Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Neuroscience of Leadership, Feedback & AI with Dr. David Rock | 05 Nov 2026 | 00:39:41 | |
Dr. David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, explains the neuroscience behind the SCARF model and what it means for feedback, hybrid work and AI adoption. Feedback stings. Return-to-office mandates spark pushback. AI rollouts leave employees anxious about their jobs and their skills. What if these reactions aren’t resistance at all, but the brain doing exactly what it was built to do? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with David about his new book, Good with Humans: The Neuroscience of What Makes Us Tick and What Ticks Us Off. The book is built around the SCARF model: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness, the five social domains the brain is constantly tracking for threat or reward. David explains why traditional approaches to feedback often do more harm than good. He shares research showing that the most effective shift is teaching people to ask for feedback rather than give it. He also offers a simple principle for managers in hybrid teams who want certainty without micromanaging: clarity on the end point, freedom on the process. The conversation also turns to AI. David argues that how most organizations are rolling it out creates threats across all five SCARF domains at once. He also warns that heavy reliance on AI may be eroding insight, judgment and even interpersonal skills. And he shares how a handful of organizations, including DBS Bank, are approaching AI as a leadership and change challenge rather than a technology rollout. The tools may be new, but the brain we bring to work is not. Understanding what drives it may be one of the most practical things HR can do right now. About Our Guest Dr. David Rock is the co-founder and director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, a cognitive science consultancy that has advised more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100 and helped more than 20 million people be more effective through brain science. He is the author of Your Brain at Work, Quiet Leadership and Coaching with the Brain in Mind, and his SCARF model has been cited in close to 2,000 research publications. His new book, Good with Humans, is out November 17. Resources Mentioned
Win a Copy of Good with Humans Listeners in Canada and the US: post about this episode on LinkedIn and tag future foHRward and/or Naomi Titleman Colla for a chance to win a copy of David’s new book. Stay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE Follow us on LinkedIn: Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Managing Up with Mohit Misra | 29 Oct 2026 | 00:34:37 | |
Your relationship with your boss may be one of the most consequential relationships in your working life. Yet most of us are expected to figure out how to navigate it on our own. What happens when your boss avoids decisions? Micromanages everything? Makes a call you strongly disagree with? Or simply works in a way that clashes with yours? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Mohit Misra about managing up as a skill, and why employees have more agency in the relationship than they may realize. Mohit introduces six common boss archetypes and his Triple M framework for understanding who you are working with, mapping your own needs against theirs, and making an intentional move rather than relying on assumptions. They also explore how to challenge a boss constructively, what to do when respect begins to erode, and why understanding the pressures your leader is facing can completely change the conversation. They also look at what AI is doing to the traditional boss-employee power dynamic. When employees and leaders increasingly have access to the same information and tools, hierarchy alone creates less value. Transparency, judgment and honest conversation become even more important. And for HR leaders in particular, Mohit leaves us with a challenge: are we coaching everyone else to embrace ambiguity while quietly expecting perfection from ourselves? Resources Referenced
About Our Guest Mohit Misra is a leadership advisor, coach and author with two decades of experience in senior talent roles at organizations including Novartis, Chemours and Bank of America. He works with CHROs and senior leaders on turning leadership strategy into action and is the author of Coaching Under Three Minutes and the forthcoming Managing Up. Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How to Redesign Work Around AI with Tom Mawhinney | 22 Oct 2026 | 00:39:46 | |
Organizations are investing heavily in AI. Licenses are being purchased, usage is being tracked and employees are being encouraged to experiment. But has the work itself actually changed? In this episode of foHRsight, Mark Edgar speaks with leadership advisor and author Tom Mawhinney about the gap between adopting AI and genuinely redesigning work around what the technology makes possible. Tom argues that the biggest opportunity is not simply to automate existing tasks or reduce headcount. It is to reconsider how roles are structured when AI can take on more of the analysis and production, while humans focus more deliberately on judgment, context and prioritization. That shift raises an important question for HR. If entry-level work has traditionally been where people develop many of those capabilities through experience, how do organizations build them when some of that work disappears? Mark and Tom explore why HR can play a critical role in answering that question, how to make the financial case for redesign rather than reduction, and why organizations do not need to transform every job at once. Starting with a few roles, testing what works and proving the value may be enough to begin. Because having AI available across the organization is one thing. Building an organization that works differently because of it is another. About Our Guest Tom Mawhinney is a leadership advisor, author and keynote speaker whose work sits at the intersection of leadership, strategy and technology. Drawing on three decades as an executive, board member, founder and advisor, he helps organizations rethink how those three areas need to evolve together as the conditions around work change. Resources Mentioned
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Leadership Shift AI Cannot Make for Us with Gary Bolles | 15 Oct 2026 | 00:31:10 | |
HR leaders are being asked to help their organizations adapt to AI at extraordinary speed. But what happens when the technology is changing faster than the systems, leadership models and assumptions underneath the way we work? The opportunity is bigger than adopting better tools. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with returning guest Gary Bolles about what it takes to navigate continuous change without losing the humans at the centre of it. They explore why traditional command-and-control leadership is increasingly at odds with the kind of adaptive organizations we need, why leaders may need to trade having the answers for asking better questions, and how changing expectations around purpose and motivation are reshaping work. Gary also introduces the idea of “synchronous rewards,” a more flexible approach to aligning what organizations need with what individual workers value at different points in their lives. And as AI makes greater personalization possible, he offers an important caution for HR: technology can help us scale human systems, but it can just as easily make them less human if we stop applying judgment, context and care. For HR leaders navigating both the promise and pressure of AI, this conversation offers a useful reframing: the goal is not to automate the old rules of work. It is to build better ones. About Our Guest Gary Bolles is the author of The Next Rules of Work and Chair for the Future of Work at Singularity University. With decades of experience spanning Silicon Valley, technology, learning and the future of work, he brings a systems-level perspective to how leaders and organizations can navigate exponential change while keeping people at the centre. Resources Mentioned
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| HR's Role in AI Enablement with Dessalen Wood | 08 Oct 2026 | 00:38:56 | |
Your organization is investing in AI. People are experimenting, training is happening, productivity tools are everywhere. But is any of it actually making work better? That’s the question at the centre of this episode of foHRsight, as Mark Edgar speaks with Dessalen “Dess” Wood about moving beyond AI activity and toward meaningful AI enablement. Dess argues that the first phase of workplace AI was inevitably messy: organizations were handed transformative technology without a clear playbook for what transformation was supposed to look like. Now, the opportunity is to become much more disciplined. If AI saves someone five hours a week, what should happen in those five hours? Which capabilities does everyone genuinely need? Who actually needs to become a builder? And which parts of HR work should be automated because nobody particularly values the human delivery, versus the moments where human presence is precisely what makes the experience valuable? The conversation offers a practical framework for thinking about AI fluency at different levels, why learning should be grounded in the tools and experiences employees actually encounter, and why HR does not need to turn every employee into an AI expert. Most importantly, it challenges People leaders to get much clearer about the work only humans can add meaningful value to, so they can stop defending work that simply keeps the lights on. About Our Guest Dessalen “Dess” Wood is a global Chief People Officer at Syntax, where she has played a key role in advancing AI enablement across the organization. After spending much of her career in retail and service environments before moving into technology, she brings a cross-industry perspective on what actually drives human performance, learning and organizational change. Resources Referenced
