WorkMatters – Details, episodes & analysis

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WorkMatters

Purpose Works Consulting

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/30d. Total Eps: 50

In this podcast, Thomas Bertels explores with thought leaders and executives how to make work more productive, valuable, meaningful, and impactful.

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🇨🇦 Canada - management
23/09/2025
#84
🇬🇧 Great Britain - management
16/08/2025
#76

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https://faisalhoque.com/
2 shares
https://www.worcimpact.com
2 shares
https://impactalpha.com/the-next-frontier-of-private-equity-value-creation-better-jobs-for-frontline-workers
2 shares

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RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 58%

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Dave Friedman - AI: Beyond the Hype

Episode 56

Tuesday, July 29, 2025 • Duration 38:03

In this episode of Work Matters, host Thomas Bertels talks with independent analyst Dave Friedman about the nuances of AI adoption in large enterprises. They discuss common misconceptions about AI, and the potential risks of integrating AI into business operations. Dave predicts a slower-than-expected adoption in large corporations due to legal, operational, and compliance challenges.

He also highlights the potential job losses in entry-level positions and why gutting these roles is a strategic mistake. The episode provides a deep dive into how companies might strategically integrate AI.

00:00 Understanding AI Output: A Statistical Guess

01:47 Misconceptions About AI

03:52 Risks and Challenges of AI in Enterprises

05:11 Impact of AI on Jobs and Training

07:48 Slow Adoption of AI in Large Companies

12:51 AI Integration Challenges in Enterprises

20:39 Industry-Specific AI Adoption

28:38 AI Winners and Losers

34:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Here is where you can learn more about Dave and his work:

Substack: https://davefriedman.substack.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frieddave/

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Elizabeth Moran - Change Leadership

Episode 55

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 • Duration 40:23

In this episode of the Work Matters Podcast, host Thomas delves into change leadership with Elizabeth Moran, the founder of Elizabeth Moran Transformation and author of 'Forward: A Playbook Grounded in Neuroscience to Support Leaders Through Change’.

The conversation explores why change is challenging for leaders, practical tips grounded in neuroscience for effective change leadership, dealing with resistance, and the importance of authenticity and empathy in the change process.

Elizabeth emphasizes the need for leaders to manage their own discomfort, view resistance as valuable feedback, and engage teams in constructive dialogues. She also offers a special LinkedIn promotion for her book's audio version!

00:00 Introduction: The Bottomless Pit of Organizational Needs

02:11 Elizabeth's Journey into Change Leadership

05:15 Understanding Resistance and Neuroscience in Change

06:54 Practical Approaches to Leading Through Change

11:53 Handling Tough Conversations and Authentic Leadership

16:20 Balancing Analytic and Empathetic Networks

20:29 Mistakes Leaders Make in Change Management

37:19 The Importance of Self-Care and Resilience

38:07 Conclusion and Resources

Here is where you can learn more about Elizabeth and her work:

Homepage: https://www.elizabethmorantransformation.com

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Forward-Leading-Your-Through-Change/dp/1782792899

LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-elizabeth-moran/

Special gift for our listeners: If you buy a hardcopy of her book and connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn, you get the audio version of the book for free!

Ellen Frank-Miller - Job Quality

Season 5 · Episode 46

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 • Duration 28:53

In this episode, Thomas and Ellen Frank-Miller, the founder of the Workforce and Organizational Research Center (WORC), explore the topic of job quality.

Ellen explains the mission of WORC - creating an economy where every worker has a job worth having, and shares insights from a comprehensive review of over 3,000 peer-reviewed articles on managerial and organizational science. She highlights key job characteristics such as perceived support from the organization, supervisors, and coworkers, as well as autonomy, wages, benefits, and opportunities for representation. These factors are strongly correlated with human capital metrics like turnover intention, engagement, and burnout, which in turn affect financial performance.

Exploring the linkage between frontline job design quality and business results, Ellen shares findings from a study funded by the Ford Foundation’s that looked at human capital management in private equity. Contrary to the initial belief that human capital management in private equity focuses solely on executive search, the study revealed that value creation often depends on roles at the bottom of the org chart. Ellen shares an example where a private equity firm had to focus on improving job quality for truck drivers to retain them and support business expansion, underscoring the critical role of frontline workers in achieving business success.

