Episode 202: Fly-Offs and Shutdowns and Evals, Oh My!

And lo, the Internet Gods and Goddesses decreed "we shall ruin your recording, thereby preventing this week's uploading of training and behavior content!" But nay, your hosts shall not abide! While Chris and Ari scurry behind the scenes to figure out what the heck went wrong with this week's recording and do their best to fix and rebuild it, we bring you a throwback to our conversation from January 2023 about the dangers of relying on prompts too heavily in shaping behaviors. A timeless topic for trainers of all ages and levels of experience! If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!  

The state motto of Arkansas is "Regnat populus" - Latin for "the people rule" - and you know what? The people here DO rule! Chris sits down with Hannah Baker, Sydney Byrd, LeeAnn Goette, and Kate Neal from Little Rock Zoo to talk about all the fun training going on during Chris' 10-day consulting stint, the ways we've all learned to help build (and avoid degrading) trust with animals, fun stuff coming up for the zoo in the near future, and the awesomeness of pouched rats. Happy 100th birthday, Little Rock Zoo!  If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!

Ari and Chris welcome Jennie Janssen (National Aquarium, MIASZ) back to the show to share her take - and a great new initiative from MIAZS (Minorities in Aquarium and Zoos Sciences) - relating to the challenge our field is facing of creating the leaders of tomorrow.  References from the episode: MIAZS - Minorities in Aquarium and Zoo Sciences  AMLAZ - Advancing Minority Leadership in Aquariums and Zoos Understanding Barriers and Opportunities for Women and People of Color in Zoos, Aquariums, and Related Fields: A Research Initiative (Full Report, Executive Summary, and Infographics) If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!

Ari has The Ick, so Chris is joined by NEI Supervisor Scott Trauger to share our notes - figuratively and literally - from the 2024 ABMA Annual Conference in Nashville, TN!  If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!

With Chris in Nashville to listen to other people talk into a microphone at the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) Annual Conference, Ari keeps the show going with the help of future animal care professional Lauren Vieira! Lauren emailed us to say that she was a listener who would love a sticker from the podcast if we ever made one - we did (thanks to our friends at Slapco), so we asked her to be on the show! Lauren talks about her story of shifting focus from the hospitality world to the professional animal care field, chats about the joys of moving to Florida, shares a bit about some of the interviews she's had for her first full-time zoo job, and grills Ari on some stuff she wants to know about our world - such a great conversation! (#ForeverSpeakingIntoAMicrophone) If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!

Well, it took us over 200 episodes to get our act together and make it happen, but it was worth the wait because we're finally joined by our favorite "Queen of Team," Marty MacPhee! Marty shares her background as a member of the "NEI Extended Universe," her training and behavior background at Brookfield Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom, and many of the lessons she's learned along the way about teamwork, coaching, and communication. We discuss the changing expectations of people coming in as new members of the zoological field, the importance of active listening, the problems that happen when we overindex on competency to the exception of honesty and empathy, strategies for lowering defensiveness, and the thrill of having a leader that's interested in your success. This was a wonderful conversation with one of our favorite people! References:  The New Rules of Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlitt First Step to Collaboration? Don't be so Defensive! by Jim Tamm Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!

Ari and Chris welcome back NEI President and CEO, Steve Martin, back to the show to talk about his recently published journal aritcle, "A Reexamination of the Relationship between Training Practices and Welfare in the Management of Ambassador Animals"! Steve talks about how the article came about, the steep learning curve involved in the ins and outs of creating a peer-reviewed document, the revisions we went through for over a year to get to the final product, and what he hopes the professional animal care field could gain from reading it. A great chat about an important topic! For more information, click here to read Steve's article from the journal Animals.  If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!

Courtesy of the fine folks at the HBR on Leadership Podcast from Harvard Business Review, Chris brings a challenge for discussion to the table: what do you do when a top performer on your team that is up for promotion is also known for treating their collegues badly? We share the ins of outs of the case study "Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley" to reflect on the challenges leaders face when promoting - or not promoting - a controversial member of their team, and what they can do to both mitigate and deal with the potential fallout that it can cause for the organization. Get ready to get uncomfortable! If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!

Zoo podcasters of the world, unite again! Join Chris on his "exciting first date" with Jon Rossi of the Rossifari Podcast and Elizabeth Johnson of the Mothering Wildlife Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of our shows! With Jon as host and ringleader, we talk about why our shows got started, how they've evolved over time, what we've learned about our audiences, how "the sausage gets made" in the recording and editing process, and our favorite experiences as animal people talking into microphones.  Check out all the great stuff from two shows we're proud to share the internet with:  The Rossifari Podcast - Apple | Spotify | Website Mothering Wildlife - Apple | Spotify | Website If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the TEC Talk Podcast let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!  

Ari has feedback on the brain - shout out to The Sea Stories Podcast (Apple Podcasts | Spotify) - so she sits down with Chris to talk about the ins of and out of how it applies to coaching people on how to coach others. We discuss the difference between coaching coaches you work with versus coaching coaches you've just met, when and how to offer feedback during a coaching session you're not in charge of, and the best advice we would give someone brand new to coaching other people. Coaching!  If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible!