TOP 1% GLOBAL PODCAST for People-First Leaders Formerly the "improve it! Podcast." #9 in BEST 100 SELF LEADERSHIP PODCASTS. I’m Erin Diehl, keynote speaker, business improv edutainer, and founder of improve it! (AKA your work bestie). Every Wednesday, Workday Playdate with improve it! helps HR professionals, people leaders, and culture-driven humans bring more laughter, levity, and purpose to their workdays. Because work is better when you play. This is not your average leadership podcast. You’ll get research-backed strategies, improv-inspired tools, and candid conversations with top leaders, speakers, improvisers and authors who are rethinking how we work and lead. Our promise is to give you tangible takeaways you can use immediately, plus a few laughs along the way. Interested in partnering with us? Workday Playdate reaches thousands of people-first leaders who care about workplace culture, leadership, and team development. Contact info@learntoimproveit.com to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. We promise laughs, impact, and zero awkward small talk. Think ROI with a side of LOL’s. Let’s make it happen!
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368: Are We All Having an AI Identity Crisis? With Cassandra Worthy
Épisode 368
mercredi 9 septembre 2026 • Durée 33:49
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Cassandra Worthy—founder and CEO of Change Enthusiasm Global — about the emotional side of AI-driven change, and why “just adapt” isn’t exactly a strategy. As AI reshapes jobs, workflows, teams, and professional identities, Cassandra explains why people are experiencing a very real sense of loss, or what she calls “AI grief.”
Cassandra breaks down her Change Enthusiasm® framework (Signal, Opportunity, Choice) and explains how emotional awareness can help us navigate uncertainty with more agency. Whether you’re navigating AI at work, leading a team through transformation, or trying to make your next move with more clarity, this episode will help you start treating emotions as data.
Inside This Episode:
AI Grief Is Real: Discover why AI can trigger feelings of loss, mourning, fear, and identity disruption + why leaders shouldn’t rush people past those emotions.
Emotion Is Data, Not Weakness: Cassandra explains why difficult emotions are signals that can help us understand what’s happening beneath the surface during organizational change.
Build Your Signal Literacy: Learn how to recognize the physical and emotional cues that show up during change, and why getting better at reading those signals can help you move through uncertainty faster.
Turn Signals Into Opportunities: Cassandra walks through the second step of Change Enthusiasm® and shows how curiosity can help you move from “What is happening to me?” to “What are my options?”
Choose Your Response: Explore the final step (Choice) and how making an intentional decision can turn anxiety into anticipation and help you navigate change with greater agency.
What to Do Now:
Name the Signal: The next time you feel anxious, frustrated, angry, or discouraged at work, pause before trying to fix it. Ask: What is this emotion trying to tell me?
Get Curious About the Opportunity: Once you’ve identified the signal, brainstorm your options. What could you do, learn, ask, change, or try?
Make a Choice: Pick the response that feels most aligned with your values—not necessarily the one that eliminates all uncertainty. And if you’re stuck, talk it through with a trusted mentor, colleague, or friend.
About the Guest
Cassandra Worthy is the founder and CEO of Change Enthusiasm Global, a consulting and leadership development firm helping organizations build the emotional resilience to thrive through change. A former Fortune 100 innovation leader and chemical engineer, Cassandra spent years leading global teams through major corporate transformations before turning her own experiences with change into the Change Enthusiasm® framework. She is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and trusted advisor to CEOs, HR leaders, and culture-shapers at organizations including Google, Microsoft, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, and Kellogg. Through her work, she helps people move from simply going through change to growing through it.
Leadership Playground Free Info Session on 9/29
Looking for a scalable, engaging way to support your HiPo talent with leadership development? Join improve it! for a 25-minute information session to explore Leadership Playground, our experiential leadership development membership designed to extend learning beyond one-time workshops.
Discover how organizations are using live, improv-based learning to help HiPo managers strengthen communication, adaptability, confidence, and other essential skills. We'll walk through how the program works, what's included, and how it can complement your existing leadership development strategy.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
367: Five Curiosity Practices that Took My Leadership to the Next Level
Épisode 367
mercredi 2 septembre 2026 • Durée 23:19
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin shares the story of how one question—“How do people actually do this?”—helped her go from improv workshop facilitator with zero keynote bookings to speaking on stages at Amazon, LinkedIn, and major association conferences. Along the way, she discovered that curiosity is a career-building practice.
