The Workplace Chameleon with Dr. Celina
This podcast is about the changing organization and our relationship to it -- how we enter, thrive and exit. Each episode is meant to be thoughtful, funny, and applicable. Stories, insight, and "words to say" come from Dr. Celina's experience with over two and a half decades of listening, learning from and leading conversations in hundreds of companies. Each episode will explore a new theme about life arriving in, interacting with and leaving the workplace.
The Workplace Chameleon with Dr. Celina
Episode 83: Noise and Signal
In the rush of meetings, pings, deadlines, and distractions, how do leaders find what truly matters?
In this episode of The Workplace Chameleon, Dr. Celina Peerman explores the difference between noise—the things that keep us busy—and signal—the clarity that guides us.
You’ll learn how to filter out what’s urgent but unimportant, tune in to what matters most, and use powerful team practices to realign your leadership and priorities.
Plus, grab the free companion worksheet to help you and your team define the signal and quiet the noise this week.
Focus. Prioritization. Alignment.
This episode kicks off the path forward.
Welcome to the Workplace Chameleon where we explore how to adapt, align and lead through constant change. It is great to be back with you. My name is Dr Selina Pierman and this season we're digging into what it really takes to focus, prioritize what matters and lead with intention when everything feels urgent. We've been on a break and I am very happy to be back. Thanks for following along, and we have 12 new episodes mapped out for you, centered on three themes. I've mentioned them already and you'll hear about them often Focus, priorities and alignment. I'm also excited to share with you that those three themes are also wrapped up in an upcoming book called 39 Squirrels. If you're not familiar with the movie Up, there is a reference to focus in a particular scene where a dog, of course, is going to track the squirrel of course, is going to track the squirrel. Many of us recognize that we might feel like we've got lots of squirrels running in our head in all different directions trying to do the things we do, and this is the third book in a series that will be out soon. The first two, 49 Chameleons and 29 Owls are now available on our website and by contacting our team. And no, there's not really anything about animals in the books. They're all business and organizational effectiveness ideas for emerging leaders, advancing leaders and those people who just really want to make a bigger impact, and we're excited to tell you more about those if you'd like to reach out and talk.
Speaker 1:Today's episode is called the Noise and the Signal. I've had many days and I suspect you have too where I am so busy all day long, and yet at the end of it I couldn't clearly say that I got anything to move forward. Consider for a moment how I view that moment, because that's the moment I know the noise won. Because that's the moment I know the noise won. That's the moment I know the noise won. So what is noise? Noise is the distraction, it's the overload, it is the feeling of spinning. It can be external endless emails, rapid fire meetings, interruptions, unclear requests. It can also be internal second guessing, perfectionism, people pleasing comparison. And then there's organizational noise multiple priorities, unclear strategies, overlapping initiatives. We normalize noise, we say we're multitasking, when really we're just unfocused. We respond to everything, but not necessarily the things that deserve our best thinking. Noise isn't always bad. It's just not as useful for the decision that is likely in front of you and when you lead from the noise, you stay reactive instead of intentional. Remember, in every conversation there are hundreds of things we could listen for. Are we listening to the right thing? And that insight that I have carried with me for a long time starts fully back giving Heather Woody credit for that one, because it's her techniques and coaching that help me do a better job of making sure that in each conversation, I'm listening for the right thing.
Speaker 1:In this example, what's the signal? The signal is the clarity. It's the next right step, it's your anchor. Signal might come from your mission, your values, a deadline that matters, feedback from a trusted team member, a question from a customer or a client that makes you rethink your approach. Signal often feels quieter, more grounded, less dramatic, but it's the thread that connects what you do to why you do it. When we follow signal, we feel progress, alignment, focus, and when we ignore it for too long, we drift, our teams drift and we start reacting to things that don't actually move us forward.
Speaker 1:Some time ago, I got a phone call from one of the CEOs I respect the most and in my work as an organizational psychologist, I'm just so honored to be in conversation with people in the really good times and in the times that we struggle the most. And this is one of the CEOs that I just respect the most. I like how he runs his company and how he takes care of his people. And in that moment he called me and he said I'm failing my team. I'm like whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You're not failing your team. What's up with this word? I just don't feel like I'm like whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You're not failing your team. What's up with this word? I just don't feel like I'm getting anything done for them. You know what? We all have those moments and the reason I shared that particular example with you is because this is someone I know to be so good at what he does, takes such great care of his team.
Speaker 1:But we all have moments where the noise is winning and my question back was what are the top three things you need to get done today? I could have said just one, but I said three because when we name those three, then we can choose really out of those three. It helps us bring our thinking in. We can choose really out of those three. It helps us bring our thinking in, clarify what's at the top of our mind and then pick what's next. He wasn't failing his team. In fact, when we have those ongoing feelings, there are multiple reasons behind them and we're going to explore that a little bit more in this upcoming season as we tie focus priorities, alignment around confidence, and what does it take to move through those? Well, I'm happy to say that he went on and, of course, is still taking great care of his team and his company today. But I love the reminder. We all have those moments. We all need that little bit of reassurance, a signal from somebody else we're doing okay.
Speaker 1:You don't need to eliminate all the noise, that's not realistic but you can train yourself to notice when it shows up and then shift back to signal. Consider a couple of daily signal checks. What is my clearest responsibility today? What noise do I expect to encounter? How will I stay focused when it does? And it does, pause before reacting and ask what's the signal here? What really needs my leadership? Teach this to your team too. Try saying let's quiet the noise so we can hear the signal. Now, if that's not like you to say and they're not expecting to hear those words from you remember I do love a good sense of humor they might look at you at that moment and go what are you talking about? Then send them the link for this episode. But you need to build cues into your day A post-it note, a word on your screensaver, a calendar reminder, an alarm on your phone. Even 30 seconds of pause can reset your direction and, by the way, just give you a little more boost in confidence because you're clearer.
Speaker 1:One of the most powerful things we can do as leaders is help others notice the noise and invite them to name the signals they see. Try this at your next team meeting. What feels noisy to you right now? If you get them to understand how you mean the definition of noise, you might hear too many conflicting emails. We keep changing direction. It's not clear what the priority is. Remember, these are not complaints. They're clues, clues that your team is struggling to find the signal. What are some other tools you might try? Priority check-in Mondays what's our signal this week? Project alignment what signal are we following as we work on this Supervisor check-in? What's helping you lead with clarity right now? What's making it harder? Or on a whiteboard or shared document, noise we can let go of and signals worth following.
Speaker 1:The best leaders don't just manage the noise. They teach their teams how to listen for the signal together. Your week ahead will be full of noise. And here's your invitation Notice it, name it and shift toward your signal. Guess what? We have a new feature this season companion worksheets. These will help you map out for this episode, your own signal and noise and bring the practice to your team. So stay tuned. How to access that? There will be a download available for all 12 episodes so you can deepen your learning further. Thank you for joining me on the Workplace Chameleon. Keep smashing mental health stigmas and if today's episode helped you refocus and realign, even in the few minutes we share together, reflect on it, push it out into the world, if you would help our little team with that and use it to lead just a little clearer this week. Until next time, keep leading with intention and learn something new today, day.
