Transforming Work with Sophie Wade

Dart Lindsley is Strategic Advisor, People Experience at Google. He is also a writer, speaker, and host of the Work for Humans podcast – on a mission to humanize work. Dart share insights about his realization that businesses are multisided marketplaces where employees are (overlooked) customers of work and work is a product. To better design the work product, Dart recognizes teams’ agency and ability to allocate their attention among themselves to complete tasks effectively. He discusses a flipped org chart with managers in supportive, rather than authoritative, roles. Dart advocates for more leadership closest to the customer.       TAKEAWAYS   [02:05] Dart is an undergraduate for seven years partly because his brother told him never to graduate!   [03:47] Dart explores unpopular forms of writing which makes earning a living hard.   [04:37] Being a criminal defense investigator rearranges Dart’s soul.   [06:45] After a master’s degree, Dart becomes a recruiter to earn more as he starts a family.   [08:34] Dart’s family are scientists, so his career transitioned to analytical work after a recruiting downturn.   [09:49] Dart inserts himself into the team doing strategic work designing the new staffing system.   [10:52] Finding a home in analytical disciplines which are less burdensome and emotional.   [12:26] Dart explores tooling, UX, change management and Six Sigma, ending up with organizational design.   [13:36] Facilitating business architecture resonates with Dart who is very interested in how large systems create experiences.   [15:03] Companies are ‘n’ dimensional: humans cannot observe them or handle more than 3 dimensions.   [15:49] Human Resources had not been analyzed from a business architecture point of view before.   [17:03] Business architecture is only needed for companies going through significant transformation to discover new operational capabilities needs and how they interrelate.   [18:08] Translating strategic capability requirements into tech systems and architecture is not easy.   [20:48] Business architecture change derives from either market changes or new tech capabilities—as now.   [21:20] The pace layer of technology is usually the slowest thing. Not now, so much experimentation is needed.   [22:35] Dart initially subscribes to the traditional model of HR where employees are the inputs of production.   [23:48] Employee has happiness has not been a concern—only productivity which Dart finds ethically flawed.   [25:10] Dart notices ‘employees’ show up in two places—inside (production inputs) and outside (customers).   [25:59] Working on a patent for Cisco, Dart explores multi-sided businesses and realizes employees are also (forgotten) customers.   [28:25] If employees are customers, what are we selling them? We need to design work better.   [29:03] Do people want only autonomy, mastery and purpose? Dart finds 35+ more answers!   [30:15] People usually want 8 things from work. Only 4 likely overlap, so how to optimize individually?   [31:05] Lack of autonomy is a cost of a job, like social anxiety and threats to health and safety.   [32:33] Managers are key to a design-centered solution.   [33:28] Design is about empathy, understanding employees’ needs, scaling with managers below on the org chart.   [34:10] Managers are brokers between demand for the team’s labor and the market for work—the work people want to do.   [37:10] A team can act as a smart organism allocating its attention to work and delivering value.   [38:32] Color coding how rewarding work is—green, yellow, and red. What happens when colors change.   [39:41] The range of issues and solutions affecting the cost side of work.   [42:14] How do we design our lives so as not to be ‘inputs of production’?   [43:31] How a team agrees on what business value is and the core mission.   [44:25] Is the manager winning the work the team wants to do? And the type of client the team wants?   [47:10] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To enable a dexterous organization, let the edges closest to the customers lead. Giving more agency to the agents will facilitate guided emergence, while anchoring your organization with values, purpose, and focus.       RESOURCES   Dart Lindsley on LinkedIn Dart’s website Dart’s Work for Humans podcast Bill Burnet’s book “Designing Your Life”       QUOTES (edited)   “if you're an input to production and my main objective is to make you productive, then if I can make you productive by being happy, great. But, if I can make you productive and you're miserable, great. It's not a concern.”   “The only reason I'm going to care about a human is because of what they give me as a company? It just struck me as like ethically flawed.”   “For the first 10 years of working in HR, I subscribed to the traditional model of HR which is that employees are inputs of production who must be acquired.”   “If employees are customers, what are we selling them? We’re selling them work. If work’s a product, then it’s a design problem and we can design it better.”   “Managers are designers, even ‘product’ managers. [They act] as a broker between two markets. One market is the demand for the labor of the team—so the value that flows towards the traditional customer. The other is the market for work and the work that people want to do.”

Melissa Puls is the Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Customer Success at Ivanti which provides software solutions that elevate and secure EverywhereWork. Melissa brings deep experience building and leading decentralized teams. She shares her critical learnings that have enabled effective teamwork and successful outcomes. Melissa discusses key principles when implementing flexibility, the importance of change management, and how to identify non-performing remote team members. Melissa describes the holistic support distributed employees need, especially including IT and security.     TAKEAWAYS   [02:27] Melissa studies communications and psychology not realizing their connection with marketing.   [03:40] Melissa’s mother is head of marketing at a tech company teaching Melissa women can do anything.   [04:17] Her entrepreneur father becomes mayor wanting to do good things for their country city.   [04:50] Her parents partner well, managing to prioritize Melissa and her sister, and demonstrating the importance of workplace flexibility.   [07:15] As her mother exits Kronos, Melissa feels purposeful in her starting role as a fulfillment coordinator.   [08:55] Melissa’s mother put the human element first in building teams, embracing different points of view.    [09:35] After setting up the fulfillment center, Melissa’s time is freed up. Should she relax or solve new problems?!    [10:15] Melissa pitches a promotion to help out the stressed-out marketing managers—her boss says yes!   [12:05] Wanting to live and raise a family by the ocean, and tired of commuting, Melissa leaves Kronos and moves to the Cape.   [13:16] Melissa lands a lead marketing role at a local tech company which then rolls up into a billion-dollar global organization.   [13:55] Maintaining her boundaries, Melissa stays remote, managing her teams based everywhere.   [15:26] At times, Melissa commutes in part of the week when certain leaders didn’t share her mindset.   [16:56] The first, critical principal is to give people the benefit of the doubt that they will do the right thing.   [17:10] Put people in an environment where they can do their best work and respect their boundaries.   [17:51] Many leaders don’t trust people to do the right thing. How to identify the few employees who don’t?   [18:57] Every employee must understand their purpose, how it relates to the bigger picture, and have clear metrics and expectations.   [19:40] What people say and how they react if there isn’t a good fit.   [21:28] Melissa learned from her father that some choose to set their boundary at doing the minimum work.   [22:42] Melissa joins Iron Mountain for an integrated growth marketing role.   [23:25] Highly corporate centric when she joins, Iron Mountain decides to move and shrink their office space.   [24:39] Employees get two choices: all in-office with a dedicated desk or flexibility with a shared desk.   [26:30] Motivated by costs, Iron Mountrain creates great new space and supports others’ change to work flexibly.   [28:16] Engagement goes up, people are more productive opting for the environment they can work best in.   [29:41] Iron Mountain is set up for success with a strong culture, purpose, and good performance management principles and protocols.   [30:17] Not everyone is on board with the change—which is natural.   [31:19] Ask, not assume, if people can meet your needs.   [32:21] Impressions can be misleading. Set your boundary and have the tough conversation.   [34:36] Melissa's current company is paving the way for flexible work everywhere—internally and for customers.   [35:44] Leaders support flexible work, but are IT and security professionals set up to support them?   [35:15] In new work situations, what new risks are employees under that need to be addressed?   [37:56] Silos between security and IT are decreasing their effectiveness.   [40:32] Frontline managers need to buy in fully to the value of flexible working, not be ‘told’.   [42:09] Deploying flexible work principles: holding people accountable and respecting their independence.   [42:58] Every industry, company, and job is different, so flexibility differs.   [44:23] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Put people in an environment where they can do their best work being clear about purpose, roles, responsibilities, outcomes, and deliverables, and ensure there is alignment between IT and security teams so they can provide and support the right tools for flexible work. Then trust that employees will do the right thing.     RESOURCES   Melissa Puls on LinkedIn Melissa on X Ivanti’s website Ivanti on X Ivanti on Instagram Ivanti’s 2024 Everywhere Work Report     QUOTES (edited)   “We understand flexibility is not only about what the company needs, but also what the individual needs.”   “It takes time and effort and energy and focus for an organization to bring along the right frontline managers so that they understand the purpose of what they're doing and making sure they deploy those principles of flexible work.”   “Hire the best people for the best job it really doesn't matter where they're located.”   “Most important is to give people the benefit of the doubt that they're going to do the right thing.”   “Every single person in your organization needs to understand what their purpose is and how it relates to the bigger picture, vision, and mission of the company and what they can do to contribute to that.”   “Only upside for the company financially—they were in a better spot, less space, more flexible. And the people that opted for that were in an environment where they felt that they could do great work.”   "The importance of having alignment between IT and security, where they have real insights into how the business is operating so they can provide the right tools and really maximize flexible work."