Erin breaks down the five curiosity practices she used to build her speaking career from scratch and how she applied those same practices to help team member Cristy von create her first keynote. Whether you’re navigating a career pivot, developing your leadership skills, or wondering what your next move should be, this episode will help you stop waiting for the perfect plan and start pulling the thread.
Inside This Episode:
Curiosity Is a Practice, Not a Personality Trait: Discover why curiosity can be intentionally practiced and how asking better questions can fuel career growth, leadership, adaptability, and collaboration.
Study People Who’ve Already Done It: Erin shares why researching people who are already where you want to go can reveal the path, shortcuts, and questions you didn’t know to ask.
Learn Before You Hire: Before investing in a coach, mentor, or course, Erin explains how free content can help you do your homework, find the right fit, and make smarter career development decisions.
Borrow the Room Before You Build Your Own: From free speaking gigs to the “rubber chicken circuit,” Erin shares why small stages can become your curiosity lab for practicing, gathering feedback, and refining your skills.
Get Curious About the Community: You don’t have to figure everything out alone. Learn how finding the right professional community can expand your perspective, strengthen your network, and help you understand where you fit.
What to Do Now:
Name Your Next Move: Identify one career move, skill, opportunity, or goal you want to pursue next. Don’t worry about the whole plan yet. Start with the question: How do people actually do this?
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
366: The Real Reason High Performers Burn Out Fast with Yana Carstens
Épisode 366
mercredi 26 août 2026 • Durée 47:52
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Yana Carstens, an integrative executive coach, to explore why high performers often burn out faster than anyone else—and why the solution isn’t always to simply lighten the workload. Yana makes the case that burnout is often a reflection of our internal operating system: the beliefs, identities, and patterns that shape how we respond to pressure, achievement, and success.
If you've ever wondered why you can know you need better boundaries and still struggle to set them, this conversation is for you. Yana shares how somatic awareness, mindset recalibration, honest communication, and authentic connection can help you recognize the patterns driving exhaustion and create a more sustainable way to succeed.
Inside This Episode:
Burnout Is More Than a Workload Problem: Yana explains why burnout isn't always about having too much on your plate. For high performers, the deeper issue can be the internal wiring that tells us we need to be responsible, perfect, useful, or constantly achieving in order to feel worthy.
Your Body Is Giving You Data: Physical signals like neck tension, shoulder aches, and anxiety aren't just inconveniences to push through. Yana shares how these signals can act like a dashboard, revealing when we're operating from old patterns or beliefs that no longer serve us.
Your Strengths Can Become Your Blind Spots: Traits like responsibility, high standards, and a strong drive to help others can be powerful strengths—but they can also become “anchors” that keep us stuck. Yana explores how hyper-responsibility, perfectionism, and people-pleasing can quietly fuel burnout.
Recalibrate Your Internal Operating System: Instead of automatically reacting to stress, Yana offers practical ways to pause, notice what's happening internally, and question the beliefs driving our responses. She shares tools for shifting from autopilot into more intentional, values-aligned action.
Use Your Values as Your Wind: Yana uses the metaphor of a boat, anchors, and wind to explain the difference between disempowering beliefs that hold us back and core values that help us move forward. The goal isn't to eliminate stress, but to make sure we're navigating it in a direction that actually matters to us.
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
365: 74% of Working Moms Are Running on Empty. Now What?
Épisode 365
mercredi 19 août 2026 • Durée 46:55
“There is enough for everyone. Enough time, enough opportunity, enough resources, enough love, enough patience.” -Tiffany Sauder
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Tiffany Sauder, founder of Life of And, for a conversation about working motherhood, burnout, ambition, and building a life that actually feels sustainable. Tiffany challenges the idea that women simply need to “do more” or “manage their time better” and offers a more practical approach: build better systems, make intentional tradeoffs, and stop treating every season like it has to hold everything.
Through her Life of And framework, Tiffany helps ambitious women navigate the tension between meaningful work and meaningful presence. From her “not now” list to her “size of your yes” method, she shares tools for making decisions that honor both your current season and the life you’re still building.
Inside This Episode:
Abundance Over Scarcity: Tiffany shares why her guiding word is abundance and how believing there is enough time, opportunity, energy, and love can change the way we approach career and family.