The conversation also touches on the challenges of measuring and improving job quality, especially since factors like turnover and engagement don't appear directly on financial statements. Ellen introduces the Worthwhile Jobs Index, a diagnostic tool developed by WORC to help companies identify strengths and opportunities in their human capital. This tool provides a quick, actionable assessment of job quality, allowing companies to track progress over time and correlate improvements with financial performance. She also points out that while there is ample evidence supporting the benefits of high-quality job design, many organizations struggle to invest in this area due to capacity constraints and a lack of prioritization. She emphasizes the need for a shift in perspective, treating workforce issues as operational problems that can be systematically addressed.

She stresses that improving job quality requires a holistic approach and a commitment to understanding and addressing the needs of workers at all levels of the organization, and suggests several resources for leaders looking to improve job quality. Ellen concludes with encouraging leaders to start small, focus on achievable changes, and communicate effectively with their workforce to build momentum for larger improvements. She highlights the importance of senior leadership support in driving these initiatives and the need for a proactive, data-driven approach to job quality.

Jeff Wald - The End of Jobs

Season 5 · Episode 45

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 • Duration 39:56

In this episode host Thomas Bertels welcomes Jeff Wald to discuss his book, "The End of Jobs." Jeff is the founder of WorkMarket, an enterprise software platform for managing freelancers, as well as several other tech companies. An active angel investor, startup advisor, and speaker, he previously held leadership roles in Financial Services with Barrington Capital Group, Glen Rock, and JP Morgan.

We explore the forces driving the growth of on-demand work and the challenges preventing many companies from leveraging gig work to optimize their cost structure, including clarity of the regulatory environment. We also talk about the factors determining whether a job should be full time or contract: ramp-up time, need for institutional knowledge, level of organizational integration required, and duration of the work, and unpack why certain industries - like manufacturing - aren't set up for gig workers.

We discuss how the adoption of AI and robotics will impact the overall job market. Jeff argues that over time, there will be no net loss of jobs but actually lead to more jobs being created, but that we will see a huge shift in the way services are imagined, delivered, and charged.

In closing, Jeff predicts that on-demand work will continue to grow and eventually could account to 30% of the job market, barring significant regulatory reforms.

For more on Jeff's work and his books, visit his website https://www.jeffwald.com.

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Dart Lindsley - Middle Management

Season 5 · Episode 44

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 • Duration 49:14

In today's Work Matters, Thomas talks with Dart Lindsley, head of Global Process Excellence for People Operations at Google. He previously led the HR Transformation Planning and Analysis organization at Cisco Systems and is the host of the popular "Work for Humans" podcast.

In this discussion, Dart unpacks what makes the middle manager role so challenging. He explains how managers are pulled in two different directions: balancing the needs of the business versus the needs of the team. By not equipping managers to deal with both sides of that equation, companies miss a significant opportunity for improvement.

Dart shares how managers can source work that maximizes value for both the business and their team by treating work as a product in a multisided marketplace. He advocates for managers to become a broker to win work from the organization that matches team members' competencies and interests and to allocate that work across the team to improve the day-to-day experience of work. Thus, the middle manager evolves into a designer - crafting a work product that is increasingly desirable and satisfying for his/her team that also delivers increased value to the company.

Dart reveals how managers can preserve the degrees of freedom - for themselves and their teams - while staying in alignment with the organization's strategic direction. By not bragging about personal over-achievement and focusing on process excellence, a manager can instead "lead from the sewer" and become someone that gets things done. Dart acknowledges the sacrifice it takes to make much of the work "illegible" but says true success for a manager lies in seeing the team thrive in the short-term in order to reap long-term benefits like more freedom for everyone and increased career advancement for team members.

He highlights the competencies of an effective middle manager which include establishing trust horizontally, being straightforward and true to your word, and not being threatening, or overly ambitious. By putting the success of your peers above personal advancement, a manager can design and deliver work that team members love that also benefits the organization. He stresses the need for managers to remain focused on the strategic direction of the company and also be an exemplary model of change in that direction.

