Explore every episode of the podcast Allyship in Action

Did you know that 20% of potential employees identify as neurodiverse, and the unemployment rate for the neurodiverse community is 30% to 85%?

That is why I spoke with Sean Passmore, Head of Enterprise Military and Veteran Initiatives, Neurodiversity, and Disability Employment Strategy, and Alex Lieberman, a Wells Fargo employee who identifies as Neurodiverse and was hired through the program six years ago.  

As a parent navigating the world alongside my own autistic child, conversations like this one hit remarkably close to home . It's easy to talk about inclusion in abstract terms, but true allyship happens in the quiet, day-to-day moments like a manager noticing a turned off camera and asking with genuine curiosity rather than judgment .

• Focusing on Outcomes Over Presence. Traditional hiring and workplace norms often reward social performance and desk presence over actual output . When organizations shift their focus to clear deliverables and accommodate unique working patterns, employees can excel without burning out .

  "It's often the simple things, like trusting people to do their work and measuring work by outcomes, not by your ability to sit at a desk for a long period of time." 

• Psychological Safety Driven by Direct Managers. The day-to-day experience of an employee is largely shaped by their direct manager . Approaching differences with open curiosity rather than rigid assumptions creates a safe space for clear communication and trust .

  "I asked him 'Help me understand why you're not on camera.' It was really, I think, just about creating some psychological safety for Alex." — Sean Passmore

• Setting Best Practices That Benefit Everyone. Implementing structured workplace practices such as clear written instructions, documented meeting takeaways, and explicit expectations removes ambiguity for neurodivergent employees while raising overall clarity across the entire team .

  "There are certain best practices for the workplace. That includes writing down taking notes on meetings and writing down conclusions. It also clears up a lot for neurotypical employees who are often struggling with just the same sort of thing." — Alex Lieberman

• Sustaining Inclusion Through Structured Support Systems. Long-term retention requires intentional infrastructure . Support systems like peer buddy programs and trained voluntary coaches provide safe channels for navigating workplace dynamics and ensuring employees feel supported beyond onboarding .

  "We have a buddy program. You can think of it as a best friend at work in your first 60 to 90 days... someone safe that you can talk to, an ally who's familiar with the neurodiversity community." — Sean Passmore

• Challenging Gut Instincts to Uncover Talent. Relying on gut feelings during hiring or management often reinforces implicit biases and existing comfort zones . True inclusion requires stepping back, questioning initial instincts, and evaluating talent with an open, deliberate mindset .

  "Don't go with your gut, or at least don't always go with your gut. Because your gut is your subconscious experiences. If you're dealing with something that you're not used to, your gut will not be helpful." — Alex Lieberman

Establish a practice of documenting and sharing explicit expectations for tasks and meeting outcomes. Write down key decisions, define timelines clearly, and communicate deliverables in writing to eliminate unnecessary guesswork for your whole team .

If the last couple of years have taught us anything in the DEI space, it's that living in constant hyper-vigilance will burn you out .

Between economic shifts, societal pushback, and the sheer mental load of caring for everyone else, so many of us are operating in complete fight or flight mode.

In this episode of Allyship in Action, I sat down with the incredible Regena Thomashauer—aka Mama Gena—to talk about how we can shift out of defense mode and back into our own innate power .

I'll be honest, when Regena pulled up music for an impromptu 15-second dance break right in the middle of our interview, my initial instinct was to laugh off my bad "Elaine from Seinfeld" moves.

But feeling my heart rate settle and my nervous system calm down in real time reminded me of an essential truth: as women and leaders, we cannot pour from an empty cup or lead effectively when we're disconnected from our own joy.

• Pleasure as a Biological and Healing Modality

  Connecting to body-based pleasure triggers vital neurotransmitters like oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins that calm the nervous system and lower cortisol.

  "If we are not actively connecting to our erotic aliveness, we are leaving one of the most profound healing modalities on the table."

• Rebalancing Divine Masculine and Feminine Energies

  True systemic progress requires honoring both masculine and feminine perspectives equally rather than forcing women to conform to male-centered organizational or cultural norms.

  "Masculine and feminine are equally divine, equally sacred, and equally holy. The feminine excluded from leadership positions, from spiritual culture, it's damaging to both men and women."

• Surrendering to Your Aliveness in Crisis

  Surrender is not about submitting to external circumstances. It is an act of reclaiming internal power and grounding yourself when facing financial or personal hardships.

  "In hard times, how do you, instead of turn on yourself, turn on to your erotic aliveness. That is the biggest difference, because if you cannot connect, you surrender to that erotic aliveness that lives inside every woman."

• Overcoming the Conditioning Against Self-Celebration

  Women are socialized to stay humble and small, but normalizing bragging builds connection, restores joy, and changes team dynamics in workplace environments.

  "Women, by nurture don't like bragging. We've been socialized to be humble. When you brag, you're creating a pleasurable experience and turning on all those neurotransmitters."

Start your next team meeting or individual work routine with a brief, intentional shift into positive energy—whether that is a 15-second physical dance break to reset your nervous system or sharing a single brag to celebrate a personal or professional win.

If you have ever caught yourself second-guessing how you navigate a delicate conversation around race at work, trust me, you are not alone.

This week, I had the absolute joy of sitting down with the brilliant Dr. Evelyn Carter, social psychologist and author of Was That Racist?

We geeked out over the fascinating science of human behavior, laughed about our shared moments of awkwardness, and got real about why true inclusion requires us to drop the polished corporate scripts.

Dr. Carter brings a refreshing blend of research-backed clarity and vivid personal storytelling that makes you feel both deeply challenged and surprisingly hopeful.

We talked about how bias sneaks into our everyday micro-behaviors, why the traditional business case for diversity falls flat, and how we can empower the next generation to stand firm in their values. 

• Unconscious Bias Leaks Into Physical and Social Spaces. Even when we do not consciously endorse biased beliefs, implicit social cognition leaks into our non-verbal behavior, influencing how we interact with others and navigate shared spaces.

  "Those feelings of disgust, those feelings of wariness come through in the way that we decide what we want to physically keep close to us or not. We often opt for comfort over discomfort." 

• Grounding DEI in Moral Conviction Over the Business Case. Relying solely on financial performance or corporate metrics to justify equity cheapens human dignity; true inclusion stems from a deep moral mandate to right historical wrongs.

  "I am not doing diversity, equity, and inclusion work because it is going to make a company more money. I am doing this work because I fundamentally believe the way that we collectively behaved as a society in our past was wrong, was immoral, and led to horrific outcomes..." 

• Standardizing Hiring and Promotion Systems to Block Bias. Organizations must create structured processes backed by objective criteria, rather than relying on subjective gut feelings or affinity bias that naturally favor dominant groups.

  "If we cannot structure a process around it, then what you have actually been calling 'I know it when I see it' is really just bias." 

• Nurturing the Next Generation's Natural Pursuit of Justice. Young people are keen observers of systemic injustice, and adults must lean into those candid discussions rather than stifling uncomfortable truths.

  "Don't just put your kid in front of that movie, have a conversation about the historical fiction that it depicted and the real-life story behind it. Use the media that they are watching and make it relevant for them." 

Actionable Takeaway. Replace vague culture fit metrics in your team's hiring and promotion decisions with concrete, objective criteria to eliminate implicit affinity bias and ensure equitable evaluation for every candidate.

Follow Dr. Evelyn Carter's work here https://www.evelynrcarter.com/.

By the time the fourth quarter rolls around, most of us in leadership are running on coffee, sheer willpower, and a quiet prayer that our calendars don't spontaneously combust.

We rush to cross off every single goal set in January, regardless of whether our teams actually have the bandwidth left to carry it.

In my latest chat with the incredible Dr. Jolander Headley, we unpacked why this year-end frenzy is a recipe for disaster and how we can lead with a lot more intention and a lot less chaotic exhaustion.

We laughed about our own high-octane DISC profiles, because it turns out two driven, influential leaders in one room can produce some serious sparks, but the core message was clear: if you want to retain your best talent and build a workplace that actually lasts, you have to lead yourself first. That means taking a deep breath, dropping the perfectionism, and asking ourselves what truly matters before we ask our people to do one more thing.

Key Themes

Prioritization Starts with Self-Awareness: True alignment begins when leaders drop the denial and look inward to understand how their own behavior and blind spots impact the rest of the team. "You cannot improve what you refuse to acknowledge... If you can't lead yourself well, it's challenging to lead others well. So you want to lead yourself well. Start with self-awareness."

Retention Decisions Are Made in Q4: The end of the year creates heightened anxiety and prompts employees to evaluate their career trajectories, making it critical for managers to reassess workloads rather than pushing teams to the breaking point. "As quarter four approaches, retention risks can increase. This is a time that leaders push their teams to accomplish every remaining annual goal that had been established, regardless of capacity, forcing burnout."

Shift to Sustainable Performance Over Burnout Culture: Building an enduring organization requires sustainable leaders who create proactive burnout prevention models and focus on intrinsic motivators like autonomy and personal growth. "Employees will increasingly expect their organization to demonstrate that high performance can be maintained without chaotic exhaustion. We cannot build sustainable organizations without developing sustainable leaders."

Prioritization Activities to Do with Your Team: Managers need to create space for intentional recalibration, such as evaluating team bandwidth, throwing "stay celebrations" to recognize current value, and carrying non-critical tasks into the next year. "The idea of a stay party is that you're giving the flowers while they're still there. Eelebrating the progress of the organization without being complacent."

Actionable Takeaway for Listeners: Set aside 60 minutes this week for a Q4 Priority & Capacity Audit with your team: review every remaining annual goal together, identify who is quietly becoming the go-to person for everything, and explicitly choose at least one low-impact project to pause or carry over into the new year.

Follow Dr. Jolander Headley at https://jolanderheadley.com/

Every now and then, a book comes along that completely stops me in my tracks. My conversation with Dr. Corinne Low—Wharton professor, economist, and author of Having It All—was one of those instances where data validated everything so many of us feel daily.

I loved blending storytelling with hard research as we unpacked why so many high-achieving working parents feel so exhausted.

As a working mom myself, hearing the data prove that working mothers today spend more time with their children than stay-at-home mothers did a generation ago was a massive aha moment.

We realized the progress made for women in the workplace hasn't been matched by a revolution for men at home, leaving us playing with half a deck of cards.

Together, we explored how shifting our workplace norms, setting clear boundaries, and reimagining partnership roles can build a system that actually works for everyone.

Key Themes

• Why the Workplace Is Not Working for All Genders. The traditional workplace model was built around an outdated era where employees relied on a stay-at-home partner to manage home life. While women have made huge strides entering the corporate world, men haven't experienced a parallel revolution at home, leaving working women disproportionately burdened by domestic labor.

  "We had a gender revolution for women, and we did not have a gender revolution for men. We are showing up as equals in the workforce, but men are not showing up as equals at home." 

• Ditch Flexibility for Boundaries. Flexibility often serves as a buzzword that leads to continuous work bleeding into personal life and eventual burnout. What employees, especially working mothers and Gen Z, actually need is predictability and hard boundaries that allow them to be full human beings outside of their jobs.

  "Many women in those more structured professions say, 'No, I don't want flexibility, I want boundaries, because what flexibility often means is that you always take your work home with you and you end up very burned out.'" 

• What Organizations Can Do to Engage All Genders at Work. Employers must move past the misconception that inclusion conflicts with meritocracy. By actively dismantling biases and offering structured, predictable workflows that account for real-world caregiving duties, companies attract stronger talent, boost retention, and create a true meritocracy.

  "If you combat bias and some of these structural problems that keep women out of your firm, you could be moving closer to meritocracy, which means actually a competitive edge."

Actionable Takeaway

Evaluate your relationship with your career by running the unconstrained resources exercise: imagine a life with unlimited wealth and design your ideal week. Recognize that your job is a technology designed to convert time into money, and intentionally set boundaries so that work does not consume the time meant for the rest of your life.

Follow Corrine at https://www.corinnelow.com/

Scott Curran is a social impact lawyer, advisor, and educator who spent ten years in the All-Star game of global philanthropy at the Clinton Foundation .

When I sit back and look at the wacky headlines and persistent headwinds in our world right now, it can be really easy to throw up our hands .

But Scott brings us right back to the science: human beings are naturally wired for good, and our brain chemistry practically throws a party of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins whenever we do something kind or even just watch someone else do it !

Scott candidly shares how a middle-of-the-night couch conversation with his wife turned into a mission to give away a decade's worth of hard-earned tools to help leaders scale their impact . Purpose isn't just a fluffy concept. Purpose drives profits, sparks employee joy, and connects us to our shared humanity .