Burnout Is a Systems Problem: Discover why burnout isn’t simply about being busy. Tiffany explains how putting in significant effort without feeling meaningful progress can leave high-achieving women depleted—and what to change instead.
Every Yes Has a Hidden Cost: A “yes” doesn’t just take the time listed on the calendar. Learn how to account for prep, cleanup, transitions, logistics, and emotional energy before committing.
From “I Can’t” to “I Don’t Know How Yet”: Tiffany explains how changing the language we use with ourselves can shift us from limitation and guilt toward ownership, creativity, and problem-solving.
The Power of the “Not Now” List: You don’t have to abandon a dream just because it doesn’t fit your current season. Tiffany shares how parking an idea for later can create peace without closing the door on what matters to you.
What to Do Now:
Pick one commitment on your calendar and calculate its true time cost, including preparation, transitions, cleanup, and emotional energy. Then ask: Is this still a yes?
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
364: How One Conversation Changed My Career
Épisode 364
mercredi 12 août 2026 • Durée 26:25
"Your next opportunity probably won't come from your resume. It'll come from a conversation." – Erin Diehl
In this solo episode of Workday Playdate, Erin shares the true story of how one cold email, one coffee meeting, and one unexpected dinner led to improve it!'s very first paying client. If networking has ever felt awkward, transactional, or downright exhausting, this episode will completely reframe the way you build professional relationships.
Erin introduces her BREW IT networking framework: a simple, human-centered approach to creating meaningful connections that lead to real career opportunities. Whether you're job searching, growing your business, or simply looking to expand your professional network, you'll walk away with practical strategies to network authentically without feeling fake.
Inside This Episode:
Networking Starts With Showing Up: Erin shares how attending one Chicago networking event introduced her to a connection that would ultimately change the trajectory of her career.
The Coffee Matters More Than the Pitch: Career-changing relationships are built through curiosity, generosity, and genuine conversation.
The BREW IT Framework for Authentic Networking: Learn Erin's five-step process for building meaningful professional relationships: Be There, Reach Out, Earn the Relationship, Win Them Over with Who You Actually Are, and Invite the Next Scene.
Relationships Before Opportunities: Discover practical ways to build trust long before you ask for anything—including thoughtful follow-up, sharing someone's work, making introductions, and staying connected over time.
One Conversation Can Change Everything: The episode ends with a simple challenge designed to help you stop overthinking networking and start creating momentum with one meaningful conversation in the next 48 hours.
What to Do Now:
Start With One Person: Think of someone you'd genuinely love to learn from and send them a short, specific email asking for 20 minutes to connect.
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
363: Why Your Nervous System Runs the Meeting with Lani Gonzales
Épisode 363
mercredi 5 août 2026 • Durée 46:13
"The goal isn't to collect more gold stars. It's to create a life that's achingly beautiful." – Lani Gonzales
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Lani Gonzales to explore why so many high achievers end up feeling exhausted, disconnected, and stuck chasing the next accomplishment. After leaving a successful legal career and walking more than 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago, Lani discovered that sustainable success is fueled by play.
If you've ever felt like your productivity comes at the expense of your wellbeing, this conversation is for you. Lani shares practical mindset shifts and nervous system strategies to help leaders, entrepreneurs, and ambitious professionals build confidence without burnout and create work that's deeply aligned with who they are.
Inside This Episode:
Movement Is More Than Exercise: Lani explains why movement, play, and curiosity are the fuel that makes sustainable performance possible.
High Achievement Isn't the Same as Fulfillment: Many ambitious professionals unknowingly operate from a place of proving their worth. Lani shares how shifting your internal motivation can create more confidence, creativity, and joy.
The Camino Teaches You How to Let Go: Walking 500 miles across Spain became more than a physical challenge—it became a lesson in releasing emotional baggage, embracing presence, and trusting the next step.
Confidence Starts in the Body: From nervous system regulation to simple physical practices, Lani explains how our bodies shape our ability to think clearly, show up authentically, and navigate high-pressure moments.
Stop Treating Life Like a Test: What if challenges weren't exams to pass, but opportunities to explore? Lani shares how curiosity creates resilience, reduces overthinking, and makes growth feel a whole lot lighter.
