Building Community (in 20 Minutes or Less)

What if changing your culture didn't require a massive initiative, but just twenty focused minutes at a time? In this special five-part podcast series, Kevin Eikenberry is joined by Jennifer Moss for a practical, thought-provoking exploration of how leaders can create meaningful cultural change through small, intentional actions. How can leaders rebuild a sense of community at work when time feels scarce and connection feels optional? In this episode, Kevin and Jennifer focus on how leaders can strengthen community by intentionally creating small but powerful opportunities for connection. This conversation centers on the growing loss of connection in modern workplaces and why community is not a "nice to have," but a strategic priority. Kevin and Jennifer explore research showing that friendships at work drive engagement, retention, psychological safety, and performance, yet are steadily declining as workloads increase and people default to working in isolation. They share practical examples to create opportunities for people to come together, like stepping away from desks to eat together, celebrating small wins, and starting meetings with brief personal connection activities.

Listen For

00:00 Introduction and series overview 00:35 Meet Jennifer Moss 01:26 How this series was created 02:22 What changing culture in 20 minutes really means 03:22 Why community matters at work 04:18 The loss of connection at work 05:05 Why friendships at work matter 06:17 Being a leader and a human 08:12 What we mean by rituals 09:27 Lunch as a culture building ritual 10:25 Gratitude and recognition rituals 11:24 Celebrating small wins and milestones 12:29 Kevin's virtual team ritual example 14:26 Remote work and intentional community 15:56 Making time for rituals 16:49 The now what question 17:36 Subscribe and series preview

Jennifer's Story: Jennifer Moss specializes in future-focused leadership development, expertly balancing employee well-being with performance. As an award-winning writer and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, she specializes in transforming workplace culture using data-driven leadership strategies. Her book The Burnout Epidemic tackled employee burnout and was among Thinkers50's "10 Best New Management Books for 2022." Her latest book is WHY ARE WE HERE?: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants (Harvard Business Review Press; 2025)

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