
00:54:17.150 --> 00:54:43.870 Emma Browning: I do have a really strong work ethic. So I really like good work. I love business, like, you know, all of that's really important to me. But I also care about outcomes, and I am very kind of values aligned in my business, and so I think you just talked about kind of you know the purpose and the why. And so I think for me. I do have a good connection between my purpose and my why and the work I'm doing. I also think
00:54:44.030 --> 00:54:49.309 Emma Browning: I I'm good at recovering. I think that I
00:54:50.170 --> 00:54:54.320 Emma Browning: I'm not a perfectionist, so I think that quality really matters, and I like.
00:54:54.320 --> 00:54:54.660 Mira Brancu: Thank you.
00:54:54.660 --> 00:54:57.139 Emma Browning: Decision at times, but I don't think.
00:54:57.300 --> 00:55:18.469 Emma Browning: but not all the time like I think, when it matters, and I think that that actually ties to the productivity formula that you want to make sure that you're investing in. You know time, resources, all that, and in the work that matters. I'm a maximizer in strength finders is one of my strengths. So I think that there's an element there that helps as well.
00:55:18.640 --> 00:55:27.869 Emma Browning: My parents are British, and so I. We don't have that like hustle culture. So I don't know if that you know impacts it as well, too. And then I also
00:55:27.990 --> 00:55:40.710 Emma Browning: on a personal level. I did ballet growing up. And there's you know it's you're an athlete, I think it's an athlete, you know, but so there's a lot of kind of endurance associated with that. But honestly, we breathe and stretch a lot, too. So
00:55:40.710 --> 00:55:44.639 Emma Browning: among them, maybe there's an element of you know, there's just a lot of breathing a lot of.
00:55:44.960 --> 00:55:48.450 Emma Browning: you know, kind of recovery that happens so I don't. I don't know. I don't.
00:55:48.450 --> 00:55:48.790 Mira Brancu: I.
00:55:48.790 --> 00:55:51.575 Emma Browning: But all of that combines maybe.
00:55:52.040 --> 00:55:52.980 Mira Brancu: All of that.
00:55:52.980 --> 00:55:53.680 Emma Browning: It's perfect.
00:55:53.680 --> 00:56:14.739 Mira Brancu: I think that's so interesting. We could probably have an entire other conversation about that alone, and what people could learn from that. But in the meantime, for those of you who are interested in connecting with Emma and learning more about her work, you can find her, of course, on Linkedin, and also at Paradox.
00:56:15.510 --> 00:56:17.430 Mira Brancu: Cp. Consulting.
00:56:17.430 --> 00:56:17.770 Emma Browning: Yes.
00:56:17.770 --> 00:56:21.329 Mira Brancu: Paradox, cpconsultingpartners.com
00:56:21.620 --> 00:56:35.920 Mira Brancu: and also on Linkedin. So, audience, what did you take away from today? And more importantly, what is one small change that you can implement this week, based on what you learned from Emma's
00:56:36.150 --> 00:56:48.719 Mira Brancu: brilliant formula, share it with us on Linkedin and you could also find us on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter Twitch, apple spotify Amazon Podcasts all over the place.
00:56:49.271 --> 00:56:54.410 Mira Brancu: If the today's episode resonated with you, share it with a colleague or leave a review.
00:56:54.760 --> 00:57:20.949 Mira Brancu: and of course you can always check me out as well@gotowerscope.com. Thank you to talkradio dot Nyc. For hosting together. We will navigate the complexities of leadership today and emerge stronger on the other side. Thank you for joining me and Emma Browning today on this journey. This is Mira Branco, signing off, and until next time stay, steady, stay, present, and keep building those hard skills. Muscles.
00:57:21.220 --> 00:57:23.310 Mira Brancu: Take care, everybody, bye.
Talking Alternative Broadcasting
392 Central Park West Suite 17R - New York, NY 10025
Privacy Policy · Terms & Conditions
Thank You for Visiting TALKRADIO.NYC © 2022.