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How to Reduce Resistance to AI at Work with Gleb Tsipursky | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:37:30 | |
NOTE: We will be welcoming Dr. Gleb to our community for an interactive webinar November 25th. To go deeper on this episode and take the opportunity to connect with Dr. Gleb live, register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/HfJOZAaIRI6DBXc84CSCSA. Hope to see you there! Most AI adoption strategies start with tools, training and governance. But what happens when the real barrier isn’t knowing how to use AI? Employees may be wondering whether the technology will eventually replace them. Experienced professionals may feel that work they spent years learning to do can suddenly be generated in seconds. Others are already using AI successfully but are reluctant to admit it because they worry it will make them look lazy, less capable or as though they have somehow cheated. Those aren’t technology problems. They’re human ones. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman is joined by behavioural scientist Dr. Gleb Tsipursky to explore what leaders often miss when trying to drive AI adoption at work. They unpack three very different forms of resistance: fear and anxiety about job security, threats to professional identity, and the social stigma that can keep productive AI use hidden. Gleb shares practical ways leaders can respond, including starting with the work employees actively want off their plates, modelling AI use openly, creating opportunities to share what is working, and giving people genuine space to experiment. The conversation also looks at the growing problem of AI-generated “work slop,” why critical thinking becomes more important rather than less important in an AI-enabled workplace, and how psychological safety needs to be paired with accountability and human review. For HR leaders navigating AI adoption, the challenge is no longer simply choosing the right technology. It is creating an environment where people can learn how to use it without feeling that doing so puts their job, identity or credibility at risk. About Our Guest Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is a behavioural scientist, seven-time bestselling author and author of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results. His work focuses on how leaders and organizations make better decisions and adapt to changes in the future of work, drawing on extensive research and consulting with organizations navigating AI adoption. Resources Referenced
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| What AI Could Finally Make Possible for HR with Franco Girimonte | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:36:27 | |
AI is moving quickly into HR, but the most important question may not be how much work it can automate. It may be what HR chooses to do with the capacity it creates. In this episode of foHRsight, Mark Edgar speaks with Franco Girimonte about what the next phase of AI means for HR operating models, skills, workforce planning and the role HR needs to play in enterprise AI strategy. Franco shares research from The Hackett Group estimating that by 2030, 43% to 49% of HR roles or activities could be automated. But rather than seeing that solely as a headcount story, many HR leaders see an opportunity to redirect capacity toward work that has historically been under-resourced: strategic workforce planning, deeper business partnership, better insights and helping employees and leaders adapt to AI. The conversation also explores why HR and IT increasingly need to lead AI transformation together, why standardized processes matter before organizations can capture the benefits of automation, and how HR roles may shift from producing work to orchestrating work across people and AI agents. About Our Guest Franco Girimonte is a Principal at The Hackett Group, where he works within HR transformation and brings extensive experience across HR consulting, organization design, operating models, research and benchmarking. His perspective combines hands-on transformation work with a broad view of how organizations across North America and Europe are adapting their HR functions for the future. Resources Referenced
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How to Use AI Without Losing the Human Side of Hiring with Jeremy Schifeling | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:34:34 | |
AI is making hiring faster. But is it actually helping organizations make better decisions about people? Candidates are using AI to write, tailor and scale applications. Employers are using it to screen, evaluate and increasingly interact with those candidates. The result can quickly become an arms race where both sides automate more, trust each other less, and lose sight of what hiring is supposed to uncover in the first place. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Jeremy Schifeling about what HR leaders should be paying attention to as AI reshapes recruitment, early-career work and the talent pipeline. At the centre of the conversation is a simple question: does AI move us closer to people, or further away from them? They explore why candidates may be using AI differently than employers assume, where automation genuinely creates room for better human connection, why transparency in the hiring process matters, and what organizations risk when short-term efficiency removes the entry-level opportunities that develop future leaders. They also consider a bigger shift underway in how organizations assess talent. As technical tasks become easier to automate, qualities like initiative, relationship-building, judgment, creativity and the ability to use AI to accomplish meaningful work may become increasingly valuable signals. For HR and talent leaders, the opportunity isn't simply to add more AI to an old hiring process. It's to question whether the process itself is still measuring what matters. About Our Guest Jeremy Schifeling is a former LinkedIn executive, early OpenAI partner and author of three number-one Amazon bestselling career books. Through his work with job seekers, students, career changers and working professionals, he brings a ground-level view of how AI is changing the experience of getting hired and what those changes mean for employers and the future talent pipeline. Resources Referenced
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Give a Damn with Justin Ricklefs | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:39:08 | |
Most organizations would say they care about their people. The harder question is whether their people can actually feel it. When work is moving quickly and leaders are navigating pressure, change and new technology, it is easy for care to become something organizations talk about rather than something employees experience. But culture is built in the everyday proof points: the questions leaders ask, the clarity they provide, how they respond when someone is struggling, and whether people feel seen in the first place. In this episode of foHRsight, Mark Edgar speaks with Justin Ricklefs about why caring can be a genuine competitive advantage and what it takes to turn that idea into action. Justin shares a practical framework built around curiosity, compassion, clarity and consistency, including why empathy without action only goes so far, why leaders need to ask better questions, and why the strongest culture signals are often much simpler than we think. The conversation is a useful reminder that you cannot market your way to a healthy culture. Your people experience the organization from the inside, and the stories they tell about that experience become part of the business itself. About Our Guest Justin Ricklefs is the founder of strategic brand agency Guild Collective and the author of Give a Damn. His work explores how care, storytelling and human connection shape stronger organizations, brands and leadership cultures. Links from the Episode
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Low Turnover Can Hide a Retention Problem with Amy Stewart and Ruth Thomas | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:33:32 | |
