Free Networking Cheat Sheet: https://latitudeleaders.com/networkingcheatsheet49 HR conferences in 2023. Elena takes everything she learned in that year and breaks it down into three ways you can show up more authentically as yourself at your next event.Three Words Away: https://latitudeleaders.com/threewordsawayConnect with Elena Joy Thurston on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenajoythurston/UnBecoming with Elena Joy on Substack: https://elenajoyspeaks.substack.com/

The Leadership Skill You Already Have Time to Build

How to create connection at work without adding a single thing to your calendar

Content Note: This episode includes a brief mention of miscarriage.

Episode Summary:

Connection at work is a skill, and it's one you already have time to practice. In this episode, Elena Joy breaks down why disconnection is the single biggest predictor of burnout, why managers hold more power over employee engagement than compensation or flexibility, and how the ARC framework gives any leader a repeatable, sustainable path to genuine connection without adding a single thing to their calendar.

What You'll Learn:

Why your nervous system is wired to need connection at work, and what happens when it doesn't get it

The three-step ARC framework: Activate, Reinforce, Codify

What Powerful Presence actually looks like in a meeting you're already running

Why the best connection systems are the ones light enough to survive a hard week

Mentioned in This Episode:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38285544/

https://www.gallup.com/services/182138/state-american-manager.aspx

https://enboarder.com/blog/how-much-is-human-connection-really-worth/

Free Resource:

Grab Elena's five favorite connection questions, the ones she actually uses in meetings, 1:1s, and when she's trying to find someone's spark without making it weird.

LatitudeLeaders.com/sv-cheat-sheet

Connect with Elena Joy:

Substack: https://elenajoyspeaks.substack.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenajoythurston/

Website: LatitudeLeaders.com

In this episode, I break down why middle managers are the single greatest lever in your organization — for engagement, retention, and burnout prevention.

Using a real story from the public school system, I share how one principal walked into a failing school (fourth leader in four years, morale in the basement) and, without additional funding or lighter workloads, transformed retention, culture, and performance. What changed?

Not strategy.Not budget.Not talent.

People leadership.

Employees don’t experience “the company.”They experience their manager.

And research continues to show:

Managers are the biggest driver of employee engagement (Gallup).

“Relational detachment” is one of the strongest predictors of burnout.

47% of employees who quit say they loved their job, but not their manager.

58% cite management style as the primary reason they leave.

Burnout rarely starts with workload.It starts with disconnection.

In this conversation, we explore:

Why middle managers are the operational layer of burnout prevention

How tone, availability, consistency, and conflict style shape retention

Why high performers don’t quit companies — they quit managers

The daily behaviors that create sustainable engagement

How to build connection intentionally instead of by accident

If you care about strategy execution, talent retention, and sustainable leadership, this episode is for you.

Because right now, your managers are deciding whether your highest performers stay — or take their impact, experience, and institutional memory somewhere else.

Not because of compensation.Not because of workload.Because of connection.

Resources Mentioned:

The Manager Skills Lab – A hands-on leadership training designed to equip middle managers with practical relational leadership skills that stabilize teams and protect capacity.

Learn more:🌐 https://LatitudeLeaders.com🔥 Burnout Prevention Starter Kit: https://BurnoutStarterKit.com

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