Looking Forward

Transcript - Looking Forward

Rich: On this episode of Team Building Saves the World. This season was kind of an odd season to come onto

Anna: you know, we should be talking about it too, and we should be giving information that people can use so that these things can kind of be resolved in some type of way. I’ve never seen grown people act the way that they do , um,

Rich: Hello team. It’s me, your old friend, Rich Rininsland host of team building saves the world, the show where I speak to the leaders and innovators in employee wellness and corporate culture on how it reflects in the world of today. And today, we are wrapping up season three of the podcast with my producer for this season Anna Webber.

But first, I need to share some love with the rest of my supporters at Team Bonding. If your team is ready to experience teamwork through the power of play, then visit team bonding.com to learn more now, team, join me welcoming my guest for today, my friend and producer Anna Webber. Anna,

it’s a show all about Anna today. Anna, how we doing?

Anna: Er. finally. I mean, I’ve been waiting for this day. Um, I’ve been waiting for it to be all about me, so I’m excited. , um, I finally had all those people clap for me. I’ve never seen them before.

Rich: Well, they’re under my desk. The camera doesn’t get down there. I mean, they’re,

Anna: I know, but who are they?

Do I know them?

Rich: They’re well well, let’s talk about that in a bit, uh, because if you remember during the actual holiday party planning episode, you met CJ and Kevin and Stephanie and Jane, and those are just a few of the people that I lock up under my desk. Okay, so let’s start off right though. We need to actually introduce you properly.

Go ahead and tell the team out there who you are and how you got involved in this podcast.

Anna: Of course. Well, my name is Anna Webber. Obviously I am a marketing coordinator for Team Bonding and the new producer of Team Building Saves the World. I got involved, I’ve been working for Team Bonding for probably around two years.

Um, I graduated from the Ohio State University in 2021, so I’m still pretty fresh to the workplace, but I’m excited and I was given this amazing opportunity and I’ve honestly had the time of my life with you Rich.

Rich: Awesome. So how did you get involved with team bonding itself? Like how did that, uh, relationship start?

Anna: Well, you know, my senior year, going into my senior year of college, I had an internship with a different company that was unfortunately canceled, due to the pandemic. and I actually know David, the owner’s son, and he was like, my dad’s, you know, looking for a marketing intern and I think you’d be great for it.

I mean, so kind of through some friends I applied for the position and took the internship and I even worked part-time my senior year and was offered the position and here I am.

Rich: All right, so you came onto the podcast.

How

Anna: I. Came onto the podcast. Um, Melissa, who used to run the podcast I’m close to, she’s amazing, amazing. But it was just time to pass down the reins and um, and they kind of wanted to get me into a new opportunity and this was something that I was really interested in. So they were able to kind of let me learn from Melissa.

I watched a lot from her, how she books the guests, how she schedules them, how we find topics with the marketing department and work with another team to determine what people wanna talk about, what’s going on in the workplace. And I have just learned a whole lot. I’ve, I’ve learned so much honestly, about corporate culture as a whole, being new to the workforce.

Um, if you can imagine, because you don’t learn all of that stuff in college. You know, they teach you what businesses are doing well regarding how much money they’re making but they don’t really talk about if their employees actually like it there, . Um, so that kinda is something that’s ignored and they don’t talk about those, you know, the big issue problems that really people have to deal with every single day.

So it’s something I’ve learned being new to a company.

Rich: And for those of the team out there who are wondering, and remember Melissa from past episodes, she’s doing very well. Uh, she went on to bigger and brighter things and yeah, now her, her life is just, is just onward and upwards.

So we congratulate Melissa on everything for her and wish her all the best and hope her well. And maybe one day, who knows, for another wrap up episode, we might have to come back and see if she’s actually been watching and listening to episodes.

Anna: Exactly. And Melissa, if you’re listening to this, we miss you .

Rich: So this season was kind of an odd season to come onto in the first season.

Uh, did you ever go back and listen to like the early, early episodes?

Anna: Of course, well, I was on board during it.

Rich: Okay.

Anna: I, you know, I was interning, so I was listening to all the episodes but I wasn’t really behind the scenes, so I didn’t get to see all the magic.

Rich: But this episode, this season, rather things really took a bit of a turn.

We started focusing a lot more. We, our second season where we started talking about corporate culture was a lot more generalized but this season we really started focusing on very specific agendas. Can you talk about what it was or, or how it came about that, uh, we decided to go in that direction. .

Anna: You know, I kind of think what happened was we started seeing, you know, with the pandemic kind of coming to a close and everything, people really starting to bring up these topics on LinkedIn.

They started talking about them more on social media. Um, companies started even addressing them more.

Rich: Mm.

Anna: So when you’re kind of seeing that like from, you know, I’m on the marketing team, when you’re seeing that kind of perspective of people talking about it and you know what people wanna hear then, right?

If things are kind of starting to come to light, then you know, we should be talking about it too, and we should be giving information that people can use so that these things can kind of be resolved in some type of way. So that’s kind of something that we looked into this season and it’s how, you know, quiet quitting for instance.

We saw that blowing up all over the internet and we knew that we needed to find a guest and we needed to find them now.

Rich: Yeah.

Anna: Um, so that we would be able to have a hand in that discussion and offer our knowledge and our expertise and having have a really qualified guest to help others. And ultimately we were able to do that and get it out on time because that’s another thing that’s a little bit difficult about the podcast, is you gotta be able to find a guest.

You have to book them, and then they have to come on talk. We have to edit it and send it out while the topic is still fresh in people’s head.

Rich: Right.

Anna: Um, we couldn’t have, if quiet quitting came out now, people would be, I’ve already heard about this.

Rich: Yeah.

Anna: I’ve already, you know, I already know everything that I need to know, but you know, we’re able to help if we’re able to get it out quickly.

Rich: And that was actually just for me, some of the real exciting things that started to happen this season, which is where we did, we all sat down and we, and a bunch of us would, a bunch of the production staff. Cuz it’s not just Anna and I who do this, it’s Anna and I who run the episodes, but it’s not just on and I running the entire season, the entire show.

We do have an entire list of marketing people on. Who would you wanna shout at? Anybody from the, from the team that you want to give some special love to?

Anna: You know, I wanna give special love to Amanda. Amanda has been there the entire time. She also loves the podcast and loves having a hand in you know, figuring out with me what we should be talking about.

She’s amazing. And she, you know, she puts up all the episodes and she gets everything ready to go. So she’s amazing.

Rich: Indeed.

From Amanda to Elisha, who is no longer a part of our team but her presence is still really strongly felt in this season all the way up to David. We have such a great team. We’re so very supportive in making sure that this podcast goes not only in the direction that we want it to go, but in a direction that you, the team out there will want to keep listening to.

So yes, Anna, do you have maybe any questions for me? Thing you would like to ask?

Anna: Yeah. You know, at Rich I do one, I wanna know how you do it because I, you know, being right now, even in front of this, I, you know, this isn’t exactly my thing. I’m not very good at podcasts, but you somehow are able to just pull it outta the bag and do it every single time and it is amazing.

So, I guess my question to you, is You’re so confident. Where does that like come from? Like how are you able to just do this every single, every single week?

Rich: Years of faking it? Um, no , I mean, honestly that’s partially true. It is a partially accurate statement. I’ve been a professional actor since I was 25 years old.

That’s when I started getting paid to do shows and it was at that point that another professional, active friend of mine, Tell everybody, you’re professional actor now you’re gonna be paychecks for that. Go ahead, tell everybody you’re professional now. So yeah, so I started doing, I mean, I started performing in high school, went into college, performed there, and then just kept doing it and kept loving it.

And I don’t know, I’ve. I hate to say that I’ve never felt stage fright before. I have felt under-prepared before, but that doesn’t really lead to the stage fright portion of it. A big thing that I’ve learned, which we actually talked about in one of the episodes, is the importance of being able to look stupid, right?

It is totally okay to be the one in the room who doesn’t know what everybody else is talking about. And when we first started the podcast itself, that’s how I wanted to be. I wanted to be the guy who knew nothing about the topics we were discussing so that I could be the voice for anybody else out there who also does not know what it is that we’re talking about and is coming at this completely fresh.

