Context Matters with Amanda Bell
A podcast that for everyone who has ever thought “there has to be a better way” when it comes to work, systems, or your job. In each episode we will be expanding the conversation around work, organizational development, efficiency, productivity, profitability, and data. Because context matters y’all.
Click on the links below to go to the show page.
Happy Listening
Stay tuned for the last episode of the season
On today’s episode I talk with Dr. Giavanni Washington, a Black Goddess Guide and the creator of the only oracle deck featuring real black women embodying African goddesses. We talk about how black people have been disconnected from their history and have been pushed out of spiritual spaces. Dr. Washington has made it her mission to help address this balance.
Enjoy this fabulous discussion about reconsidering black bodies and reconsidering the source of these black bodies. The wisdom in the deck is for everybody in everybody!
Preorder her oracle deck which comes out Dec 12th by visiting her website or find her on instagram
Today’s podcast features Jess Reed, a professional home organizer. Her company Green Mountain Space, specializes in eliminating the emotional burdens of clutter for folks like busy professionals, stay-at-home parents, and retirees to create a beautiful, functional, and sustainable organized home.
We will discuss organizing space and time in terms of context matters and the difference between macro-organizing and mico-organizing. When it comes to your stuff, what is your goal and what is important to you? If things aren’t bringing you happiness, why are you keeping them? Join us as we discuss this holistic approach to decluttering and how we can confront the clutter and start making changes with schedules and time tracking.
To find out more about her company Green Mountain Space, visit her website
On today’s episode we’ll talk about our relationship to time management and how it relates to our productivity. And of course, we’ll talk about data!
I talk about how time blocking/time management and our routines can often be idealized versions of the ways that we can live our lives. I also talk about some of the cultural beliefs that we have internalized about what we are supposed to be doing. And guess, what, data is a solution!
We haven’t been given enough experience and skills to understand what actually does work for us in terms of managing our time. We throw out the baby with the bathwater – we deem lots of our time management as “bad” but actually they are contributing to our productive behavior and might even be productive in and of themselves!
Today we will continue our discussion with Luke Givens about perceptions around data and how they are a helpful lens to have effective and productive conversations. Our perceptions around data may differ but we can still work together towards an efficient outcome.
How does work happen at your workplace? Often there is a disconnect between what we say we are doing and what is actually happening. What does working with others look like for you? These are just some of the issues that we will be diving into in this episode.
Today, Brooke Hofsess and I talk about self-expressed leadership as a lens for understanding how folks can show up as leaders. We talk about the five qualities of self expressed leadership: presence, congruence, reverence, interdependence, and divergence and how self-expressed leadership invites other people into their fullest expression, and how that creates a sense of connection and belonging.
Brooke’s framework is a great example of the alignment between content and methods, where leadership is the connective tissue that grows as you practice and live into these expressions of yourself. What has your experience of self expressed leadership looked like?
You can find Brooke online and Sign up for her fabulous newsletter!
Today Luke Givens shares his knowledge and experience on the podcast around organizational development and, of course, data! Luke and I worked together on projects centering equity and data. We talk about how information travels throughout an organization and how having this kind of data can help get results.
There’s a big difference between presenting data and knowing what the data can accomplish. We’ll discuss the different roles of people within an organization so that data actually gets used and strategies that can help you get the most out of your data, manage expectations and reach your goals.
In episode 5, I’m joined by Shannon Tabor, a Somatic Trauma Therapist with a specialization in somatics and Internal Family Systems (IFS) = a way in which we can understand ourselves and others through a nonpathological lens. Learning how our body speaks to us through sensations, temperature, etc. is extremely helpful when trying to figure out how we navigate the world and our experiences. In the end, nothing is good or bad or even right or wrong.
IFS and the body is a helpful lens to look at the workplace and the information that we use to navigate the workplace. It encourages self awareness! It’s a different way to be in the world! - Heres the meeting debrief worksheet
You can find Shannon here
In episode 4, I talk about how it’s hard to do data differently, information proliferation - the consumption and sharing of information - and how we got to where we are today when it comes to information.
As a society, we have access to SO much information all the time and there are so many tools and methods that help us access that information. This makes it difficult to narrow down what is the data that we really need? Hello….information overload!?!
In episode 3, I talk about how to shift workplace data practices and broaden the picture of what information helps organizations thrive. These shifts can move the needle on empowering folks to advocate for themselves and their organization with data.
I talk about this visual.
Helpful resources for “doing data differently”
Hmnty Cntrd community (UX Design & Research)
We All Count Data Biography (We All Count: Project for Equity in Data Science)
In episode 2, we talk about what efficiency means in organizations and what it can look like to model human centered efficiency. I don’t know about you but I have been both extremely curious and disgusted by the idea of being efficient. Why does efficiency even matter? Basically it's a means to an end.
I leave you with some easy ways to make efficiency more human centered for you in the workplace, through daily time tracking (link to time tracking sheet below), listing out your non-negotiables, and to think about where you learned about being efficient at work? Is it helpful or is it not?
Welcome to the first episode of context matters with Amanda Bell. What is this podcast about you ask? This is a podcast for everyone who has ever thought “there’s gotta be a better way” when it comes to work, organizations, systems, or your job. We’re going to broaden the picture of work because context matters y’all. So let’s dive in…
On today’s episode we’ll talk about:
Data as a form of compassion
Mathematical self efficacy
Avoiding numbers and translating them
How do you relate with data? My experience is that many people don't feel good about their capabilities around data or numbers. How can we change that mindset? Let’s think and do data a little differently so we can see the impact that we want to see.
Curious about hosting a data meeting or if you want to stay connected with all things context matters and get helpful tips and tricks for expanding your conversations about work and how context matters, head on over to my website www.contextmatters.work and sign up for my newsletter
Sign up for the Free Mini Course on Data Meetings here
