5.14: Outside Conversations with Brandon Dubé + Meg Buzzi - On what is possible in the present

Show Notes

Tuesday and Tim are joined by co-founders of the Present of Work, Meg Buzzi and Brandon Dubé, where they introduce the Present of Work, the importance of pausing and reflecting on the reality of what people do and who they are, what becomes possible when we are open to surfacing those conversations and refocusing on the relational, and how investing in teams has an enormous impact on leadership's ability to carry out their long-term plans.

About Brandon Dubé (Richmond, VA): 

Brandon’s work as a strategist across government, tech, and nonprofit provides a strong vantage point to view what’s beyond “business as usual.” He brings an integral approach to managing teams, in which self-study and reflection provide a means to connect to greater purpose. How we work and live together is valued as much as the work itself. He helps people, communities and organizations build things that can enrich their livelihoods in pursuit of a better tomorrow. He is a certified IC agile coach and holds a BS in Computer Information Systems from Virginia Commonwealth University. 

About Meg Buzzi (Los Angeles, CA)

Meg is a certified leadership coach and facilitator who combines living systems theory, ethnography, and creative practice to help organizations thrive and reconnect to their purpose. Informed by 20 years of leading software teams and business transformation projects, she hosts experiences and interventions that reconnect people and teams to what truly matters to them. Meg holds a BA from the University of Pittsburgh, an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and her PCC from the International Coaching Federation. 

About Present of Work

Our crew met in virtual hallways at the beginning of lockdown in 2020. As the widespread uncertainty of COVID compounded, we huddled: collectively noticing and feeling ripples across the global culture of work. Burnout was surging; systems were crumbling; toxic work cultures were exposed... all of this spurred what we came to call the “great resignation.” The message of this wave was clear: Work isn’t working.

The idealized “future of work” touted by many is not possible until we reckon with work’s present state. We can’t get to this more equitable, humane, impactful future organization without addressing what is happening right now in teams all over the world. That means convening, listening, and inviting everyone to become deep practitioners of change.

To this end, we developed the Present of Work Collective and the Starter Cultures community to discover what is alive between us while creating practice space for people doing change work.

Resources:

  • Quote that Meg loves, from Rumi: “What you seek, is seeking you.” 

  • Quotes that Brandon loves, from Raimon Panikkar: “To belong is to be present and to be present is to belong” and “A person is a knot in a net of relationships.”

    • Quote that Tues loves, from Ernest Hemingway: “The world breaks everyone, some become strong at the broken places.”

    • Quote that Tim loves, from Dr. Martin Shaw: “Nature seeks to be admired.”