Of course, now we’re wrapping up season three, which. I’m actually taking more of an active part in the conversation than I ever had before. Uh, which feels good. It feels refreshing.

Anna: What’s your favorite part about the podcast then?

Rich: It’s actually, besides the topics, which are fascinating to me, because I was, as a performer, I was never really involved except.

You know, tertiary in the corporate world. But now I’m finding out all these things that are happening, that there are all these major changes that are occurring, and that’s, I think what’s most important about this podcast. When we hit the ground running, we did so. In the early, early days of the Pandemic.

Anna: Mm-hmm.

Rich: and, and back then it was simply a podcast about what our company, what our business of that, of team building facilitation, what it is that we are doing to actually survive the, the pandemic itself. And then for season two, we found out the pandemic was causing so many changes. And what were the changes?

How were people adapting? Were people adapting?

Anna: I think it brought to light a lot of issues that were present before.

Rich: Right.

Anna: That, that people really didn’t speak on. And I, you know, I find that the most fascinating, honestly, because coming, being new to the workforce, um, like only being here for, you know, about two, two years, , it’s crazy.

I mean, listening to my friends talk, you know, I have so many friends and they all work different jobs. Some of them work till 8:00 PM at night. Some of them have a ton of friends in the office. Some of them have no friends at the office. Some of them go into work every day. Some of them don’t like the craziness of how every single

company has a different work environment is nuts to me. I mean, it really is. and I think that that is something that really drew me, especially to the podcast because I, you know, all of these people and you know, all of their stories and it’s like, there’s things that need to change within every company.

So that’s kind of what I’ve liked about this podcast is that we bring those topics to light and we’re not only helping the company as a whole and the employer, but it’s actually going out to the employees and you know, maybe even people who don’t have a job. You know, it’s telling them what they should look for in a company and how they should prepare for getting an interview.

You know, we. We have topics that span from getting that first interview to when you’re at the company dealing with conflict. You know what I mean?

Rich: Right.

Anna: So it really spans the entirety. And I think that’s also what I love so much about the show is that so many different listeners can enjoy it and kind of you can listen to it and put it into your own perspective.

You know, it can kind of be manipulated into however you want to listen to it, if that makes sense.

Rich: The thing that I especially love about this season, and you coming on board, Anna, is the fact that we are definitely two very different perspectives. Yes.

I, I mean, I’m here. I am in my fifties, the host of a podcast, and there you are, fresh faced out of college and oh, so young , and not in an insulting way, but I look back on you and I go, I remember vaguely when I was that age.

But you, your perspective is so very, very different from mine. And one thing, just to give you guys a little peek behind the curtain as to way things look here at the podcast is Anna does such a great job of getting me all of the links that I need to be able to learn as much as I can about a topic before the guest comes on.

Plus, you will give me and the guest a series of sample questions, not to prep, but to sort of give an ideas to where the conversation can go. And I love it because you are giving me the fresher perspective of a new person looking to go into the job market and what that can look. Whereas I can still bring in the voice of, okay, let’s now say that I’ve been in the business for a number of years.

What else can I look forward to? What else can I try to change or accomplish?

Anna: Exactly. I mean, that’s what’s, I mean, would you consider me Gen Z? Is that what I am? Yeah. Well, uh, 1999 is that gen.

Rich: Yeah, you’re, yeah. Yeah. I definitely consider you gen.

Anna: I, you know, it’s hard cuz I don’t, I don’t know if I relate to like the Gen Z that everybody talks about, but I guess, I suppose that I do, I

Rich: Well, what do you consider the Gen Z? Everybody talks about,

Anna: you know, just the, you know, unmotivated, you know, they just came in, they’re just kind of looking to do whatever and you know, like that’s how they kind of talk about us. But I don’t feel like I mean, maybe, maybe that will be the younger crowd coming in cuz they just, but that, but people probably thought that about us when we were younger.

But then I guess they think that about us now,

Rich: I’m gonna be honest with you, everybody, the generation before or two before thinks that about the current generation, there was no difference when, when Gen X was up and coming that anybody ever talked about it

Anna: so many changes. I mean, I would say, I mean, I think about like when I, when I want like a workplace situation, like I wanna be able to have friends at work.