Key Themes & Highlights

• Humans Are Science-Backed and Wired for Good. Human beings are fundamentally built for reciprocity and community care . Despite negative news cycles, basic brain chemistry releases feel-good neurochemicals whenever we give, receive, or observe acts of kindness .

"No headline, no headwind, no culture warrior accusation can change the human reality that we are wired for good, and that it feels good when we do it, and even when we just see it." 

• Starting a Purposeful Entity Requires Borrowing Success. Launching a nonprofit doesn't require reinventing the wheel because all organizations follow a predetermined regulatory lifecycle . Before starting a new entity, change-makers should first consider plugging their energy into an existing organization .

"There's approximately just under 2 million nonprofits in the United States running the gamut of all non-profit work. And the great news is they're all special, but not that unique."

• The BOPP Framework Drives Organizational Success. Sustainable, purposeful organizations rely on a balance of four core elements: a diverse, independent Board; lean Operations; clear Programs; and impactful Partnerships .

"If you want the quick approach to a great organization, I'm gonna give you four things to focus on. It's BOPP."

• Everyday Corporate Good Builds Community Connection. Organizations don't need to overcomplicate social impact; simple initiatives like corporate service days or employee donation match programs create immense shared value .

"Start where you are, focus on the causes that hit most close to home... Being aware and being intentional are the only two things I hope people take away." 

Actionable Takeaway

Ask your employer if they offer an employee donation matching program to double your impact for free—and if they don't have one yet, invite your leadership team to start one !

Follow Scott at https://www.scottmcurran.com/

Positive psychology researcher and author Michelle Gielan joins us to dive into two qualities I think about a lot: optimism and resilience.

Early in my career, I used to think being optimistic meant slapping a smile on my face, grabbing a venti iced coffee, and pretending everything was fine, even when a project was burning down around me. (Spoiler alert: it doesn't work!)

Real optimism isn't about ignoring the mess. As Michelle reminded me, it's about taking a realistic assessment of the present while holding onto the belief that our actions matter. We laughed about closet optimists, shared a few messy real-world stories, and unpacked how these mindsets work hand-in-hand to transform our workplaces.

Here are the key themes from our conversation:

• Optimism vs. Resilience: Traditional optimism is the general expectation of good outcomes, whereas resilient optimism is grounded in deliberate behaviors that keep us hopeful when our plans face real-world testing.

  "Optimism is basically an expectation of good things to happen and resilient optimism is optimism that stays strong when it's tested."

• Why Optimism and Resilience Matter at Work: Cultivating a resilient, optimistic mindset directly boosts performance, keeps teams engaged, and significantly lowers the risk of burnout across organizations.

  "People who are in that top quartile are three times more likely to be highly engaged at their jobs and five times less likely to burn out."

• How to Instill Optimism at Work: Rather than fighting ingrained pessimism head-on, leaders can shift workplace culture by encouraging closet optimists to speak up and framing challenges around actionable solutions.

  "If we can even get them to speak up ever so slightly, now we're shifting the culture. We want to talk about the challenges we've been able to overcome and why that has worked."

Start your next meeting with a quick possibility prompt rather than a list of problems. Ask your team to share one thing that went well this week or one solution-oriented step they can take on a current challenge to help prime their brains for constructive action.

Follow Michelle at https://michellegielan.com/resilient-optimism/

Finding balance in leadership and in life often feels like trying to do a high-wire act while juggling toddlers and a full-time career.

That is why I was thrilled to catch up with Jess Ekstrom, founder of Mic Drop Workshop and author of Making It Without Losing It.

Jess is a powerful storyteller who has built two million dollar businesses. She brings this incredible blend of real-world hustle and laugh-out-loud relatable humor.

We got into what happens when we stop chasing everyone else's definition of success and start listening to what actually fuels us.

Between tales of toddlers running yoga classes with a three-year-old and life on the road in an RV, Jess dropped some serious wisdom on how we can show up as better leaders, speakers, and advocates without burning ourselves out.

• Lighthouse vs. Spotlight Speaking. True impact happens when you shift your focus away from self-perception and toward serving the audience.

  "Spotlight speakers go up on stage and they're concerned with perception, but a lighthouse speaker shifts the light from themselves to their audience or their listener. They're not concerned with perception, they're concerned with guidance."

• Driven by Intrinsic Motivation. Relying on external validation creates a fragile foundation for success, whereas focusing on internal purpose breeds resilience.

  "If we're always looking for external validation. We can't control that, versus intrinsically, we can only control what's happening inside of us and what motivates us."

• Managing Life's Four Cups. Time and energy are finite, so managing priorities requires recognizing that not every area of life can be completely full at once.

  "You have four cups: it's your relationships, your work, your health, your creativity. And then you have one jug of water every day. Every cup is not going to be at its brim. Some are going to have to suffer. And it's also temporary, and it's seasonal and shifts throughout life."

• Testing New Life Iterations. Growth doesn't require dismantling your entire life all at once. Growth can start with giving yourself permission to try new things in small doses.

  "Try something on. If there is a way that you can try on a new life, a new hobby, a new idea without blowing up your life in flames that can be very doable."

Test an ambition for 10 minutes a day. Instead of feeling pressured to make a dramatic, high-risk leap, give yourself a two-week trial period where you dedicate just 10 minutes daily to exploring that new goal or identity without any permanent commitments.

Follow Jess at https://jessekstrom.com/

Have you ever tried dangling a carrot to get a desired behavior out of someone—whether it's offering points to your kids for clearing the dishwasher or dangling a bonus in front of your sales team—only to feel like you've created a transactional nightmare?

You're definitely not alone! In this episode of Allyship in Action, I sat down with education scientist and author Dr. Özgür Bolat to unpack why our obsession with extrinsic rewards so often backfires.

Drawing from his insightful book, The Reward Trap, Özgür helps us realize that while carrots might get temporary compliance, they secretly erode intrinsic motivation, trust, and genuine ownership.

We had a candid, funny, and deeply relatable conversation about breaking free from the points system mindset at home and work, shifting our focus from control to true connection.

Key Themes & Highlights

• Compliance vs. True Ownership: Extrinsic motivators like bonuses or points might get a task done, but they fail to foster genuine engagement or long-term commitment.

  "Rewards work if you want compliance. But if you want real ownership, real intrinsic motivation, real engagement and commitment, it may not work."

• The Hidden Costs on Trust and Fairness: Over-relying on rewards often triggers feelings of unfairness among peers and erodes trust between managers and employees or parents and children.

  "When there's a competition, when there's a winner, always there are some people who complain. As your manager, I start to think: Julie had the capacity... but she only did the bare minimum. Why? Then I will lose trust in you."

• How Rewards Narrow Creativity and Learning: Extrinsic incentives focus attention strictly on the immediate payout, leading people to take the easiest path rather than exploring creative solutions or deep learning.

  "When you offer a reward, you narrow that focus. If you offer a reward for creative work, you know what will happen? You will treat it as a mechanical work. Rewards can increase quantity, but not the quality."

• Shift from Control to Connection: True motivation comes from understanding underlying barriers, fostering agency, and creating shared values rather than imposing transactional rules.

  "In punishment and rewarding, you only care about one thing: outcome and consequences. You care about controlling. Beyond rewards, we move from control to connection."

Actionable Takeaway. Instead of reaching for a reward or a penalty the next time someone struggles with engagement, pause and move from control to connection: ask open-ended questions to uncover the root cause of the hesitation, validate their experience, and collaboratively design a solution that builds internal ownership.

Follow Ozgur at https://www.ozgurbolat.com.tr/

This week, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with the incredible Alex Partridge—founder of UNILAD and Lad Bible, host of the ADHD Chatter podcast, and author of Why Does Everybody Hate Me?.

We dove deep into a topic that so many managers want to get right, but often feel totally lost navigating: supporting neurodiversity in the workplace, specifically when it comes to ADHD.

The first time I managed someone with ADHD, I felt lost. I wanted to be an ally and build an inclusive space, but I didn't know what real, everyday support looked like.

As Alex and I chatted, it hit me again how much untapped creativity, innovation, and resilience lies within our neurodivergent team members—if we actually build environments where they can thrive. When we take a step back, set aside our assumptions, and approach people with genuine curiosity, we don't just become better leaders, we create workplaces where everyone feels safe enough to drop the mask and bring their whole self to work.

• Understanding Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD). "Children with ADHD are exposed to 20,000 extra micro-rejections in their formative years. Over a child's life, they add up, they compound, and they create an adult who suffers from extreme emotional pain when someone criticizes you or rejects you as an adult."

• Recognizing the Worksite Manifestations of RSD. "If you are living your life constantly expecting criticism or rejection around every single corner, you put up a guard to protect yourself. It means you can't do anything unless it's perfect. You'll stay in the office four hours later than everyone else, or you'll stay up all night simply to complete that work to such a high standard because the thought of your boss even making a tiny correction to it is so painful."

• Building Psychological Safety from the Top Down."When people in the office observe vulnerability coming from the top, that trickles down to them, and it creates the impression that if they ask for help. It sends the message that they can make that ask without fear of it being met with any kind of eye roll."

• The High Cost of Failing to Accommodate Neurodiversity."80% of neurodivergent employees actually leave a company within three months post-the hiring stage because they are too anxious in that environment to do the job that they're able to do."

• Fostering Allyship Through Curiosity Rather Than Judgment. "Approach the whole conversation with curiosity rather than judgment. Always have an open mind and have that curiosity to ask yourself, 'Maybe that is the better way to do it?' When that mindset shifts, then suddenly there's a whole door of possibilities that open up to you."

Leading with Open-Ended Support: Instead of singling employees out by pointing to specific neurodivergent traits or diagnosing behaviors, leaders should proactively offer broad, company-wide avenues for help—and regularly ask a simple, open-ended question like, "Is there anything I can help you with?" or "Do you want five minutes to think about that assignment before taking it on?"

Follow Alex at https://www.alex-partridge.com/

Welcome back to Allyship in Action! If you've been working in the diversity and inclusion space over the past few years, you know the corporate pendulum hasn't just swung—it's done full-on gymnastics. We've gone from the hyper-reactive commitments of 2020 to the nervous retreats of recent years, leaving many leaders wondering where to anchor themselves. I had the absolute joy of catching up with the brilliant Nani Vishwanath—a strategic leader at The Current Collective—who reminded me that when the external noise gets deafening, the answer isn't to duck and cover; it's to look inward. Nani brings a grounded, refreshingly practical perspective to systemic change (plus, anyone who can turn a conversation about helmet design for big hair into a masterclass on business strategy is my kind of human!). We dove deep into why true inclusion isn't an HR add-on, but a fundamental driver of business resilience.

• 7 Whys Organizations often react to external pressures—whether chasing trends or dodging backlash—leading to fragile, unsustainable DEI strategies. Building an enduring foundation requires pushing past surface-level motives by continuously asking "why" until inclusion aligns directly with the core purpose and long-term success of the business.

  "If all of your leaders can do that [the 7 whys], the work is going to be so much more successful. And it should really be because of where we're trying to go strategically as a company..." — Nani Vishwanath

• Inclusive Design — With, Not For Designing workplace systems or products for marginalized communities without active collaboration misses the mark. True inclusive design builds with those who experience the most friction, uncovering systemic improvements that ultimately elevate the experience for everyone.

  "Build with and for those that are most marginalized or who face the biggest barriers... learn from their experiences with them, and then build something better. And it just leads to better design." — Nani Vishwanath

• Money is the Outcome — Relevance Diversity and inclusion are not merely cost centers or reactive PR measures; financial returns, innovation rates, and retention are downstream outcomes of staying relevant to an evolving workforce and customer base.

  "I think the money is truly an outcome of better design... the word I come back to a lot is relevance... you need to remain relevant to both your employees and to your consumers." — Nani Vishwanath

Before rolling out your next inclusion initiative or revising a workplace policy, gather the team closest to the friction and run the 7 Whys exercise together. Keep asking "why" until you uncover a core reason that directly serves both your internal culture and your external business purpose.

Today we have Dr. Zeke Emanuel, whose new book Eat Your Ice Cream takes a refreshingly sensible look at longevity and what it actually takes to build a happy, healthy life.

As an oncologist and world-renowned expert in bioethics and health policy, Dr. Emanuel has spent decades navigating complex medical landscapes—so when he talks about living better, I listen!

What I love most about his approach is that he bypasses the extreme health trends and cuts straight to sustainable, real-world habits. We had such a fun conversation, diving into everything from the real math behind everyday risks to why building genuine human connection might just be your most powerful health routine.

