If you're leading a team that's stretched thin, and you're wondering whether building an employee appreciation culture is even realistic, this episode is for you.

I'm joined by Melanie Bazile, Director of Innovation and Expansion at Compass, an organization that provides supported and independent living services for adults with disabilities across the entire state of California. Compass has been doing this work for 30 years, and over the last five, Melanie has been the driving force behind embedding the Languages of Appreciation into the fabric of their culture.

What she'll share isn't theory. It's a real-world blueprint for what it actually takes — the buy-in battles, the consistency challenges, the moments where it almost slipped — and why she'd do it all again. If you've been hesitant to start, Melanie's message is simple: just start.

Compass offers consulting for organizations that provide services to people with disabilities, as well as mastermind experiences for peer learning. Reach out to Melanie directly at https://www.compasscares.com/staff/melanie-anderson/

Recognition tells your team they performed. Appreciation tells them they matter. If you’ve been leaning on one and wondering why culture still feels hollow, this episode is for you.

My guest today is Krista Kindley, a training and development professional with the Family and Children’s Resource Program at UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work. With 16 years in child welfare, Krista has seen some of the most burnout-prone, resource-stressed workplaces in the country, and she’s been quietly building a culture of genuine peer appreciation at work from the inside out.

In this conversation, Krista shares the “Appreciation Station,” a simple, zero-budget tool built inside Microsoft Teams that allows any team member, at any level, to express appreciation to anyone else on the org chart. No management approval required. No formal authority needed. And she walks us through exactly why that matters.

If you’re an HR leader, manager, or business owner who wants your people to feel genuinely valued, not just evaluated, this one will stay with you.

Books Mentioned

- The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White

- The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman

- A Culture of Appreciation by Frank DiMazio

Krista is doing meaningful work in the human services space through the Family and Children’s Resource Program at UNC Chapel Hill. You can connect with her and learn more at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work website.

You're doing the work. 1:1s, recognition programs, team meetings fill your calendar. And still your best people leave.

What if the problem isn't effort? What if you're focused on the wrong moments?

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Dyer, Inc. magazine's #1 leadership speaker, three-time bestselling author, and former CEO who earned best place to work recognition fifteen times, to unpack his new book, Moments That Matter. What Chris discovered after selling his company and sitting down with former executives wasn't about consistency or personality. It was about moments. The big ones. The ones where leaders either show up, loudly, intentionally, and meaningfully, or they miss the window entirely.

If you want to build the kind of culture your people look back on as the best of their career, the moments that matter framework will show you exactly how to get there.

**This episode originally aired on The Catalytic Leadership Podcast, and Chris Dyer was kind enough to give permission for his interview to be shared with this show.

Books Mentioned

• Moments That Matter by Chris Dyer
• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
• The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Connect with Chris and grab your copy of Moments That Matter at ChrisDyer.com/moments or search "Moments That Matter Chris Dyer" on Amazon. If you bring speakers into your organization, Chris would love to talk.