I love having people that I can talk to. I love feeling comfortable. I almost think that’s pretty, like natural of our generation

Rich: it’s, it’s very funny to me. Another thing that people don’t know that our team can’t know is the fact that you are out there in the middle of the country and I’m on the east coast.

I know

we have only met face to face. One time. One time. And I gave you a ride back to your hotel .

Anna: Exactly. And it, but I don’t feel like I’ve only met you one time.

Rich: No!

Anna: That’s a crazy thing too. And you know, I accepted this job when I was in the pandemic and I was fully aware that it was gonna be remote and I wouldn’t change it. I do love being remote, but I also, you know, it’s fun to go into the office and it’s fun to go see people, but I don’t feel disconnected. I think that’s something that

I bet a lot of remote employees might relate to. I don’t feel disconnected, um, from the people that I work with. You know, I talk on the phone all day to my boss. Mm-hmm. , I’m slacking all day, different people. Sure, like you don’t get that face to face interaction with maybe people in different parts of the company that you would want to, but I mean, for the most part, I, I don’t feel like, you know, I’m just like stranded in little old Ohio and, you know, can’t speak to anybody.

But I mean, that’s just, you know what technology can do.

Rich: And for people out there, when she says slacking, she means on a Slack channel. Talking to people, texting back and forth with them. Not as my generation, like she’s slacking all day. She’s not doing anything.

Anna: I know, I know. But that is the thing I do wonder, I’m like, I hope that everybody knows that I do work all day.

Like , like, you know, you’re not in an, you’re not in the office, so you don’t know necessarily what I’m doing, but I’m like, I swear to you. I always tell my boss, I. I’m worried that people just don’t think I’m doing anything . She’s like, nobody thinks that.

Rich: Yeah. But you’ve also gone out and assisted in facilitations as well, I mean, right,

Anna: right.

Which has been amazing. You know, that’s one of, I love team bonding and I, the reasoning is, is because we truly are making teams better, and I’ve been able to go to several different events And you can just see people and Rich as a facilitator, you know, you know, they start off and people are a little bit hesitant of team building activities.

You know, I would be too. And then they kind of, they get into it. And I’ve never seen grown people act the way that they do . you know, people, you know, one of my friends actually did a team bonding event and I had no idea. Um, and she texted me and she was like, oh my gosh, like your company is doing my company’s event.

She’s like, I had so much fun.

Rich: Have you ever assisted in any of the virtuals or have you only done the live

Anna: Yeah, yeah, I did virtual last season. Those were fun.

Rich: I especially loved I, cause I still tell this story even when I do live, I tell the story of how. One of my very first virtual encounters actually hearing someone say, because they forgot to mute themselves on Zoom, that no honey daddy can’t play with you right now.

I have another stupid team building thing I have to do. .

Anna: I know, and it’s such a cliche, like I, I get where people are coming from because they don’t really understand the whole process and they’re like, Ugh, my company is making me do this, that, and the other , but our, but they’re not like that. From like the charity bike build when you’re like, actually you’re building bikes for kids who need them or mm-hmm.

my favorite one ever, obviously, because I love dogs. Paws for a cause, like you’re going and you’re building dog beds and you’re building toys and you’re bringing them all these supplies that these dogs need at the shelter. And if you’re listening to this, consider booking that event for the holidays because the shelters are full.

Rich: Yeah.

Anna: And need supplies, especially during the holiday season. And I just really think that there’s so many ways that you can do a team building activity without sitting around in a circle and it being like an icebreaker, cuz that’s not what we do.

Rich: Well that’s, that’s not all that we do . We do still, it’s not all we do still also do that.

The icebreakers portion.

Anna: You do icebreakers. Yeah. But you know, there’s meaning behind the event

Rich: Exactly. And going back to your, your original question for me of how do I do this? It’s the same way that I can, that I do this, that I can do the facilitation. It’s not about me. No matter what I’m doing, whether I’m talking on a podcast, every podcast, I consider the star of the show

to be the guest and the topic they want to talk about. Uh, I agree. Just like when I’m doing a live event, you know, I’m not the star they are. I can get them warmed up. I can get them to the point where they stop worrying about, is this an hour and a half? I’m wasting up my time. And I get them to the point where they’re enjoying each other and enjoying the thing that they’re doing.