• Prioritize Life-Long Habits Over Extreme Trends. True longevity is built on sustainable, everyday choices rather than short-term self-deprivation or trendy fads.

  "You're going to have to do this for decades. And if you do it for decades it's got to be a habit that isn't about self-deprivation, because you will not stick to a habit that's self-depriving."

• Ground Risk in Perspective and Practical Action. People often fixate on sensationalized health risks or obsess over performance metrics, whereas practical risk assessment leads to far better peace of mind and realistic decisions.

  "Let's put things in perspective—and not enough people put things in perspective of how 'schmucky' are you. If you're doing [a metric or wearable] for compliance and it's not a motivator, it's anxiety-provoking—stop doing it."

• Nurture Social Connections as a Core Biological Health Routine. Building and maintaining strong relationships isn't just psychologically pleasant. Relationships (like allyship) directly impact stress hormones, inflammation, and overall physiological well-being.

  "It's not just in your head, as it were, but it is in your biology. The importance of relationships for health, wellness, and longevity is the most important thing you can do."

• Keep Learning and Stay Open to Nuanced Science. Cognitive health thrives on challenging the brain with new experiences, alongside maintaining an openness to evolving medical insights rather than rigid dogmatism.

  "It's good to use your brain in different ways. I'm always open. We've got to be open to new ideas and new research."

Turn your wellness routines into social events. Whether it's inviting a friend along for your daily walk, joining a local club, or sharing a whole-food meal with family, combining social connection with healthy habits amplifies the physical and emotional benefits of both.

Follow Dr. Emanuel at https://www.ezekielemanuel.com/

As an author and allyship advocate, I constantly find myself researching the power of human connection, yet I still fall into the same social traps as everyone else! 

We all intellectually know that relationships are vital to our health and happiness, yet we consistently talk ourselves out of simple, daily opportunities to connect.

In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Nicholas Epley, behavioral science professor and author of A Little More Social. Nick's research translates complex social cognition into real, actionable insights that completely reframed how I think about my own social habits—from asking for help to bridging differences.

• Our Beliefs and Miscalibrated Expectations Create Social Barriers. We often avoid social interaction not because we dislike connecting, but because we wrongly assume others won't respond positively to us. We hold mistaken, pessimistic beliefs that reaching out, asking for help, or expressing gratitude will be awkward or unwelcome.

  "We think other people will respond less positively when we reach out to connect with them in a warm and friendly way than other people actually do. And that pessimism creates a bar, a barrier, that keeps us from reaching out more often." — Nicholas Epley

• Frequency Trumps Intensity for Well-Being. Social connection is a choice made up of moments we regularly miss. Small, consistent, daily interactions have a much larger impact on long-term happiness than rare, intense social events.

  "Psychologists have learned that happiness is really a function not of the intensity of experiences that you have, but rather the frequency of them." — Nick Epley

• In-Person Conversations Surface Common Ground Across Divides. When we interact with people who hold opposing political views or come from different backgrounds, actual spoken conversations are remarkably effective at reducing dehumanization and building mutual understanding.

  "Conversation itself is extremely powerful for surfacing common ground, for allowing people to show mutual interest, to reciprocate interest with each other. They report afterwards that having a conversation with someone they disagree with was actually just as pleasant an experience as having a conversation with someone they agree with." — Nick Epley

• Allyship and Outreach are Appreciated More Than We Guess. Whether it is expressing long-overdue gratitude to a former mentor or reaching out to support someone different from us, the recipient values the interaction far more than the initiator anticipates.

  "It turns out there's no bad time to get a note from somebody saying they appreciate you so much, or you love them so much, right? There's no bad time to get that." — Nick Epley

Adopt the "Recognize Easy Opportunities Routinely" (REOR) mindset: Start noticing the moments where you default to avoiding connection—like walking into the office or sitting in a car—and turn them into small, routine social habits.

I was so thrilled to sit down again with my dear friends and true allies, Dave Smith and Brad Johnson . Every time we connect, it feels like a warm reminder of what sustained, meaningful allyship really looks like—not just showing up when it's trending, but doing the steady, daily work that actually moves the needle.

 Listening to them walk through their allyship trilogy, from Athena Rising to The Good Guys and now their latest book, Fair Share, brought back so many memories of my own journey navigating corporate America as a new mom. (Trust me, I've shed my fair share of tears over spilled milk in a workplace closet!)

What I love most about Brad and Dave is how they balance deep research with practical, real-world solutions that lift everyone up. They remind us that creating gender fairness isn't just about asking individual allies to do more. It's about fixing the broken systems so doing the right thing becomes the default.

• Caregiving Skills Build Better Workplace Leaders

  Active caregiving and fatherhood develop crucial human skills like empathy and emotional intelligence, which directly transfer into effective leadership at work.

  "Dad's brains begin to shift and change, too. We're developing these skills around empathy that translates right back into the workplace when we go back to work." — David Smith

• Moving from Individual Allyship to Systemic Change

  Relying solely on individual (s)heroics isn't enough to achieve true equity. Organizations must embed allyship and gender fairness directly into company policies, metrics, and manager training.

  "All of these ally efforts are gonna be sort of one by one by one forever. Until the workplace changes, you see all the estimates that we have about a century to go to get to real gender parity." — Brad Johnson

• Supporting Paid Leave and Caregiving Transitions

  Creating a culture that normalizes and actively plans for parental and caregiving leave for both mothers and fathers improves employee retention and strengthens managerial capabilities.

  "Think about the work that's gotta be done when he or she leaves the workforce for this paid leave period, the transition back into the workforce with a plan. The minute you can do that, you're making better managers." — David Smith

• Unlocking Hidden Talent Through Returnships

  Organizations facing talent shortages can tap into a massive, highly qualified pool of candidates by creating clear pathways for individuals returning to the workforce after extended caregiving breaks.

  "Organizations aren't looking at those women, and they're forgetting that. Half the people at the top of the curve on IQ, EQ, creativity, they're out there if you would only create a glide path to return to your organization." — Brad Johnson

Audit and support your managerial capabilities: To move from individual efforts to systemic fairness, organizations must carefully select managers based on competencies and actively train them to execute flexible work policies, support parental leave transitions, and lead inclusively.

Follow Brad and Dave's work at https://workplaceallies.com/

If you've ever found yourself scrolling through social media, wondering if we are somehow slipping backward into the dark ages of workplace dynamics, you are definitely not alone. It is easy to look at the massive rise of toxic online ecosystems and feel a bit of existential dread. That is why I talked with Robert Baker, who always grounds me. He has this incredible gift for taking a heavy, whack-a-mole topic and infusing it with actionable clarity. We dive deep into why male allyship isn't about being an individual superhero, how global shifts are impacting our teams, and why—despite the algorithmic headwinds—there is still so much room for hope and real human connection.

Key Themes From Our Conversation

The Evolution of the Manosphere and Its Workplace Impact: We unpacked the troubling rise of the "manosphere"—an online ecosystem of influencers exploiting young men's loneliness to promote dominance and misogyny. Robert noted how this spills directly into the attitudes of the next generation entering our workforce. "I can't believe that people think these men are heroes, because basically what they're doing is they're exploiting the loneliness, the misery that younger boys and men can have. And these guys have kind of filled the vacuum with this misogyny." — Robert Baker

The Power of Community Over Individual Heroism: True allyship isn't about being a lone savior; it's about creating a culture of positive peer pressure and shared community standards where calling out exclusionary behavior doesn't feel like a dangerous, solo mission. "I think creating an environment where you say, look, here are the standards of behavior in our community, and police it in a way. Using those standards to make sure that we all stick to something very positive." — Robert Baker

The Business Imperative of DEI in Europe: While the U.S. landscape faces its own unique hurdles, European organizations continue to lean heavily into diversity and inclusion goals. This isn't just about compliance; it's driven by a firm understanding that diverse teams deliver better performance and innovation. "Europe still believes in this. I think many companies in Europe still believe in it, but they believe in it for business reasons, because they believe that they're going to get better team performance, they think diverse teams are better." — Robert Baker

Mitigating Algorithmic Bias and Ensuring Equitable AI Access: Artificial intelligence is a major inflection point for gender equity. Leaders must actively step up to manage inherent data biases and ensure that access to exciting tech developments isn't monopolized by the traditional majority. "Certainly I'm seeing an even greater recognition that leaders need to enable equitable access to AI tools, and also make sure that the systems and the processes that are used within the company that uses AI create fair outcomes." — Robert Baker

Actionable Takeaway for Listeners 

Create Positive Peer Pressure: Don't try to be a lone hero. Focus on building a community within your organization that establishes clear, respectful standards of behavior. By normalizing everyday micro-interventions collectively—like speaking up when someone is talked over in a meeting—you make inclusion the default system rather than an individual burden.

How do we actually live out psychological safety, rather than just talking about it as some grand, academic theory?

A couple of years ago, Minette Norman and Karolin Helbig came out with the Psychological Safety Playbook. I've been using her practical phrases in my own training sessions ever since (with full credit, of course!). But as any facilitator, parent, or human being knows, putting this stuff into practice is darn hard. You want to be the supportive expert, but then real-world pressures—like meeting targets, sudden organizational shifts, or just plain old fear of looking foolish—kick in.

That's why I sat down with them to talk about their new follow-up book. They wrote it because change-makers kept coming to them on tour, saying, "Okay, we read the basics, but now we're hitting roadblocks. What next?" What I love about their approach is that it's completely "no fluff." They give us real, actionable strategies to bake inclusion right into the DNA of our everyday work life, even when things get a little messy.

Key Themes from the Discussion

Courage as Vulnerability, Not Heroics. True leadership in a psychologically safe environment isn't about having a flawless track record or acting like a superhero. It requires the humility to acknowledge that you don't have all the answers and to actively invite your team to fill in your blind spots.

"It's not about the big heroic acts. It's really about the courage to be vulnerable, for example. Particularly as a leader, that's not easy to do..." — Karolin Helbig 

The Intentional Practice of Listening. Listening is often treated as an obvious, baseline skill, but true listening requires a conscious commitment to sit with silence and process what is being said, rather than rushing to respond or dominate the room.

"It sounds so obvious that we all know how to do it... and it is so darn hard, right? It really is. And we often think we're listening when we're not." — Minette Norman 

Recognizing Personal Emotional Triggers. Building psychological safety is a slow process that can be shattered instantly by an unmanaged, defensive reaction. Developing self-awareness around your own physical stress signals helps create a vital pause between a trigger and your response.

"Psychological safety is really slow to build and quick to break. And if you can avoid these breaks. By becoming more aware of your reactions and handling them more skillfully, then a lot is gained." — Karolin Helbig 

Shifting the Narrative Around Failure. For teams to innovate, leaders must actively destigmatize mistakes. This means moving away from finger-pointing and instead treating unexpected outcomes as valuable learning experiments, a process that must be modeled from the top down.

"If you're trying something new, and certainly if we're trying to innovate, there will be failure along the way. So the question is, how quickly can we learn from them and improve and move forward?" — Minette Norman 

Designing for Inclusion via Rotating Roles. Inclusion doesn't happen by accident; it has to be deliberately engineered into team dynamics. Using a rotating role like an "Inclusion Booster" ensures that monitoring the health of a meeting becomes a shared team habit rather than solely the leader's responsibility.

"Meetings by default are not inclusive. So we need to design them for inclusion. The idea of the inclusion booster is just to have a rotating role of somebody in facilitating the meeting and paying attention that we actually behave in the way we earlier defined." — Karolin Helbig 

Actionable Takeaway for Listeners

To move your team from theory to practice, introduce the "Inclusion Booster" role into your next recurring meeting. Rotate this responsibility among different team members each week, tasking them with observing meeting dynamics, ensuring equal airtime, and calling out interruptions using a lighthearted tool like the "ELMO" (Enough, Let's Move On) principle.

Follow Karolin and Minette at https://thepsychologicalsafetyplaybook.com/

You might remember Katryn from episode 292, where we dove deep into the behavioral blueprint for inclusion. Well, a lot can happen in a year—or in our current case, since the wild ride of the 2026 election—and the DEI landscape is shifting beneath our feet. I'll admit, when I first started this work ten years ago, I thought we could just shout from the rooftops that inclusion matters and everyone would just magically get it. But as we look at the headlines today, it's clear that "shiny object syndrome" has left us with a lot of noise and not enough real, systemic change.

Katryn and I sit down to unpack what global leaders are actually doing right now to push past the performative and get to the heart of what makes workplaces genuinely fair.

• Moving from Noise to Systemic Change. Organizations frequently focus on highly public, performative declarations of inclusivity rather than restructuring the underlying processes that perpetuate bias.