Todd Cherches - Visual Leadership

Season 5 · Episode 43

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 • Duration 20:08

In this episode of Work Matters, Thomas Bertels welcomes Todd Cherches to discuss Visual Leadership. Todd is the CEO of BigBlueGumball, a leadership development and executive coaching firm. He is also an award-winning professor and lecturer at NYU and Columbia University and the author of "VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life."

He defines visual leadership as applying visual thinking and visual communication to the practice of leadership. By painting a picture, leaders help people see what they're saying and create mental movies to increase understanding throughout the world of work.

Todd unpacks tools from his book, “VisuaLeadership,” and stresses the importance of getting the best out of people, not the most. In doing so, leaders build engagement, passion, and purpose which contribute to higher intrinsic motivation and performance. He breaks his tools into four categories which include:

visual imagery – explaining though pictures, props, drawings, or anything you could take in through the eye
mental models and frameworks - simplifying and compartmentalizing the complex
metaphors and analogies – using the familiar to make the invisible visible
storytelling with a bonus for humor - good for lightening the mood, boosting engagement, and reducing stress

From there, Todd describes his Passion and Skills Matrix which demonstrates how leaders can help employees find their “sweet spot” where both are high for maximum engagement and performance, and unpacks his R&R tool - providing teams with the resources they need and removing roadblocks.

Drawing on his own experience with a horrible boss, Todd reveals the secret for how to become more effective at giving feedback: clarity, empathy, listening, passion, and purpose. He describes why providing employees with autonomy is critical to increasing engagement and fostering innovation while stressing the importance of hiring self-disciplined employees.

Todd concludes by noting how essential visibility, voice, and value are to make employees feel seen, heard, and connected.

To learn more about Todd’s coaching work, visit http://www.bigbluegumball.com/.

Gordy Curphy - Building Effective Teams

Season 5 · Episode 42

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 • Duration 37:59

In today's Work Matters, Thomas talks with Gordon "Gordy" Curphy about effective teamwork. Gordy is the Managing Partner at Curphy Leadership Solutions, where he helps business leaders implement major change initiatives, develop and promote leadership, and build high performing teams.

With over 30 years of leadership expertise, Gordy has written numerous articles and 25 books, including the number one selling textbook, "Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience (11th Ed.)." He is also the architect of the Rocket Model, a framework for building high performing teams.

Gordy starts off by differentiating between a "group" and a "team" before discussing the Rocket Model and why it is filling critical gaps in previous leadership models. Gordy brings teams and their organizational context to the forefront and shares his eight components for team effectiveness.

Context: What are our critical assumptions?
Mission: Why are we here?
Talent: Do we have the talent we need?
Norms: What are the rules?
Buy-in: Are we all committed to success?
Resources: Do we have the resources needed?
Courage: How do we work through disagreements?
Results: Are we achieving our goals?

Revealing that 95% of leadership models don't take teambuilding competency into account and only one out of five teams are high performing, Gordy stresses the importance measuring leadership effectiveness. He explains how his Team Assessment Survey tool provides benchmarking data that allows teams line of sight into their performance so they can have the right conversations.

Gordy concludes by sharing what today's leaders can do to make teamwork more effective including measuring their performance and learning teambuilding tools. Spotlighting examples from current military operations, Gordy explains how highly trained, self-contained, and specialized units like the Navy Seals operate with more autonomy for greater impact. He advises this is a good model for modern workplaces - and remote work - because it allows teams to be more agile, responsive, and adaptive without top-heavy support.

To learn more about the Rocket Model of effective teamwork, go to . To learn more about Gordy's and his work, visit .

Faisal Hogue - Transformational Leadership

Season 5 · Episode 41

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 • Duration 28:35

In today's Work Matters, Thomas Bertels discusses Transformational Leadership with Faisal Hogue. Faisal is an advisor, entrepreneur, thought leader, and technology innovator who has developed 20+ commercial business and technology platforms. He is the founder of SHADOKA and NextChapter and has worked with GE, MasterCard, American Express, PepsiCo, and many other leading organizations. Faisal is also the bestselling author of "Reinvent," "Everything Connects," and "Lift."

In this conversation, Faisal unpacks what he means by transformational leadership and why it's critical to succeeding in today's world. Noting that humans developed more individualist empowerment during the pandemic, he stresses the need to both lead and collaborate differently now.

He shares the characteristics of transformational leadership and reveals that process matters more than results and outcomes. They include:

emotional intelligence - using empathy to inspire and influence
repeatable processes - providing transparency into how individual work impacts organizational mission
emerging technology - tapping into AI to unlock humanity's potential

Faisal emphasizes the importance of experimental learning and cites examples from the pandemic - like QR code menus and Zoom meetings - that collectively changed behavior patterns. With both of these, we saw a reduction of costs and an increase in productivity that otherwise might not have been discovered.

He reveals what transformational leaders can do to help employees do their best work including having a beginner's mind, embracing an empathetic approach, and crafting solutions to influence and inspire. Stressing the importance of a balanced mindset, Faisal points out that people need flexibility and freedom to feel comfortable, connected, and creative. Once these are on board, he says, employees are increasingly productive and contribute more to the mission.

And lastly, Faisal concludes that by lifting yourself, you lift others. Today's transformational leaders should take a devotional practice to the pursuit of adding value. When they can translate the organizational "why" into threads that connect with people, they'll inspire and enable others to do their best work.

Anna Tavis - The Future of Work

Season 4 · Episode 40

Tuesday, January 9, 2024 • Duration 34:43

In today's Work Matters, Thomas welcomes Dr. Anna Tavis, Clinical Professor and Chair of the Human Capital Management Department at NYU School of Professional Studies. She previously held senior HR roles with Motorola, Nokia, United Technologies, and AIG, and is the co-author of "Humans at Work" (with Stela Lupushor).

Anna unpacks the major trends shaping the future of work, including the rapidly evolving relationship between humans and technology. She shares how realigned organizational skillsets, structures, processes, and cultures will emerge from this shifting dynamic.

She discusses how AI will lead to increased efficiencies, improved performance and sophistication, and also replace how a majority of the existing workforce makes its living. Pointing out that AI democratization will challenge the stratified, hierarchical structures of current organizations, Anna cautions that there should be a commitment to solve problems on behalf of the majority of humans - not the elites nor the machines.

She examines the changing role of the manager, compensation structures, and HR in the future of work. With coaching, digital assistance, and built-in AI, humans will be able to invest more in visionary solutions and strategic, entrepreneurial approaches. Anna shares successful examples of innovative organizations - like Microsoft and Airbnb - who have mastered technology enough to put culture and humans first.

Anna concludes by discussing her forthcoming book, "The Digital Coaching Revolution", which highlights examples from sports and healthcare. With AI in many hands, human coaches - like Ted Lasso - are freed-up to focus on strategic, team building activities and take their squads to the next level. Anna advocates bringing this digital coaching model into the workplace to improve performance and effectiveness.

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Ron Ashkenas - Simplifying Organizations

Season 4 · Episode 39

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 • Duration 32:33

In today's Work Matters, Thomas welcomes Ron Ashkenas, Principal at Ashkenas Consulting and Partner Emeritus at Schaffer Consulting, to discuss simplifying organizations. Ron is a thought leader in business change and transformation and the author of numerous books and HBR articles including "Simply Effective."

He unpacks the symptoms of overly complex organizations that show they are ripe for simplification. They include working harder and harder with little progress, difficulty and delay in reaching objectives, people-heavy processes, and ineffective meetings.

From there, Ron confides that the first step to simplification is admitting you have a complexity problem. He describes the four sources of organizational complexity - structure, behavior, processes, and product proliferation - and how best to address them.

Explaining the difference between good and bad complexity, Ron reveals the typical obstacles to simplifying an organization and shares strategies for overcoming each. He uses relevant examples from large-scale simplifications to demonstrate the benefits of undertaking the process for companies, leaders, and employees.

And lastly, Ron concludes by explaining what organizations can do to create a culture of simplification and imbed it into their DNA. He emphasizes that it is a process, not the goal, and one that should always support the business objectives of increased customer satisfaction, revenue, and employee engagement.

Link to "Simply Effective" on Amazon: https://a.co/d/aqlx6pp

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