What to Do Now:
Find Your Fuel: Ask yourself whether you're chasing external validation or creating from genuine joy and purpose.
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
362: ADA at Work: What to Say in the Moment with Rachel Shaw
Épisode 362
mercredi 29 juillet 2026 • Durée 40:56
“The real failure of inclusion happens in the moments when someone hesitates.” – Rachel Shaw
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Rachel Shaw to explore what it really takes to build inclusive workplaces that work in real time. In a world full of well-intentioned initiatives, Rachel makes the case that true inclusion is ultimately a human skill.
If you've ever wondered how leaders can create cultures where people feel genuinely seen, supported, and empowered, this conversation is for you. Rachel shares how organizations can move beyond compliance and build cultures rooted in empathy, accountability, and belonging.
Inside This Episode:
Inclusion Is a Live Skill, Not Just a Policy: Rachel explains why real inclusion happens in the everyday moments when people are under pressure, uncertain, or vulnerable. Policies matter, but the way leaders respond in real time matters even more.
Thinking Quickly on Your Feet Is a Leadership Advantage: Difficult conversations rarely come with a script. Rachel shares why curiosity, presence, and adaptability help leaders respond with confidence instead of defensiveness when challenges arise.
Empathy Changes the Outcome of Hard Conversations: Pausing, getting curious, and leading with empathy can transform tense situations into opportunities for trust and connection. Rachel discusses how a leader's response can either strengthen relationships or unintentionally damage them.
HR Has More Influence Than It Thinks: HR professionals are far more than administrators. Rachel explores how HR leaders can shape culture, drive accountability, and ensure organizational values show up in everyday decisions and behaviors.
Inclusive Culture Is Built Through Daily Choices: Belonging isn't created through one initiative or annual training. Rachel explains how mentorship, communication, benefits, and consistent leadership behaviors create cultures where people truly feel they matter.
What to Do Now:
When faced with uncertainty or discomfort, give yourself a moment before reacting. Thoughtful responses build trust; rushed reactions often erode it.
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
361: The Unexpected Career Power of Improv with Nnamdi Ngwe
Épisode 361
mardi 28 juillet 2026 • Durée 31:02
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Emmy Award-winning writer, actor, comedian, facilitator, and longtime improve it! family member Nnamdi Ngwe to explore why the most valuable career skills often come from the places you least expect. From playing college soccer to performing with The Second City, creating viral content, facilitating workshops for global organizations, and winning an Emmy, Nnamdi's career is proof that following your curiosity can lead to opportunities you never could have planned.
If you've ever wondered whether your creative interests "count," questioned whether it's too late to pursue something different, or struggled to connect your unique experiences into a meaningful career path, this conversation will inspire you to see your strengths in a whole new way.
Inside This Episode:
Why Your Nontraditional Skills Are Your Competitive Advantage: Nnamdi shares how the experiences that don't fit neatly on a resume often become the skills that make you indispensable in your career.
From College Soccer to Comedy Stages: Hear how an unexpected path led Nnamdi from the soccer field to improv theaters, television sets, and corporate boardrooms, proving that careers rarely unfold in a straight line.
What It Really Takes to Create Viral Content: With a massive following across TikTok and Instagram, Nnamdi pulls back the curtain on his creative process and explains why content that looks effortless usually comes from consistent practice and experimentation.
The Workplace Lessons Hidden Inside Improv: After facilitating workshops for companies like LinkedIn, TikTok, Motorola, and T-Mobile, Nnamdi explains the powerful moment when people realize improv isn't just entertainment—it's a practical skill for communication, collaboration, leadership, and innovation.
Trusting Your Scene Partner and Yourself: Nnamdi reflects on collaborating with his twin brother and creative partner, Amechi, sharing lessons about trust, flexibility, and building successful partnerships both on stage and in business.
What to Do Now:
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
360: Confidence Hacks for Speaking Up at Work
Épisode 360
mercredi 22 juillet 2026 • Durée 22:06
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin explores why speaking up at work has far less to do with competence and far more to do with confidence. If you've ever left a meeting thinking, "I should have said something," you're not alone—and you're probably more prepared than you think.
If you've ever had the perfect idea thirty seconds too late, watched someone else say what you were thinking, or struggled to find your voice in meetings, this conversation is for you. Using improv principles and practical strategies, Erin shares how to stop disappearing on the back line and start contributing with more confidence, more quickly, and more consistently.
