Hello and welcome to The modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week, this newsletter examines engaging leadership practices drawn from interviews with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. again Fast company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to receive it every Monday morning.
Jessi Hempel did not set out to build a community. In 2018, LinkedIn, a professional network and social network, asked the former It has strings author to create a podcast as part of an audio strategy to reach members when they are not on the site. Hempel says his new employer has already identified the name of the game: Good morning Monday. “What he didn’t point out was, What should the podcast be about?” you remember. “And they gave me that opportunity completely. They say hopefully, ‘Your main factor here is curiosity. You’ll get it.’” (Disclosure: Hempel and I worked together for seven years at Good luckand I consider him a friend.)
What Hempel “realized” was that audiences craved more than just insightful conversations with CEOs, notables, and career and workplace experts, whichHello Monday with Jessi HempelIt has been delivered every week since March 2019. They also wanted to connect.
Travel beyond earbuds
In March 2020, when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and many companies began working remotely, Hempel and executive producer Sarah Storm began production.Good morning Mondaytwice a week. “Podcasts feel very intimate. There is someone talking in your ear,” he said. But the truth is, it’s actually a one-sided conversation. And we didn’t like that.”
A few weeks into the pandemic, Hempel and Storm launched Good morning Monday Office Hours, a virtual meeting place for listeners to ask questions, seek advice, and find fellowship. (Office Hours is also the name of LinkedIn’s live events platform.) Four years later, Monday Office Hours is still going strong. Hempel estimates that 300 people come each week, and he says he is the name of 50 to 75 of them. He says: “I know where they live, what they like, what they try to learn, and I know that they know each other.”
The power of communication
This direct connection withGood morning Mondaycommunity has led Hempel to stay ahead of the curve of workplace trends. He cites burnout as an example of a work-life topicGood morning Mondayhas been scrutinized since July 2020—a full two or three months before mainstream publications began covering the phenomenon.
LinkedIn does not disclose how many listeners they downloadGood morning Mondayweekly, but the podcast regularly appears in the top 50 Apple shows, according to Chartable. CorrespondingGood morning Mondaythe newspaper has more than 365,000 subscribers.
When I ask Hempel why he thinks Good morning Monday he has enjoyed such power among his listeners, without hesitation he says: “To obey.” He adds: “There are so many great content creators out there, but what our audience wants is for someone to say, ‘Hey, Amy in Ohio, I hear you. You should talk to Jason in New Hampshire because that audiobook thing you’re dreaming about, he knows something about it.’”
He says he hopes his audience will emulate those behaviors—listening, sharing, and connecting—in their own small circles.
Why leaders must listen
Hempel’s greatest strength—obedience—is great guidance for leaders, especially when you consider that many of his loyal followers can become your employees. They came to Good morning Monday and Office Hours are looking for tips on how to navigate the office, switch tasks, or be more productive, and feel heard. By listening, leaders have the power to help prevent plane crashes or unlock creativity.
And while Hempel didn’t set out to build a community, he quickly realized that growing such groups isn’t about the platforms or tools people use to communicate. Although Office Hours is a tool used by LinkedIn, many members of the community see it as a way to connect. “When you have a real community, tools don’t mean much,” he says. “In my experience, the community is a place where you can show when someone says, You belong here.”
How do you build a community?
How do you listen and build community as a leader—and has listening improved your workplace? Send your examples to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com and your feedback can become the basis of a future magazine.
Read more: Easy listening
- IHuman AIA podcast can be a really fun way to learn about artificial intelligence
- 6 podcasts with strategic insights for CEOs and entrepreneurs
- WhyFoundit’s your boss’s favorite podcast
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