Juliette Powell is Founder and Managing Partner of Kleiner Powell International, a consultancy working at the intersection of responsible technology and business. She is co-author of “The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology.” Juliette brings rich technology research and innovation experience to evaluate our evolving landscape as we anticipate AI integration. She explains her core concerns—what we need to pay attention and lean into. She discusses the importance of personal data ownership, creative friction, digital trust, and logic. Juliette explains how diverse contributions diminish divergent, asymmetric trajectories, so we all need to be actively involved.      TAKEAWAYS   [02:30] Monopoly is Juliette’s favorite game as a kid, showing how you can change your circumstances.   [02:50] Juliette studies finance and international business to understand global interconnectedness.   [03:15] At university, Juliette develops a TV career focusing on the business side of media.   [04:32] Interviewing Janet Jackson and Nelson Mandela reveals juxtaposed insecurity and confidence.   [07:30] Juliette’s first book results from her involvement with TED’s original founder producing the conference and meeting visionary thinkers.   [08:10] Transitioning from TV, Juliette explores technologies and the rise of social media.   [10:25] Citizen journalism and political messaging delivered using digital channels fascinates Juliette.   [12:10] Juliette tries to lead as her whole self, seeing people disconnecting their work/non-work lives.   [13:20] Where engineers can experience misalignment making decisions in their AI-related work.   [14:20] Juliette highlights those who live holistically as fully integrated people in her first book.   [15:00] Integrated work/life experienced early on meeting a couple working remotely in Thailand.   [16:50] Early career motivation to find work thinking about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.   [18:58] How the internet extended possibilities beyond someone’s local geography.   [19:50] Ecosystem pressures raise mental health issues and people trying to survive not thrive.   [20:50] Navigating uncertainty—personally and professionally—requires having Plan A, B, C, and D.   [21:44] Juliette founded the Gathering to ensure diversity and avoid past mistakes in tech development.   [24:41] At TED, there is no separation between the expertise on stage and the audience.   [26:04] Turing AI and WeTheData.org focus on the personal data ecosystem, ownership, and ethical use.   [27:48] Research reveals four grand challenges include digital trust and digital infrastructure/access.   [29:30] An ‘eBay for data’ to aggregate and monetize personal data as Finns do.   [31:31] Research on Americans’ and Europeans’ different attitudes to their personal data.   [35:26] Most of Juliette’s NYU students are terrified of the potential impact of AI on their skills.   [36:25] Students’ potential questions ‘Will I have meaning? Can I contribute anything?’   [37:40] Juliette teaches students research methods to reduce fear and build confidence.   [41:30] The importance of creative friction to reconnect across seamless technology divides.   [42:45] Taking a moment to rise above the sand, things have changed a lot, probably within yourself.   [43:40] Diverse teams earn the most as they take the longest time to deliberate.   [44:45] With diverse debate, deliberating longer, with ongoing feedback, we can create better AI systems.   [45:53] Bias is part of human nature, so how we can reduce asymmetry of power?   [49:00] If we wake up to the power we have and give away, what we can do with that power.   [50:08] Juliette is excited to be alive right now when we are shaping the future such as digital infrastructure, digital literacy, and digital trust.   [50:40] Historically, curators of knowledge have been our sources of truth.   [53:05] We must be able to manage all this uncertainty on the individual level as a community.   [53:45] The Four Logics framework: government, corporate, engineering, and social justice logic.   [54:35] Increasing awareness of misalignment between employees’ morals and employer brands.   [55:47] Checking on personal values, culture, and vision that enable fulfillment.   [56:33] How reducing human biases with AI leads to other biases.   [57:27] Encourage employee experimentation with AI and launch internal challenges.     RESOURCES   Juliette Powell on LinkedIn Juliette Powell’s website Kliener Powell International’s website The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology" co-authored by Juliette Juliette’s first book. “33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking” Juliette’s co-authored book “The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology.”       QUOTES (edited)   "I've always been of the perspective that I'm a whole person. There are many different parts to my whole person, but nonetheless, I try to think of myself holistically as I navigate the world."   "Creative friction can only come from deep diversity. The more diverse, the more they produce questions, the longer it takes to deliberate, but the better the outcomes."   "We need to take responsibility and intentionally co-create with AI to ensure diverse perspectives are debated, increasing initial friction to reduce asymmetries and improve capabilities and relevance."   "Digital trust is kind of key. If we want data, personal data, to work for everyone on the planet, and not just the usual suspects, we need to address digital trust and infrastructure."   "If you feel that your personal morals are being confronted by what you're being asked to do at work, now is the time to recognize that disalignment and seek a place where you can be fulfilled and work on meaningful things."   "I'm excited about shaping AI's future because we are the generations that get to shape it. The decisions we make now will determine where digital trust will be in the next hundred years."   “There is expertise in the everyday person. We don't necessarily reward financially or recognize that, but that tacit knowledge is invaluable.”   “If we take longer to deliberate around our AI systems in their specific use cases and context, bring in the various communities that will be affected before we start building them, and deploy them constantly incorporating that feedback, we'd have much better systems that would work for far more people.”   “If we all woke up a little bit more to the kind of power that we give away, then we could also realize the kind of power that we actually have if we decide to do something about it.”   “We have to be able to manage all this uncertainty on the individual level as a community.”   "If you feel that your personal morals are being confronted by what you're being asked to do at work, now is the time to recognize that disalignment and seek a place where you can be fulfilled and work on meaningful things."   "I'm excited about shaping AI's future because we are the generations that get to shape it. The decisions we make now will determine where digital trust will be in the next hundred years."   “There is expertise in the everyday person. We don't necessarily reward financially or recognize that, but that tacit knowledge is invaluable.”    

