Over the last year we at Conversant have become fond of saying “joy belongs at work.” Not only do we believe work can be joyful, we believe joy belongs at work. These two words, however, feel counter to one another more often than not. How many of us describe our workdays as “joyful”?
Juan Mobili, leadership development consultant, executive coach, and long-time friend of Conversant, has recently reflected on joy in his poetry. Juan joined Robin and Emma Rose to explore this concept of joy a bit more:
- How is joy different from being happy?
- What is work without joy?
- How does joy relate to authentic leadership?
- How does joy contribute to organizational success?
In this episode we tackle those questions and more, and get to hear some of Juan’s poetry which we hope will inspire similar reflections in all of you.
Listen
October 20, 2021
Poems and quotes shared in today’s episode
“Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest external horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.” ~Audre Lorde [Timestamp in podcast: 24:34]
“It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.” ~from Asphodel, That Greeny Flower by William Carlos Williams [25:38]
The Geology of Joy by Juan Mobili [26:30]
Peaceful Creatures by Juan Mobili [44:28]
won’t you celebrate with me by Lucille Clifton [46:18]
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” ~Julian of Norwich [49:52] (written addition by Mickey Connolly in the card mentioned in our episode was “Enjoy being“)
Additional Resources
Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend (TED Talk)
Guest Bio
Juan Mobili
Juan Mobili, is a leadership development consultant, executive coach, teacher, father and poet. For the past 20 plus years, Nike, Disney, Danone, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, McDonald’s and Microsoft, among others, has entrusted Juan to design and facilitate their leadership programs for their most senior talent.
His programs, and unique approach to developing the next generation of senior leaders, has impacted organizations throughout the US, Latin America, Europe, and the Arab Gulf States. AstraZeneca, Citicorp, GlaxoSmithKline and the United Nations have called upon him to design and facilitate one-of-a-kind presentations on their behalf.
As an executive coach, Wharton’s Advanced Management Program and Harvard’s Business Schools senior leadership programs rely on his expertise in leadership identity, context creation, and organizational transformation.
Juan is fluent in Spanish and English and is a professional writer and translator (Spanish, English, Italian, and Portuguese). He’s also published poems, articles, and translations in literary and business publications in Argentina, Spain, and the US. He was educated in Argentina and the US with an emphasis on Philosophy of Language and Social Anthropology.
Follow Juan on Twitter
