Listen On…
In this episode of Team Anywhere, I interviewed Jessica Weiss, a TEDx speaker and happiness expert. Jessica emphasizes the importance of human-centric leadership within organizations, particularly in the context of hybrid and virtual team management. She highlights the essential role of fostering friendships at work, aligning individual strengths with meaningful work, and recognizing the importance of making progress for generating happiness and productivity. Jessica also candidly shares her own happiness journey, including her insights on delivering a TEDx talk.
Happiness at Work
Jessica Weiss, a TEDx speaker and organizational leadership expert, shared her insights on happiness in the workplace. According to Weiss, true happiness at work is achieved when individuals feel that their success is earned and they are doing something for others that cannot be done on their own. Additionally, she emphasized the importance of tapping into one’s strengths and making progress towards daily goals to sustain happiness at work.
Building Connections Through Friendship
Weiss highlighted the significance of fostering friendships at work, stressing that friendship is the best predictor of lasting and sustainable happiness. She outlined the responsibility of both individuals and team leaders in facilitating connections at work. From onboarding new employees with a designated guide to incorporating personal stories in meetings, the focus was on creating an environment that encourages genuine friendships within the team.
Personal and Team Happiness
The discussion also touched on measuring happiness within organizations. Weiss mentioned the ongoing trend of companies recognizing the value of assessing employee happiness, citing its positive impact on talent retention and overall productivity. The episode ended with a reflection on Weiss’s journey of preparing for her TEDx talk. The anticipation, hard work, and eventual realization of the talk in Toronto were shared, accompanied by an invitation to view her insightful presentation on happiness.
Who is Jessica Weiss?
Jessica Weiss is a speaker and consultant who teaches businesses how to find more happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction at work. With 15 years of experience working with global brands like Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and American Express, Jessica is a trusted source for those who are searching for tangible, research-based strategies to create happier workers.
She is a TEDx speaker and organizational leadership expert who uses her humor and “tell-it-like-it-is” style to teach companies across the country why work can and should be a source of happiness, and how to create spaces where people love to work.
- Website: www.jessicaweiss.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaweiss7/
- YouTube: Happiness: It’s an Inside Job | Jessica Weiss | TEDxMcMasterU
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejessicaweiss/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejessicaweiss
How to Create A High-Performance Remote Team:
Improve Remote Team Work:
How To Excel as a Remote Team Member
Improve Remote Leadership Skills:
How to Be an Effective Remote Manager
How to Build Virtual Accountability
Human-Centered Leadership Quotes
In order to build lasting and sustainable happiness, there are things that you actually need to do. This is not a passive sport. 
You need to do the stuff that you’re good at every single day — it sounds simple, but I think that many of us forget about that. 
Happiness is sort of like a buffet. You take what resonates for you. 
Happiness is not this feeling that you’re laughing all the time, that you’re smiling. That’s not happiness. Happiness is an internal level of satisfaction, contentment, enjoyment. 
Friends are magic. Friends are the best predictor of lasting and sustainable happiness. 
If I love my work more, I do all of those other things naturally. If I’m happy and satisfied in my job, I’m more creative. I’m a better problem solver. I’m a better collaborator.