David Abrams is the co-founder and CEO of HILO, a platform that is digitizing customer experience to create connected communities of people in buildings. David is also host of the TEN, the Tenant Experience Network podcast. David brings his entrepreneurial and marketing background and context to explore commercial real estate landlords’, owners’, and occupiers’ evolving circumstances. He explains why they need to be collaborating to create hospitality-driven, new tech-enhanced environments and programmed experiences for tenants—for each individually and together as a community.     TAKEAWAYS   [02:29] David takes a while to sort out what he wants to study at college ending up focusing on marketing and accounting.   [03:01] David enjoys the ability accounting gives him to explore how businesses operate.   [03:49] As a first entrepreneurial opportunity, David gets involved in repositioning a struggling agency.   [04:58] Early agency clients span commercial real estate and nonprofit, the latter which David finds especially satisfying.    [05:45] Raw Society is launched to focus on critical strategic work before the creative process begins.   [07:15] The ESG movement makes building operators start to think about environmental impact.    [07:52] What is the effect of the densification of people living and working in central business districts?   [09:13] New thinking is first driven by occupants, relating to basic ESG initiatives like recycling.   [10:14] Operators go paperless, initiating digital communications their tenants’ employees.    [11:32] David loves the opportunity to start creating environments that people enjoyed being in.   [12:16] The smartest operators recognized they could develop better relationships and community by connecting their tenants.    [12:55] The ultimate goal is to improve tenant retention through better customer service and experiences.   [14:09] Every building has constant turnover—both tenants and tenants’ employees.   [14:51] David launches his new company in 2019, gets financing and is in full growth mode when the pandemic hits.   [15:37] As an entrepreneur, David recognizes his two choices - give up or dig in.    [17:38] With little clarity about the future, they tried to be pragmatic about future technology needs.   [21:30] New realizations emerge after a difficult period that extended operators’ boundaries.   [23:09] Operators realize their responsibility to be involved in spaces beyond their buildings.   [24:24] Extra costs can be covered by charging premium rent or sharing new community spaces.    [26:20] Connectivity is a huge driver of experience when it is pervasive and consistent.   [27:18] Investments go into programming, content, services and staff to offer white glove experiences.   [28:51] Office and multifamily categories are all hiring people from the hospitality industry.   [29:37] Programming, services, and staffing are becoming integral and significant to buildings’ offerings.   [31:00] The key factor is not the size of the building, but the commitment of its ownership.   [31:49] Across building classes, technology can be an equalizer to provide higher levels of service.   [34:05] Technology delivers better experiences and reduces friction when people choose to enter the built world.   [35:27] How can we put the power of personalization into the hands of the individual?   [36:29] David imagines we are between first and second base in the evolution of office buildings.   [37:15] People need to congregate for the right reasons in the right environments to do the right kind of work.   [39:49] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Occupiers and landlords need to think beyond the work that needs to get done in an office and co-create experiences that support good work. Consider all the various touchpoints for each person across technology, programming, content, services and staffing.       RESOURCES   David Abrams on LinkedIn David’s company HILO’s website HILO on Instagram TEN – The Tenant Experience Network     QUOTES   “Buildings are not silos. They're part of a neighborhood, they're part of a city and they create community.”   “It's a conversation around where should I work on any given day where can great work happen?”   “How can we put the power of personalization into the hands of the individual. How can they use technology to better connect and engage with all the various spaces and places in their lives and have it not be top down driven.”   “People need to come together for the right reasons in the right environments with the right people to do the right kind of work.”   “The occupier and the landlord need to be open minded. They need to think beyond just the work that needs to get done and start to think about creating an experience that will support great work.”

Dr Zofia Bajorek is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Employment Studies (UK). She was HR Magazine’s Most Influential Thinker in 2022 and 2023. Zofia’s recent work has focused on the quality of work to improve workforce health and wellbeing. She describes why giving employees good quality work improves results, why good work matters, and what it comprises. Zofia explains how good management contributes significantly to employee retention and well-being.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   [02:33] Zofia studied psychology to understand how people think, as well as behavior change, why and how we do things.   [04:17] Zofia’s Master’s focuses on the Future of Work and occupational stress/health at work.   [05:03] Zofia is curious about temporary work arrangements after her own—voluntary—experience.   [06:18] Temporary workers’ different agency and autonomy affects their experiences and health.   [08:01] Zofia’s PhD analyzes temporary staff management and patient care in NHS emergency departments.   [08:47] Possible safety/quality effects when emergency dept. employees get temporary assignments.   [09:42] NHS ‘bank’ and agency staff differences highlight many important talent management nuances.   [11:56] A systems approach to analyzing the UK’s ‘Speedy Summary Justice” – the promise.   [12:45] The effect of disconnects in a system that is overworked, underpaid, and understaffed.   [13:50] The practical reality of human messiness and how organizations and people work.   [15:02] Evidence shows workers’ health and wellbeing affects their productivity and retention.   [16:00] Q: What interventions make the biggest difference to employees’ health and well-being?   [16:50] A: Good management and good employment relationships are the most impactful.   [18:05] In 2006, two researchers discover “Work IS good for your health IF it’s good quality work.”   [18:26] People don’t really know what good quality work is.   [19:27] Good work includes: varied tasks that match interests and skills, co-collaboration, having a voice, autonomy and a fair work environment, with growth opportunities and strong work relationships.   [22:50] “Secure work” depends on the contractual arrangement—imposed or two-way.   [24:24] To achieve a healthy workplace with engaged employees, good quality work is essential.   [25:42] An important factor is someone’s choice about the work they have and can do.   [26:27] Zero-hour contracts are detrimental when managed badly with no communication or flexibility.   [27:28] Freelancers can have good choices: clients, autonomy, relationships, and interesting work.   [28:48] Empathizing is important to discover what encourages people to work, their values, what they bring to the workplace.   [30:26] Companies with embedded focus on wellbeing and good work pre-pandemic were able to transition well through and beyond the crisis.   [31:36] Good management practices including consistent communication, listening, and workplace policies.   [32:15] Zofia shares some examples of data points companies can colligate to increase understanding of their employees’ well-being.   [37:32] The challenges facing organizations are numerous, but a lot of the change can be addressed with good management practices.   [43:55] Young and old want the same thing from the workplace, but demographic pressures are changing the face of retirement.   [47:46] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Good work requires good managers. Ensure those promoted to managerial positions have people management skills and technical excellence. They need training, coaching support, and feedback to help them continue to improve.     RESOURCES   Dr. Zofia Bajorek on Linkedin  Follow Dr. Bajorek on X @DrZofia Website for employment-studies.co.uk The Institute for Employment Studies Interesting articles by Dr. Bajorek: ‘People leave managers, not companies’ - but is the manager really at fault? Are we ‘pulling more sickies’ or do organisations need to focus more on ‘good work’? Health and wellbeing at work: where we are and where we want to be It’s time to stop squeezing the ‘squeezed middle’, for everyone’s benefit Will management ‘productivity paranoia’ be the undoing of hybrid work? The line management conundrum – let’s hug and not squeeze our line managers     QUOTES (edited)   “If we don't look after people's health and well-being in the workplace it can have an impact on both retention and productivity levels.”   “Work is good for your health, but there is a strong caveat that it has to be good quality work. And that is where we are still struggling because people don't know what good quality work is.”   “Every human has fluctuating mental health. But what's important for the workplace is that work doesn't make it worse.”   “If you want good work and good health, you have to have good management.”

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, a consulting, coaching, and training firm. Gleb is a behavioral scientist and best-selling author of seven books, including “Never Go With Your Gut” and “Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams”. He shares his interest in human behaviors focused on decision-making and cognitive biases. Gleb explains his passion to help people make good decisions, discussing the role of emotions, and why to try to prove yourself wrong. He emphasizes how to optimize work-related decisions to improve working environments, experiences, policies, and outcomes.       TAKEAWAYS   [02:59] Interested in human behaviors, Gleb studies history--people in their historical contexts.   [03:53] Gleb narrows his research to behavioral science decision-making in historical and contemporary contexts.   [04:53] Gleb’s interest focuses on motivations and historical archives reveal what people were saying behind the scenes.   [05:39] We’re not very good at making decisions. We often follow our intuition or go with our gut.   [06:32] How a client’s early experiences affect how he handles conflict as a business leader.   [07:41] How do individuals and groups make decisions? What motivations cause what effects?   [08:12] How to have healthy conflicts with people.   [09:32] How do you make good decisions, proofing yourself against future disruptions?   [10:50] Decision hygiene—identify biases including not what you don’t do, that's a decision too!   [13:55] How you can misperceive yourself, your skills.   [15:04] Blind spots and how humans are full of contradictions.   [16:42] Gleb’s early books about different aspects of decision making.   [17:29] Before making a decision ask: Q1 - What information haven't I fully understood yet?   [19:28] Q2: What judgment errors haven't I fully considered?   [20:30] The need to be introspective about our emotions so they don't dictate our decisions.   [21:50] Gleb starts his own company, Disaster Avoidance Experts, in 2018.   [22:30] Gleb’s targets people whose possible bad decisions could have disastrous consequences.    [23:35] Paying attention to leading indicators to make informed decisions early in the pandemic.   [24:49] The challenges belief bias and confirmation bias can cause.   [26:30] What comparable data is relevant to ensure you are making good decisions?   [29:40] Looking at the data and challenging the motivation to be back in the office—for what?   [31:10] Managers weren't comfortable that they could control their teams working remotely.   [31:56] Combining training and techniques to not manage by walking around the office.   [33:04] Switching to weekly performance evaluations with three to five goals per week.   [35:27] Coaching style leadership was gaining ground long before the pandemic.   [38:32] College educated males choose to work fewer hours, valuing well-being and leisure more than before the pandemic.   [40:02] Research and resignations show willingness to take a 10% pay cut to keep flexibility.   [40:38] The impact of not being empathetic about your employees.   [42:37] What is best for knowledge workers? Not sitting in factory style offices.   [43:22] For knowledge work: creativity and collaboration of the human mind determine any company’s value add.   [44:33] The four principles of knowledge work to set up workplaces of the future.   [45:44] To establish trust, new systems and processes are needed including regular performance evaluations.   [47:20] Don't let one bad apple spoil it for others.   [49:35] Finding truth through content curation versus creation in an AI-powered world.   [51:40] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To adapt to modern work, survey employees about they feel about hybrid work, best practices, problems, and opportunities for improvement. Focus conversations on trust, autonomy, support, and collaboration.     RESOURCES   Dr Gleb Tsipursky on LinkedIn Gleb Tsipursky on X Dr Gleb Tsipursky on Instagram Facebook at DrGlebTsipursky Dr. Gleb Tsipursky speaker video Dr. Gleb Tsipursky’s books include: The Truth-Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide.    Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters  Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage   QUOTES   “People often don't know what their own motivations are. They don't know how they interact, and they don't understand why they make the decisions they do. We're not very good at making decisions. We often just follow our intuition; we go with our gut.”   “There was research showing that in order to have healthy conflicts with people, you should follow a 5:1 ratio. For each one conflictual thing you do at least five equivalently positive things.”   “Taking all the social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and cognitive biases. If you can identify those in yourself right now, you can really set up set yourself up for a lot of success down the line.”   “We are human beings, we are full of contradictions.”   “Seeing the truth is very important to make a good decision, but that's not the same thing as making a good decision.”   “If you actually want to make a good decision what you want to do is try to prove yourself wrong. Try to prove that your decision is incorrect. Try to disconfirm your decision.”   “One issue is the empathy gap. We might underestimate the emotions that other people are experiencing. One of the biggest challenges in business decision making is failure to think sufficiently about emotions, our own emotions and other people's emotions. We don't realize how important emotions are.”    “Not being empathetic and understanding emotions matters. The emotions of your employees matter. How they feel matters. And they're actually taking steps based on their feelings around retention, engagement, productivity, morale.”   “Knowledge workers function best as a combination of providing them with trust, trusting them to work in the way that they know how; providing with autonomy, having control over their time and location of work; providing them with necessary and appropriate support, giving them knowledge, information, tools: and facilitating their collaboration with others.”