Anna: You know what, rich and just naturally I’m enjoying myself and so we missed the live read.

Rich: I was wondering,

Anna: I’m so caught up now being a guest.

Rich: All right. You heard it here first my friends. Let’s get to it. It is time for me to tell you about a company that I and Anna both are so very proud to be a part of Team bonding.

Team Bonding was founded over 20 years ago with one simple question. How can employees have a great time while fostering strong authentic bonds between people who work together? They’ve created a catalog of innovative events using the power of play as a learning tool, and tapping into the correlation of work and play.

Whether it’s scavenger hunts, jeopardy, or any of the hundreds of activities we have possible the team bonding of activities be they live virtual or hybrid maximizes the impact of team building with an accent on fun. So visit team bonding.com to schedule your event now. Team bonding when you want.

Seriously. Fun results. And we are back wrapping up season three with my pal and producer Anna. So Anna, let’s look at the future. What do you want to see happen with the show next?

Anna: You know, what I want to see happen with the show is, you know, things that we touched on from this past season. We touched on a lot of really important topics that, one of my favorite ones was the one about mental health.

You know, I think that is so important in the current climate that we are in,

Rich: right.

Anna: Um, right now, and it spans from every generation is the thing. So I’m hoping, you know, for next season we can take topics like mental health and we can take topics like empathetic leadership and we can kind of narrow them down, um, to their, to different things that make them what they are.

So, you know, A specific factor that can help with mental health. Right. Um, we really wanna get into just narrowing down these topics cuz we’ve hit the broad thing. But as we’ve seen, the guests can talk and talk and talk. They have so much more knowledge to give, which really has made me think, you know, we need to be narrowing down these topics so that, you know, we can have several that can be within one topic.

Right.

If that makes sense.

Rich: No, no, it’s fine completely. I, I often wonder if I go back and re-listen to every, every past episode, how many times at the end do I say I could continue talking about this?

Anna: Yeah. It, I mean, seriously, it can different topics come out when you’re talking about a topic.

So there’s a lot of things that you might have heard that were mentioned throughout the show this season that are now gonna be their own new topic because they bring that up and it sparks a light bulb and you’re like, wow, you know, that’s something that we probably should be talking about as well. Um, so I really think that for this next season, you know, we’re gonna stick with company culture because that’s so important and it’s, you know, really means something to team bonding and it’s ultimately we wanna make better teams, happier teams.

Rich: Nice.

Anna: So, I think that with this next season coming up, you’re gonna hear a lot more about, the topics that we talked about from the previous season. Mm-hmm. , but they’re gonna be a little bit more specific, a little bit more personal, and I think it will be really exciting.

We’re also, you know, trying to keep up with these, if there’s gonna be something new who knows. Quiet Quitting was one.

Rich: Yep.

Anna: Let’s see if there’s something that pops up. We also wanna make sure that we hit on those. So,

Rich: excellent. Plus, um, I mean, as we’re going more and more back to live presentations, I’m still out there in the world talking to company contacts throughout the entire country, and as I talk to them, you hear the different companies and the directions that they’re taking now.

That right. You know, how many companies are demanding that people come back to an office space and stop working from home? And then there are still those really successful companies that are saying no. Uh, for example, I recently did one where they were like, no, we have what’s called last Thursday, which is the final Thursday of every month.

Everybody has to be back in the office for one day. Beyond that.

Anna: Yeah,

Rich: they’re all at home working just on their computers like you and I do. So the world is still changing and we want to help you, our team, get through it and see what the different options are that are out there. Because for many of you, the, especially for, for the younger workers, like my friend Anna here, there are still those options available.

You still have the ability to make choices for yourselves. Which is very exciting. It’s a very, very exciting time to be, you know, working in this, let alone hearing about it and discussing it with the experts.

Anna: Yeah, I mean that’s, I mean, it’s how I’ve learned too, like I, you know, some of these problems I didn’t even know existed.

I mean, I knew they existed, but I had never, you know, really done a deep dive into them before. Um and so, you know, I’m learning alongside everybody else, so I think it’s good for everybody.