Inside This Episode:
Speaking Up Is Usually a Confidence Issue, Not a Competence Issue: Most people already know what they want to say, they just hesitate when the moment arrives. Erin explores why the gap between thinking and speaking is often driven by fear, not ability.
Silence Feels Safe, But It Can Make You Invisible: Staying quiet may protect you from saying the wrong thing, but it can also prevent others from seeing your ideas, expertise, and leadership potential. Early and frequent participation changes how people experience you.
Confidence Is Built Through Reps, Not Perfection: The goal isn't to feel ready before you contribute. The goal is to contribute and let confidence catch up. Erin shares why speaking up is a skill built through practice, not personality.
The SPEAK Framework Makes Participation Easier: Erin introduces the improv-inspired SPEAK framework to help you contribute more naturally in meetings: Set up the scene, Preload your line, Enter early, Anchor the room, and Keep building.
Consistency Changes Your Identity: Speaking up once feels brave. Speaking up repeatedly changes how you see yourself and how others see you. Confidence isn't built in a single moment; it's built in patterns.
What to Do Now:
Set Up the Scene: Before your next meeting, identify one idea, question, or perspective you want to contribute before the conversation begins.
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
359: The 5 Lessons: What a Month in Asia Taught Me About Thinking on Your Feet
Épisode 359
mardi 21 juillet 2026 • Durée 24:49
“Sometimes you have to leave home to see home.”
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin takes listeners on a journey through Shanghai, Singapore, and Bali to unpack what a month abroad taught her about thinking on her feet and appreciating the life waiting back home.
What starts as an international travel adventure quickly becomes a masterclass in working parenthood, and the improv mindset required when every plan goes sideways.
If you've ever had to pivot quickly, parent imperfectly, navigate uncertainty, or figure it out as you go, this episode is a reminder that flexibility is a skill you can practice.
Inside This Episode:
The Plan Is Just a Suggestion: Delayed flights, closed restaurants, language barriers, and disappearing Wi-Fi become an unexpected lesson in adaptability. Erin shares why asking, "New scene, what's the move?" is often more useful than clinging to the original plan.
How Discomfort Expands Your Capability: Whether it's navigating unfamiliar cities, managing food restrictions abroad, or solving problems without your usual routines, Erin explores why confidence often shows up after comfort leaves the room.
The Truth About Good Enough Parenting: Forget perfect parenting. Erin reflects on what it means to be present, resourceful, and human while parenting on the road—and why that's more than enough.
Why Your Village Matters More Than Ever: From family support to travel companions to the people who step in when life gets complicated, this episode is a celebration of the teams, communities, and ensembles that make hard things possible.
Sometimes You Have to Leave Home to See Home: Distance has a funny way of creating clarity. Erin shares how stepping away from everyday life gave her a deeper appreciation for her routines, her community, and the life she built.
What to Do Now:
Treat the Plan Like a Draft: The next time something changes unexpectedly, ask yourself: "What's possible now?" instead of "How do I get back to the original plan?"
Connect with Erin DiehlLoved this episode?
Apple Podcasts
🇨🇦 Canada - careers
10/09/2026
#92
🇺🇸 États-Unis - careers
09/08/2026
#74
🇺🇸 États-Unis - careers
08/08/2026
#61
🇺🇸 États-Unis - careers
07/08/2026
#43
Find the People Who Know: Identify two or three people who have already done the thing you want to do. Study their paths, content, and choices—and ask what you can learn from them.
Learn Before You Invest: If you’re considering a coach, mentor, course, or program, start with their free content. Get curious before you get out your credit card.
Your Freebie
The Confident Leader’s Toolkit: Want to show up as a more confident, authentic leader without feeling like you have to perform? Download this practical 4-step guide to craft an intentional professional persona, so you can lead with clarity, confidence, and presence without burning yourself out.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
What to Do Now:
Notice Your Signals: The next time you feel tension, anxiety, irritation, or exhaustion, pause and ask what your body might be trying to tell you before you automatically push through.
Question the Belief: When you notice yourself overworking, people-pleasing, or striving for perfection, ask: “What am I believing I have to do or prove right now?”
Find Your North Star: Identify one core value that matters most to you right now, then consider whether your current habits, boundaries, and decisions are moving you toward it—or keeping you anchored.
About the Guest
Yana Carstens is an integrative executive coach who helps high-performing leaders understand the internal patterns that influence how they work, lead, and respond to stress. Through a combination of mindset work, somatic awareness, and practical coaching tools, Yana helps people recalibrate their internal operating systems so they can pursue meaningful success without sacrificing their well-being. Her work centers on helping leaders build greater self-awareness, healthier boundaries, authentic connection, and a more sustainable relationship with achievement.
Your Freebie
Networking doesn’t have to feel performative, transactional, or awkward. Download our Networking Without Feeling Weird toolkit for practical strategies to help you build genuine connections while staying confident, clear, and grounded.
Whether you’re walking into a conference, meeting new colleagues, or simply trying to expand your circle, this two-part resource will help you network in a way that actually feels like you.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
Calculate the Real Size of One Yes:
Create a “Not Now” List: Identify one goal, dream, or interest you’ve been feeling guilty about not pursuing. Instead of abandoning it, give yourself permission to say, “Not now.” Decide when you’ll revisit it.
Find One Micro-Solution: Look at one recurring source of stress and ask: Can I outsource it, automate it, eliminate it, or approach it differently? You don’t have to redesign your whole life to create more margin.
About the Guest
Tiffany Sauder is the founder of Life of And, a platform dedicated to helping ambitious women navigate the intersection of career, leadership, motherhood, and caregiving without sacrificing their well-being. A wife and mom of four daughters, Tiffany brings both professional experience and lived experience to conversations about working motherhood.
Through the Life of And Podcast, Life of And Program, and live events, Tiffany gives women practical frameworks for making confident choices in demanding seasons of life. Her work helps ambitious women move beyond guilt and perfectionism and build lives where career and family, leadership and presence, and achievement and well-being can coexist.
Your Freebie
Networking doesn’t have to feel performative, transactional, or awkward. Download our Networking Without Feeling Weird toolkit for practical strategies to help you build genuine connections while staying confident, clear, and grounded.
Whether you’re walking into a conference, meeting new colleagues, or simply trying to expand your circle, this two-part resource will help you network in a way that actually feels like you.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
Lead With Curiosity: During your conversation, focus on asking thoughtful questions instead of trying to impress. The best networking conversations feel like exchanges, not interviews.
Keep the Story Going: Follow up within 48 hours with a meaningful thank-you, a helpful resource, or an introduction. And don't forget to invite the next conversation! Real relationships are built one scene at a time.
Your Freebie
Networking doesn’t have to feel performative, transactional, or awkward. Download our Networking Without Feeling Weird toolkit for practical strategies to help you build genuine connections while staying confident, clear, and grounded.
Whether you’re walking into a conference, meeting new colleagues, or simply trying to expand your circle, this two-part resource will help you network in a way that actually feels like you.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
Move Before You Push: Incorporate small moments of movement, play, or breathwork into your workday to regulate your nervous system before tackling difficult tasks.
Focus on the Next Step: Instead of trying to solve the entire journey, bring your attention back to what's right in front of you and let momentum build from there.
About the Guest
Lani Gonzales is a speaker, coach, hypnotherapist, and former attorney who helps high achievers redefine success through movement, mindset, and nervous system regulation. Drawing from her own transformational journey—including walking the Camino de Santiago—Lani empowers leaders and entrepreneurs to replace burnout with curiosity, confidence, and sustainable joy. Through her coaching, speaking, and creative work, she helps people build lives and businesses that honor both their ambition and their humanity.
Your Freebie
Networking doesn’t have to feel performative, transactional, or awkward. Download our Networking Without Feeling Weird toolkit for practical strategies to help you build genuine connections while staying confident, clear, and grounded.
Whether you’re walking into a conference, meeting new colleagues, or simply trying to expand your circle, this two-part resource will help you network in a way that actually feels like you.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
Pause Before Responding:
Audit Your Daily Leadership Habits: Consider how your everyday behaviors—from meetings to feedback conversations—either reinforce or undermine belonging on your team.
Use Your Influence: Whether you're in HR, leadership, or an individual contributor role, identify one way you can advocate for a more inclusive and human-centered workplace this week.
