Blog

Transparency and Trust: Scaling a People-First Culture in a Hybrid World

By Samantha Holland

We’re taking the pulse on the modern leader’s workplace experience; as we strive to promote a culture of learning at Circles, we periodically interview leaders in our sphere regarding their priorities, challenges, and best practices. Those we spoke with this round cover a range of industries, including medicine, trucking, technology, and more. Representing a multitude […]

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Manager Enablement in a Virtual World

By Samantha Holland

Merakey works to empower communities with innovative care and education solutions. Like many organizations, they weathered pandemic realities like high turnover and virtually onboarding new recruits. Alex Markey, who’s worked in Merakey operations since 2012, has noticed how easily today’s hybrid and remote teams become disjointed and siloed. In an effort to fight workplace disconnection, […]

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Four Key Elements to Building Team Trust

By Samantha Holland

20 years ago, Colleen Moen was looking for a career change, and Starbucks Coffee Company hired her–not knowing she was five months pregnant. She says it was the first time she worked for a company that actually lived out the values they had written on the wall. “Starbucks treated me like a human who mattered […]

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High-Performing Hybrid Teams: How to build trust to Drive Performance

By Samantha Holland

With many workplaces settling into hybrid work environments, it’s become increasingly difficult for colleagues to connect. This could negatively affect performance: research shows high-performing teams are 25% more likely to connect with teammates over non-work topics.  “The best teams aren’t more effective because they work all the time. On the contrary: they invest time connecting […]

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Navigating Change: A Circles Case Study about Scaling Resilience in an Enterprise Organization

By Samantha Holland

Embarking on a journey of culture change at scale is no easy feat, but one DuPont division offers an inspiring tale of grassroots transformation. Despite daunting societal forces and internal disruptions, they embraced inclusive Circles experiences, fostering trust and resilience even throughout a merger and acquisition. Leaders emerged and were transformed into cultural ambassadors as […]

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Unlocking Substantial Returns Through Employee Resource Groups

By Samantha Holland

90% of Fortune 500 Companies have employee resource groups. ERGs surged in the last two years, but now cost-conscious execs are slashing budgets and staffing.  Many of us sense the importance of these spaces, but in times of economic uncertainty, how do you justify the time and money? Fortunately, recent research has bolstered the case […]

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Connecting the Manufacturing Industry: Small Groups Driving Big Change

By Samantha Holland

A bevy of manufacturing companies and executives have joined our Circles community recently. Why? We went to investigate. It turns out that sector has a head start dealing with trends that are now headlines for other sectors: scarcity of skilled hires, managing rapid change, and distributed work.  Connected to Close the Skills Gap America Works […]

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Chezie Takes ERGs From Intent to Impact

By Samantha Holland

Dumebi and Toby Egbuna were two and four years old when their family immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria. After their parents obtained a green card through a one-in-a-million chance lottery, the Egbuna siblings grew up in a small town outside Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  As adults, their identity as black, first generation immigrants shapes how […]

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Searching for Safe Spaces: Navigating Gender Equality in a Maritime Organization

By Samantha Holland

In 1760, Londoner Edward Lloyd unknowingly founded an organization that would last more than 260 years. At the time, ships were the world’s only reliable transportation option, and Lloyd created a register to record vessel quality for merchants and underwriters. Today, Lloyd’s Register Group and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation work together to ensure a safe, […]

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The Lauder Institute Alumni Association

By Circles Team

As women’s history month comes to a close, we’re proud to announce our collaboration with The Lauder Institute Alumni Association. In April, over 100 women from around the world will connect for the inaugural session of the Lauder Meridians pilot. Groups will meet regularly for the remainder of 2023 to connect with like-minded-Lauder Women. We are […]

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