Adam "Smiley" Poswolsky

How Leaders Can Increase Engagement + Retention, Motivate High-Performing Teams, Build Trusting Relationships, and Create Human Connection at Work

In a lonely, uncertain, overwhelmed workplace; as time spent face-to-face has been replaced with wall-to-wall Zoom meetings, 24/7 Teams messages, and the rapid rise of AI agents and ChatGPT; workplace connection has withered. 40% employees don’t feel a sense of connection to their coworkers, 40% don’t trust their coworkers, and 20% don’t even have one friend at work. As the war for skilled talent grows more competitive and employees spend less time face-to-face than ever before, workplace culture expert Smiley Poswolsky makes the case that the future work is human connection.

In this timely, inspiring, and highly actionable presentation, Smiley will share how leaders can attract and retain top talent across all generations, reignite human connection, and increase team and customer engagement by creating a culture of belonging. Smiley will share actionable tools for fostering employee engagement and supporting our people, customers, and clients, with the challenges of the new world of work including generational differences, hybrid work, well-being, and the impact of AI. At the end of this presentation, your team will have an easy-to-use action-based toolkit to create a culture of human connection for your people, your customers, and your company, and become an industry leader in the future of work.

KEY AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn 5 ways to increase human connection at work.
• How to deepen trust and build better relationships with coworkers, customers, and clients.
• A concrete example of how one company built higher levels of human connection among their employees.
• Understand the definition of psychological safety and how to foster higher levels of psychological safety on your team, including a simple exercise to try at your next team meeting.
• A practical action-based toolkit every leader, manager, and individual employee can use to build a more connected, collaborative, and engaged culture of belonging at work.

In the age of AI and automation, as the war for skilled talent grows more competitive and the labor market tightens, six generations are meeting together in an ever-evolving hybrid workplace for the first time in history. To move past intergenerational tension and common misunderstandings, leaders must empower talent by communicating across generations and creating a culture of trust and belonging for all. In this timely, entertaining, and highly actionable presentation, workplace belonging expert Smiley Poswolsky will help you attract, retain, and engage the talent of the future by leading with purpose, flexibility, well-being, and human connection.

Smiley will breakthrough common stereotypes about next gen talent; discuss the surprising similarities between what Gen Alpha, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers want in the workplace, and share case studies for attracting top talent and increasing employee engagement and communication across generations in the future of work. Smiley will share proven strategies how we can attract and retain top talent of all ages, increase team engagement, and create more belonging, by building human connection and community in a hybrid workplace. Smiley offers practical tools and simple, actionable habits to foster multigenerational collaboration and engagement, which will help you become an industry leader in the future of work.

KEY AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn 5 keys to engaging the multigenerational workforce and communicating across generations.
• Understand what Gen Z wants in the workplace and the similarities between what all generations want in the workplace.
• A simple exercise any leader or manager can use to foster collaboration and trust across generations.
• Insights on the future of work, recruitment and retention strategies that appeal to both Gen Z and Gen X, tools to engage hybrid teams, creating a culture of learning and personal growth, and prioritizing well-being and mental health in the era of burnout and overwhelm.
• Actionable (and no-cost!) team habits and rituals every leader, manager, and individual employee can use to build a more connected and engaged culture of belonging at work.

As the war for talent grows more competitive and the labor market tightens, five generations are meeting together in an ever-evolving hybrid workplace for the first time in history. To move past intergenerational tension and common misunderstandings, leaders must empower talent across generations by creating a culture of trust and belonging for all. In this timely, entertaining, and highly actionable presentation, workplace belonging expert Smiley Poswolsky will help you attract, retain, and engage the talent of the future by leading with purpose, flexibility, well-being, and human connection.

In the wake of the pandemic, early talent may prefer flexible hybrid work policies, but 80% of Gen-Z and Millennials are also looking to connect in-person with senior leadership and their managers. Top talent knows what they are missing when it comes to opportunities for in-person mentorship, shadowing, training, and personal growth. Smiley will breakthrough common stereotypes about Gen-Z and Millennial talent; discuss the surprising similarities between what Gen-Z, Millennials, Gen-X, and Baby Boomers want in the workplace, and share case studies for increasing employee engagement across generations in challenging times. Smiley will share proven strategies how we can attract and retain top talent of all ages, increase hybrid team engagement, and create more belonging, by building human connection and community inside the workplace. Smiley offers practical tools and simple, actionable habits to foster multigenerational collaboration and engagement, which will help you become an industry leader in the future of work.

