IE054 Carol Benson: Conscious Business Revolution: Co-Creation, Connection, and Culture

Our guest for this week is Carol Benson, a licensed speech and language pathologist, writer, author, business consultant and the co-founder of It Doesn’t Feel Like Work.

Carol’s educational background is a masters degree in Communication Disorders and Sciences in Speech-Language Pathology from Wayne State University. Even though she gained valuable experience from working in this field, she found it emotionally draining and exhausting. Her position ended and she went on to pursue the career of a business consultant, helping and educating entrepreneurs, startups, and professionals on the topics such as team engagement, social/emotional IQ, communication, mindfulness, co-creation and the latest technologies of consciousness engineering.

Carol is also a Mindvalley Master Certified Trainer (MCT) and a facilitator of the San Francisco Mindvalley group.

In 2013, she co-authored a book with her business and life partner Paul Benson, titled “5 Steps to Thrive: Reveal Any Crisis as Opportunity”, which focuses on maintaining balance, happiness, and strength in the face of unexpected challenges. In the book, she draws from her own experiences regarding adversities she faced as a direct result of the 2008-09 economic crisis. Through five basic principles, she aims to give readers the tools necessary to rewire their emotional reaction to any challenging situation, recognize and act on the exciting opportunities that each "setback" presents.

Using all these unique tools, experiences and trainings, Carol has been showing individual clients and teams how to build sustainable doses of happiness and well-being into work culture and beyond.

Connect with Carol:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolbenson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.buckfirebenson
• Email: [email protected]

Carol’s Journey of Inspired Evolution

“I am a creative. I always have been.” - Carol Benson

Even though she was a creative her entire life, she was pushed by her parents into the direction of hard sciences under the idea that it would provide her with job security. She got her masters in Speech-Language Pathology and was forced to start working in the clinical field. Even though these experiences, including helping people with autism, ADHD, and ADD, have trained her to become a social and emotional IQ specialist, she was quickly left feeling burnt out, emotionally drained and deeply unsatisfied with her professional situation. Her position ended, nudging her into an area of crisis but her story shows us that in every crisis we can find an opportunity.

“I knew it was true that I was serving kids in the work that I was doing and I was making a difference for them and their parents... I wanted to make a bigger difference. I want to reach more people.” - Carol Benson

The Disengagement of Today’s Employees and How to Deal with It

“Fifty percent of all employees are actively looking for their next job, and disengagement is costing corporations and even small business owners a lot!” - Carol Benson

There is a pattern emerging in today’s business and it’s reflected in its dynamicity and proneness to change. People are overwhelmingly becoming aware of their needs and motivations, as the business world progresses. Having a job that is giving you financial security alone is no longer enough while changing company’s and even fields of work are becoming more and more common for the average professional. This is, in fact, costing business owners a lot of money and part of Carol’s work today has been focusing her expertise on helping companies become aware of this problem, reframe it, and finally, develop a strategy for its resolution.  

“It’s all about growth. It’s all about personal skills and growth and so many people are under-utilized.” - Carol Benson

Aside from consulting executives and business owners, she also helps individuals who are stuck in a job that they do not find fullfiling, or who have taken a step away from their true values in terms of work. By working with both sides, Carol is sending a message that there is a solution to overcoming the apparent conflict between the unsatisfied workers and the employer who is afraid of losing them.

“You have to look at what’s broken. What’s not working anymore? How have people been overlooked and how can we include people in the mix so that they’re valued?” - Carol Benson

Recognizing people’s needs and responding to them in such a way that they’re feeling valued is the future of any company culture yearning to withstand the test of time. In order to sustain a team of people who are able to contribute to the goals and the vision of the company, the culture needs to respect and nurture the values and ambitions of individual workers. The bottom line is that if you’re not willing to establish a connection with your employees and resonate with their values, you will, without of doubt, end up losing them. What is often overlooked, and what is also an additional benefit of this approach, is that by allowing your employees to grow and develop in according to their needs they will repay you countless amount of times with their newfound experience, skill, and ability. By adopting a culture based on the concepts of co-creation and conscious business, Carol sees a potential solution to this problem that will undoubtedly benefit everyone.

“What is conscious business? What is co-creation? It means that you’re taking not just the individual moving up, you’re looking at the whole. - Carol Benson

What Is Social IQ and How Does It Benefit People In Today’s Business?

“Social IQ means that you’re paying attention to others around you.” - Carol Benson

In the previous segment we spoke about what needs to happen and now we get to answer the how. Carol spots a shift in the concept of leadership in today’s business. Moving away from the old top-down model of leadership to a one that emphasizes the co-creational relationship between the employer and the employee, focusing on both parties answering the simple question of: “What can I do for you?”. In its purest it, it is a constructive question accentuating the caring nature of the ideal culture, one that is allowing everyone, company included, to shine and to achieve their fullest potential. Learning to “think with your eyes” facilitates all interactions aiming to boost co-creation and in the end, create a conscious business model.

“When you think with your eyes it’s implying that you’re engaging your brain, your mind, your senses, your feelings, your empathy. You’re engaging your whole body to listen.” - Carol Benson

Carol’s Message of Inspired Evolution

Carol has shared unconditionally and insightfully about the current corporate issues and pointed out important steps we need to take in order to solve them. This conversation is truly an eyeopening experience for everyone that values personal growth and is looking to provide others with opportunities to do the same. She leaves us with a heartwarming motivational message of inspired evolution:

“Live life to its fullest. See the beauty and see the gift at any opportunity that comes your way.” - Carol Benson

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