Practicing Connection
Improve your resilience and readiness in a rapidly changing world.
Jessica Beckendorf and Bob Bertsch host this exploration of personal and collective practices that empower us to work together to help each other, our families, and our communities improve our resilience and readiness.
Episodes
79 episodes
From Awareness to Action: Practicing Allyship
In this episode of Practicing Connection, Jessica and Dr. Anne Phibbs discuss social identities, privilege, and allyship. They explore how social identities are shaped by social forces and the importance of terms like ‘marginalized’ and ‘underr...
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Season 5
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Episode 41
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31:31
DEI in 2024: Change, Pushback, and Hope with Dr. Anne Phibbs
How has the conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion evolved since 2019?In this thought-provoking conversation, Dr. Anne Phibbs, Founder and President of Strategic Diversity Initiatives, ex...
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Season 5
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Episode 40
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41:25
Applying Systems Thinking to Local Issues
In this episode, Bob and Jessica explore the value of using a systems lens in community work, highlighting the interconnected factors that influence local development. Jessica reflects on her experiences working with different groups on...
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Season 5
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Episode 39
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17:46
Balancing the Big Picture with the Small
In this episode of the Practicing Connection podcast, hosts Jessica and Bob explore the concept of balancing the "big picture" with "small actions" in their work and personal lives. The episode delves into a practice inspir...
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Season 5
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Episode 38
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13:47
Leveraging the Community Assets to Support Military Families
In this episode of the Practicing Connection podcast, hosts Jessica and Bob explore the Community Capitals Framework, a powerful tool from community development that can enhance your work with military families. They discuss how this framework,...
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Season 5
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Episode 37
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17:52
Communicating Across Generations with Corie Weathers
Multigenerational communication is important for military leaders and family service providers.In this episode, we talk about how to communicate across generations with Corie Weathers, author of
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Season 5
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Episode 36
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36:40
Empathy in Action: A Framework for Support
In this episode, Bob and Jessica explore a powerful tool designed to deepen your connection with others—empathy mapping. Whether you're working with military families, service members, or anyone navigating life's challenges, this practice can h...
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Season 5
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Episode 35
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13:49
Preparing for Challenging Conversations
Navigating conversation about difficult topics, like money, can be daunting. In this episode, Bob and Jessica help you turn those tricky conversations into opportunities for growth and understanding. Jessica introduces the “Hopes and Concerns” ...
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Season 5
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Episode 34
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16:05
How Beliefs and Values Shape Our Work
In this episode, join us in exploring how our beliefs and values shape our work, with a focus on financial attitudes and personal reflection. Research shows that investing in self-awareness can really build a foundation that allows service prov...
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Season 5
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Episode 33
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16:35
Improve Your Feedback with Gratitude and Vulnerability
Discover the transformative power of feedback. Hosts Bob Bertsch and Jessica Beckendorf explore the nuances of giving and receiving feedback, emphasizing its role in personal and professional growth. Jessica shares a practical readiness checkli...
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Season 5
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Episode 32
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14:28
Feeding Military Families with Stronghold Food Pantry CEO Monica Bassett
In this episode, co-hosts Jessica Beckendorf and Bob Bertsch talk with Monica Bassett, founder and CEO of Stronghold Food Pantry, a resource for military families on Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Monica talks about how she started a food pantry o...
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Season 5
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Episode 31
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32:12
Reduce Your Stress Through Core Values
In this episode, learn how values shape emotions, decisions, and relationships, providing a roadmap for reduced stress, boosted confidence, and thriving connections. Bob Bertsch introduces practical exercises, guiding you through reflections an...
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Season 5
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Episode 30
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13:07
Confronting Imposter Syndrome by Sharing Your Work
Sharing your work, even before it is done, is a great practice for dealing with imposter syndrome. It can help you realize no one is perfect and can make your work better, make you visible to others, and lead you to a community of support and g...
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Season 5
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Episode 29
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14:08
Do Less of What Drains You
The more you understand about yourself, the better you’ll be able to align your life with the things that are really meaningful to you. In this episode, Jessica Beckendorf shares how to do less of what drains you by using ene...
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Season 5
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Episode 28
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13:34
Partnering on Early Education for Military Kids
In this episode, co-hosts Bob Bertsch and Jessica Beckendorf talk with Lisa Sapp and James Yracheta about a collaboration between Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Great Falls (MT) School District to provide military-connected kids access to the...
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Season 5
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Episode 27
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37:49
Making Small Adjustments
Many of us tend to take a linear approach to program development. We develop a program, implement it fully, then evaluate it to see if it worked. However, making small adjustments, aka iteration, is an important part on innovations.Bob Bert...
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Season 5
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Episode 26
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15:20
Being Open to All Ideas
Research has shown we have a negative bias against creative ideas because we are uncomfortable with uncertainty. Implementing new ideas means change and change brings uncertainty, so we dismiss new ideas before that uncertainty arises.Bob B...
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Season 5
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Episode 25
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12:46
Finding Your Purpose as a Group
Getting to a shared purpose as a group often requires digging a little deeper than usual. Jessica Beckendorf talks about the chaordic stepping stones, a helpful tool for going below the surface with a group, and shares four questions that...
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Season 5
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Episode 24
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10:09
Come Back Better
In this episode, hosts Jessica Beckendorf and Bob Bertsch delve into the heart of community recovery with their enlightening discussion on the "Come Back Better" approach.Discover how you and your community can navigate the challenges of...
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Season 5
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Episode 23
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18:29
Being Present With Your Strengths
Separately, mindfulness practice and character strengths practice have been shown to improve well-being. Recent research has shown that combining these two practices may have even greater benefits. In this episode, we continue our c...
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Season 5
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Episode 22
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13:56
Finding Balance Within Strengths
Much of the conversation around character strengths focuses on their positive aspects, but there are some contexts in which character strengths can lead to negative outcomes. It’s all in how we use them.In this episode, we continue our conv...
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Season 5
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Episode 21
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13:33
Lean Into Your Strengths
Character strengths are your unique pathways to those positive goals people pursue in life. They can help us amplify positive things in our lives, like self-acceptance, autonomy, goal progress, and more.In this episode, we continue our conv...
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Season 5
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Episode 20
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13:06
Finding Your Strengths
Finding your character strengths can help improve your life and emotional well-being, as well as meet the challenges and difficulties you are facing. Some frameworks and assessments for identifying our strengths focus on workplace perf...
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Season 5
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Episode 19
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12:36
Networks for Military Family Support with Amy Rodick
Amy Rodick, Director of the Office of Military Family Readiness and Policy in the Department of Defense, joins the podcast to talk about the informal and formal network that help military families thrive. As an Army veteran and military sp...
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Season 5
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Episode 18
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15:01
Holding Space for New Possibilities
This is the third is a series of three practicasts centered around "holding space," a concept we learned from Heather Plett, author of "The Art of Holding Space." Our co-creator for this series was our OneOp colleague, Kristen Jowers.In ...
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Season 5
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Episode 17
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13:58