Your turnover numbers might look reassuring. That doesn’t necessarily mean your people want to stay. The current labour market has created what PayScale calls a “job-hugging” era: employees are changing jobs less frequently, but economic uncertainty, slow hiring and anxiety about AI may be keeping people in roles they are no longer particularly happy in. As Amy Stewart puts it, some employees are holding onto their jobs “like you’re hugging a cactus.” That creates a difficult challenge for HR. Low attrition can look like stability while masking disengagement, pay frustration and employees quietly preparing themselves for their next opportunity. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi talks with PayScale’s Ruth Thomas and Amy Stewart about what the latest compensation and flight-risk data tells us about where organizations may be vulnerable. They explore why new hires can sometimes out-earn longer-tenured employees, why perceived pay fairness can matter as much as actual market competitiveness, and why pay transparency makes it increasingly important for organizations to explain not just what people are paid, but why. The conversation also looks at some less obvious signs of flight risk, from employees seeking bigger titles to acquiring certifications and new skills, and why this slower labour market may actually be the right moment to examine job architecture, internal equity and where your retention dollars will matter most. For HR leaders, the takeaway is simple: don’t wait for resignations to tell you where the risk is. About Our Guests Ruth Thomas is PayScale’s Chief Compensation Strategist and SVP of Marketing, with decades of experience studying compensation, labour-market trends and the evolution of rewards strategy. Her perspective helps connect today’s pay pressures with the broader changes reshaping how organizations attract and retain talent. Amy Stewart is a manager on PayScale’s content and research team and one of the lead authors of its 2026 Flight Risk Report. Her work draws on PayScale’s proprietary compensation data to identify where organizations may be most exposed to attrition and pay-related retention risk. Stay Connected with foHRsight
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How to Move from Survival Mode to Thriving at Work with Jon Rosemberg | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:39:01 | |
What if someone can look successful on paper and still be operating almost entirely in survival mode? For HR leaders, that distinction matters. Organizations are moving faster, employees are carrying more, technology keeps accelerating the pace, and HR is often asked to respond with another program, initiative or tool. But what if thriving at work depends on something more fundamental? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Jon Rosemberg about the difference between success and thriving, and why agency, meaning and connection are essential to moving out of survival mode. Jon explores what happens to our decision-making when our nervous systems are overloaded, how emotions can become useful information rather than something to suppress, and why slowing down can actually help us respond more effectively when everything feels urgent. They also unpack Jon’s AIR framework: Awareness, Inquiry and Reframing, a practical way to create distance from difficult situations, challenge the stories we’re telling ourselves and see more possibilities before deciding what to do next. For HR leaders, the conversation ultimately lands somewhere deceptively simple: people need to feel seen, heard and valued. If work has become increasingly transactional, meaningful human connection may be one of the most important conditions HR and leaders can create for people to thrive. About Our Guest Jon Rosenberg is a former operations executive turned advisor, the founding partner of Anthr and author of A Guide to Thriving. His work with founders and CEOs focuses on widening the frame around difficult decisions and helping people reclaim agency, making his perspective particularly relevant for leaders navigating pressure, uncertainty and change. Stay Connected with foHRsight
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why CHROs Belong in the Boardroom with Suzan Morno-Wade & Harriet Harty | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:31:42 | |
Boards are making decisions about AI, transformation, succession, culture and growth. But how often does the person with the deepest understanding of the workforce have a seat at the table? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi is joined by former CHROs Suzan Morno-Wade and Harriet Harty to explore why HR leaders remain significantly underrepresented on corporate boards, and why that gap matters more as organizations navigate increasingly complex workforce decisions. The conversation challenges some persistent assumptions about what CHROs bring to the boardroom. Strong HR leaders aren't simply experts in people programs. They understand organizational performance, leadership capability, succession, culture and enterprise risk. They know how to influence without owning the decision, ask discerning questions and connect talent decisions back to business strategy. And as AI reshapes work, that perspective becomes even more important. Technology decisions are also workforce decisions. Suzan and Harriet make the case for HR leaders to position those conversations in the language of strategy, risk, opportunity, financial analysis and measurable business outcomes. For CHROs who see board service in their future, there's also a practical message: don't wait until you leave the operating role to start preparing. Building board experience, relationships and a board-ready profile takes time. About Our guests Suzan Morno-Wade is a former CHRO of Xerox whose career has spanned finance, human resources and enterprise leadership. Today, she advises organizations, serves on boards and supports greater representation in the C-suite and boardroom. Harriet Harty has held multiple executive HR roles, most recently serving as Chief Administrative Officer at ADT. She now works across advisory, board and executive coaching roles, bringing extensive experience in business transformation, talent and leadership. Stay Connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Great Ideas Get Stuck with Fiona Stevenson | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:39:46 | |
Your organization probably has more good ideas than you realize. The challenge is what happens next. Employees learn quickly whether an unconventional suggestion is genuinely welcome, whether failure will be treated as information or incompetence, and whether leadership is open to an outcome it did not already choose. When those answers are unclear, people protect themselves. They offer safer ideas, wait for direction or stop speaking up entirely. In this episode, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Fiona Stevenson about the human dynamics that cause innovation to stall. They explore why fear of taking action can be stronger than the fear of doing nothing, how leaders unintentionally become more rigid when the stakes are high, and why psychological safety must be built into the work rather than treated as a separate culture exercise. Guest Resources
About Our Guest Fiona Stevenson is CEO and founding partner of the Idea Suite, where she helps organizations turn human insight into commercially viable ideas. With a background in psychology, more than a decade at Procter & Gamble and experience leading hundreds of innovation projects around the world, she brings a deeply human and practical perspective to how ideas move through organizations. Stay Connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How Leaders Create Resilience Without Burning People Out with Jay Abbasi | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:31:15 | |
When pressure becomes constant, resilience can start to look a lot like suffering in silence. Employees are told to adapt, stay positive and keep moving, while the conditions driving burnout often remain untouched. For HR leaders, the challenge is not simply helping people manage stress. It is creating workplaces where people can stay clear, connected and capable even when the demands are high. In this episode, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Jay Abbasi about why resilience is not built by asking people to push harder. They explore how safety, focus and meaningful connection shape performance, why people struggle to access their best thinking when they feel threatened, and what emotionally intelligent leadership looks like in practice. The conversation also offers a practical challenge for leaders: notice what is driving your own behaviour before attempting to understand someone else’s. From regulating before reacting to sharing vulnerability without becoming the victim of the situation, this episode offers grounded ways to lead more effectively under pressure. About Our Guest Jay Abbasi is a global keynote and TEDx speaker, coach and former Tesla leader who helps professionals perform under pressure without burning out. After leading national training programs for more than 1,000 Tesla employees, he has coached leaders at organizations including Google, Amazon, TikTok and Wells Fargo. Stay Connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why AI Adoption Is a Leadership Challenge, Not a Technology Challenge with Paul Gibbons | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:36:16 | |
Most organizations aren't struggling with AI because of the technology. They're struggling because people don't change as quickly as the tools do. As leaders race to implement AI, many are relying on change management approaches that were designed for a slower, more predictable world. But when change is constant, communication plans and training sessions aren't enough. Real transformation happens when leaders understand how people actually adopt new ways of working. In this episode, Naomi sits down with organizational change expert and author Paul Gibbons to explore why traditional change management needs an update for the age of AI. Together, they unpack why leadership modelling matters more than ever, how HR can navigate the "double bind" of transforming itself while helping the rest of the organization evolve, and why behavioural science—not technology—is the missing ingredient in successful AI adoption. Whether you're leading an AI initiative, supporting organizational change, or simply trying to help your people adapt to a rapidly changing workplace, this conversation offers a thoughtful, practical perspective on leading transformation with both confidence and humanity. About Paul Gibbons Paul Gibbons is a consultant, speaker, and author focused on change, culture, and AI adoption. He is the creator of the Adaptive Adoption Framework and has authored nine books, including Adopting AI, written for leaders who need a practical strategy. He was ranked among the top five culture change thinkers globally by Global Gurus. Find Paul:
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On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| What AI Can't Replace in HR Leadership with Karen Trenton | 23 Jul 2026 | 00:26:07 | |
Every generation of HR leaders faces a transformation that changes how the profession works. Today, it's AI. The pressure to move quickly can make it feel like everything is changing overnight. But beneath the new technology, the core of great HR remains remarkably consistent: earning trust, exercising sound judgment, navigating difficult conversations, and helping leaders make better decisions. In this conversation, retired CHRO Karen Trenton reflects on a career that spanned enormous shifts in technology, leadership and organizational change. She shares what she's most proud of, the career decisions she would make differently, why community matters more than ever, and why emotional intelligence—not technical expertise—is still what separates exceptional HR leaders. If you've been wondering what skills will matter most in the next decade of HR, this episode offers a thoughtful perspective from someone who's led through decades of transformation. About Our Guest Karen Trenton is a retired Chief Human Resources Officer with executive leadership experience across Coca-Cola and Sherritt International. Having led HR through periods of rapid organizational growth, global expansion and technological change, she brings a grounded perspective on leadership, judgment and the enduring human side of HR. Stay Connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Great Teams Don't Happen by Accident with Alison Coward | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:29:08 | |
Most teams don't have a collaboration problem because they lack talented people. They have a collaboration problem because they've never really talked about how they work together. We invest in Slack, Teams, Miro, Notion and countless other tools designed to make collaboration easier. But more tools haven't necessarily made teams better at collaborating. In some cases, they've simply created the illusion that collaboration is happening. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi sits down with Alison Coward to explore why great teamwork rarely happens by accident and what it means to intentionally design the way people work together. They discuss why talented people don't automatically create high-performing teams, why workshops so often fail to create lasting change, and why small, consistent shifts in how teams communicate, align and make decisions can be far more powerful than sweeping culture initiatives. For HR leaders, there's an important challenge here: stop treating collaboration as something that should happen naturally. Start creating the conditions for it. About Our guest Alison Coward is a team culture strategist, workshop facilitator, trainer, and keynote speaker based in London. As founder of Bracket, she partners with ambitious, forward-thinking companies to help them build high-performing team cultures. Her book, Workshop Culture, lays out a practical framework for taking the energy and effectiveness of great workshops and embedding them into how teams work every day. Connect with Alison
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On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Creating Workplaces Where Calm Can Thrive with Ashish Singh | 09 Jul 2026 | 00:32:21 | |
We spend so much time helping people perform that we often forget to help them recover. Today's employees are balancing demanding workloads alongside constant notifications, endless comparison, economic uncertainty and personal pressures that don't disappear when the workday begins. By the time someone reaches a breaking point, the signs have often been there for much longer. In this episode, Mark Edgar sits down with life and wellness coach Ashish Singh to explore what it really means to build resilience before it's needed. Together, they unpack why calm isn't something we discover after everything settles down, but something we cultivate in the middle of everyday life. Ashish shares the deeply personal experience that led him from corporate life into coaching after a serious injury forced him to confront anxiety, uncertainty and his own internal dialogue. That journey became the foundation for his work helping others reconnect with what he calls "the steadiness within." Throughout the conversation, they explore why we can only truly control our thoughts and our actions, how social media has amplified stress through constant comparison, why mindfulness doesn't have to mean lengthy meditation sessions, and what practical tools can help people reset throughout an ordinary workday. For HR leaders, this conversation offers an important shift in perspective. Rather than waiting until employees are overwhelmed, organizations have an opportunity to normalize simple wellbeing practices that support people every day. Creating healthier workplaces isn't only about responding well during difficult moments. It's about making steadiness part of how work happens in the first place. Resources
About Our Guest Ashish Singh is a life and wellness coach, author and founder of The Calm Mind. Drawing from his own experience navigating anxiety, injury and major life transitions, he helps individuals and organizations develop practical tools for building emotional resilience, mindfulness and lasting inner steadiness. Stay Connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Resilience Habits Every Leader Needs with Dr. MH Pelletier | 02 Jul 2026 | 00:32:59 | |
We often think resilience is something we discover in the hardest moments. But what if it's actually something we build long before we need it? As work becomes more complex, change accelerates, and cognitive demands continue to rise, many leaders find themselves relying on the same habits that helped them succeed in the past—only to realize they no longer have the capacity they once did. The challenge isn't a lack of capability. It's that resilience is too often treated as an individual trait instead of something we can intentionally strengthen. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with leadership psychologist and executive coach Dr. Marie-Hélène (MH) Pelletier to explore why resilience isn't about pushing harder or simply "bouncing back." Instead, it's a strategic practice that can be developed by individuals, teams, and organizations alike. Together, they discuss why high performers often underestimate the demands they're carrying, how cognitive patterns quietly erode decision-making, why resilience should be treated as leadership infrastructure rather than a wellness initiative, and the practical habits leaders can build today to protect their performance before they reach their breaking point. Whether you're leading an HR function, supporting organizational change, or simply feeling the weight of today's pace of work, this conversation offers a practical and refreshingly human approach to sustaining performance without sacrificing wellbeing. About Our Guest Dr. Marie-Hélène (MH) Pelletier is a leadership psychologist, executive coach, keynote speaker, and author of The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health. With more than 20 years of experience working with leaders across industries, she helps organizations build resilience as a strategic capability that strengthens decision-making, leadership, and long-term performance. Connect with MH:
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On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Your Purposeful Third Act with Zabeen Hirji | 25 Jun 2026 | 00:38:58 | |
For many leaders, retirement isn't about leaving work. It's about leaving behind an identity. After decades of building careers, leading teams, and carrying enormous responsibility, the biggest question isn't "What's next?" It's "Who am I without the title?" In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with Zabeen Hirji, former Chief Human Resources Officer at RBC, to explore what she calls the Purposeful Third Act—a new way of thinking about life after executive leadership. Together, they unpack the emotional transition that comes with stepping away from a long career, why purpose is something we rediscover rather than reinvent, and how organizations are missing an opportunity to better engage experienced leaders. They also discuss the growing importance of intergenerational workplaces, lifelong learning, and why judgment, wisdom, and human connection will become even more valuable in the age of AI. Whether retirement feels years away or is already on the horizon, this conversation is a thoughtful reminder that your greatest contribution may not be behind you—it may simply take a different shape. About Our Guest Zabeen Hirji is a founder, retirement disruptor, executive advisor, and board director. She served as CHRO at Royal Bank of Canada and is now the driving force behind the Purposeful Third Act movement, which helps senior leaders navigate life and work after corporate careers with intention and impact.