Amina Moreau is the CEO and co-Founder of Radious, an online marketplace offering companies flexible work locations to give their employees commute-free, homestyle, collaborative workspaces. She is a serial entrepreneur, multiple Emmy-winning filmmaker, and photographer. Amina explains why employers need to create a framework and processes that enable workplace flexibility and support employees’ autonomy, incorporating comfortable and convenient work environments. Amina shares insights about empathetic leadership and upskilled managers to improve employees’ experiences and performance. She describes critical environmental and social components of new workplace solutions.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   [02:38] Amina changes majors five times exploring what she wants to be when she grows up!   [03:35] Amina loves photography but also thinks learning how the brain works is handy.   [4:40] Storytelling means understanding who people are and how they think and see their future.   [05:49] Amina’s first business initially emphasizes innovative technology and equipment.   [07:04] Taking wedding storytelling to the next level – what has shaped who these people are?   [07:44] Tomatoes are a metaphor for one couple’s relationship.   [09:22] How relationships evolve on film and with clients.   [10:46] Entrepreneurship is Amina’s path—starting in her dorm room.   [11:47] A talent for seeing gaps in the market spawns multiple new ventures.   [12;15] Amina develops opportunities related to her core passion.   [14:30] Pandemic-related issues are the genesis for non-profit Float Small Business.   [15:43] Creative ground support for local businesses keeps Amina busy during a tough period.   [17:34] A new venture to suit flexible workstyles emerges from their Airbnb host business.   [19:22] Eliminating the overnight component increases safety and solves other hosting pain points.   [21:25] New adaptations as employers integrate remote policies for the long term.   [23:30] A compelling combination: no commuting, collaboration space, and the comforts of home.   [24:28] Who pays for the space? Shifting to a B2B model.   [26:24] Current RTO headlines don’t match the majority of companies’ work policies.   [27:50] Amina believes most companies are trying hybrid as they are stuck with office leases.   [28:38] The benefits of flexible, on-demand office spaces and who is likely to benefit most.   [32:12] Have leaders who proclaim remote work isn’t sustainable been trained to manage in remote/hybrid environments?   [34:20] Terminology needs to evolve to reflect the variety of remote work options and benefits.   [35:58] Empathetic leadership leads to better team outcome for which leaders need upskilling.   [36:58] Team level agreements need setting about expectations and communication styles.   [38:35] How much autonomy is optimal to drive motivation and outcomes?   [39:27] Companies signing up for flexible workspaces need a framework and process to ensure their employees use it.   [40:22] Working with companies to understand their context and help them choose relevant workspaces.   [41:29] Amina’s sense of purpose that energizes her and the team—we’re here to help bring fulfillment and work/life balance.   [43:35] Radious’s core environmental and social solutions are significant motivators for Amina.   [44:40] Local workspaces also support community relationships and business.   [46:04] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: It doesn’t have to be a two-sided equation — either working at the office or from home. There are many other options to consider to support your employees, which don’t have the costs or commute of an office, yet offer camaraderie and community.     RESOURCES   Amina Moreau on LinkedIn Radious.pro Radious on X @RadiousPro Radious on Instagram @Radious.Pro     QUOTES (edited)   “One of the best things that you can study is how people think because in any profession, understanding how the brain works is kind of handy.”   “It turns out that having a psychology background is really valuable in storytelling.”   “There are some companies that from the beginning of the pandemic were hell-bent on getting people back to the office. Come hell or high water, those companies still exist. Thankfully, they are in the minority.”   “The headlines we see about RTO are usually made by the biggest companies on the planet which have the largest PR megaphones … and the largest real estate holdings.”   “A lot of people equate remote work with working from home, but remote work is now an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of ways, and places to work from. And it doesn't have to be in isolation.”