  "Organizations were doing a lot of the shiny stuff... doing what we would call noisy things, right? Proclaiming, saying, being public... but obviously that not necessarily translating to real-world change." — Katryn Wright

• The Problem with Unconscious Bias Training. Treating broad, one-size-fits-all training modules as a standalone solution is ineffective and can create artificial metrics that trigger cultural backlash.

  "An awful amount of money was spent on something that the science shows is... ineffective at best, counterproductive at worst." — Katryn Wright

• Inclusion as an Aspiration, Not a Default Value. Framing inclusion as a predefined company value mistakenly implies that the work is already complete, whereas framing it as an ongoing aspiration invites employees to actively participate in closing the gap.

  "When we talk about inclusion as a value, it is not as effective as when we talk about inclusion as an aspirational goal... it suggests that we've been missing a trick to be bringing people on as much as we can." — Katryn Wright

• Precision and Data Science in Workplace Fairness. True progress requires identifying the exact inflection points in employee experiences—like hiring, promotion, and retention stages—where disparities emerge, and applying targeted behavioral interventions.

  "Let's go and be as precise as possible about changing behavior in that exact situation... when we are able to be as precise as possible about which specific behaviors need to change, we can get to those outcomes." — Katryn Wright

Stop trying to de-bias your entire team all at once with sweeping declarations. Instead, pick one specific process in your daily workflow—whether it's how you audit resumes, run performance reviews, or distribute project assignments—and analyze the data to find where the equity gaps lie. Designing small, targeted interventions at precise moments is how real cultural evolution happens.

Follow Katryn at https://www.morethannow.co.uk/

Sad to admit, after 350+ episodes, I have never dedicated a full show to sleep . I'll be the first to admit that I've been doing a ton of deep-diving into sleep lately. Between life changes, career shifts, and navigating perimenopause, my nights haven't exactly been peaceful . In fact, coming off a rough night myself, I'm sitting here with a massive afternoon coffee, fully aware that I reached for a sugary lunch to get through the slump!

We've all been trapped in that vicious cycle, right ?

But today, we are busting the toxic, old-school corporate narrative that sleeping is lazy or just for babies. To help us break it down, I'm joined by the brilliant Dr. Carlos Nunez, Chief Medical Officer at ResMed . Carlos brings decades of medical expertise—and some truly humbling personal stories—to show us why sleep isn't just a healthy habit. Sleep is the absolute foundation of inclusive, effective leadership and a kinder workplace .

• The Foundational Pillar of Human Health

  For decades, society has obsessed over diet and exercise trends, while treating sleep deprivation like a corporate badge of honor . In reality, sleep is the baseline that determines whether those other health goals even happen .

  "People are starting to realize it's not just one of the three pillars, it's probably the foundation on which the other two pillars sit." — Dr. Carlos Nunez

• The Direct Link Between Poor Sleep and Workplace Behavior

  A severe lack of sleep impairs cognitive function and emotional regulation to a level equivalent to intoxication, which directly drives erratic, negative, or toxic leadership behaviors in the workplace .

  "I was extremely sleep-deprived, and I remember being in a meeting, and I went off, like, in a way that I've never done before. I probably looked scary to my team because I was so sleep-deprived." — Dr. Carlos Nunez

• The Hidden Danger of Digital Engagement

  While blue light filters are helpful, the real disruptor keeping our minds awake at night is the mental stimulation and chemical rushes from pre-bedtime screen use.

  "What's worse than the light is the activation of your nervous system. The dopamine hits that you get from doomscrolling TikTok or social media for 30 minutes." — Dr. Carlos Nunez

• The Biological Toll of Untreated Sleep Disorders

  Ignoring long-term sleep issues due to ego or stigma does more than cause daytime fatigue—it starves the body of oxygen and significantly escalates severe cardiovascular and long-term cognitive health risks .

  "The research shows untreated sleep apnea, within 3 years, you have a 35% chance of dying... Your risk for cardiovascular mortality is 55%." — Dr. Carlos Nunez

• The Mind-Quieting Power of Arbitrary Focus

  When workplace stress and a lack of situational closure spark late-night rumination, shifting the brain toward simple, structured mental exercises can effectively short-circuit intrusive thoughts .

  "Getting your brain to focus on something that's really not thinking, that's kind of easy to do, all of a sudden, you drift off." — Dr. Carlos Nunez

To protect your health and show up better for your team, establish a strict 30-minute digital wind-down routine before bed. Swap out the late-night doomscrolling or email checking for a period of quiet mindfulness. If your brain starts ruminating on tomorrow's to-do list, physically write down those 3 or 4 lingering tasks on a notepad to trick your mind into a sense of closure, or practice a simple, low-stakes mental word game to help your nervous system gently drift off .

Learn more about Carlos' research at https://sleepsurvey.resmed.com/

When I started my business, I wanted to create spaces where every single person felt seen, heard, and like they truly belonged . It sounds so beautifully simple on the surface, doesn't it? But as we all know, making sure people feel heard at work can get incredibly messy .

This week, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with a peer of mine from grad school, Daniel Newton, an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa, whose research on workplace engagement is quite literally out of this world . He's spent years studying how people speak up and stay engaged, working with everyone from corporate teams to actual astronauts aboard the International Space Station .

Now, I always say that if an astronaut floating in zero gravity can feel ignored by Mission Control, it's okay if your team is struggling to communicate during shift changes ! Daniel and I shared some great laughs about the black box of office suggestion boxes (which usually just collect dust and some very chaotic notes) and how we can all become better allies by lifting each other's ideas . 

• Even Astronauts Struggle to Feel Heard. Feeling heard requires more than just listening. Speaking up requires responsive action or transparent feedback . When leaders or institutions fail to act, it creates a sense of being ignored, even in high-stakes environments like space exploration .

  "I worked with an astronaut that literally shared an idea with Mission Control and they didn't do anything, so he had to say it again, and then again. Even people that train for years and years, and have the complete trust of NASA, even they don't feel heard in their work sometimes." – Daniel Newton

• The Power of the Newcomer Perspective. People often hesitate to speak up because they are new, young, or feel like an imposter . However, fresh eyes bring the highest level of creative disruption and innovation to long-standing, status-quo systems .

  "The newcomer perspective is really valuable because you're gonna see things differently. And so we may hesitate to speak up because we feel like we're too new." – Daniel Newton

• Problems Drive Action, While Ideas Risk the Back Burner. Voicing workplace problems creates an immediate sense of urgency that forces management to respond and implement solutions quickly . The paradox is that while problems get fixed, proactive and creative new ideas are often pushed aside .

  "Creating urgency means that managers respond faster, and the company is more likely to implement and resolve those problems. But the downside of that potentially could be that new, yet important ideas get put on the back burner." – Daniel Newton

• AI as a Useful Sounding Board, Not a Human Replacement. Artificial intelligence serves as a fantastic, low-stakes rehearsal partner to build confidence before pitching ideas . While AI excels at optimizing usefulness and efficiency, human input remains essential for true originality and novel thinking .

  "AI-generated ideas were really good with the usefulness component. But the humans were really good at the originality component. If we're generating new ideas, we need the human in the loop." – Daniel Newton

• The Power of Indirect Framing (The "Midwest Nice" Strategy). For those who struggle to be blunt, framing an idea or problem as a collaborative question lowers defensiveness in dominant leaders and invites them into the solution rather than putting them on the defensive .

  "Have we thought about X? Or might we consider doing this? Being indirect, asking or speaking up in the form of a question is helpful because it didn't put leaders on the spot. They don't feel as  threatened." – Daniel Newton

To help an idea land successfully with a dominant supervisor or to ease your own anxiety about speaking up, frame your insight as a question (e.g., "I wonder if we might consider..." or "Have we looked at...") rather than a direct mandate . This invites collaboration, lowers leadership defensiveness, and creates an immediate open door for your perspective to be heard .

Jenny Bates Heaton is the founder of Bates Leadership and has a brilliant new TEDx talk.

What really blew me away during our chat was how Jenny used her personal journey facing a massive medical decision after a cancer-risk mutation diagnosis to completely rewrite the script on how we make choices.

It got me thinking about my own life and how often we make decisions based on what we think we should do, rather than what aligns with our deepest values. For me, everything comes back to fairness, justice, and a whole lot of strength. When things feel off-balance in the world, my mental health definitely takes a hit with serious anxiety, but anchoring into those core values is what keeps me grounded.

Jenny's framework isn't just a clinical exercise. It's a warm, slightly humorous, and deeply practical guide to finding your own word—whether that's power, strong, or serenity—and letting it do the guiding when life is A LOT.

• The Power of Personal Reflection Prompts: True decision-making frameworks cannot be imported from someone else. Decisions must be organically mined from an individual's unique motivations and joys.

  "I started circulating my questions to everyone, and I didn't really get any reaction from people. because they weren't their questions. They didn't focus on their values. Now, I guide people through exercises to pull out their word to guide their decisions." — Jenny Bates Heaton

• The Intersection of Imposed Limitations and Good Intentions: Well-meaning colleagues often inadvertently sideline individuals, particularly from historically marginalized groups, by assuming their needs or limitations rather than asking them directly.

  "People with the best of intentions trying to protect me said, 'Oh gosh, I know you're going through a lot so let's catch up in a couple of months.' I had to advocate for myself quite a bit to convince them like, 'No, no, I'm good.'" — Jenny Bates Heaton

• Shifting toward Employee-Led Talent Management: Organizations must move away from paternalistic, closed-door succession and promotion processes and actively integrate the employee's voice to reduce systemic bias.

  "Think about how many times you don't have the employee's voice in the room for talent review and for promotions. Most companies do not allow an employee to put their name in the box for the roles that they would like to apply for. That's weird." — Jenny Bates Heaton

• Embracing the "Good Day, Bad Day" Culture: Cultivating psychological safety in a corporate system requires acknowledging that organizations, like people, will have off days without those mistakes defining their permanent identity.

  "The good day, bad day is one of my favorite exercises because it gives you permission to talk about the bad because it's just a day. It doesn't mean that you're always going to be bad, everyone has a bad day. Corporate culture personas are very much that way with good days and bad days just like humans." — Jenny Bates Heaton

Audit your favorite activities to find your decision-making anchor. Take a notebook and write down one or two hobbies you love to do consistently (like gardening, skiing, or reading). Ask yourself: What is the underlying feeling or motivation that compels me to keep doing this? Distill that feeling into a single core word—such as strength, control, or connectedness—and actively use that word as a litmus test for the next major professional or personal decision you have to make.

Connect with Jenny at https://www.batesleadership.com/

If you are feeling a bit battered by the cultural waves and political turbulence swirling around us right now, trust me—you are not alone. I'll admit, when I woke up the morning after the 2024 election, I felt physically sick worrying about what the fallout would mean for our businesses and the hard choices ahead.

That is why I love this conversation with Tara Jaye Frank. She met me right in that messy space with the ultimate reframe, sharing a beautiful story about how a simple grocery delivery from a man named Socrates gave her the title for her new book, You Are Before the World. It is a powerful reminder that before we can tackle the chaos of the world, we have to settle and stabilize ourselves first.

We can't write people off, and we certainly can't pour from an empty cup, so let's dive into Tara's profound wisdom on how we can sustain ourselves while doing the heavy work of inclusion.

• Emotional Detachment as a Tool for Curiosity: Facing deep misalignment in values doesn't mean you have to compromise who you are. Instead of absorbing disdain or getting defensive, true allyship requires shifting into the posture of a learner to understand the root of another person's perspective.

  "I have become good at that momentary emotional detachment. This conversation is not about me. My values are not at risk because I am engaging. And then I just get curious."

• The Power of Strict Media Boundaries: To protect your nervous system from chronic stress and cortisol spikes, you must take active control over how and when you consume information rather than letting alerts dictate your emotional state.

  "I get no news alerts sent to me. I retrieve the news when I feel I can take it in. I go get it, and I catch up, and then I move along."

• Relying on Routine During Dark Times: When navigating immense personal or professional disruption, implementing strict, loving routines provides a stabilizing anchor that protects mental health without requiring heavy cognitive lifting.

  "During the most difficult times in my life, I relied heavily on routine that didn't require any thinking, and that really helped me because routines calmed me down, they anchored me, they helped me reconnect to myself."

• Believing in the Generative Power of Others: Allyship means offering deep empathy and care without automatically swooping in to fix every problem, which ultimately respects and preserves the autonomy of others to navigate their own growth.

  "I have stopped automatically jumping into the deep end of other people's pools and instead, believing in their generative power. I'm watching people build confidence in their own generative power."