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Workplace Learning Needs an Existential Reset with Lori Niles-Hofmann | 18 Jun 2026 | 00:33:53 | |
Learning and development has spent decades creating courses, launching platforms, and chasing the next technology trend. But what if the problem isn't the technology at all? As AI reshapes how people access information, many traditional assumptions about workplace learning are being challenged. Employees no longer need to sit through generic training to find answers. They expect learning to be personalized, contextual, and available exactly when they need it. In this episode, Lori Niles-Hofmann joins Naomi Titleman Colla to explore why L&D is facing an existential moment, what organizations are getting wrong about skills development, and how AI could fundamentally change the way learning happens at work. Together, they discuss the shift from course creation to intelligent learning ecosystems, why skills management should be treated with the same precision as a supply chain, and how HR leaders can move from order-taking to strategic enablement. If you're responsible for developing people in an environment where business priorities, technology, and skills requirements are changing faster than ever, this conversation offers a practical and thought-provoking look at what comes next. Resources & References Mentioned
About Our Guest Lori Niles-Hofmann is an EdTech strategist, consultant, and author of The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation. With a career spanning global LMS implementations, instructional design, and organizational learning strategy, Lori brings a rare combination of technical fluency and business acumen to the L&D space. She is the founder of 8Levers and a frequent speaker and writer on the intersection of AI, skills, and workplace learning. Connect with Lori
Stay Connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How to Run Better Meetings, Panels, and Presentations with Anthony Lee | 11 Jun 2026 | 00:31:48 | |
Most presentations fail long before the speaker gets to the “important” part. Not because the content is wrong. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with presentation coach and communication strategist Anthony Lee to explore what makes communication actually land — whether you are moderating a conference panel, leading a board meeting, facilitating a town hall, or simply trying to run a better team meeting. Together, they unpack:
The conversation goes far beyond public speaking. At its core, this episode is about conversational leadership — how leaders create clarity, trust, engagement, and momentum through the way they communicate with others. About Our Guest Anthony Lee is the founder of Heroic Voice Academy and a communication coach who works with executives, conference speakers, HR leaders, and teams to strengthen audience connection, storytelling, and presentation effectiveness. With a background in engineering and executive leadership coaching, Anthony brings a uniquely practical and human-centered approach to communication. Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heroicvoice/ Resources Mentioned Heroic Voice Academy Presentation, communication, and speaker coaching for leaders, teams, conference speakers, and executives.
Open Gym Thursdays Anthony hosts weekly “Open Gym” sessions where participants can practice presentations, receive coaching, and learn communication techniques.
TEDx Salt Lake City Anthony credits coaching speakers at TEDx Salt Lake City as a pivotal moment in his journey from engineering leader to presentation coach.
Miles Davis – Someday My Prince Will Come Referenced as an example of how great moderators function like jazz band leaders—setting the tone, creating space for others to shine, and guiding the overall audience experience.
Stay connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Leadership Shift From Certainty to Clarity with Rachel Cooke | 04 Jun 2026 | 00:31:49 | |
Most leaders today feel stuck in a constant tug-of-war. Push harder for results and risk burnout or focus too much on engagement and worry performance will suffer. But what if that tension exists because we are solving the wrong problem? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with leadership consultant Rachel Cooke to explore a different approach to leadership and work design, one where development, connection, wellbeing, and performance are not competing priorities, but built into the fabric of how work happens every day. Together, they unpack:
This is a thoughtful and deeply practical conversation for leaders trying to create healthier, more adaptive workplaces without adding more complexity, meetings, or programs. About Our Guest Rachel Cooke is the founder of Lead Above Noise, host of the Modern Mentor Podcast, and author of the newsletter Making Work Work Better. With a background spanning organizational psychology, operations leadership, and HR, Rachel helps organizations rethink leadership and work design in ways that strengthen both business performance and human experience. Stay connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| We’re Sleepwalking Into an AI Problem | 28 May 2026 | 00:30:53 | |
Everyone is trying to move faster right now. Faster outputs. Faster decisions. Faster adoption of AI. But somewhere inside that acceleration, many leaders are starting to feel something else too: cognitive overload, constant mental switching, and a growing sense that work is becoming noisier instead of clearer. In this episode, Mark and Naomi unpack two emerging ideas gaining traction in the AI conversation: “AI brain fry” and “cognitive surrender.” Together, they explore what happens when efficiency becomes the default goal, how over-reliance on AI can quietly erode critical thinking, and why HR leaders need to be paying closer attention to the human experience underneath AI adoption. This conversation isn’t anti-AI. It’s about intentional AI use. The discussion explores:
Most importantly, this episode is a reminder that AI should augment human capability, not replace thoughtful human participation in work. Stay connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why the Enneagram Matters More in the Age of AI with Karl Hebenstreit | 21 May 2026 | 00:40:13 | |
AI is accelerating change faster than most organizations are emotionally prepared for. Employees are anxious. Leaders are overwhelmed. And many managers are being asked to guide people through uncertainty without ever being taught how to truly understand human behaviour in the first place. In this episode of the foHRsight podcast, Mark Edgar sits down with organizational psychologist, executive coach, and author Karl Hebenstreit to explore why empathy, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness may become some of the most important leadership capabilities of the AI era. Together, they unpack:
This conversation is ultimately about something bigger than frameworks or assessments. It’s about building workplaces where people feel understood enough to actually thrive. About Our Guest Karl Hebenstreit is an author, speaker, executive coach, and organizational development leader with more than 25 years of experience helping leaders and teams work more effectively together. His work focuses on emotional intelligence, leadership development, and using the Enneagram as a practical framework for building healthier organizations and stronger human connection. Stay connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Age Debt Is the Workplace Crisis No One's Talking About with Dan Pontefract | 14 May 2026 | 00:37:08 | |
Many organizations are planning for AI disruption. Far fewer are planning for demographic disruption. In this episode of foHRsight, Dan Pontefract joins Naomi Titleman Colla to unpack what he calls “age debt” — the growing organizational risk created when companies ignore longevity, ageism, workforce demographics, and the loss of institutional wisdom. The conversation challenges the way we think about generational labels at work and asks a bigger question: what happens when organizations become so focused on optimization and speed that they stop valuing experience altogether? Dan introduces a new framework for thinking about careers through evolving life stages instead of fixed generational identities, and explores why the future of work will require organizations to rethink career paths, knowledge transfer, leadership structures, and workforce wellbeing. For HR leaders navigating talent shortages, succession concerns, burnout, and constant change, this episode offers a more human and sustainable lens on what future-ready organizations actually need. About Our Guest Dan Pontefract is an award-winning author, leadership strategist, keynote speaker, and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria. A former Chief Learning Officer at TELUS, Dan has spent decades helping organizations rethink leadership, learning, culture, and the future of work. His latest book, The Future of Work Is Grey explores the overlooked workforce risks tied to age, longevity, and organizational wisdom.