Tom Hunt is the Founder and CEO of Fame which builds profitable podcasts. Tom is also host of the podcast “Confessions of a B2B Marketer”. He leads a fast-growing fully-remote company and shares his journey intentionally learning effective leadership styles, management methods, and organizational practices. Tom discusses what he looks for in successful leaders and how he purposefully develops and upskills inexperienced employees.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   [03:01] Why Tom goes from studying chemistry to consulting.   [04:11] A pivotal role working on outsourcing projects happens by chance.   [05:19] Tom realizes being employed is not his thing and focuses on selling online.   [06:32] Tom's first venture leverages his experiences outsourcing for large companies.   [07:33] Tom focuses on what he enjoys doing and is good at.   [08:41] The ability to fail and keep going is one of the best predictors of success.   [09:53] The genesis of Fame and how they landed their first client.   [11:19] Tom shares the multifaceted benefits of being transparent about Fame’s earnings.   [13:36] Empathy is a crucial skill for leaders which takes more effort in distributed settings.   [16:14] The benefit of paying attention to signals in asynchronous communications.   [16:50] Continuing to explore how best to nurture distributed culture and connection.   [17:56] Building culture through values awards.   [18:29] Impactful for remote cultures: client-focused operational excellence and engaging elements in team meetings.   [20:51] Employees are trained in interviews to assess for specific work history criteria.   [23:19] Office space has been considered and Tom explains what issues it would create.   [25:00] Fame's business is output-driven and well-defined effectively supported by strong, positive performance management.   [26:59] intentional training and management engages and retains employees and adds value to less experienced hires.   [27:45] Multi-touchpoint, frequent check-ins—with superiors and peers—help account managers grow.   [28:35] The intentional approach to help supervising managers improve too.   [30:45] The onboarding process is a key value add driver for Fame, continually evolving and being improved.   [31:34] One employee's career development and why upskilling people builds strong cultures.   [33:03] Tom promotes employees’ proactive and self-determined progression.   [33:57] Study of leadership focuses Tom on creating cohesion, communicating with clarity, and reinforcing the clarity.   [36:24] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: For leaders of fully distributed teams, use live interaction time with team members wisely to collect and convey information to improve people’s work lives. Don’t take those meetings for granted. You have to do your best work as a remote leader.     RESOURCES   Tom Hunt on LinkedIn X @TomHuntio Instagram @TomHuntio Fame.so Confessions of a B2B Marketer podcast Top Grading by Brad and Geoff Smart High Output Management by Andy Grove The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni   QUOTES (edited)   "The thing that I was looking for most with angel investing was founder resilience. Had this founder failed before and kept going? The ability to pivot, tweak things, and then go forward is probably the most important at that very early stage."   "Empathy for each individual is one of the crucial aspects of leading. If you understand how each person is feeling, you can tailor your approach to working with them to maximize the output for both them personally and their group."   "We decided that if a team member meets another team member in person, whether they’re doing work or not, they get an allowance for that meeting to be spent on anything. It’s a decentralized campaign that promotes in-person interaction, which benefits the company and the individual."   "It’s not a process in which we try to fire somebody. It’s a process in which we’re looking to support someone to perform better."   “The monthly chat with managers is the review of: ‘What’s gone well this month? What’s not gone so well? What do you want to more of?’ and we’ve added in ‘How can I be a better manager for you?’”   "If you have something that you want to learn or do and there’s a business need for that thing and you’ve mastered your current role, then you can do it. You just have to find the person who’s going to replace you."

Debbie Lovich is Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She leads BCG’s thinking on making work work. Debbie describes Harvard research conducted at BCG on work/life balance. She shares insights as to why lasting solutions must be co-created, continuously improved, and include teams having open discussions about team norms. Debbie explains why her focus on joy (and productivity) is an economic one especially as Gen AI forces everyone to rethink work. Debbie portrays the Generative Leader and explains how their intent for improvement and team approach enables transformation projects to succeed.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   [02:28] Debbie loves business from an early age so she studies economics.   [02:56] Companies move too slowly! Debbie discovers quickly that consulting is the right fit for her!   [04:12] A random connection introduces Harvard professor Leslie Perlow about a research study on work/life balance.   [05:01] Debbie has no work/life balance but wonders what Leslie might come up with.   [06:30] Detailed data reveals consultants expect long hours but the lack of predictability is a huge issue.   [07:30] Leslie wants to conduct an experiment with one team testing a more predictable schedule.   [08:52] Looking for a team for the experiment, Debbie hears “Great idea, but why not your team?!”   [09:57] How the lack of predictability is experienced by BCG consultants.   [11:02] Debbie asks her important local client to support doing the HBS research with her team.   [12:10] The experiment is successful and the model is scaled to the rest of BCG.   [13:17] Debbie temporarily leaves BCG to commercialize the research results with Leslie.   [14:34] Scaling a model is very different than managing one controlled experiment.   [15:50] Data on client value delivery is key to convince others as the model is expanded.   [16:56] Everyone has to design the change—at the start and evolving improvements over time.   [18:40] Agreeing team norms is essential so different people and projects determine parameters.   [22:01] With new tools, ubiquitous work is possible with zero boundaries and much waste.   [23:35] When you constrain work, people have to prioritize and innovate.   [24:10] In today’s labor market, work/life balance is an important reason to rethink work.   [27:44] Debbie believes that work is fundamentally broken.   [28:38] In a VUCA world, employers are giving workers more to do with fewer resources.   [29:27] - The ‘unbroken state’ is when we are all in this together.   [30:32] Debbie focuses on joy for economic reasons.   [32:51] Trader Joe's employee-centric positive results.   [34:56] Why organizations should think of employees like customers—including emotional benefits.   [36:12] Gabby Novacek's work reveals everyone is motivated differently. Programs focusing only on few segments won't succeed.   [38:24] Who Generative Leaders are.   [39:18] Debbie explains the head, heart, and hands of generative leadership.   [40:54] The most important things employees want from leaders and where leaders spend their time.       RESOURCES   Debbie Lovich on LinkedIn BCG.com       QUOTES (edited)   “If you want to make change stick, there has to be something in it for all parties.“   “Everyone has to design the change…15 years later, thousands think that they invented it, because they did.”   “If you tell people they can’t work 24/7, you have to think about what’s the most important work to do. Are there different ways to get it done? And that leads to better work.”   “We need to solve the needs of the work and the needs of the team in how we rethink work.”   “When you constrain the work, you force people to prioritize. You force teams to talk about what’s going to get in the way of everyone getting their time off and making it work. So it forces innovation of new approaches.”   “How do we make work more productive and more enjoyable at the same time?”   “Gen AI is coming and is forcing everyone to rethink work.”   “My focus on joy is an economic one.”   “Employees are customers too. They choose to work with you. They choose to expend their energy at work every day as opposed to just punch the clock.”   “You need to think about not just the functional needs of pay and benefits and hours, but the emotional needs of feeling supported, enjoying your work, feeling respected.”