• Refusing to Pre-Work Unready Situations: To avoid professional exhaustion and burnout, stop over-preparing scenarios for partnerships, clients, or projects before you have the foundational data and aligned partners necessary to move forward.

  "I stopped getting ready for things that are not ready for me. I won't pre-work anymore, because to me, I now know that that is a waste unless there is alignment."

To protect your energy and remain an effective ally, audit your digital boundaries today by turning off all automated breaking news and social media alerts. Instead of allowing negative external forces to aggressively push information into your space throughout the day, choose one specific window when your nervous system is regulated to intentionally pull and process the updates you need. Think about a healthy news consumption routine you could adopt.

Get Tara's book and follow her work at:  https://tarajayefrank.com/

This week, we dive deep into a topic that's been on everyone's mind—and probably in every news alert you've received lately: AI. While the world seems to be split between AI will save us all, and AI is coming for our jobs, our guest and AI expert, Christopher Lind, brings us back to earth with a much-needed reality check.

As Christopher points out, the real risk isn't just the tech itself, but the disconnect between leadership's lofty expectations and the actual human experience on the ground. He often jokes about AI being a hammer looking for a nail, but in our rush to be efficient, are we accidentally hammering away at the very human connections that make our organizations thrive? Christopher's insights remind us that while AI can help us move faster, it can't tell us where we're going or why it matters—that's still up to us.

• The Disconnect Between Responsibility and Accountability: Senior leaders often have a skewed perception of AI's impact because they are removed from the daily tactical work.

  "One of the gaps that I keep talking about that continues to grow that is extremely concerning is the gap between responsibility and accountability in leadership. It's massive."

• AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement: AI is a tool that requires a skilled, intentional human hand to be effective; it amplifies what is already there, whether that is skill or recklessness.

  "In the hands of someone who knows what they're doing it's great. In the hands of an amateur or someone who is being reckless, that amplification effect still applies."

• The Looming Labor Shortage and the Myth of AI Solutions: Despite the hype, AI cannot replace the massive human capital leaving the workforce as demographics shift, and relying on it as a quick fix avoids addressing deeper organizational issues.

  "The real problem's complicated and hard to figure out, and it's just easier for some to say AI's going to fix this."

• The Critical Importance of Human Connection and Trust: In an era of rapid technological change, fostering trust and genuine care for employees is a profound competitive advantage.

  "Demonstrating that you care about the people you work with is a profoundly interesting competitive advantage right now."

• Quality Over Quantity in the Age of Noise: Increased efficiency through AI shouldn't just mean producing more content or work, but rather freeing up time for higher-quality, deeper human engagement and development.

  "If all it's doing is making you faster at doing the same thing you were doing before, you are fundamentally failing with AI because it should be freeing up your time to be focusing on creating new or better solutions to problems."

Measure Trust as a Business Metric: Start treating trust within your team or organization as a tangible KPI. High trust creates resilience that no algorithm can replicate. When AI automates a task, don't just fill that time with more digital noise—reinvest it into people time through coaching, mentorship, and transparent conversations.

Check out Christopher's Substack piece on AI: https://christopherlind.substack.com/p/the-labor-crisis-hidden-in-plain?r=2iledl and connect with him at https://christopherlind.co/. 

This week, Rebecca Hinds, the brilliant mind behind what is officially my new favorite book, Your Best Meeting Ever, is with us at Allyship in Action. I'll be honest—I listened to this one on Audible, and hearing Rebecca's voice felt like she was sitting right there with me, narrating every meeting catastrophe I've ever lived through!

We've all been there: trapped in a conference room (or a Zoom square) while someone reads slides at us, doing the mental math of just how much this hour is costing the company. But as I always say in my leadership training, a meeting is a snapshot of your culture. If we want to build inclusive, equitable workplaces, we have to start by fixing the way we talk to one another.

Rebecca reminds us that leading a great meeting—or saving a bad one—is a leadership superpower.

Key Themes from the Conversation

The Origins of Meeting Sabotage

The modern, dysfunctional meeting actually mirrors tactics found in the WWII-era Simple Sabotage Field Manual, which advised citizens in enemy territory to disrupt progress through long-winded, frequent meetings. "It's ironic, it's frustrating, it's a little bit humorous that we use the same tactic that was once advised as a weapon of sabotage as business as usual."

The 4D CEO Test for Meeting Necessity

To combat meeting volume, organizations should use a two-part filter to decide if a live gathering is actually necessary or if it can be handled asynchronously. "A meeting should only happen if the purpose is to debate, decide, discuss, or develop yourself or your team. The content either needs to be complex or emotionally intense." Meeting Doomsday and the 

Power of the Reset

Instead of a simple audit, a meeting doomsday involves a 48-hour calendar reset that clears all recurring meetings to break the status quo and alleviate social guilt. "I've come to believe we need that type of drastic measure because meetings become so ingrained on the calendar and we have an immense social guilt, often, associated with canceling them."

Designing for Delight and Human Connection

Effective meetings should engage the senses and include moments of delight—a combination of joy and surprise—to create positive associations and boost memory. "Leaving people with one moment of delight is another pretty concrete way to ensure that they're leaving the meeting remembering that experience and having a positive association."

AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement

While AI can automate administrative drudgery, sending a digital twin to a meeting in your place can signal that your time is more valuable than your colleagues'. "If you have a broken meeting culture, you know, AI is not going to fix that. Sending a digital twin is a pretty good sign you, as the organizer, haven't thought as carefully as you should about meeting design."

Actionable Takeaway

Audit your next agenda using the Verb and Noun rule. Instead of a vague heading like Budget Discussion, label the item Align on the Q3 Budget. This provides clarity on the objective, tells the group exactly when they have been successful, and prevents the first item from eating up the entire hour.

Get the book and follow Rebecca at https://www.rebeccahinds.com/.

In this episode of the Allyship in Action podcast, Julie Kratz connects with Dr. Shawn Andrews to discuss the critical intersection of leadership, gender, and emotional intelligence. Allyship is not a one-time declaration but a continuous practice of small, intentional behaviors that bridge the gap between good intentions and real impact.

• Allyship as a Sustainable Practice. Effective allyship flourishes when it aligns with an individual's natural strengths rather than feeling like a forced performance.

  • "Allies can start by asking, ' How can I do this in a way that just naturally flows for me?"

• The Power of Micro-Behaviors. Meaningful systemic change is built on a foundation of small, daily actions within one's immediate sphere of influence.

  • "Start with doing allyship at a micro level, and then scaling that up to systemic levels."

• Emotional Intelligence and Values as Anchors. Self-awareness and a firm connection to personal values prevent leaders from being swayed by external pressures or discomfort.

  • "Being anchored into their values helped them to close that gap, and to make key changes in how they were showing up."

• Curiosity Over Certainty. A growth mindset requires the humility to stay curious and challenge the internal narratives we often take for granted.

  • "How do I know that's true? Based on what information? Because we kind of have to detect our own lies from time to time."

Identify your top three character strengths and choose one specific micro-behavior—like checking in with a colleague—that feels like a natural extension of those strengths to practice this week.

Take the allyship assessment and get in touch with Dr. Andrews at https://www.drshawnandrews.com/5levelsofallyship

I recently sat down with the brilliant Alexis Redding, a developmental psychologist at Harvard who is doing the heavy lifting to help us understand what's actually going on with young adults today. 

Alexis shared how we often look at the "kids these days" and think they're living in a completely different world, but Alexis's research shows that while the hashtags have changed, the big, messy feelings of figure-it-out-ness are the same as they were 50 years ago.

Whether you're a parent to an almost teenager like I am, or a leader managing a Gen Z team, this episode is all about ditching the magic wand approach and getting real about our own stumbles to build authentic, human connections.

Key Themes from the Conversation

• Ditching the Direction for Exploration. When giving advice to young people who aren't yet self-authoring, it's better to offer competing options that invite them to choose, rather than a single directive.

"They have not heard from me guidance and a suggestion, they have heard a direction... what I want to do instead is give them two possible answers that contradict with each other slightly, that invite exploration." 

• The Power of the Messy Middle. Leaders and mentors should share their own failures and C- moments to normalize the struggle and move away from the pressure of a perfect trajectory.

"I need them to know that I know what it feels like to get a C-, and to feel disoriented by that... and also to know that it was kind of okay on the other side."

• Re-evaluating the Mental Health Crisis Label. Labeling every struggle as a crisis can ramp up the temperature and prevent honest, human conversations that might not actually require clinical intervention.

  "If a student says, 'I'm feeling really depressed,' what does that mean to you?... you might find in that conversation is that student is having an emotional reaction that does need clinical care... But we might equally find a student who says... 'it just feels really hard this week.'"

• Validation Over Problem-Solving. The most effective way to support someone in a difficult transition is to sit with them in the uncertainty rather than rushing to fix the situation.

  "It's not validation for validation's sake... it's like, 'that feels hard, and here's the conversation we're gonna have about it,' so that it is authentic, so that when that person walks away, they feel seen and heard."

The next time a young person or a direct report comes to you with a struggle, take three minutes to ask "What does that look like for you?" before offering a solution. Resisting the urge to fix things immediately allows them to feel seen and often helps them identify their own path forward.

Enjoy getting to know Alexis? Watch Alexis' TEDx Talk and get her book Mental Health in College.

It was such a treat to sit down with my friend Kelsey Kates and really geek out over a topic that we often leave at the playground: play. 

I've felt that slow boil in my own career—trading my personality for steel-toed boots and a suit just to fit the corporate mold until I didn't even recognize myself in the mirror.

Kelsey is here to remind us that we don't have to lose our joy to be high-performers. She brings this incredible blend of Google leadership experience and MIT neuroscience to show us that playfulness isn't about being childish; it's about a state of being that lowers our defenses and actually makes us better at our jobs.

• The Difference Between Childish and Childlike: Kelsey clarifies that professional playfulness isn't about lacking impulse control, but about maintaining the neuro-flexibility to pivot and experiment in low-stakes environments.

  "We're not asking you to be childish... but inviting you to be childlike. That ability to shift and modify behaviors in that moment—that neuro-flexibility actually allows me to extrapolate that into other contexts."

• Play as a Signal for Psychological Safety: Incorporating humor or lightheartedness as a leader signals to your team that the environment is safe, reducing the biological stress response that serious corporate communication often triggers.

  "If I can signal with playfulness... I am reducing the power dynamic to say we are equals, we are in this together. I'm building rapport and wanting others to feel seen."

• The Neuroscience of Engagement: Play triggers dopamine, which isn't just a feel-good chemical; it actually aids in memory retention, focus, and deeper engagement with the subject matter.

  "In your memory, play is engendering deeper levels of focus and engagement and retention. There is neurochemistry that is happening."

• Authenticity and Leadership Credibility: Contrary to the fear that playing makes a leader look weak, research shows that leaders who embrace playfulness are actually viewed as more authentic and trustworthy by their teams.

  "When a leader shows up playfully, they are seen as more authentic, more trustworthy, because they are choosing to do it in a place where it's not necessarily looked at as a positive performance trait."

Start your meetings with a Purposeful Primer. Before diving into the agenda, spend the first three minutes on a low-stakes, high-connection prompt—like sharing a song from a personal pump-up playlist or discussing something you tend to over-analyze. Getting everyone's voice in the room within the first three minutes significantly increases their likelihood of staying engaged and collaborative for the rest of the meeting.

Check out the extra resources Kelsey kindly shared to add play to your leadership tool kit.

• Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown: This is essentially the "Play Bible." It's a beautiful look at why we are biologically wired to play at every age.

• Brown, S. L., & Vaughan, C. C. (2009). Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul. Avery.

• Humor, Seriously by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas: One of my absolute favourites. 

• Aaker, J., & Bagdonas, N. (2021). Humor, seriously: Why humour is a secret weapon in business and life (and how anyone can harness it. Trust us). Currency.

• Huberman Lab: The Science & Power of Play: I know you already listened to this, so more for the show notes. 

• Huberman, A. (Host). (2022, February 14). Using play to rewire & improve your brain [Audio podcast episode]. In the Huberman Lab. Scicomm Media. 

• Understanding the social benefits for playful employees in the workplace - building trust and authenticity Li Guo, Wenqi Liu, René T. Proyer, Suosuo Jia & Ying Wang September 2025. 

Welcome back, everyone! I am just so thrilled to share my conversation with Sabrina Caluori, the CMO at Chief. You know, I talk a lot about capacity erosion—that feeling where your mental load is so heavy you're basically walking through quicksand while trying to run a marathon.

Sabrina gets it. She's been in those high-stakes rooms at Paramount, hitting a wall of burnout so thick she didn't even have the words to name it yet. But what I love about her perspective is how she's flipped the script, moving from stepping off the ladder to building a community that reminds us we aren't alone in the isolation of leadership.