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On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why DEI Fails When You Only Focus on Hiring with Celeste Warren | 07 May 2026 | 00:38:04 | |
What if the reason your culture isn’t shifting… isn’t your people? For many HR leaders, the pressure is familiar. You hire thoughtfully. You invest in development. You talk about inclusion. And yet, something still doesn’t move. Because the issue isn’t just who is in the organization. It’s what they move through once they’re there. In this episode, Mark Edgar sits down with Celeste Warren to unpack a more pragmatic, and more demanding, view of diversity, equity and inclusion. One that moves beyond representation and into the systems that shape access, opportunity, and performance. They explore why so many DEI efforts fail to create real change, how the role of the Chief Diversity Officer has evolved through a decade of volatility, and what it actually takes to build environments where people can thrive. This is not a conversation about optics or ideology. It’s about how organizations work, who they work for, and what leaders need to redesign if they want performance to be sustainable. If you’re leading through complexity, trying to balance business outcomes with human realities, this episode will challenge how you think about both. About Our Guest Stay connected with foHRsight
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Starting with AI Is the Wrong Strategy with Kelly Monahan | 30 Apr 2026 | 00:31:38 | |
What if the problem isn’t that your people aren’t performing… but that your system is broken? Right now, many organizations are rushing to adopt AI, cutting entry-level roles, and asking more from leaders who are already at capacity. It feels efficient. It looks strategic. But it’s quietly eroding the very foundation of future performance. In this episode, host Mark Edgar sits down with Kelly Monahan to challenge the way we’re thinking about work, leadership, and AI. They explore why starting with technology is the wrong move, how outdated systems are limiting human potential, and what leaders need to rebuild if they want sustainable performance. This is a conversation about getting the moment right. Not just implementing AI, but redefining how value is created, how people are developed, and what leadership actually requires now. If you’re feeling the pressure to “move faster” while sensing something deeper is off, this episode will help you step back and rethink where to start. About Our Guest Kelly Monahan is a future of work advisor, researcher, and bestselling author focused on the intersection of human behavior, leadership, and technology. With a background in HR and a PhD in organizational research, she works closely with executives to help them navigate AI-driven transformation while keeping human performance at the center. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Leaders Only See 30 % of Their Culture with Mark Jesty & Dr. Harry Toukalas | 23 Apr 2026 | 00:31:13 | |
What if you could see your organization’s culture like an X-ray? In this episode, host Naomi Titleman sits down with behavioral scientist Dr. Harry Toukalas and talent strategist Mark Jesty to explore how organizational network analysis is replacing guesswork in HR and what the rise of AI means for human accountability at work. Because most leaders believe they understand their culture. They’ve run the surveys. They’ve reviewed the data. They’ve built action plans. But they’re often working from a partial view. This conversation challenges that assumption by unpacking what sits beneath the surface: the informal networks of trust, influence, and communication that actually determine how work gets done. The parts of culture that don’t show up in surveys or org charts, but shape performance every day. We explore the gap between what people say and what they do, why hybrid work is quietly eroding cross-team collaboration, and how behavioral data can reveal early signals of disengagement before they become exit interviews. Most importantly, this episode reframes the role of HR. From interpreting opinions to measuring behavior. From reacting to problems to predicting them. Because when you can see how culture is forming and spreading in real time, you can finally intervene with precision and credibility. About Our Guests Mark Jesty is a talent strategist and advisor who has spent decades helping leaders strengthen performance and leadership inside complex organizations. Stay connected with foHRsight Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| What High Performing Teams Do Differently With Meetings with Rebecca Hinds | 16 Apr 2026 | 00:34:14 | |
Most leaders know meetings are broken. What’s harder to admit is that we keep reinforcing the system that makes them that way. Calendars are full. Teams are exhausted. And yet, meetings continue to multiply. Not because they work, but because they signal work. In this episode, Rebecca Hinds challenges the idea that meetings are just a scheduling problem. She reframes them as a deeper organizational issue rooted in visibility, status, and outdated ways of measuring value. You’ll hear why meetings often aren’t the root problem, but the most visible symptom. Why hybrid work and AI haven’t fixed collaboration, and in many cases have made it worse. And what it actually looks like to design meetings and workflows with intention, not habit. For HR leaders, this conversation is a wake-up call. Not just to reduce meetings, but to rethink how work itself is defined, measured, and experienced. Because if we don’t change it deliberately, AI will simply help us do more of what isn’t working. About our guest Key Topics & Timestamps [~12:50] Check-In: Rebecca's best meeting ever [~19:40] Why meetings got worse after the pandemic [~22:10] Visibility bias: why we equate busyness with value [~24:45] The WWII sabotage manual [~27:00] The $1.4 trillion problem [~30:10] Meetings as your most expensive, overlooked product [~35:45] "Process is a proxy" [~36:00] Where AI helps and where it hurts meetings [~38:30] The brainstorming debate: to AI or not to AI? [~43:40] One tip for HR leaders: where to start [~45:05] It's okay to cancel Resources & Links
Stay connected with foHRsight On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Psychology Behind Hard Conversations with Gustavo Razzetti | 09 Apr 2026 | 00:35:27 | |
What happens when smart, capable teams keep having meetings, but nothing really moves? In this episode, Gustavo Razzetti joins Naomi Titleman to unpack the hidden cost of the conversations teams avoid. He argues that many workplace breakdowns are not caused by weak strategy or lack of talent, but by “conversational debt” that builds when people stay silent, rush alignment, blame each other, or perform agreement they do not actually feel. For HR leaders, this tension is especially familiar. You can invest in engagement, communication, and psychological safety, but still find teams stuck in circular meetings, unresolved friction, and unspoken resentment. This conversation helps name what is really happening underneath those patterns and offers a more useful lens for moving teams forward. Gustavo shares why groupthink is often the hardest dysfunction to spot, why silence is not the same as alignment, and why many employees stop speaking up not only because they are afraid, but because they no longer believe it will make a difference. He also introduces the idea of “forward talk” — conversations that address the real issue and focus on the future — and explains what HR leaders can do to build teams that disagree well, commit clearly, and stop carrying avoidable relational and operational drag. About our guest Connect with foHRsight
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About Gustavo's Book The book includes a Conversational Debt Quiz to help teams identify where alignment, belonging, or collaboration gaps are hitting hardest — plus tools and exercises to start shifting team behavior. Win a Copy! On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| HR as a Signal, Not a Clean Up Crew with Ned Eustace | 02 Apr 2026 | 00:30:30 | |
Something feels off. A leader who used to be effective is becoming controlling. A team that used to work well together is suddenly tense. Conversations are getting sharper, more personal, more certain. And yet, the numbers still look fine. For many HR leaders, this is a familiar and frustrating position. You can feel the shift early, but by the time it’s acknowledged, the conversation has already turned into a performance issue. The system pressure has already been translated into a judgment about the person. In this episode, Ned Eustace introduces a different way to understand what’s happening underneath those moments. He explains how leadership strain builds under pressure, how organizations unconsciously convert that pressure into capability judgments, and why that shift makes it harder to intervene effectively. More importantly, this conversation offers a practical way forward. It helps HR leaders slow down that conversion, ask better questions, and create space for a more accurate diagnosis before action is taken. If you’ve ever had the sense that something was coming before anyone else could see it, this episode will help you trust that signal and know what to do with it. About our guest To go deeper on this topic: https://hbleaders.com/pressure-gap-leadership-strain Stay connected with foHRsight
Follow us on Instagram: On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Caregiving Is a Workplace Issue with Raymond Lavine | 26 Mar 2026 | 00:30:56 | |