Denise Brouder, Founder and Head of Data and Insights at SWAY Workplace. As a flexible work skills expert, researcher, and consultant—with a Wall St background in financial oversight and controls—Denise discusses a risk-adjusted systems approach to implement flexibility and optimize performance. She explains why AI is a key factor driving us from fixed hybrid to flexible models as the only viable long-term solution. Denise explains the critical importance of empathy-based trust to effect flexibility at scale and fuel high-performing teams and that to work differently, we need to start by thinking differently.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   [02:39] From rural Ireland, Denise writes to Wall St. banks asking for an internship and gets one!   [03:55] Denise is systems-oriented, finding banks’ capital, economics, and operations fascinating.   [04:37] Denise compares Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs as organizations and employers.   [05:17] As a young mother, Denise leaves Wall Street to join a tech startup and get more flexibility.   [06:00] Denise finds she loves the process of starting with a problem and building something.   [06:48] Working in a large company becomes transactional while at a startup to see how your everyday effort contributes to progress.   [07:41] At a fast-paced startup, Denise learns to hustle, figuring things out as they build the business.   [08:22] Denise finds building and scaling with limited resources a very interesting challenge.   [09:02] Denise follows a colleague to LugTrack, launching with five people and a patent.   [10:19] Persistence, creativity, and grit are critical for success as a startup—which are emotional skills.   [11:06] Lithium-ion batteries catching fire on planes meant LugTrack’s business runway ran out.   [11:49] After a course on the Future of Work, Denise takes a big leap of faith and founds a company.   [12:30] Denise recognizes the work change ahead and wants to productize how to work flexibly.   [14:29] Denise wants to yell “AI is coming! AI is coming!” from the hilltop!   [14:45] Denise feels strongly about mastering flexible work at scale to propel everyone forward.   [16:10] Denise thinks that flexibility at scale levels the playing field for women. [17:10] The first iteration of SWAY is a technology play using apps to convene the conversation digitally around new ways of working.   [18:15] The advancement of women will happen by changing the system from the inside out, making flexibility a gender neutral issue.   [19:38] Denise discovers she is a systems thinker and we have a systems problem.   [20:32] The Science of Flexibility helps de-risk flexibility as an operational strategy for a large company.   [21:17] If flexibility is demonstrated, measured, and communicated like a risk-adjusted talent model, senior leaders can get people on the same page.   [22:49] In SWAY’s work, EQ and empathy demonstrate the intelligence that is in flexibility that we’re going to need in an AI-influenced world.   [23:42] High-performing flexible teams are fueled by empathy-based trust.   [25:32] Emotions are fundamental to our human design, but we only just starting to understand them.   [27:47] Traditional working norms evolved around visual-based trust.   [28:26] In hybrid models, trust levels feel low and are questioned—these are growing pains.   [29:16] Flexibility at scale requires empathy-based trust.   [32:03] The social contract used to provide stability. Now, what is the system? Do we trust it?   [32:49] Reimagining the social contract may be an even bigger shift to prepare for in the future of work.   [33:40] Denise is concerned that some employees are not fighting RTO mandates anymore.   [36:05] In-office mandates are not long-term models, but the current situation is still malleable.   [36:45] In face of AI disruption, Denise’s goal is to articulate that flexibility is not a fad or a perk but an intelligent model for the modern era   [38:33] Mindset is first—to facilitate adaptability and resiliency.   [40:08] If we want to work differently, we have to think differently.   [41:20] Cultural differences about work and historical religious underpinnings.   [43:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: First, the Future of Work is a journey, not a destination. Take the pressure off “completing” the transition as it is an evolution. Second, we learn and communicate new ways of working through documentation rather than observation. Third, lead by outcomes and create social space to learn team members’ work styles.   RESOURCES   Denise Brouder on LinkedIn @SWAYworkplace on X @SWAYworkplace on Instagram swayworkplace.com     QUOTES (edited)   “Our original social mission was to level the playing field for women at work, using flexibility at scale.”   “The Science of Flexibility is my way of communicating with senior leaders who are accountable for performance within a flexible model. We have to demonstrate how it works, why it’s better than before, how we measure the impact, and how we deploy it.”   “It’s a risk-adjusted talent model. We explain it in a condensed, easy-to-consume setting under the umbrella term “the Science of Flexibility” specifically for senior leaders.”   “In an AI-influenced world, where a lot of our work is going to be transformed, we are left with the work of being human to one another.”   “We evolved our working norms around visual-based trust. When we were all shifted home for fully remote work, it was a very uncomfortable period. A lot of leaders found themselves on Teams wondering if we trust each other.”   “An in-office model of work is not suitable for where we need to grow economically, regardless of where your industry is. It just isn’t.”   “If we want to work differently, we have to think differently, and if we want to think differently, we start with resiliency.”   “Gen X has always associated a hard day’s work with a sense of decency, patriotism, and honor, and when they look at the younger ones looking to reach those outcomes differently, they have a hard time associating value with that style of work.”