We laughed about my grandma sleep schedule, but honestly, if we don't start treating our rest and autonomy as non-negotiable business assets, we're just designing our own exhaustion.

• The Evolution of Ambition and Autonomy. The narrative that women are losing ambition is simply untrue; rather, their needs have shifted toward seeking more control over their impact and schedules.

  "Women are still as ambitious as ever, but the kind of tenure of that ambition had evolved... what's different is its autonomy, and influence, and flexibility."

  Rest as a Strategic Business Tool. Prioritizing restorative time and white space is not a luxury but a biological and professional necessity for high-level problem solving.

  "We forget, as leaders, that actually that rest, that restorative time... is when, a lot of times, the best bigger, more kind of white space-type ideas come back."

  Solving Isolation Through Peer Community. Senior leadership can be incredibly isolating, and having a peer network outside of one's own organizational chart is vital for sustained success.

  "Chief exists to solve isolation at the top... the ability to bring peers together to have the conversations that were so hard to have inside our org charts."

  Intentionality in the Age of AI. While technology is moving rapidly, women leaders are focusing on intentional leadership by prioritizing thoughtful deployment over mere speed.

  "We're putting intentional leadership first, over the speed of deployment... 80% of women are involved in leading AI efforts."

Audit your calendar for Thinking Time. Proactively block out small windows of time every single day to step away from your screen, reset your nervous system, and allow for the strategic white space your brain needs to lead effectively.

• Women's definition of ambition may be evolving, but their belief in the power of community remains constant. The study found that 93% of women believe they have the collective power to build new "centers of influence."
• 94% say being around other ambitious women fuels their own ambition.
• Two-thirds believe their problem solving accelerates when brainstorming with other women leaders on business challenges.

• 86% of women leaders say their peer network is a competitive advantage in the AI era.
• 83% learn more from peer conversations about AI than from any formal training. 
• 84% say they have made smarter AI-related decisions because of insights from their community

I've always said that allyship isn't a proclamation you make—it's an aspiration that lives in the eye of the beholder. For a long time, we've been told that to be a real ally, you have to be this fearless, extroverted warrior constantly jumping into the line of fire.

Let's be real: most of us are just trying to hit our step goals and remember to eat less salt without feeling like we're failing at life! In this episode, the brilliant Dr. Meg Warren joins me to flip the script. We're moving away from that check the box mentality and diving into the baby pool of self-awareness to see how your unique personality—yes, even if you're introverted or conflict-avoidant—is actually your greatest superpower for change.

Key Themes from the Conversation

The Personality Myth in Allyship. Many people believe they aren't built for allyship because they don't fit a specific, extroverted, or courageous mold. However, research indicates that about 91% of the population has a personality profile that is workable and well-positioned for allyship.

"I regularly hear from people saying to me that... I don't have the personality for it. We see this in our research... people say, for instance, I'm too introverted, I'm too agreeable, I'm too conflict-avoidant, I'm too risk-averse to really be an ally. But that's not true. You can still be an ally in your own way."

Diverse Definitions of Support. There is a significant disconnect between what potential allies think is effective, such as public confrontation, and what marginalized groups actually find most useful. While many men view calling out bias as the primary method of allyship, women often find other strategies more beneficial, and confrontation may not even be on their list of useful actions.

"Most men across the board said that the most important way to be an ally is to confront bias by calling out bias. And then when we asked women, they gave a ton of other strategies of what's actually useful for them, and confrontation and calling out did not even feature."

Sustainability Through Natural Traits. Allyship becomes sustainable when it feels like an organic extension of one's existing character strengths and personality rather than a forced or difficult change. Using strengths that already come naturally allows individuals to be more successful and handle constructive feedback more effectively.

"Allies can start by asking how can I do this in a way that just naturally flows for me? And I'm not looking at big changes right now, I'm making small changes, just a little tweak here and there, to start becoming more active." 

Starting Small to Scale Big. While systemic change is the ultimate goal, successful allyship often begins at the micro-level within an individual's sphere of influence. Scaling these behaviors up to systemic levels is more manageable once a critical mass of individuals is practicing allyship in their daily interactions.

"Start with doing allyship at a micro level, and then scaling that up to systemic levels, especially when starting at the systems, it almost feels like a non-starter." 

Identify your top character strengths using a tool like the Values and Action (VIA) assessment, and then choose one allyship micro-behavior—such as checking in with a colleague or offering support—that feels like a natural extension of those existing strengths.

I am just vibrating with excitement after my chat with Aiko Bethea ! If you've followed her work as I have, you know she's basically the gold standard for building cultures that actually mean something . We got into the nitty-gritty of her new book, Anchored, Aligned, and Accountable, and let me tell you, it is the blueprint we need right now . I even got a little unplanned coaching session myself—turns out, even after years in the DEI space, I'm still a recovery fixer trying to work my way out of every hard feeling . Aiko gently called me out on that toxic productivity narrative we've all been fed since we were kids . It's time to stop responding to everyone else's agenda and start leading from the inside out .

Key Themes from the Conversation

• The Power of Personal Values as an Anchor Aiko emphasizes that identifying two or three core values acts as a physical tether, preventing leaders from being swept away by external pressures or "ick" feelings they can't quite name .

• Finding out what was most important to them, which I name in the book as identifying their values, being anchored into their values... helped them to close that gap, and to make key changes in how they were showing up.

• Identifying and Challenging Bullshit Narratives The framework encourages leaders to interrogate "bullshit"—the unexamined, default beliefs inherited from family or workplace cultures that often prioritize productivity or defensiveness over authenticity .

  I want people to think, says who? And how would I want it to be, or need it to be, to be anchored?

• Intrinsic Motivation vs. External Approval True inclusive leadership isn't about being a "good guy" or seeking external glorification; it is about self-awareness and aligning one's actions with one's aspirational self .

  It's going to be about, wow, how does this leave me sitting, or feeling, and... if I... my aspirational self was this, what would I do differently?

• The Necessity of Meaningful, Public Accountability When a leader makes a mistake, a private "I'll do better" isn't enough to shift a culture; it requires a specific, humble apology that acknowledges the impact on the team .

  When he did a very specific apology that was public about what he did... whoa, shifts everything, because now people see, oh man, he's showing up differently... he realized this behavior isn't okay.

Start your own self-interrogation by identifying one "should" in your professional life. Ask yourself, says who? If that belief doesn't align with your core values, give yourself the grace to drop the behavior and replace it with an action that feels anchored .

Follow Aiko and get her book at https://www.rarecoaching.net/team/aiko-bethea/

I am so excited to share this conversation with my wonderful colleague and friend, Dr. Catherine Kleshinski from Indiana University. We've all been there on a random Monday morning when someone asks, "How was your weekend?" and we're dying to share a picture of our new puppy or the chaos of a first birthday party. I used to think these me-search moments were just simple trust builders—and they are! 

Catherine's latest research in the Journal of Applied Psychology reveals that there is a lot of nuance behind that water cooler talk. It turns out that while sharing the non-work vibes makes us all seem warmer, the way it impacts our reputation actually depends on where we sit in the hierarchy. So, how can we build authentic connections without accidentally triggering the workplace gossip mill?

The Warmth Benefit vs. The Distraction Penalty: Everyone who shares positive personal news is perceived as warmer and more caring, but junior or lower-status employees may simultaneously be viewed as less focused on their professional responsibilities.

"Everyone gets the warmth benefit, but the work ethic connotation depends on power dynamics."

The Gossip Ripple Effect: Reputation isn't just a static feeling; it drives how people talk about you when you aren't in the room, leading to either flattering or unflattering workplace gossip.

"If you have this reputation for being a relationship builder, people will engage in positive gossip about you, but if you are somebody with a reputation for being distracted, they'll gossip negatively about you." 

The Invisible Line of Disclosure: There is a delicate balance between sharing enough to build trust and oversharing details like health issues or intense personal data that can make others uncomfortable. 

Creating Safe Spaces for Connection: Leaders should focus on creating icebreakers that allow for choose-your-own-adventure levels of vulnerability so that no one feels pressured to share more than they are comfortable with. 

Audit your icebreakers. If you are a manager, be mindful that vulnerable sharing can unintentionally disadvantage your junior team members. Instead of asking personal questions, try a reciprocity ring where teammates request help with a specific task, or use "Tell Me Something Good" to allow people the choice between sharing a professional win or a personal one.

It is such a wild time to be in the world of training and development, isn't it? I've had this persistent hunch—call it a "zag" when everyone else is "zigging"—that as much as we're obsessing over AI, the real secret sauce is still our human intuition .

I recently sat down with Anthony Salcito from Coursera, and it turns out my hypothesis wasn't just wishful thinking. We've all seen those robotic AI outputs that sound like they've never actually lived a day in their lives, and while I've certainly fumbled through my share of prompt engineering, the data shows that our soft skills are more critical than ever .

We're navigating a world where we have more data than we know what to do with, and the magic happens when we decide how to use that information to lead with empathy and culture .

Key Conversation Themes

• The Symbiotic Rise of AI and Human Agency. While technical enrollments are skyrocketing, they are being matched by a demand for leadership and critical thinking to ensure these tools are used ethically and effectively .

  "Humanity will always become more valuable when the technology is more pervasive or used in a sort of a paradigm-shifting way, like what's happening with AI."

• The Critical Need for Discerning Truth In an era of deepfakes and advanced data models, a core human talent is the ability to separate reality from generated content and prioritize what truly matters for an organization .

  "Discerning reality from what is created by Gen AI is certainly a core talent... that's really where that human is super critical."

• Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset Internally. Organizations are looking for intrapreneurs—people who use AI tools to think bigger and pivot quickly without being constrained by historical technological limits .

  "You want an entrepreneurial mindset to exist inside of learners in an organization that think differently about using these tools."

• AI as a Safe Space for Human Growth. One of the most exciting applications is using AI for role-playing, allowing employees to practice difficult conversations and gain confidence without the fear of being judged by a peer .

  "It's hard to roleplay with a human, because you're worried about being judged... I can see it being much safer to do with a robot."

Audit your AI prompts for Human Activation. The next time you use a generative tool, don't just accept the first output. Apply your unique lived experience to pivot the prompt, asking the tool to provide a multi-perspective view or a specific organizational culture lens to ensure the result has the humanity required to drive real business change .

Follow Anthony's work at Coursera at https://www.coursera.org/.

This week, Celeste Warren, a globally recognized thought leader, author, and former Fortune 100 Vice President, returns to discuss her latest book, The Truth About Equity.

Celeste shares her insights on:

• Defining Equity: Moving beyond the buzzwords to understand equity as a pragmatic approach to meeting people where they are.

• The "Fence" Analogy: Exploring the systemic "isms" that create barriers and how acts of equity can help dismantle them.

• Equity in the Workplace: From recruitment and talent development to succession planning and performance management, Celeste identifies key areas where organizations can foster a more equitable culture.

• The Future of DEI: Discussing the evolving landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the importance of transparent, data-driven strategies.

Join us for a candid and insightful conversation about the power of equity to transform organizations and communities.

Find Celeste Warren online:

• Website: crwdiversity.com

• Book: The Truth About Equity 

• TEDx Talk: The Cost of Standing Still (forthcoming)

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Janice Gassam Asare, founder of BWG Business Solutions and author of the new book, Rise and Resist: How to Reclaim Workplace Equity and Justice .

 Following a period of intense personal and professional backlash—including being targeted by high-profile political figures—Janice discusses why looking to historical legacies of resistance is the key to enduring today's challenging DEI landscape.

We explore how "everything is cyclical" and how we can draw strength from the stories of lesser-known figures who challenged the status quo long before us. Whether you are feeling powerless or looking for strategic ways to advocate for change, this conversation provides a roadmap for using your unique gifts to push for equity.

• Resistance as a Historical Blueprint: Current opposition to DEI and civil rights is not new; by studying the legacies of figures like Ida B. Wells and Toni Morrison, we can find proven strategies to navigate and endure modern-day backlash.

• The Strategy of "Exiting": Resistance doesn't always mean staying and fighting in a toxic environment. Taking a leave of absence or exiting a harmful workplace can serve as a powerful catalyst for institutional change, as seen in the career of legal scholar Derrick Bell.

• Micro-Resistance and Personal Gifts: You don't need to lead a country to create impact. Meaningful resistance can be as simple as using your specific skills—such as graphic design, baking, or providing a safe space—to support larger movements and build community coalitions.

Follow Dr. Janice's work at https://www.drjanicegassam.com/

Jennifer Brown is back to unpack her new book, The Shape of Change, the journey through allyship and change. Together, we discuss:

How change can feel like being in a dark hallway and trying to find the path forward in uncertain times

What inclusive leadership looks like when we are called to be brave in unprecedented times

The tools to build resilience to shape the changes necessary to our important work

Follow Jennifer and get her book at https://jenniferbrownspeaks.com/

Culture isn't just a poster on the wall. Culture is the heartbeat of a thriving business. This interview with Teresa Johnson, CEO of Color Me Mine, explores the incredible journey from being a single mom to purchasing a pottery studio on a credit card, leading a franchise empire of over 150 locations. Teresa shares her secret sauce for scaling businesses through intentional culture and the unique challenges of leading remote teams across the country.

Key Takeaways

Leading Without Hallways: Building culture in a remote or franchised environment requires a new leadership skillset. Teresa emphasizes the importance of micro-moments—small, intentional interactions—over corporate slogans to ensure every team member feels they belong and understands what winning looks like.

The Power of Clarity & Belonging: Effective culture is built on three pillars: Clarity (teaching people how to make decisions rather than just giving them tasks), Belonging (creating psychological safety), and Growth (investing in a skill path for employees).

Empathy as a Business Outcome: Contrary to the soft skill stereotype, Teresa argues that empathy and psychological safety are direct drivers of financial impact and talent retention. Leaders who care about the organization must show they care about the people, as a business cannot exist without them. 

Follow Teresa's work at https://www.colormemine.com/.

In this episode, Julie Kratz welcomes Jennifer McCollum, President and CEO of Catalyst, a global nonprofit focused on workplace equity. They discuss the critical role of men in gender partnership and the release of Jennifer's book, Men at Work. The conversation delves into the systemic challenges women face, the data supporting inclusive leadership, and how men can transition from passive support to active, mutually accountable leadership.

Key Takeaways  

Mutual Accountability Over Passive Support: The concept of "men as allies" has evolved into gender partnership, emphasizing that progress requires men and women working together with mutual accountability.

The "Man Box" Barriers: Many men want to support equity but are hindered by ignorance (unawareness of the issues), apathy (viewing it as an HR problem), or fear (of disrupting the status quo or personal job loss).

The Business Case for Inclusion: Inclusion isn't just a social goal; it's a performance driver. Data shows that inclusive cultures lead to a 49% increase in team problem-solving, 18% better innovation, and a 58% higher likelihood of improving company reputation.

As Jennifer says, "We need healthy men driving healthy organizations, and we need women partnering with men and men partnering with women to do that."

Follow Jennifer's work and research at https://www.catalyst.org/.

In this episode of Allyship in Action, Julie Kratz is joined by HBR writer, executive and team coach, Kathryn Landis, to explore capacity erosion—the gradual depletion of energy and focus facing today's leaders. In an era of constant change and cognitive overload, Landis shares how leaders can reclaim their impact by shifting from micromanagement to intentional empowerment and strategic reflection.

• Focus on Your "$100 Activities": Leaders often gravitate toward low-impact tasks for a quick sense of productivity. Reclaiming capacity requires identifying the high-level strategic work that only you can do.

  "Get really clear on what's the work that only you can do... what you actually could be focusing on that's going to move the needle the most is perhaps working with your cross-functional colleagues, the other members of the C-suite, to strengthen those ties." — Kathryn Landis

• Empower Your Team Through Clarity: High-performing teams thrive on a clear purpose and defined decision rights. To reduce your own workload, ensure your team understands exactly what they own and what success looks like.

  "Do people have a clear purpose? Do people know why they're a team? Most people know what their job description is... but I was leading an off-site last week; they didn't know what their team goals were. They don't know what success looks like." — Kathryn Landis

• Prioritize the "Lamp Post" for Reflection: Intentional reflection is a non-negotiable for effective leadership. Creating a dedicated space to process information—even just by talking to a metaphorical lamp post—can provide significant mental clarity.

  "If someone would go and speak to a lamp post for an hour every day at the same time, they'd get 60% of the benefit of coaching... just creating the space and time to be intentional about where you're spending your time, reflecting on what you're doing." — Kathryn Landis

  Connect with Kathryn and take her free team assessment here: https://kathryn-landis.kit.com/3dcf1c4440

Alyssa Dver, founder of the ERG Leadership Alliance, joins us this week to highlight the critical shift toward structured governance and the use of hard metrics to demonstrate how these groups drive corporate engagement and long-term business impact.

My Key Takeaways:

Governance is the future of ERGs: Alyssa emphasizes the shift from informal groups to structured organizations with clear governance and professional development paths for leaders.

Measurement is mandatory: To gain executive buy-in and sustainability, ERG leaders must track metrics ranging from membership growth and event participation to high-level retention and engagement data.

Allyship is a strategic bridge: Modern ERGs are moving away from exclusive "safe spaces" toward inclusive "brave spaces" where allies are formally invited to lead, learn, and advocate alongside marginalized groups.

My Fave Quotes:

"Got to have governance. Not because you want to control people, but because you want to have equity. And equity means budgeting is fair; the way that people apply and run these has to be fair."

"It's a professional development leadership pipeline. So if you're starting to see these group leaders getting hired into better jobs, getting promoted, that's also a really good metric." "Employees involved in healthy ERGs typically show 10% to 15% higher engagement levels than those who are not."

"There are currently at least 500 million people participating in ERGs around the world, and 95% of companies continue to offer and support ERGs because of their proven impact on organizational health."

Follow Alyssa's work and research at https://www.ergleadershipalliance.com/

In this episode, Julie Kratz discusses global workplace culture strategies with Abi Adamson, founder of the Culture Partnership and a LinkedIn Top Voice. Abi introduces her "SERN" framework—Soil, Exposure, Roots, and Nutrients—as a way for leaders to move beyond performative DE&I and begin gardening their organizations for sustainable growth.

Three Key Takeaways

Cultivate Your Culture Like a Living Ecosystem. Instead of treating culture like a static construction project with a fixed end date, leaders should act as gardeners who constantly tend to the environment. "Organizations still treat culture like a construction project instead of what it is. That is why I call workplace culture a living ecosystem."

Build Psychological Safety to Uncover the Truth. A healthy culture requires an environment where employees can be honest with leadership about what isn't working without fear of retaliation. "When you're able to have an organization that's built on psychological safety... everything else will follow."

Reframe Resistance as a Sign of Progress. Friction and pushback are natural responses to major social or organizational changes; history shows that these moments often precede a shift in the right direction. "History has always taught us: whenever big changes happen, there's always resistance... to get to a good place, you do need to go through a bit of a gauntlet." 

Follow Abi at https://www.abiadamson.com/

Lily Zheng is a no-nonsense DEI strategist and best-selling author of DEI Deconstructed and Fixing Fairness. They discuss the limitations of traditional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and introduce Lily's FAIR framework: Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation. Lily challenges the industry's reliance on "one-and-done" training and advocates for a 90/10 split—prioritizing system-level changes over individual interventions. This conversation is a masterclass for leaders who want to move beyond performative buzzwords to create workplaces that truly work for everyone.

• Evolving DEI to FAIR: Lily proposes replacing the broad, often misunderstood terms of DEI with the FAIR framework. This model focuses on whether everyone is set up for success, free from discrimination (Fairness), whether environments allow full participation (Access), if people feel respected and safe (Inclusion), and if employees truly trust their leaders (Representation).

• The 90/10 Systems: First Approach: Real change happens when organizations spend 90% of their effort on changing systems (incentives, hiring processes, and transparency) and only 10% on individual training. Training alone rarely solves systemic issues and can often lead to the "Cobra Effect," where poorly designed incentives actually make problems worse.

• Representation is About Trust, Not Tokens: True representation isn't just a "check-the-box" exercise of hiring diverse faces. It is achieved only when people from all social groups

"Rebranding DEI as FAIR will not save us. But reimagining how we conceptualize and execute what we used to call DEI just might."

"If you had $10,000 to invest... I'd invest maybe $100 into training. But everything else is going into creating that system, to creating the incentives, to creating the culture."

"We have to stop [teaching people how to jump over gaps]... we got to point at the missing stair and go, 'Why is there no stair there? We have to put a stair there.'"

Follow Lily Zheng at lilyzheng.co and get their book at https://www.lilyzheng.co/authorship

In this episode, I'm sitting down with the incredible Dr. Caroline Fleck, clinical psychologist and author of the transformative new book, Validation. We often talk about allyship as a series of seemingly small, intentional actions, and some of the most profound work happens in the small, everyday moments of how we see and hear one another.

Dr. Fleck joins me to pull back the curtain on validation—a skill that is frequently misunderstood but serves as a fundamental prerequisite for belonging and true connection. We dive into her "Validation Ladder" and explore how these techniques can revolutionize not just our corporate cultures, but our personal relationships and how we show up for ourselves.

• Validation is Not Agreement or Praise: One of the biggest hurdles to being a good ally is the fear that validating a perspective means you agree with it. Dr. Fleck clarifies that validation is about acknowledging the truth in someone's experience—showing them you're there, you get it, and you care—without needing to agree with their logic or offer a "good job."

• The "Validation Ladder" Framework: Effective validation is a tiered process. It starts at base camp with mindfulness (being fully present), moves through understanding (equalizing and contextualizing why someone feels the way they do), and reaches the top at empathy (authentically emoting and taking supportive action).

• The Power of Self-Validation: Especially for marginalized groups who have been conditioned to "cover" or minimize their feelings to fit in, practicing self-validation is an essential act of reclamation. Using these tools introspectively allows us to honor our own experiences as valid, which is the first step toward showing up as a confident, authentic leader.

Follow Dr. Caroline Fleck and get her book at https://drcarolinefleck.com/.

This week, I welcome David Glasgow and Kenji Yoshino, co-authors of the new book How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America. As leaders of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law, David and Kenji discuss the legal and political landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) following the 2023 Supreme Court decision on affirmative action. They provide a practical roadmap for leaders to advance equality while navigating legal risks and political backlash.

• The "Three Ps" of Legal Risk: A DEI program is generally only legally risky if it involves a Preference for a Protected group about a Palpable benefit. If any one of these elements is missing—such as a program that removes bias for everyone rather than creating a preference—it is likely legally permissible.

• Leveling vs. Lifting: While "lifting" strategies (like identity-based mentorship) are becoming more legally vulnerable, "leveling" strategies offer a safer and often more effective path. Leveling focuses on systemic changes, such as debiasing performance reviews and implementing objective hiring criteria, which benefit all employees while advancing equity.

• The Importance of Supporting Dissent: Effective DEI work requires creating psychological safety where dissenting views can be heard. Suppressing disagreement leads to "preference falsification," where people appear to agree but harbor quiet resentment. Engaging with counter-arguments ultimately builds stronger, more resilient support for inclusion.

Follow David and Kenji at https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/belonging and pre-order their new book at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/How-Equality-Wins/Kenji-Yoshino/9781668216750. 

In this episode, Ciaran McArdle, CEO of XL Sports World and author of The Soccer of Success, joins Julie Kratz to discuss how the principles of the "beautiful game" can be used to transform corporate leadership.

McArdle shares three key strategies for high-performance leadership, drawing parallels between the soccer pitch and the professional workplace:

Effective leadership requires a nuanced approach, much like a soccer captain managing a diverse squad.

• Individualized Communication: McArdle notes that while one teammate may need direct, vocal feedback to improve performance, another might require a quieter, more supportive "arm around the shoulder".

• Psychological Insight: Leaders must understand the unique psyche of each team member to determine the best way to motivate them and demand their best.

In soccer, crossing the white line onto the pitch signifies a complete shift in intensity and mindset.

• Performance Intensity: While on the "field" (the workplace), teams should maintain high focus and be willing to ask tough questions to drive results.

• Switching Off: Equally important is crossing back over that line. McArdle emphasizes that once work is done, leaders must normalize stepping away and focusing on recovery to avoid burnout.

McArdle introduces a "90-minute mindset" for productivity, mirroring the length of a standard soccer match.

• Distraction-Free Focus: He advocates for scheduling 90 minutes of uninterrupted work—phone on airplane mode and emails closed—to tackle high-impact goals.

• The "Hattrick of Success": This focus is part of a larger cycle: Plan, Perform, and Recover/Review. Consistent execution in this format allows teams to perform at elite levels without sacrificing long-term mental health.

Follow Ciaran McArdle at https://soccerofsuccess.com/.

Join us for an insightful conversation on the critical state of workplace culture and talent retention with Sean D'Arcy, Chief Solutions Officer at Kahoot!.