Caregiving rarely shows up neatly at work. It shows up as distraction. Exhaustion. Missed capacity. A high performer who suddenly cannot take on one more thing. A manager who is present in the meeting, but mentally somewhere else. And for many organizations, it remains largely invisible until someone burns out, steps back, or leaves. In this episode, Raymond Levine brings attention to a reality more employers need to take seriously: caregiving is not a niche issue, and it is not only about later life. It affects employees across stages of life, often quietly, and with real consequences for focus, wellbeing, and retention. For HR leaders, this conversation is a useful reminder that support does not start with having every answer. It starts with recognizing caregiving as part of the human reality employees are already navigating and asking whether your workplace is designed with that in mind. About Our Guest Raymond Levine is an extended care benefits advisor and longtime advocate for greater awareness around caregiving and long-term care. His perspective matters here because he focuses closely on a gap many employers still overlook: the practical, emotional, and financial strain caregiving places on working people and their organizations. Stay connected with foHRsight Follow us on LinkedIn:
Follow us on Instagram: On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How Leaders Build Teams That Can Actually Adapt with Marianne Bachynski | 19 Mar 2026 | 00:33:07 | |
Work is changing faster than many organizations know how to lead through. Between AI, constant transformation, and growing complexity, many leaders are still relying on outdated habits: top-down decision-making, poor communication, and the assumption that leadership means having all the answers. The result is often slower execution, lower engagement, and teams that resist change instead of moving through it. In this episode, Marianne Bachynski shares what it really takes to lead in uncertainty. Drawing on her experience leading large-scale transformation in high-pressure financial and technology environments, she explains why adaptability, clear communication, curiosity, and trust are now essential leadership muscles. For HR leaders, this conversation is a timely reminder that the biggest barrier to change is rarely the technology itself. It is whether leaders know how to create the kind of culture where people can think, contribute, experiment, and evolve together. About our guest Stay connected with foHRsight Follow us on LinkedIn:
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On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Real Reason Employees Feel Burned Out at Work with Liane Davey | 12 Mar 2026 | 00:47:00 | |
Work doesn’t feel sustainable right now. Employees are overwhelmed, leaders are exhausted, and organizations are trying to solve burnout by reducing workload - but what if that’s not the real problem? In this episode, organizational psychologist Liane Davey introduces the concept of thought load - the cognitive demands, emotional strain, and depleted energy that come from navigating modern work. From endless matrix structures and constant organizational change to meetings that add noise instead of clarity, today’s workplace is quietly draining the mental bandwidth people need to actually perform. Liane shares practical ideas for leaders trying to restore focus and effectiveness inside their teams: how to stop chasing productivity, eliminate dead work, redesign meetings, and create space for insight in a world full of noise. For HR leaders especially, this conversation reframes burnout as a systemic design problem, not a personal failing. About our guest Liane Davey is an organizational psychologist, keynote speaker, and bestselling author focused on helping teams achieve extraordinary results together. Known as “The Teamwork Doctor,” she works with executive teams and organizations around the world to tackle the messy people challenges that get in the way of performance. Her latest book, Thoughtload, explores why modern work is overwhelming people and what leaders can do about it. CHANCE TO WIN! We’re giving away a few copies of Liane's book. To enter, all you have to do is post about this episode and tag Naomi Titleman and future foHRward, and we will put you in a draw to win! Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/ Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Disconnection Crisis with Dr. Tracy Brower | 05 Mar 2026 | 00:35:03 | |
Most HR leaders are chasing engagement scores. If performance feels flatter… if initiative is fading… if teams feel more transactional than connected, this episode explains why. In this conversation, Dr. Tracy Brower joins Naomi Titleman to unpack a truth many leaders feel but struggle to articulate: connection is not a “nice-to-have.” It is a structural driver of performance, initiative, retention, and fulfillment. They explore:
This isn’t about forcing friendships or dragging people back to the office. Because when people don’t feel seen or needed, they disengage. And disengagement is expensive. About our guest Dr. Tracy Brower is a PhD sociologist and VP of Workplace Insights at Steelcase. She studies connection, community, fulfillment, and the future of work, and is the author of Critical Connections. Her work bridges research and real-world application, helping organizations understand how human dynamics directly influence performance. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why HR’s Role Is Expanding in an AI-Driven Organization with Josh Bersin Part 2 | 26 Feb 2026 | 00:29:55 | |
HR leaders are being asked to modernize faster than their organizations are ready for. New AI tools appear weekly, vendors promise transformation, and the pressure to “do something” keeps mounting. At the same time, most HR teams are still running complex, multi-step processes built for a very different era. In this episode, Josh Bersin helps cut through the noise by reframing what AI transformation actually looks like inside HR. Rather than chasing dozens of tools or fearing job displacement, he argues that the real work ahead is architectural. Deciding what to build versus buy. Determining which processes matter most. And putting human ownership around data, judgment, and governance so AI can scale responsibly. You’ll hear why onboarding, learning, feedback, and career development are not isolated workflows, but interconnected systems that AI can finally stitch together if HR leads the design. Josh also explains why organizations that get this right will not reduce HR’s importance, but elevate it. This conversation is for HR leaders who feel both excited and overwhelmed, and who want a clearer mental model for where to start, what to prioritize, and how to partner with IT without losing their seat at the table. About our guest Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe Follow us on LinkedIn: Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/ future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/ Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Super Worker Organization - AI Goes Enterprise with Guest Josh Bersin - Part 1 | 19 Feb 2026 | 00:25:43 | |
If you’re leading HR right now, it can feel like the ground is moving under your feet. You’re still expected to deliver flawless service, keep costs down, and manage risk, while your CEO quietly expects you to redesign the workforce for an AI era that’s arriving faster than most operating models can handle. In part one of this conversation with Josh Bersin, we explore a reframe that changes everything: AI isn’t just personal productivity. The real disruption is enterprise-level “super agents” that automate whole sequences of work, and force HR to rethink hiring, talent strategy, and even the idea of “a job” itself. We also dig into why CHRO tenure may be shrinking, what that signals about expectations on HR leaders, and why “talent density” is becoming a more useful lens than traditional talent management as companies try to scale without simply adding headcount. About our guest Stay connected with foHRsight On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How High Achievers Get Stuck and What Actually Creates Influence | 12 Feb 2026 | 00:43:27 | |
You can be brilliant, hardworking, and respected — and still feel like you’re running full-speed into an invisible wall. For many senior leaders (especially high-achieving women), the instinct is to push harder: take on more, prove more, hold more. But the higher you go, the more that strategy quietly limits influence, sponsorship, and sustainability. In this episode, we explore the tension HR leaders see every day: individuals are trying to thrive inside systems that weren’t designed for them — and organizations keep investing in “fixes” that don’t address the real blockers. Carolyn Lawrence and Jennifer Laidlaw unpack why burnout is often a signal your mind is in survival mode, how “resisting the system” can unintentionally keep inequity in place, and what it looks like when inner leadership shifts meet system-level redesign. About our guests Jennifer Laidlaw is an executive coach focused on the inner transformation required of modern leaders, helping them achieve breakthrough results sustainably with strong teams and thriving culture. Stay connected with foHRsight On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Thriving with Anxiety — Dr. David Rosmarin on Turning Fear into Fuel | 05 Feb 2026 | 00:29:27 | |