KEY AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn 5 keys to engaging the multigenerational workforce.
• Understand what Gen-Z wants in the workplace, common stereotypes about next gen talent, and the similarities between what Gen-Z, Millennials, Gen-X, and Baby Boomers want in the workplace.
• A simple exercise any leader or manager can use to foster collaboration and trust across generations.
• Insights on the future of work, recruitment and retention strategies that appeal to both Gen-Z and Gen-X, tools to engage hybrid teams, create a culture of learning and personal growth, and prioritize well-being and mental health in the era of burnout.
• Actionable (and no-cost!) team habits and rituals every leader, manager, and individual employee can use to build a more connected and engaged culture of belonging at work.

New workplace culture research suggests that employees don’t just leave poor managers, they leave poor leaders: they leave leaders that don’t build a people-first culture of change, transformation, and belonging for all. Too much of the conversation on workplace culture focuses on what days employees are working in the office and what days they are working from home. Workplace culture expert Smiley Poswolsky believes that more important question is why; why are people coming together in the first place? Hybrid isn’t just where we work, it’s how we connect in the future of work. How do we build a culture of transformation, wherever and however people are working? How do we embrace change, drive human-centered growth, and create lasting impact in the era of AI, automation, and a rapidly evolving world of work?

In this timely and highly actionable presentation, Smiley will help you shift from a culture fit strategy to a culture transformation strategy, designed to welcome all perspectives, attract and retain top talent, test innovative ideas, invest in social and emotional well-being, experiment with learning & development programs, and evolve your culture. Smiley will address key questions like: How do we create high levels of psychological safety, trust, and belonging for all our employees, across different time zones, geographic locations, and levels of seniority? How do we foster a culture of human connection, collaboration and team engagement wherever people are working from? How do we take care of our people, and prioritize employee well-being in the age of AI and overwhelm? Smiley will help you make the workplace a place where every employee can thrive and do their best work. At the end of this presentation, your team will have an easy-to-use toolkit to reimagine a collaborative culture that puts your people first, attracts next gen talent, drives human-centered growth, and is your competitive advantage of the future.

KEY AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn 5 ways to build a transformational workplace culture.
• Understand how to foster higher levels of psychological safety for in-person, hybrid, and remote teams, and how to build trust in every environment.
• A concrete example of how one company’s culture transformation was used to create more engagement, deeper alignment, and higher retention among their employees.
• Why Thrive Interviews are important for engaging high-performing teams, and how to have a Thrive Interview with your team.
• Simple habits and actions for leaders and managers to make onboardings, trainings, meetings and 1-on-1’s more connected, enjoyable, and effective.
• A practical toolkit to build a more connected, collaborative, transformative culture that puts people first, improves employee well-being, and drives profitable growth and purposeful impact.

We are lonelier, more disengaged, and more disconnected than ever before. 40% employees do not feel connected to their teams and 40% do not trust their coworkers. 70% of employees are disengaged from their jobs—as burnout, stress, anxiety, and overwhelm have skyrocketed. In the future of work, investing in our people’s social and emotional well-being is the best investment in performance we can make. This means that we must help our teams develop a Care Mindset: which means believing one’s well-being at work matters, and that personal well-being can be improved by putting more energy into caring for others.

In this timely, interactive, and highly actionable presentation, Smiley will share how leaders, managers, and employees can increase human connection and create more belonging, ignite high-performing teams, build resilience, and overcome burnout, by building supportive communities inside the workplace. Smiley will share practical habits on how to develop a Care Mindset (both self-care and community-care), create meaningful connections, deepen professional and client relationships, foster team psychological safety, and empower well-being and mental health at work. In this inspiring and timely talk, incorporating interactive connection exercises and a personal well-being action plan, Smiley shows us that nurturing relationships at work is a ritual, a competitive advantage, and one of the most worthwhile things we can do to drive personal and professional growth.

KEY AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn 3 ways to build a Care Mindset at work.
• Actionable habits to build more meaningful connections and more powerful, high-value relationships with coworkers, customers and clients.
• Why Thrive Interviews are important for engaging high-performing teams, and how to have a Thrive Interview with your team.
• A concrete example of how one company practices boundaries and a Care Mindset to increase employee well-being.
• A practical toolkit every leader, manager, and employee can use to build a more connected, collaborative, and engaged culture of well-being and belonging at work.