Blog

Three Ways Circles Address Leadership Challenges

By Samantha Holland

Even while organizational leaders create belonging for their teams, many are looking for ways to stay connected with other leaders themselves. One thing humans all seem to have in common is a desire for community and connection. That’s why we started inviting Talent Development & Enablement professionals into connection circles, allowing them to share their […]

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The Importance of Facilitative Leadership

By Samantha Holland

As flat as our organizations may become, leadership happens in functional workplaces. The problem is that we’ve all experienced a mixed bag of leadership at work: for every great encounter, we’ve survived not-so-great moments with colleagues (and, if we look honestly in the mirror, each of us can probably identify times we ourselves didn’t lead […]

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The Secret to Compelling Company Culture: Prioritize People & Create Community

By Samantha Holland

In the wake of both the great resignation and massive layoffs–and with recession looming– organizational culture matters. When the stakes are high, what elements contribute to a compelling company culture? We asked learning and development leaders how they connect and grow their employees and enhance company culture, all while navigating a global workforce. They all […]

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Fighting for Females in Finance

By Samantha Holland

“I discovered that the people in my GenderSmart circle are just like me, in one way or another. We’re all trying to make the world fair and equitable, just in different ways.” Bibi Gertrude Annoh Quarshie, Director of Operations, African Women’s Development Fund Financial systems engage with and benefit men and women differently– particularly women […]

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What my Houseplant Taught me About Resilience

By Samantha Holland

There’s been a lot of buzz about resilience as an essential quality during setbacks. When the topic came up in a slack channel recently, one colleague shared that they recently stopped using the word altogether: in their experience, expecting resilience invalidates pain and lived experience by suggesting that people simply persevere. Indeed, the internet defines […]

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How to Support Your Teams During Tough Times

By Samantha Holland

Amidst slashed budgets and tightened purse strings, Learning & Development and onboarding professionals search for ways to continue supporting and developing their teams. Now more than ever, modern workplace teams–local, hybrid and distributed–need innovative ways to connect and grow so they can effectively collaborate.  That’s why over the past six years, we’ve built a company […]

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What’s up at Circl.es? CEO Update

By Dan Hoffman

Over the years, we’ve delivered authentic human connection for circles of school kids, grown-ups, faith-based communities, micro-entrepreneurs, climate activists, universities, medical teams and more. We’ve built a system and technology to support them, with many applications. Now, we’re focused on simplifying our business model in order to create a sustainable company that can fulfill our […]

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Become a Better Listener: a Four Step Guide

By Samantha Holland

My name means “listener” in Hebrew, and I like to think I’m good at it; in fact, I once confidently named a podcast I hosted Listener. But occasionally my own husband hints that I’m not listening well, and I think I know what he means. Curious might describe me better than Listener –I’m interested enough […]

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Transforming Organizational Culture

By Samantha Holland

Remote Sales Manager: Jasmine Cumberland “Circles helps me build bonds and network with my colleagues, while showing my leadership capabilities. When JumpCrew needed a sales manager, I didn’t even apply–they came and offered me the job.” In March 2021, Jasmine Cumberland started at JumpCrew as a fully-remote Sales Representative. To expand her relationships, she signed […]

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Six Ways to Improve Employee Engagement

By Samantha Holland

Just when it seemed the great resignation was in the rearview mirror, quiet quitting swooped in to dominate corporate headlines. Hybrid workspaces are here to stay and bring their own set of challenges, like employee loneliness and lack of connection. All this to say, talent retention and employee engagement remain top-of-mind for HR leaders, maybe […]

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