Success in HR often comes with a hidden job: absorbing everyone else’s anxiety. You’re expected to soothe, steady, and “make it okay”, even when what people are feeling is a normal response to real pressure and uncertainty. In this episode, clinical psychologist Dr. David Rosmarin offers a practical reframe: not all anxiety is the same. Some anxiety does require professional support, but much of what shows up at work is an emotional signal, not a diagnosis. When leaders learn to recognize what anxiety is communicating, they can stop playing whack-a-mole with stress, build healthier trust on teams, and create a culture that performs without pretending certainty exists. You’ll also hear David’s simple four-step process to work with anxiety constructively, identifying what’s underneath it, sharing it in a way that builds connection, embracing it as resilience-building, and letting go of what can’t be controlled. About our guest Dr. David Rosmarin is a clinical psychologist, author, and Associate at Harvard Medical School, and the founder of the Center for Anxiety. His work focuses on helping people rethink anxiety not only as something to treat clinically when needed, but as a normal human experience that can be used to thrive — a perspective especially relevant in today’s high-pressure workplaces. Resources Mentioned
Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/ Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/ future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/ Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Why Entry-Level Jobs Need to Change, Not Disappear with Miranda Rodak | 29 Jan 2026 | 00:47:15 | |
Entry-level roles are being labeled “obsolete.” But what if the real issue isn’t AI — it’s how we’ve designed early-career work for decades? In this episode of foHRsight, we explore why entry-level jobs aren’t going away, but passive, low-agency roles are. As AI takes over routine execution, new hires are being asked to show judgment, critical thinking, and maturity much earlier than before — often without the support or learning pathways to succeed. Dr. Miranda Rodak joins us to unpack what this shift means for HR leaders, educators, and people managers who are responsible for building sustainable talent pipelines. Together, we examine why over-automation undermines learning, how “effortful learning” is being squeezed out by efficiency, and what organizations must redesign if they want AI to augment people instead of eroding capability. This conversation challenges a dangerous narrative — and offers a more hopeful, practical path forward for early-career development in an AI-enabled workplace. About our guest Dr. Miranda Rodak is a professor at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and Associate Director of the Communication Professional and Computer Skills Program. She brings a rare perspective at the intersection of education, communication, and AI-enabled work, helping organizations and universities rethink how humans learn, think, and lead alongside technology. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe Follow us on LinkedIn: Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| How AI is Transforming Frontline Staffing and Workforce Management with James Terry | 22 Jan 2026 | 00:39:40 | |
James Terry shares how Indeed Flex is revolutionizing frontline staffing through AI-powered solutions, enabling 24/7 candidate interviews, same-day pay, and unprecedented workforce flexibility for hourly workers. Topics Covered: AI-Powered Recruitment:
Operational Efficiency:
Worker Experience:
Future Vision:
Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Unlocking Human Potential with AI: Insights from “The AI Guy” Vaseem bAIg | 15 Jan 2026 | 00:34:19 | |
This episode, Naomi was joined by Vaseem bAIg, otherwise known as “The AI Guy”, whose passion is making artificial intelligence accessible for everyone. Vaseem brings a wealth of experience in helping people and organizations navigate the world of AI, and he’s all about empowering you to make the most of these emerging technologies. What We Talked About:
Key Takeaways:
Blog posts: https://www.vaseemtheaiguy.com/ai-blog You can learn more about the work Vaseem does here: https://www.vaseemtheaiguy.com And follow him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaseemtheaiguy Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Breaking Barriers to Parenthood: How Jackie Hanson and Sprout Family Are Transforming Fertility Support at Work | 08 Jan 2026 | 00:30:28 | |
Jackie Hanson is CEO and Co-founder of Sprout Family, Canada's first end-to-end family building platform launched in 2024. Jackie was inspiried to build her mission based company following the experience of her own parents who went through IVF. Having itnessed firsthand how fragmented and overwhelming the fertility space is, the mission of Sprout is to improve access to parenthood and support employees through challenging fertility journeys. Current Industry Challenges Rising Infertility Rates driven by:
Workplace Impact Statistics
Current Canadian Coverage Landscape
Three-Pillar Support Framework
Business Case for Employers
Future Vision
Contact Information
Sprout - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sproutfamily/ Jackie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-hanson/ Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| 2025 Year-End Reflections & Future Foresight: Navigating Trust and AI in HR | 01 Jan 2026 | 00:28:31 | |
It’s New Years Day so perfect timing for this week’s episode to drop as co-hosts Mark and Naomi catch-up on their reflections on 2025 and predictions for 2026. Key discussion topics include: 2025 Insights:
Major Disappointments:
Proud Moments:
2026 Hopes:
We’re excited for many more episodes and guests in 2026! Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Unlocking High Potential: How Top Talent Thrives—and What Holds Them Back Insights from Glain Roberts-McCabe on Engaging and Leading High Performers | 25 Dec 2025 | 00:43:14 | |
This episode features Naomi Titleman meeting with Glain Roberts-McCabe, Founder & President of The Roundtable Inc. They dive deep into high-potential talent research, exploring what engages top performers and what causes them to burn out. This episode features insights from Roundtable's latest research on high-potential leaders. Key discussion topics include: Defining High Potentials:
What Engages High Potentials:
Major Barriers & Burnout Risks:
Evolving Leadership Requirements:
Cooperation: Willingness to trade individual agendas for organizational benefit You can learn more about the research here: https://goroundtable.com/the-2026-roundtable-report-on-high-potential-leaders/ And follow Glain on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glain/ Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Managing Your Emotions with Guest Greg Stewart | 18 Dec 2025 | 00:38:41 | |
This episode of features Mark Edgar interviewing Greg Stewart, a counselor, executive coach, and consultant at Becoming More. Greg is the author of books on harnessing negative emotions. Greg shares his path from ministry to counseling to organizational development, personal experience with emotional challenges that inspired the work and how he uses his combination of counseling, coaching, and consulting to support clients. He shares insights on the current challenges at work and introduces his I³ (IQ) Model:
You can learn more about Greg’s work here: Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Supporting Women Through Life Transitions with Guests Maturn | 11 Dec 2025 | 00:32:43 | |
This week podcast co-host Mark Edgar connects with the co-founders of Maturn, Jen Murtagh and Sonja Baikogli Foley to talk about the incredible work they do to support women through life-stage transitions at work including fertility, maternity leave, motherhood, and perimenopause/menopause. They share their inspiration behind Maturn and talk about the common barriers to supporting women at work and how HR leaders can support better conversations at work. You can follow Maturn on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maturn/ And find out more at their website: Don’t forget …To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| The Wisdom of Ignorance with Guest Alan Gregerman | 04 Dec 2025 | 00:40:13 | |
In this week’s episode, Mark Edgar connects with author and business consultant Alan Gregerman who shares insights from his latest book “The Wisdom of Ignorance”. Alan provides his perspective on the dynamic world of work and what organizations should be doing to prepare their people to identify new and innovative approaches. He shares the six skills tied to “not knowing” that can be used to help navigate uncertainty and create breakthroughs. They include being purposeful, curiosity, humility, respect, being future focused and being paranoid! You can learn more about Alan’s work here: https://alangregerman.com/about-alan/ And you can follow her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-gregerman-a33b236/ Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||
| Celebrating 150 Episodes with Our Friends Anna Petosa & Greg Smith | 27 Nov 2025 | 00:39:20 | |
Mark and Naomi celebrate their 150th episode milestone by hosting two special guests: Anna Petosa from Rock Paper People and Greg Smith the author of Safe Brave Places. The conversation covers their HR career journeys, current challenges in the profession, and the importance of community support. Greg and Anna recently relaunched their podcast, Safe Brave Stories focusing on creating environments that are both psychologically safe and challenging, encouraging growth through shared stories and practical insights. You can learn more about their work on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-petosa/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-smith-he-him-a8774410/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/safe-brave-spaces/ Don’t forget … To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. Follow us on LinkedIn:
And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/ On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! | |||