Rich: All right. Anna what do you think? Uh, this is gonna be a short episode, but are you ready?

Anna: You know what, I think I am ready.

Are you ready, rich?

Rich: I’m always, actually, I’m not ready. Hold on now I am always ready. . Cause it’s time Anna Webber for you to do my speed round.

Anna: Oh boy. You have to ask the questions quick.

Rich: so Anna knows this, but in case anybody out there might be new or still not know what this is, I’m gonna take 60 seconds. There will be a soundtrack. Nice little music playing for 60 seconds. That just helped me keep in mind where the time is during that 60 seconds. I’m gonna ask Anna here a series of completely innocuous questions to try to see how many she can answer within that 60 seconds.

Anna, what’s the number we’re trying to beat?

Anna: I think it’s 14.

Rich: Is it still 14? We have not topped 14 yet. Okay, Anna. So once again, 60 seconds on the clock. 14 is the number Anna is looking to beat. Good luck to you my friend.

Anna: All right, here we go.

Rich: What’s your name?

Anna: Anna.

Rich: How many pets do you have?

Anna: Four.

Rich: What kind are they?

Anna: Uh, three dogs, one cat.

Rich: If you could speak with one of your dogs, what would you like to ask

them?

Anna: Why are you so crazy?

Rich: If you could have one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Anna: Spagetti.

Rich: What’s your favorite childhood memory?

Anna: Uh, going to Hilton Head with my family.

Rich: What’s your favorite holiday?

Anna: Christmas?

Rich: If you could be a cartoon character for a week, which one would you be?

Anna: Oh, that’s a good idea. Um, oh, that’s hard. Maybe SpongeBob.

Rich: Okay. What’s your favorite children’s book?

Anna: Um, oh, what is this book called? Um, Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock.

Rich: Are you a leader or follower?

Anna: Oh, I’d like to think a leader.

Rich: Okay. What courageous thing have you done?

Anna: Um, yeah, I was a lifeguard and saved some lives.

Rich: Nice. 11 buddy. You got 11 one. I know. That’s the trick. The trick is what? Every time that I ask a question that really makes you think, it just screws up your whole rhythm. Cause you had like that you dove in.

Anna: Well, I know and the worst part also with the children’s book is I’m thinking like I see the cover in my head, , then I can’t think of what it was called.

Yep. Gosh, that was difficult.

Rich: Well, Anna, thank you so much for coming on board and thank you for all that you do. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me for the podcast and, and I can’t wait to do this with you again in season four.

Anna: I know. Next season is going to be fun, so everybody makes sure stay

tuned.

Rich: And when are we looking to launch season 4?

Anna: I think we’re gonna throw out a teaser in February, and then it should be launching in the beginning of March. So it’s actually coming up here soon. The months go a lot quicker than you think.

Rich: Oh, oh yes. . Yeah. All right. Thank you Anna, and thank you out there. My team.

That’s it. We have wrapped up another episode and season of Teen Building Saves the World. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, whether new to the podcast or an old fan of the show, please be sure to share with everyone you know, whether they’re your coworker, friend, family, whoever it happens to be. We want them to hear it and learn all this vital information you can find out all about us, including all past episodes.

The team bond. Com slash podcast. You can also find us wherever you find your favorite podcast. Google Podcast, apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you go to listen, we will be there. And don’t forget to look for us on all the social medias at Team Bond Podcast. Leave us a message telling us what you liked about the show, what you liked about the season, what kind of topics do you want to hear from us in the future.

It’s an invaluable part of how you can be a part of our team. So my friends, before we wrap up and. Final farewells for this season of team building saves the world. Please never forget you are within the sound of my voice. You’re on my team now and I am forever gonna be on yours. So long team, and we’ll see you next season.

It’s been said that you learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation, so why not put your coworkers to play with the help of the team at Team Bonding? Team Bonding was founded over 20 years ago with one simple question, how can employees have a great time while fostering strong authentic bonds between people who work together?

Their catalog of innovative events include scavenger hunts, jeopardy, and much more. Each activity, whether. Virtual or hybrid maximizes the impact of team building with an accent on fun. Visit team bonding.com to schedule your event now. Team bonding when you want. Seriously, fun results.