Based on their latest research, we explore a startling paradox: many leaders are burned out, and nearly half would give up their title to feel engaged at work. This lack of manager engagement creates a difficult environment for the newest generation, with almost two-thirds of managers finding Gen Z to be the hardest group to engage.

Sean D'Arcy dives deep into the findings on both leader burnout and Gen Z's unique needs, covering generational tensions and the path forward. He discusses how to leverage tools and strategies, including game-based learning, to inject fun, social connection, and psychological safety back into the workplace, turning meetings into interactive discussions and fostering a culture where all employees can thrive.

• The Engagement Crisis Starts at the Top: Nearly half of leaders would trade their title just to feel more engaged at work, with a third admitting to feeling burned out. This disengagement at the leadership level makes it difficult to effectively engage and retain employees, highlighting a lack of investment in the training and tools managers need to succeed.

• Gen Z Needs Foundational Skills and Belonging: Gen Z is the most difficult generation to engage, with two-thirds of managers citing them as the hardest group to motivate. They often feel "out of their depth" regarding basic workplace operating systems (like email etiquette and meeting facilitation) and crave more structured, gamified learning and real-time feedback that mimics their prior educational experiences. Furthermore, they value strong relationships and a sense of belonging/psychological safety, which is essential for talent retention.

• Interactive Learning and Culture Building are the Solution: A key strategy for improving workplace culture and talent retention is integrating interactive, gamified tools to facilitate social connection and effective communication. By turning one-way presentations into engaging discussions, companies can break the ice, democratize participation, and gather real-time analytics to understand where employees need more support. This shift supports the inclusive, feedback-driven culture that Gen Z, in particular, expects.

Get the full report at: https://kahoot.com/business/workplace-engagement-report-2025/

This week, I welcome researchers Hana Milanov and Amelie Pahl on their work exploring entrepreneurship through the lens of first-time parents.

The researchers interviewed founders who were already deeply identified with their "venture baby" before having a "biological baby," challenging the common narrative that parenthood diminishes career success. They discovered that instead of being a hindrance, parenthood can be a catalyst for positive change in a founder's business and their professional growth.

The key finding revolves around two main strategies founders adopt:

• Founder Firewalling: Keeping the parental and founder roles separate to protect the founder's professional identity and commitment. This often drives professionalization, like delegating or hiring management, to maintain separation.

• Founder Fusing: Integrating the two roles by allowing the new values and behaviors learned as a parent (like empathy and patience) to redefine and enhance the founder's role. This often leads to a more flexible and human-centered workplace culture.

The surprising takeaway? The decision to integrate or separate was not defined by gender but by the individual's approach, with roughly a 50/50 split between the two strategies in their study of high-impact founders.

This research provides valuable insights for companies looking to improve their workplace culture and retain top talent, especially parents:

1. Parenthood can be a catalyst for professionalization, enhancing retention: For "firewalling" founders, the need to protect their parental time often led to delegating operational tasks and building out middle management. This forced professionalization of the venture, which, in turn, can create a clearer path for other talented employees to grow and take on more responsibility, serving as a powerful talent retention mechanism.

2. Parental skills enrich leadership and workplace culture: Founders who chose the "fusing" approach brought empathy, better project management, and flexibility from their parental role into the workplace. This shift manifested as a more human-centered company culture that prioritized well-being and flexibility, which are critical factors for retaining all employees, not just parents.

3. Dismantle the "fear factor" to retain high-impact talent: A major hurdle, particularly for women, is the fear that starting a family will diminish their founder role or career trajectory. The research demonstrates that this fear is unwarranted, showing that commitment to the venture often strengthens post-parenthood. By normalizing and openly discussing the integration of family and career (like the Open Source Nanny resource mentioned), companies can retain founders and high-potential employees who might otherwise choose to delay or abandon their career growth.

Mark Scullard is this week's guest from Wiley. Wiley's research recently found that managing change was the biggest area of professional development investment for leaders. He shares how to meet someone where they are at in times of tremendous change. My key takeaways are:

1. Acknowledge and Address the Emotional Toll of Change (The Change Curve): Leaders must understand that employees will naturally experience a period of disorientation and a drop in morale when facing a major change (the "change curve"). The goal is not to stop the dip, but to lessen the depth and the length of the adjustment period. This requires paying attention to the emotional part of change, which is often neglected in favor of focusing on systems and processes.
2. Provide Clarity on the "Why" and the "What's In It For Me" (WIIFM): Leaders often forget that they've already processed the change while employees are just starting. There must be transparency about the why. It is crucial to communicate a consistent, big-picture "Why" for the change to guard against employee cynicism and burnout. Ensure employees understand the "What's In It For Me" (WIIFM)—the benefits for employees impacted by the change. Tailor Your
3. Approach to Different Personality Needs (DiSC Model): Because every employee processes change differently, effective leadership requires personalizing your support based on their personality style. Direct (D) Styles need a sense of control and agency in the decision-making process. Influencing (I) Styles need connection and optimism that things will work out. Steadiness (S) Styles need stability, support, and reassurance around routines and expectations. Conscientiousness (C) Styles need information, understanding, and time/space to process the impact of the change. 

Follow Mark at https://www.everythingdisc.com/blogs/navigating-change-with-dr-mark-scullard/.

Get ready for your annual "Christmas morning" with this deep dive into the 2025 Lean In Women in the Workplace Report.

In this candid conversation with Rachel Thomas, Co-founder and CEO of LeanIn.org, we discuss the key findings from the largest study on the state of women in Corporate America.

The discussion highlights alarming signals in the data, including a potential rollback in the company's commitment to women's advancement and its effect on women's ambition. Rachel highlights the importance of the often underutilized role of sponsorship and issues a powerful call to action for companies and, critically, for middle managers. 

Tune in to learn about the fragility of the progress made over the last decade and discover specific, actionable strategies—including the innovative use of manager scripts and accountability measures—to unlock consistent career support and move toward a truly equitable and inclusive workplace.

1. Declining Commitment and Ambition: Only half of companies report being highly committed to women's career advancement, and this lack of commitment is mirrored by a decline in women's ambition, as they are now less interested in getting promoted to the next level for the first time.

2. The Sponsorship Gap is Widening: Men are getting sponsors much earlier in their careers than women, and this gap is even more pronounced for entry-level women who work remotely. Sponsorship, or advocacy-style actions like being introduced to influential people or getting stretch opportunities, is a key lever that is consistently underutilized.

3. Managers are the Key to Unlocking Progress: While managers generally have the right intent, they often lack the time and tools to offer consistent, high-quality, and equitable career support. Companies must treat manager support for career development as a priority by building it into performance reviews and leveraging tools like AI to free up manager time for critical tasks.

Get the full report at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace

Jon Rosemberg is the author of the new book, A Guide to Thriving. He was a successful leader in Corporate America and made a pivot to executive coaching. This conversation with Jon was truly insightful, reminding us that workplace culture and retention aren't just HR buzzwords, but are fundamentally linked to our ability to shift from surviving to thriving. My takeaways were:

• Prioritize Employee Agency to Foster a Thriving Workplace Culture: The shift from "survival mode" to thriving starts when individuals courageously reclaim their agency—the capacity to make intentional choices based on the belief that those choices matter and have an impact. In a workplace culture context, leaders must create an environment where employees feel their decisions are valued and that they have control over their work and well-being. This sense of agency is key to reducing burnout and fostering a motivated, engaged team, directly improving retention.

• Move Beyond Resilience to Cultivate Sustainable Health and Retention: While resilience is valuable, it's a "low bar"; it focuses on bouncing back from adversity without addressing the underlying causes of stress. A thriving workplace culture must focus on reducing "demands" and increasing "resources." For retention, this means leaders must actively help employees set boundaries and provide the necessary resources—like time for mental health practices (movement, rest, social connection)—so they don't constantly operate in an exhaustive, reactive "survival mode."

• Small, Incremental Practices are the Engine of Long-Term Transformation: The move from survival to thriving is not a sudden life-breakthrough, but a disciplined practice of small, incremental changes. Utilizing the AIR method (Awareness, Inquiry, Reframing) to challenge limiting beliefs and reframe situations allows individuals to gain context and move forward. In terms of workplace culture and retention, this translates to establishing sustainable, supported daily practices—not just one-off wellness programs—that compound over time, making it easier for employees to manage stress and stay engaged long-term.

The biggest lesson is that the most powerful kind of thriving is when we help other people thrive, which should be the ultimate goal for any organization looking to build a successful workplace culture that supports retention.

Follow Jon at https://www.jonrosemberg.com/.

In my new interview with Melissa Loble, Chief Academic Officer at Instructure, we discussed the evolving educational landscape. She made a few key predictions for the future of education in an AI-driven world:

The traditional focus on purely academic content will radically shift. The future curriculum will be a blend that incorporates three critical components:

• Academic Content: The core disciplinary knowledge.

• Human Skills (Soft Skills): Due to AI handling entry-level technical tasks, there will be an increased emphasis on human skills like critical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, confidence, and courage. Educators will need to explicitly teach and build these skills, moving beyond simply teaching the application of theories.

• Workforce/Life Skills: Education will be directly connected to career and life trajectories, driven by learners (especially younger generations) seeking a clear return on investment (ROI) from their education and questioning the value of high debt.

The age of simple memorization and regurgitation will end. The new focus will be on creating contextual, personalized, and experiential learning environments.

• Focus on Context: Educators must shift from solely valuing content (like in research/peer-review) to emphasizing context—the "why" and "how" the content is applied in the real world.

• Simulation and Application: There will be a greater use of simulations, case-based learning, and hands-on scenarios to help learners practice and apply human skills and technical knowledge, allowing them to fail fast and build competence. AI can assist in creating these complex, customized case studies and learning environments.

• Practitioner-Academic Collaboration: Higher education will increasingly benefit from practitioners joining the faculty to bring real-world context, working alongside traditional academics to enrich the learning experience.

The line between corporate learning and higher education will blur as both seek to adapt to the needs of the modern workforce.

• Corporate Learning Shifts: Corporate training will move away from being purely compliance-driven toward a focus on developing human and career-track skills. Employees, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, actively seek employers who commit to developing them as future leaders.

• Continuous Development: The "one-and-done" training model will be replaced by a commitment to lifelong learning and continuous development. This will include meeting people where they are and using retrieval practice and open coaching to reinforce skills and build resistance to change.

• Joint Reinvention: Higher education and the corporate world have a significant opportunity to partner and reinvent themselves together to effectively address the blend of technical and human skill development needed for an AI-enabled future.

Follow Melissa at https://www.instructure.com/

This week, I interviewed Claude Silver, the Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX. Her new book, Be Yourself at Work, offers key insights into the role of authenticity in the workplace culture and its impact on retention.

Here are my three key takeaways:

The core message is to "be yourself at work," which Silver argues is today's greatest business superpower. This speaks directly to workplace culture, suggesting that genuine self-expression, rather than hiding or "code-switching," is crucial for both individual and organizational success. Silver makes the case that true authenticity is a proactive, offensive message that drives success, contrasting it with the "lazy" or "shrinking" tendency to hide emotions or true selves out of fear. A culture that embraces the "complexity of being human at work" fosters a space where people not only fit in but truly belong.

Silver shares a powerful anecdote about an employee who was struggling with depression but felt safe enough to approach her, which led to a profound, empathetic exchange. This highlights the importance of addressing the emotional well-being of employees, a critical factor for retention. The takeaway is that leaders must be:

• Receptive: Willing to step away from traditional, transactional HR responses to meet employees where they are.

• Empathetic: Approaching conversations with non-judgmental sincerity and compassion.

Furthermore, Silver emphasizes that employees always have agency and choice. For individuals, the first step is to get comfortable with themselves—to address shame, fear, and insecurity—to become the "CEO of you". This focus on personal agency and psychological safety is vital for building trust and creating a culture where employees feel valued enough to stay.

Silver's role as Chief Heart Officer and her work embody a human-centered approach to leadership. For an organization to successfully promote an authentic workplace culture and improve retention, it needs to:

• Identify and Utilize Culture Champions: Even without a "Chief Heart Officer," companies have highly empathetic, service-oriented people they can utilize to facilitate growth and change.

• Lead with the Heart: The effective leader, or "coach," is one who is willing to show up for their team, shine a light on both their roadblocks and their triumphs, and operate from a place of trust and non-judgment.

• Model Self-Awareness: Leaders must be committed to their own journey of self-awareness and emotional regulation to create a safe, supportive environment for their teams. This "give and take" approach, where both leadership and employees agree on a set of expectations and supportive behaviors, is what ultimately helps a company grow into an organization that is "whole for themselves."

Follow Claude at https://www.claudesilver.com/.