{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Modern Manager","title":"369: Make Work More Fun Without Losing Your Professional Edge with Bree Groff","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1847,"description":"What if the biggest threat to your team’s creativity and performance isn’t the workload but outdated ideas of what “professionalism” should look like?\nIt’s easy to fall into the trap of performative professionalism: obsessing over sounding smart, dressing the part, and following invisible rules about how “real professionals” should behave. But all that effort often masks the very things that fuel creativity, innovation, and productivity.\nToday’s guest is here to flip the script on professionalism and show you how to bring more fun into work without being labeled unprofessional.\nMeet Bree Groff. Bree is the author of TODAY WAS FUN: A Book About Work (Seriously) and a transformation expert who’s advised leaders at Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, and more.\nIn this episode, Bree reveals the difference between functional and performative professionalism, shares simple rituals that create psychological safety, and explains why micro acts of fun at work (whether you’re on site or fully remote) are actually strategic for building team trust.\nPlus, in the extended episode available exclusively to Podcast+ members, Bree shares practical tips on how to respond when someone calls you “unprofessional” and other small ways to infuse fun into the workday.\nJoin the conversation now!\nGet FREE mini-episode guides with the big idea from the week’s episode delivered to your inbox when you subscribe to my weekly email.\nConversation Topics(00:00) Introduction(01:23) Understanding functional vs. performative professionalism(06:20) The problem with wearing “business masks”(10:17) How to balance client expectations (15:22) What real professionalism looks like in practice(21:07) How to talk about professionalism with your team(25:04) The impact of human-first leadership(27:35) A great manager Bree has worked for(29:30) Keep up with Bree(30:19) [Extended Episode Only] How to respond when someone says you’re unprofessional(35:32) [Extended Episode Only] Other ways to bring more joy and fun into...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/vh03-o0OUKG7JnFjtDqtJmV0y385f5sQOifebswPa_E/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQzNjM5LzE2OTA1/Nzg4MDYtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}