#032 Igniting Team Connection & Performance with Christine Comaford

Do you ever feel like chaos in your organization is getting in the way of teams being more effective at work? My guest and founder of SmartTribes Institute, Christine Comaford, has developed an approach that blends applied neuro-science and ancient wisdom to help leaders and teams cut through chaos and fear to build emotional engagement that increases performance, collaboration, and talent retention. 

In this episode Christine and I discuss the early days of her career in the 1980s working with tech companies like Adobe, Microsoft, and Apple; starting her own businesses; her current work at SmartTribes Institute and how she blends her extensive business acumen with applied neuro-science and ancient wisdom; how acknowledging and regulating emotions and fostering a supportive work environment can turn dysfunctional and fearful teams into cohesive, motivated, and successful groups; and her volunteer role as a death doula and what she has learned about what really matters at the end of our life journey.  

ABOUT OUR GUEST 

For over 35 years Leadership and Culture Coach, Serial Entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author Christine Comaford has helped leaders navigate growth and change. She specializes in applied neuroscience, which helps her clients achieve tremendous results in record time. As an entrepreneur she built and sold five companies with an average ROI of 700%, and she was a software engineer in the early days of Microsoft and Apple. Christine is a human behavior expert, and the New York Times bestselling author of SmartTribes and Rules for Renegades, and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Power Your Tribe.

What you may not know about Christine is that she was a Buddhist nun from age 17-24 years old, and has been a volunteer Death Doula for hospice patients. Over the past 27 years she has walked 66 people through their death process, helping them to find peace, closure with their loved ones, and gratitude for a life well-lived. Her hospice work continues now as she expands her work to include non-verbal children with neurodegenerative diseases. She sees all of her patients as dear friends and generous teachers.

She is also a shamanic practitioner who has studied indigenous wisdom with tribal leaders over the past 40 years. She brings their earth-honoring wisdom to her workshops, her retreats, her coaching so all she interact with feel truly seen and honored as the courageous and remarkable people they are.

Connect with Christine: 

SmartTribes Institute 

LinkedIn

Instagram

YouTube 

 

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART 

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about ​making business and its offerings a source of inspiration and connection for ourselves, our teams, and the people we serve.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I work as an innovation strategist and facilitator who helps brave leaders and teams co-create new ways to win over and keep customers and talent. Join me in deep conversations about creating powerful connections with the people we serve, while making art out of our business and life. 

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt