Wendy Loewen introduces The Manager’s Field Guide, an ACHIEVE Workplace Culture podcast mini-series based on the new book “You Can Manage” by Daniel Anthony Doerksen and Chris Downey. The series is designed to support people moving into management roles without formal training, helping them understand what to focus on and how to measure success. The authors argue that work is essential to a meaningful life, yet it has too often been accepted as a negative experience. Managers, they suggest, are the key to closing the gap between what work can be and what many people experience. In this first episode, they distinguish leadership as a human dynamic from management as a defined organizational role, and preview the book’s “Essential Five”:… Read More

In episode 66 of the ACHIEVE Workplace Culture Podcast, Eric, Chris and Wendy discuss shifting attention from what you don’t want to what you do want by celebrating and reinforcing positive behaviours. Wendy shares the “two wolves” parable to illustrate that what you feed grows, and the team recounts times specific positive feedback changed their actions, relationships, and even career trajectory. They argue that strengths-based recognition is a powerful motivator, that strengths are everywhere if you look for them, and that naming what’s going right helps create more of it. While constructive feedback is still necessary, they suggest rooting it in a strengths perspective rather than using a “sandwich” approach. Their key advice: spot it, say it, be specific, and… Read More

In episode 65 of the ACHIEVE Workplace Culture Podcast, Eric, Chris and Wendy explore workplace disengagement, when it can shift back to engagement and when it may be healthier to move toward a dignified separation. They share personal and workplace examples of how confidence, personal circumstances, and clear supports or accommodations can affect performance. The hosts emphasize avoiding blame or assumptions, creating safety for honest dialogue, and seeking to understand the true sources of motivation beyond specific tasks, including alignment with organizational values. They discuss handling misalignment with kindness while maintaining accountability, and offer practical keys: start with curiosity, ask what someone needs to be successful, clarify what the workplace can and cannot provide, and support next steps in a… Read More