The Edge of Work – Details, episodes & analysis

Note: This is a replay of a previous popular episode

Conor Grennan is the Dean of Students at NYU Stern and the Co-Founder and CEO of AI Mindset, an AI consulting firm. In this episode, Conor shares his insights on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the workplace, leadership, and talent development. 

With a unique perspective from both academia and the corporate world, he discusses why AI adoption is more about mindset than technical skill, the role of HR and talent leaders in AI transformation, and how leaders can navigate this shift.

Links

• Website: https://www.ai-mindset.ai/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorgrennan/

Note: This episode is a recording of a live virtual webinar.

As 2025 comes to a close, Al Dea is joined by Kyle Forrest (Principal, Deloitte Consulting), Ana Maria Sencovici (Chief Talent Officer, Royal Caribbean Group), and Brian Elliott (CEO, Work Forward) for a special end-of-year conversation on The Edge of Work. Together, they reflect on a year defined by uncertainty, AI-driven change, and growing tension in the workplace. Moving beyond hype, they explore what leaders got wrong, what’s beginning to shift, and why the future of work depends less on efficiency and more on redesigning work, rebuilding trust, and leading with clarity and hope in an AI-enabled world.

Links

• Kyle’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleforrest/
• Ana Maria’s LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asencovici/
• Brian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belliott/
• Brian’s Newsletter: https://theworkforward.substack.com/
• Kyle’s Podcast: https://action.deloitte.com/topic/184/capital-h-podcast?rcrand=1 

In this solo episode of The Edge of Work, Al Dea unpacks what’s top of mind for talent and learning leaders this fall. Drawing from more than 40 interviews across Fortune 1000 organizations, Al explores the biggest themes shaping the profession, from navigating constant change to managing “two timelines” of near-term needs and future AI-driven transformation. He highlights how leaders are adapting their mindsets, practices, and roles to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving world of work.

Links

• Report: https://theedgeofwork.com/report/
• Al’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsaldea/

Dr. Jessica Kriegel is an author, speaker, and the Chief Scientist at CulturePartners. Through her research background, her work at CulturePartners and in speaking with many workplace experts on her podcast, Jessica has a keen understanding of workplace culture in what it is, and how it’s shifting in today’s world of work. 

During our conversation, Jessica spoke about what she’s seeing in trends in workplace culture, as well as the role of culture in remote, hybrid and in person settings. Jessica also spoke about some of the ways in which we can approach managing and collaboration across generations in the workplace, and how she sees the social contract of work evolving and shifting.

Links:

• Jessica’s Website: https://www.jessicakriegel.com/
• Culture Leaders Podcast: https://www.jessicakriegel.com/podcast/ 

Ashley Herd is the CEO and Founder of The Manager Method and a Co-Host of the HR Besties Podcast. A former lawyer turned HR leader, Ashley now runs a training company focused on developing effective managers and creating helpful content through multiple channels that is helpful toward managers in today’s workplace. During our conversation, Ashley spoke about her journey to founding The Manager Method, as well as some of her own management experiences that helped shaped her abilities to do this work. Ashley also shared some of what she observes are the common challenges we face in preparing managers to manage, the most common questions she gets in her DMs and her own thoughts on how we can better develop and grow managers to be effective in today’s workplace

Links

• Manager Method; https://www.managermethod.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyherd/
• Podcast: https://www.hrbesties.com/

Carina Cortez is the Chief People Officer at Cornerstone OnDemand. Throughout her career as a People and HR leader, Carina has been an advocate and supporter of career development and mobility programs throughout her career. 

During our conversation, Carina spoke about what she’s seeing with how career development is changing and why it is a business imperative to invest in career development and talent mobility strategies today. 
Carina also spoke about examples of programs that she has run and she has seen work well inside organizations, the challenges that sometimes get in the way, as well as the importance and critical role that people manager’s play in fostering career development for employees inside organizations.

Links:

• Carina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carinacortez/ 

Andre’ Martin is the author of Wrong Fit Right Fit, Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever. As a former talent and learning Executive at companies like Nike and Google, Andre’ has spent a lot of time thinking about how to help employees unleash their talent and abilities within their roles to do their best work. 

During our conversation, Andre’ spoke about the state of the workplace today, and why he thinks that while companies want to hire great talent and everyone wants a great job, we sometimes miss the mark in matching people to the right roles. Andre’ also spoke about the importance of when searching or evaluating a potential opportunity, the importance of learning on how work gets done, and what companies can do to be more effective and transparent so they can hire the right people for fit for the right jobs.

Links

• Website: https://www.wrongfitrightfit.com/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/docmartinpdx/ 

Rob Sadow is the Co-Founder and CEO of Scoop Technologies, a software company that helps organizations use data and insights to build workplace strategies. With a vast array of data and insights, Rob and his team have a keen pulse on the state of the workplace, and the challenges and opportunities that come with it. 

During our conversation, Rob spoke to us about some of the insights and trends they’ve collected at Scoop through their own data and analysis as well as Rob’s own conversations with leaders who are developing workplace policies and strategies. Rob also spoke about topics related to the workplace that don’t always make the headlines, the changing nature of how employees’ view their relationship with work, and the importance of leaders focusing on outcomes.

Links:

• Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-sadow/
• Websites:
  • Scoop: https://www.scoopforwork.com/
  • Flex Index: https://flex.scoopforwork.com
• Newsletter: https://flexindex.substack.com/
• Q1 Report: https://flexindex.substack.com/p/surprising-new-data-on-employee-sentiment

We're Live From Transform in Las Vegas!

This episode features Hebba Youssef, Chief People Officer at WorkWeek, Author of the I Hate it Here Newsletter, and Founder of the Safe Space Community. 

During our conversation, Hebba spoke about Gen Z in the Workplace, trends she's observing from HR professionals, and the evolving nature of the employee-employee contract.
- Hebba's Newsletter: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
- Hebba's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef/
- Transform: https://transform.us/
- The Safe Space Community: https://workweek.com/i-hate-it-here/community/safe-space/

We're Live at the Transform Conference in Las Vegas!

This episode features Becky McCullough, Vice President, Global Recruiting & Talent Development at Hubspot. During our conversation, Becky spoke about how Hubspot, a longtime pioneer in the culture movement, thinks about culture in today's workplace, and what are doing to bring their culture to life inside their organization. 

Links:
- Transform: https://transform.us/
- Becky's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckymccullough/