Episoder
-
For many leaders, retirement isn't about leaving work. It's about leaving behind an identity.
After decades of building careers, leading teams, and carrying enormous responsibility, the biggest question isn't "What's next?" It's "Who am I without the title?"
In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with Zabeen Hirji, former Chief Human Resources Officer at RBC, to explore what she calls the Purposeful Third Act—a new way of thinking about life after executive leadership.
Together, they unpack the emotional transition that comes with stepping away from a long career, why purpose is something we rediscover rather than reinvent, and how organizations are missing an opportunity to better engage experienced leaders. They also discuss the growing importance of intergenerational workplaces, lifelong learning, and why judgment, wisdom, and human connection will become even more valuable in the age of AI.
Whether retirement feels years away or is already on the horizon, this conversation is a thoughtful reminder that your greatest contribution may not be behind you—it may simply take a different shape.
About Our Guest
Zabeen Hirji is a founder, retirement disruptor, executive advisor, and board director. She served as CHRO at Royal Bank of Canada and is now the driving force behind the Purposeful Third Act movement, which helps senior leaders navigate life and work after corporate careers with intention and impact.
🔗 LinkedIn: Zabeen Hirji (follow + subscribe to her newsletter)🌐 Website: zabeenhirji.com (resources, role models, and P3A tools)Stay Connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Instagram
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Learning and development has spent decades creating courses, launching platforms, and chasing the next technology trend. But what if the problem isn't the technology at all?
As AI reshapes how people access information, many traditional assumptions about workplace learning are being challenged. Employees no longer need to sit through generic training to find answers. They expect learning to be personalized, contextual, and available exactly when they need it.
In this episode, Lori Niles-Hofmann joins Naomi Titleman Colla to explore why L&D is facing an existential moment, what organizations are getting wrong about skills development, and how AI could fundamentally change the way learning happens at work. Together, they discuss the shift from course creation to intelligent learning ecosystems, why skills management should be treated with the same precision as a supply chain, and how HR leaders can move from order-taking to strategic enablement.
If you're responsible for developing people in an environment where business priorities, technology, and skills requirements are changing faster than ever, this conversation offers a practical and thought-provoking look at what comes next.
Resources & References Mentioned
📘 The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation by Lori Niles-Hofmann🌐 8Levers: 8levers.com (note: the "8" is the number, not a "B"!)🇨🇦 Valence — AI coaching platform, featuring Nadia🇨🇦 Disco.co — community learning platform (also used by foHRsight+)📊 Red Thread Research — State of EdTech presentation by Dani Johnson (Learning Technologies, London)🔬 LearnLM / DeepMind research on human + AI learning outcomesAbout Our Guest
Lori Niles-Hofmann is an EdTech strategist, consultant, and author of The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation. With a career spanning global LMS implementations, instructional design, and organizational learning strategy, Lori brings a rare combination of technical fluency and business acumen to the L&D space. She is the founder of 8Levers and a frequent speaker and writer on the intersection of AI, skills, and workplace learning.
Connect with Lori
LinkedIn: search Lori Niles-HofmannWebsite: 8levers.comStay Connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Instagram
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Manglende episoder?
-
Most presentations fail long before the speaker gets to the “important” part.
Not because the content is wrong.
Because the audience never felt connected in the first place.In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with presentation coach and communication strategist Anthony Lee to explore what makes communication actually land — whether you are moderating a conference panel, leading a board meeting, facilitating a town hall, or simply trying to run a better team meeting.
Together, they unpack:
why audience connection matters more than information dumpingthe communication mistakes most moderators and panelists makehow storytelling and emotional connection build trustwhat high-performing teams do differently in meetingshow leaders can think more intentionally about the “voice” they are usingand why rehearsal and feedback matter far more than most organizations realizeThe conversation goes far beyond public speaking.
At its core, this episode is about conversational leadership — how leaders create clarity, trust, engagement, and momentum through the way they communicate with others.
About Our Guest
Anthony Lee is the founder of Heroic Voice Academy and a communication coach who works with executives, conference speakers, HR leaders, and teams to strengthen audience connection, storytelling, and presentation effectiveness. With a background in engineering and executive leadership coaching, Anthony brings a uniquely practical and human-centered approach to communication.
Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heroicvoice/
Resources Mentioned
Heroic Voice Academy
Presentation, communication, and speaker coaching for leaders, teams, conference speakers, and executives.
Website: https://heroicvoice.comOpen Gym Thursdays
Anthony hosts weekly “Open Gym” sessions where participants can practice presentations, receive coaching, and learn communication techniques.
Thursdays at 12:00 PM PTLearn more via Anthony’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heroicvoice/TEDx Salt Lake City
Anthony credits coaching speakers at TEDx Salt Lake City as a pivotal moment in his journey from engineering leader to presentation coach.
https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/12806Miles Davis – Someday My Prince Will Come
Referenced as an example of how great moderators function like jazz band leaders—setting the tone, creating space for others to shine, and guiding the overall audience experience.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Miles+Davis+Someday+My+Prince+Will+ComeStay connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Instagram
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Most leaders today feel stuck in a constant tug-of-war. Push harder for results and risk burnout or focus too much on engagement and worry performance will suffer.
But what if that tension exists because we are solving the wrong problem?
In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with leadership consultant Rachel Cooke to explore a different approach to leadership and work design, one where development, connection, wellbeing, and performance are not competing priorities, but built into the fabric of how work happens every day.
Together, they unpack:
why traditional leadership models are breaking down under uncertaintythe difference between certainty and clarityhow leaders can better harness frontline insight and intelligencewhy work design matters more than another leadership programhow small experiments inside the flow of work can create meaningful cultural changeand the opportunity HR has to stop separating “people stuff” from business resultsThis is a thoughtful and deeply practical conversation for leaders trying to create healthier, more adaptive workplaces without adding more complexity, meetings, or programs.
About Our Guest
Rachel Cooke is the founder of Lead Above Noise, host of the Modern Mentor Podcast, and author of the newsletter Making Work Work Better. With a background spanning organizational psychology, operations leadership, and HR, Rachel helps organizations rethink leadership and work design in ways that strengthen both business performance and human experience.
Stay connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Everyone is trying to move faster right now. Faster outputs. Faster decisions. Faster adoption of AI.
But somewhere inside that acceleration, many leaders are starting to feel something else too: cognitive overload, constant mental switching, and a growing sense that work is becoming noisier instead of clearer.
In this episode, Mark and Naomi unpack two emerging ideas gaining traction in the AI conversation: “AI brain fry” and “cognitive surrender.” Together, they explore what happens when efficiency becomes the default goal, how over-reliance on AI can quietly erode critical thinking, and why HR leaders need to be paying closer attention to the human experience underneath AI adoption.
This conversation isn’t anti-AI. It’s about intentional AI use.
The discussion explores:
Why productivity pressure may be pushing teams toward unhealthy AI habits The difference between learning moments and efficiency moments How AI-generated volume can actually increase cognitive fatigue Why HR professionals may be especially vulnerable to “brain fry” What organizations risk losing when human judgment disappears from the process How leaders can create healthier norms around AI use before bad habits calcifyMost importantly, this episode is a reminder that AI should augment human capability, not replace thoughtful human participation in work.
Stay connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
AI is accelerating change faster than most organizations are emotionally prepared for.
Employees are anxious. Leaders are overwhelmed. And many managers are being asked to guide people through uncertainty without ever being taught how to truly understand human behaviour in the first place.
In this episode of the foHRsight podcast, Mark Edgar sits down with organizational psychologist, executive coach, and author Karl Hebenstreit to explore why empathy, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness may become some of the most important leadership capabilities of the AI era.
Together, they unpack:
Why AI is creating more fear and pressure at work than many organizations want to admit The leadership gap created when technical experts become people managers overnight How unclear expectations quietly damage trust, performance, and culture Why understanding motivation matters more than personality labels How the Enneagram can help leaders better navigate teams, conflict, communication, and changeThis conversation is ultimately about something bigger than frameworks or assessments. It’s about building workplaces where people feel understood enough to actually thrive.
About Our Guest
Karl Hebenstreit is an author, speaker, executive coach, and organizational development leader with more than 25 years of experience helping leaders and teams work more effectively together. His work focuses on emotional intelligence, leadership development, and using the Enneagram as a practical framework for building healthier organizations and stronger human connection.
Stay connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Many organizations are planning for AI disruption. Far fewer are planning for demographic disruption.
In this episode of foHRsight, Dan Pontefract joins Naomi Titleman Colla to unpack what he calls “age debt” — the growing organizational risk created when companies ignore longevity, ageism, workforce demographics, and the loss of institutional wisdom.
The conversation challenges the way we think about generational labels at work and asks a bigger question: what happens when organizations become so focused on optimization and speed that they stop valuing experience altogether?
Dan introduces a new framework for thinking about careers through evolving life stages instead of fixed generational identities, and explores why the future of work will require organizations to rethink career paths, knowledge transfer, leadership structures, and workforce wellbeing.
For HR leaders navigating talent shortages, succession concerns, burnout, and constant change, this episode offers a more human and sustainable lens on what future-ready organizations actually need.
About Our Guest
Dan Pontefract is an award-winning author, leadership strategist, keynote speaker, and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria. A former Chief Learning Officer at TELUS, Dan has spent decades helping organizations rethink leadership, learning, culture, and the future of work. His latest book, The Future of Work Is Grey explores the overlooked workforce risks tied to age, longevity, and organizational wisdom.
Website & free assessments: www.thefutureofworkisgrey.comTake the Personal Age Assessment to see how prepared you are for age debtTake the Organizational Age Assessment to benchmark your companyStay connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
What if the reason your culture isn’t shifting… isn’t your people?
For many HR leaders, the pressure is familiar. You hire thoughtfully. You invest in development. You talk about inclusion. And yet, something still doesn’t move.
Because the issue isn’t just who is in the organization. It’s what they move through once they’re there.
In this episode, Mark Edgar sits down with Celeste Warren to unpack a more pragmatic, and more demanding, view of diversity, equity and inclusion. One that moves beyond representation and into the systems that shape access, opportunity, and performance.
They explore why so many DEI efforts fail to create real change, how the role of the Chief Diversity Officer has evolved through a decade of volatility, and what it actually takes to build environments where people can thrive.
This is not a conversation about optics or ideology. It’s about how organizations work, who they work for, and what leaders need to redesign if they want performance to be sustainable.
If you’re leading through complexity, trying to balance business outcomes with human realities, this episode will challenge how you think about both.
About Our Guest
Celeste Warren is a former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and global HR leader with decades of experience across complex organizations. She now advises companies on how to embed inclusive and equitable practices into business and people systems. Her work is grounded in both lived experience and deep operational expertise, making her perspective both practical and hard to ignore.Stay connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
What if the problem isn’t that your people aren’t performing… but that your system is broken?
Right now, many organizations are rushing to adopt AI, cutting entry-level roles, and asking more from leaders who are already at capacity. It feels efficient. It looks strategic. But it’s quietly eroding the very foundation of future performance.
In this episode, host Mark Edgar sits down with Kelly Monahan to challenge the way we’re thinking about work, leadership, and AI. They explore why starting with technology is the wrong move, how outdated systems are limiting human potential, and what leaders need to rebuild if they want sustainable performance.
This is a conversation about getting the moment right. Not just implementing AI, but redefining how value is created, how people are developed, and what leadership actually requires now.
If you’re feeling the pressure to “move faster” while sensing something deeper is off, this episode will help you step back and rethink where to start.
About Our Guest
Kelly Monahan is a future of work advisor, researcher, and bestselling author focused on the intersection of human behavior, leadership, and technology. With a background in HR and a PhD in organizational research, she works closely with executives to help them navigate AI-driven transformation while keeping human performance at the center.
Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
What if you could see your organization’s culture like an X-ray?
In this episode, host Naomi Titleman sits down with behavioral scientist Dr. Harry Toukalas and talent strategist Mark Jesty to explore how organizational network analysis is replacing guesswork in HR and what the rise of AI means for human accountability at work.
Because most leaders believe they understand their culture. They’ve run the surveys. They’ve reviewed the data. They’ve built action plans.
But they’re often working from a partial view.
This conversation challenges that assumption by unpacking what sits beneath the surface: the informal networks of trust, influence, and communication that actually determine how work gets done. The parts of culture that don’t show up in surveys or org charts, but shape performance every day.
We explore the gap between what people say and what they do, why hybrid work is quietly eroding cross-team collaboration, and how behavioral data can reveal early signals of disengagement before they become exit interviews.
Most importantly, this episode reframes the role of HR. From interpreting opinions to measuring behavior. From reacting to problems to predicting them.
Because when you can see how culture is forming and spreading in real time, you can finally intervene with precision and credibility.
About Our Guests
Mark Jesty is a talent strategist and advisor who has spent decades helping leaders strengthen performance and leadership inside complex organizations.
Dr. Harry Toukalas is a behavioral scientist and CEO of Swarm, where he combines behavioral science and AI to analyze how decisions, culture, and performance actually form and evolve inside organizations.Stay connected with foHRsight
Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Instagram
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Most leaders know meetings are broken. What’s harder to admit is that we keep reinforcing the system that makes them that way.
Calendars are full. Teams are exhausted. And yet, meetings continue to multiply. Not because they work, but because they signal work.
In this episode, Rebecca Hinds challenges the idea that meetings are just a scheduling problem. She reframes them as a deeper organizational issue rooted in visibility, status, and outdated ways of measuring value.
You’ll hear why meetings often aren’t the root problem, but the most visible symptom. Why hybrid work and AI haven’t fixed collaboration, and in many cases have made it worse. And what it actually looks like to design meetings and workflows with intention, not habit.
For HR leaders, this conversation is a wake-up call. Not just to reduce meetings, but to rethink how work itself is defined, measured, and experienced.
Because if we don’t change it deliberately, AI will simply help us do more of what isn’t working.
About our guest
Rebecca Hinds is a leading expert in organizational behavior who works with companies navigating the challenges of modern work. She founded the Work Innovation Lab at Asana and the Work AI Institute at Glean, where she bridges the gap between academic research and real organizational practice. Her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more. She is also an instructor for CNBC's Make It Masterclass: How to Use AI to Be More Productive and Successful at Work, and the author of Your Best Meeting Ever.Key Topics & Timestamps
[~12:50] Check-In: Rebecca's best meeting ever
[~19:40] Why meetings got worse after the pandemic
[~22:10] Visibility bias: why we equate busyness with value
[~24:45] The WWII sabotage manual
[~27:00] The $1.4 trillion problem
[~30:10] Meetings as your most expensive, overlooked product
[~35:45] "Process is a proxy"
[~36:00] Where AI helps and where it hurts meetings
[~38:30] The brainstorming debate: to AI or not to AI?
[~43:40] One tip for HR leaders: where to start
[~45:05] It's okay to cancel
Resources & Links
📘 Book: Your Best Meeting Ever by Rebecca Hinds🌐 Website: rebeccahinds.com🔬 Work AI Institute: workai.institute💼 LinkedIn: Rebecca Hinds📺 CNBC Make It Masterclass: How to Use AI to Be More Productive and Successful at WorkStay connected with foHRsight
Sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsightFollow us on LinkedIn:Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRwardFollow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
What happens when smart, capable teams keep having meetings, but nothing really moves?
In this episode, Gustavo Razzetti joins Naomi Titleman to unpack the hidden cost of the conversations teams avoid. He argues that many workplace breakdowns are not caused by weak strategy or lack of talent, but by “conversational debt” that builds when people stay silent, rush alignment, blame each other, or perform agreement they do not actually feel.
For HR leaders, this tension is especially familiar. You can invest in engagement, communication, and psychological safety, but still find teams stuck in circular meetings, unresolved friction, and unspoken resentment. This conversation helps name what is really happening underneath those patterns and offers a more useful lens for moving teams forward.
Gustavo shares why groupthink is often the hardest dysfunction to spot, why silence is not the same as alignment, and why many employees stop speaking up not only because they are afraid, but because they no longer believe it will make a difference. He also introduces the idea of “forward talk” — conversations that address the real issue and focus on the future — and explains what HR leaders can do to build teams that disagree well, commit clearly, and stop carrying avoidable relational and operational drag.
About our guest
Gustavo Razzetti is a culture design consultant, speaker, and the CEO of Fearless Culture. He has facilitated more than 1,500 workshops with teams at companies including Microsoft, Mars, Merck, Globant, and the Inter-American Development Bank, and his work focuses on helping organizations build healthier, more honest team cultures.Connect with foHRsight
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn:Connect with Gustavo
Website: GustavoRazzetti.comLinkedIn: Search Gustavo Razzetti (with double Z, double T)About Gustavo's Book
📗 Forward Talk by Gustavo Razzetti Available for pre-order now | Publishing May 5th https://www.amazon.com/Forward-Talk-Method-Getting-Unstuck/dp/1646872479The book includes a Conversational Debt Quiz to help teams identify where alignment, belonging, or collaboration gaps are hitting hardest — plus tools and exercises to start shifting team behavior.
Win a Copy!
Post about this episode and tag Naomi Titleman, Gustavo Razzetti, and/or future foHRward to be eligible to win a copy of Forward Talk.If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Something feels off.
A leader who used to be effective is becoming controlling. A team that used to work well together is suddenly tense. Conversations are getting sharper, more personal, more certain.
And yet, the numbers still look fine.
For many HR leaders, this is a familiar and frustrating position. You can feel the shift early, but by the time it’s acknowledged, the conversation has already turned into a performance issue. The system pressure has already been translated into a judgment about the person.
In this episode, Ned Eustace introduces a different way to understand what’s happening underneath those moments. He explains how leadership strain builds under pressure, how organizations unconsciously convert that pressure into capability judgments, and why that shift makes it harder to intervene effectively.
More importantly, this conversation offers a practical way forward. It helps HR leaders slow down that conversion, ask better questions, and create space for a more accurate diagnosis before action is taken.
If you’ve ever had the sense that something was coming before anyone else could see it, this episode will help you trust that signal and know what to do with it.
About our guest
Ned Eustace works with senior leaders navigating sustained pressure in environments of growth, transformation, and integration. His work focuses on how leadership strain shows up early, often before traditional performance signals, and how organizations can respond without defaulting to individual blame. He partners closely with HR and executive teams to help them interpret system signals and intervene with clarity.To go deeper on this topic: https://hbleaders.com/pressure-gap-leadership-strain
Stay connected with foHRsight
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/ Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/ future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Instagram:
www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Caregiving rarely shows up neatly at work.
It shows up as distraction. Exhaustion. Missed capacity. A high performer who suddenly cannot take on one more thing. A manager who is present in the meeting, but mentally somewhere else. And for many organizations, it remains largely invisible until someone burns out, steps back, or leaves.
In this episode, Raymond Levine brings attention to a reality more employers need to take seriously: caregiving is not a niche issue, and it is not only about later life. It affects employees across stages of life, often quietly, and with real consequences for focus, wellbeing, and retention.
For HR leaders, this conversation is a useful reminder that support does not start with having every answer. It starts with recognizing caregiving as part of the human reality employees are already navigating and asking whether your workplace is designed with that in mind.
About Our Guest
Raymond Levine is an extended care benefits advisor and longtime advocate for greater awareness around caregiving and long-term care. His perspective matters here because he focuses closely on a gap many employers still overlook: the practical, emotional, and financial strain caregiving places on working people and their organizations.
Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribeFollow us on LinkedIn:
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/Follow us on Instagram:
www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Work is changing faster than many organizations know how to lead through.
Between AI, constant transformation, and growing complexity, many leaders are still relying on outdated habits: top-down decision-making, poor communication, and the assumption that leadership means having all the answers. The result is often slower execution, lower engagement, and teams that resist change instead of moving through it.
In this episode, Marianne Bachynski shares what it really takes to lead in uncertainty. Drawing on her experience leading large-scale transformation in high-pressure financial and technology environments, she explains why adaptability, clear communication, curiosity, and trust are now essential leadership muscles.
For HR leaders, this conversation is a timely reminder that the biggest barrier to change is rarely the technology itself. It is whether leaders know how to create the kind of culture where people can think, contribute, experiment, and evolve together.
About our guest
Marianne Bachynski is an author, advisor, and former technology executive who combines deep technology expertise with a people-first approach to leadership. Her perspective matters in this conversation because she has spent her career leading transformation in high-pressure environments, giving her a practical and deeply informed view of what leaders need to navigate uncertainty, complexity, and continuous change.Stay connected with foHRsight
Sign up for our monthly newsletter foHRsight HERE.Follow us on LinkedIn:
Mark Edgar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/Naomi Titleman Colla - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/ future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/Follow us on Instagram:
future foHRward - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Work doesn’t feel sustainable right now.
Employees are overwhelmed, leaders are exhausted, and organizations are trying to solve burnout by reducing workload - but what if that’s not the real problem?
In this episode, organizational psychologist Liane Davey introduces the concept of thought load - the cognitive demands, emotional strain, and depleted energy that come from navigating modern work. From endless matrix structures and constant organizational change to meetings that add noise instead of clarity, today’s workplace is quietly draining the mental bandwidth people need to actually perform.
Liane shares practical ideas for leaders trying to restore focus and effectiveness inside their teams: how to stop chasing productivity, eliminate dead work, redesign meetings, and create space for insight in a world full of noise.
For HR leaders especially, this conversation reframes burnout as a systemic design problem, not a personal failing.
About our guest
Liane Davey is an organizational psychologist, keynote speaker, and bestselling author focused on helping teams achieve extraordinary results together. Known as “The Teamwork Doctor,” she works with executive teams and organizations around the world to tackle the messy people challenges that get in the way of performance. Her latest book, Thoughtload, explores why modern work is overwhelming people and what leaders can do about it.
CHANCE TO WIN! We’re giving away a few copies of Liane's book. To enter, all you have to do is post about this episode and tag Naomi Titleman and future foHRward, and we will put you in a draw to win!
Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
Most HR leaders are chasing engagement scores.
Very few are diagnosing loneliness.If performance feels flatter… if initiative is fading… if teams feel more transactional than connected, this episode explains why.
In this conversation, Dr. Tracy Brower joins Naomi Titleman to unpack a truth many leaders feel but struggle to articulate: connection is not a “nice-to-have.” It is a structural driver of performance, initiative, retention, and fulfillment.
They explore:
The early warning signs of workplace disconnectionWhy proximity still matters in a hybrid worldHow AI may unintentionally weaken team relianceSocial contagion and why energy spreads faster than strategyThe difference between dirt roads and superhighways inside your cultureWhat a real “connection infrastructure” looks likeThis isn’t about forcing friendships or dragging people back to the office.
It’s about being deliberate about the human system inside your organization.Because when people don’t feel seen or needed, they disengage.
And disengagement is expensive.
About our guest
Dr. Tracy Brower is a PhD sociologist and VP of Workplace Insights at Steelcase. She studies connection, community, fulfillment, and the future of work, and is the author of Critical Connections. Her work bridges research and real-world application, helping organizations understand how human dynamics directly influence performance.
Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/
Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
HR leaders are being asked to modernize faster than their organizations are ready for. New AI tools appear weekly, vendors promise transformation, and the pressure to “do something” keeps mounting. At the same time, most HR teams are still running complex, multi-step processes built for a very different era.
In this episode, Josh Bersin helps cut through the noise by reframing what AI transformation actually looks like inside HR. Rather than chasing dozens of tools or fearing job displacement, he argues that the real work ahead is architectural. Deciding what to build versus buy. Determining which processes matter most. And putting human ownership around data, judgment, and governance so AI can scale responsibly.
You’ll hear why onboarding, learning, feedback, and career development are not isolated workflows, but interconnected systems that AI can finally stitch together if HR leads the design. Josh also explains why organizations that get this right will not reduce HR’s importance, but elevate it.
This conversation is for HR leaders who feel both excited and overwhelmed, and who want a clearer mental model for where to start, what to prioritize, and how to partner with IT without losing their seat at the table.
About our guest
Josh Bersin is a global HR industry analyst, researcher, and founder of The Josh Bersin Company. He has spent decades advising CHROs and executive teams on talent, leadership, and workforce transformation, and is a leading voice on how AI is reshaping the HR function in practice, not theory.Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/
Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/
If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
If you’re leading HR right now, it can feel like the ground is moving under your feet. You’re still expected to deliver flawless service, keep costs down, and manage risk, while your CEO quietly expects you to redesign the workforce for an AI era that’s arriving faster than most operating models can handle.
In part one of this conversation with Josh Bersin, we explore a reframe that changes everything: AI isn’t just personal productivity. The real disruption is enterprise-level “super agents” that automate whole sequences of work, and force HR to rethink hiring, talent strategy, and even the idea of “a job” itself.
We also dig into why CHRO tenure may be shrinking, what that signals about expectations on HR leaders, and why “talent density” is becoming a more useful lens than traditional talent management as companies try to scale without simply adding headcount.
About our guest
Josh Bersin is a leading HR and workplace industry analyst and the founder of Bersin by Deloitte (now The Josh Bersin Company). He advises senior executives on HR, talent, and organizational transformation, with a sharp focus on what’s actually changing inside companies as AI moves from experimentation to enterprise reality.Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn:
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/
Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
-
You can be brilliant, hardworking, and respected — and still feel like you’re running full-speed into an invisible wall. For many senior leaders (especially high-achieving women), the instinct is to push harder: take on more, prove more, hold more. But the higher you go, the more that strategy quietly limits influence, sponsorship, and sustainability.
In this episode, we explore the tension HR leaders see every day: individuals are trying to thrive inside systems that weren’t designed for them — and organizations keep investing in “fixes” that don’t address the real blockers. Carolyn Lawrence and Jennifer Laidlaw unpack why burnout is often a signal your mind is in survival mode, how “resisting the system” can unintentionally keep inequity in place, and what it looks like when inner leadership shifts meet system-level redesign.
About our guests
Carolyn Lawrence partners with organizations to redesign systems so they stop reinforcing outdated patterns — removing invisible barriers so talent can thrive without overperforming for legitimacy.Jennifer Laidlaw is an executive coach focused on the inner transformation required of modern leaders, helping them achieve breakthrough results sustainably with strong teams and thriving culture.
Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/
Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe
Support the show
- Vis mere