About the Guest
Rachel Shaw is a speaker, consultant, and workplace inclusion strategist who helps organizations build cultures that are both legally sound and deeply human. With decades of experience advising leaders and HR professionals, Rachel specializes in disability inclusion, workplace culture, employee relations, and leadership effectiveness. She is the author of The Disabled Workforce: What the ADA Never Anticipated, where she explores the evolving realities of today's workforce and challenges organizations to rethink how they support employees. Through her work, Rachel empowers leaders to create workplaces grounded in empathy, accountability, and belonging.
Your Freebie
You’re calm, capable, and composed… until things take an unexpected turn (as they tend to do)! This is exactly why we created The Clarity Under Pressure Toolkit: What to Do in the First 5 Minutes of Any Uncertain Situation.
It’s your go-to guide for staying grounded when it matters most. Download it here.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
Identify Your Hidden Career Skill: Think about one strength you have that doesn't appear on your resume. Whether it's calming people during stressful moments, reading a room, making others laugh, or adapting when plans change, recognize it as a real professional asset.
Stop Waiting for the Perfect Career Path: Your experiences don't have to make sense to everyone else. Trust that the skills you're building today may become the foundation for opportunities you can't yet imagine.
Follow What Energizes You: Instead of asking whether a creative interest is practical, ask what it's teaching you. The projects that light you up often develop the very human skills that set you apart.
About the Guest
Nnamdi Ngwe is an Emmy Award-winning writer, actor, comedian, facilitator, and educator. After playing collegiate soccer at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, he went on to study and perform comedy at iO Theater and The Second City. Alongside his twin brother and creative partner, Amechi Ngwe, he has written and starred in acclaimed productions including Julius, Rap Skool, and House Sitters. His television credits include The Amber Ruffin Show, A Black Lady Sketch Show, The Bold and the Beautiful, Blippi, Comedy Central's 3Peat, and the Emmy Award-winning Tab Time. Beyond entertainment, Nnamdi facilitates interactive workshops for organizations around the world, helping leaders and teams build communication, adaptability, and collaboration skills through applied improvisation. Whether performing on stage, creating viral content online, or leading a workshop, he's passionate about helping people embrace creativity, trust themselves, and discover that their most unexpected skills are often their greatest strengths.
Your Freebie
You’re calm, capable, and composed… until things take an unexpected turn (as they tend to do)! This is exactly why we created The Clarity Under Pressure Toolkit: What to Do in the First 5 Minutes of Any Uncertain Situation.
It’s your go-to guide for staying grounded when it matters most. Download it here.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
Preload Your Line: Prepare a simple opener such as, "One thing that stands out to me is..." or "I'd like to build on that idea..." so you're not starting from zero when the moment arrives.
Enter Early: Challenge yourself to speak within the first ten minutes of your next meeting. Momentum is easier to maintain than it is to create.
Anchor the Room: Remember that your contribution doesn't just help you—it creates permission for others to participate, ask questions, and share ideas too.
Keep Building: Confidence is earned through repetition. Every time you speak up, you're collecting evidence that your voice belongs in the room.
Your Freebie
You’re calm, capable, and composed… until things take an unexpected turn (as they tend to do)! This is exactly why we created The Clarity Under Pressure Toolkit: What to Do in the First 5 Minutes of Any Uncertain Situation.
It’s your go-to guide for staying grounded when it matters most. Download it here.
This episode is brought to you by Magnatag, the world's largest collection of magnetic dry-erase planning systems.
We are talking over 2,300 options including calendars, project management boards, dry-erase walls, maps, and more, all handmade in the USA. If you can't find exactly what you need, you can design a completely custom board online with your logo, your templates, and your own layout. Magnatag doesn't just make whiteboards. They build visual systems for how teams actually work.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
Collect Evidence of Your Capability: Keep track of moments when you handled something difficult, unfamiliar, or inconvenient. Your resilience deserves receipts.
Strengthen Your Village: Reach out to someone who has supported you recently and let them know the difference they made. Gratitude is one of the fastest ways to strengthen community.
Your Freebie
You’re calm, capable, and composed… until things take an unexpected turn (as they tend to do)! This is exactly why we created The Clarity Under Pressure Toolkit: What to Do in the First 5 Minutes of Any Uncertain Situation.
It’s your go-to guide for staying grounded when it matters most. Download it here.
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
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