foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work – Details, episodes & analysis

This week co-host Mark Edgar has connects ith Aamna Coskun to learn more about her HR journey. Aamna is Founder of PocketHR with extensive experiences across a broad range of sectors and HR disciplines.

Aamna describes herself as a "collector of workspaces" rather than a job hopper and shares insights on her journey to entrepreneurship originally starting in recruitment, moving through various HR roles before specializing in people analytics and then becoming a fractional HR consultant.

She shares insights on the trends impacting HR and the challenges and opportunities presented by a career as a business owner.

You can learn more about Aamna’s work here:

https://www.pockethr.ca

And you can follow her on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aamnac/

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

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This week co-host Naomi Titleman has the opportunity to connect with future foHRward friend Jodi Baker Calamai. Jodi is the National Managing Partner for Deloitte’s Human Capital Practice in Canada.

They explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the world of work — not just through efficiency, but by augmenting human performance. The conversation bridges strategy, experimentation, and the human side of AI adoption within organizations.

You can follow Jodi on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodi-baker-calamai-465a21a/

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

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This week co-host Mark Edgar connect with Kayla Campbell from Canadian Tire who is writing a book called "The Curiosity Advantage" scheduled for release in all 2026. Kayla explains that curiosity is an innate trait that everyone possesses but often loses with age. She shares practical ways to enhance curiosity:

1. Curious observation - becoming more aware of surroundings
2. Question storming - brainstorming questions rather than answers
3. Internal curiosity - asking questions about oneself for greater self-awareness

In the episode they discuss how curiosity is essential for organizational success, especially with AI adoption, and how it connects to continuous improvement, innovation, and customer understanding. 

You can follow Kayla on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-campbell-becurious/

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show

Welcome to foHRsight – a podcast about making work better brought to you by future foHRward.

In this week’s episode of foHRsight, host Naomi Titleman is joined by leadership strategist, culture change expert and award-winning author Dan Pontefract.

Dan shares insights from his fifth book Work-Life Bloom that aims to change the narrative we have about work and life and the importance of thriving in both.

Learn more about Dan and his work here –

https://www.danpontefract.com/

You can access free resources and learn more about the book ere –

https://www.danpontefract.com/work-life-assessment/

Quick reminder

Don't forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at www.futurefoHRward.com/foHRsight.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show

Welcome to foHRsight – a podcast about making work better brought to you by future foHRward.

David Pullara is a marketing expert and fractional Chief Marketing Officer. He is also the author of Tom Talent and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Recruitment Process.

In this episode, David and Naomi Titleman talk about the often broken hiring process and the impact this has on candidates’ perceptions of companies. He presents some interesting research from his book and they discuss practical ways to make improvements to how you hire.

You can learn more about David’s work here:

https://www.davidpullara.com/

And get a copy of his book here:

https://www.amazon.ca/Terrible-Horrible-No-Good-Very-Bad-Recruitment-ebook/dp/B0CJPQNMCG/
Quick reminder

Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at www.futurefoHRward.com/foHRsight.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show

Welcome to foHRsight – a podcast about making work better brought to you by future foHRward.

In this week’s episode, Naomi Titleman has the privilege to nerd out with co-host of podcast Brave New Work and partner at The Ready Rodney Evans.

You can learn more about her work here:

https://www.bravenewwork.com/podcast

https://www.theready.com/

Rodney shares some background to the podcast and explains why she enjoys working at The Ready so much – an organization that uses a self-managing system.

They talk about the future of HR and the important role HR plays in supporting organizations. This means evolving beyond the (now traditional) Ulrich model and finding an approach that is much more adaptive to a set of changing circumstances to get to the depth of the problem that needs to be solved. 

This includes both how teams are structured with cross-functional teams, using systems and design thinking techniques (that involve end users) and using experiments and pilots.

It also involves HR changing its view that it is a service function and learning to “say no to get behind the bigger yes.”
Quick reminder

Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at www.futurefoHRward.com/foHRsight.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show

Welcome to foHRsight – a podcast about making work better brought to you by future foHRward.

In this week’s episode, Mark Edgar is joined by guest Susan Conrad who is part of the Chapman & Co Leadership Institute – an organization that supports companies create a people-first culture. She is also a serial entrepreneur and sees her purpose as serving as a catalyst so people achieve more together.

Mark partners with Susan and team as part of his Chief People Officer role at Wajax as we continue to focus on building a people-first company.

A lot of the Chapman & Co Leadership Institute work is based on the Barry-Wehmiller journey who have created a very intentional culture focused on unleashing the potential of every person in the organization. You can learn more about the company and the work in these links.

 
Everybody Matters Documentary  (37 minutes)

Everybody Matters Book & Discussion Guide (see attached)

Truly Human Leadership Animation Video (10 minutes)

In this episode they talk about the importance of taking a people approach and the role a purpose and a set of values has in creating a sustainable culture. They talk about the unique approach they take to creating a purpose and values.

You can learn more about Susan’s work by following her on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-conrad-b167636/

Or you can email here at susan.conrad@ccoleadership.com
Quick reminder

Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at www.futurefoHRward.com/foHRsight.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show

Welcome to foHRsight – a podcast about making work better brought to you by future foHRward.

This week Naomi Titleman is joined by Rob Sadow who is a LinkedIn top voice on flexible work, founder and CEO of Scoop, inventor of the Flex Index and host of his very own podcast.

Naomi has a chance to speak to Rob about one of her favourite topics – hybrid work. Rob shares information on how Scoop pivoted from supporting people with their commute to helping organizations use their time in the office more effectively and shares data from Flex Index that tracks organizations' policies and practices related to work flexibility. 

They share more about the “magic number” and provide some practical strategies to support your flexible working plans.

You can learn more about Rob’s work by following these links:

https://www.scoopforwork.com/

The Flex Index can be found here:

https://www.flex.scoopforwork.com/

And his newsletter here:

https://flexindex.substack.com/
Quick reminder

Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at www.futurefoHRward.com/foHRsight.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show

In this week’s episode, Naomi Titleman has a chance to connect with Stephen Friedman who, amongst other interesting things, is a Professor of Organizational Studies at Schulich School of Business.

It’s the start of a new term, and Stephen shares his early insights from engaging with 650 students – and his tricks to remember their names!

Once they cover their mutual love of ice cream, they go on to explore a range of interesting topics based on Stephen’s fascination with business and human relationships.

They talk about a range of topics including performance management, unlimited vacation and the 9-box grid.

You can connect with Stephen at LinkedIn here –

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenfriedman1/

Quick reminder

Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at www.futurefoHRward.com/foHRsight.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show

Welcome to foHRsight – a podcast about making work better brought to you by future foHRward.

In this week’s episode, hosts Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman introduce listeners to The Burnout-Growth Curve.

According to research from Gartner, over 50% of HR leaders are struggling with too much to do making the risk of burnout for the profession a real possibility.

https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/08-14-2023-gartner-says-less-than-10--of-hr-functions-are-achiev

The Burnout-Growth Curve introduced by Nick Petrie provides a framework based on research that shows the likely steps people go through when they feel burnt out and identifies some steps to take to ensure sustainable change.

In the episode, Naomi and Mark share their perspectives around dealing with burnout and how it is specifically impacting the HR function.

You can learn more about The Burnout-Growth Curve here –

 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nick-petrie-1b60156_when-we-interviewed-people-who-had-burned-activity-7104554982787452928-7cet/

Quick reminder

Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at www.futurefoHRward.com/foHRsight.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing!

Support the show