Work 20XX with Jeff Frick

Brian Robertson’ leadership philosophies are based on empowering the system, not the people. With clear limits, an ‘act don’t ask’ permissive mindset, the culture seeks to foster more entrepreneurial leadership, when people can exercise authority and autonomy, rather then sitting around, waiting to be told what to do.  As the founder of Holacracy and a veteran entrepreneur, Brian brings a new model for leadership and decision-making, rooted in clarity, authority, and giving people the ability to act. Recorded at Running Remote in Austin, Brian shares how companies can unlock speed and autonomy by creating transparent systems where roles are dynamic, authority is clearly defined, and people are trusted to lead without waiting for permission. He explains why most “empowerment” efforts fall flat, how limits actually expand freedom, and what it looks like when even the newest hire can shape the CEO’s responsibilities. From roundabouts to role maps, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways for leaders looking to future-proof their teams and ditch outdated command-and-control models. Empower the system.  Please join me in welcoming Brian Robertson to the Work 20XX podcast. Editor’s Note: Recorded 2025-April-30 at the Running Remote conference in Austin, Texas. Special thanks to Liam, Egor, Ana, and Team Running Remote. Brian Robertson: Authority, Clarity, Limits, System | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep49 from Running Remote YouTube - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv7awiTqQQY&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt  Transcript and Show Note - Click Here  © Copyright 2025 Menlo Creek Media, LLC, All Rights Reserved   

Mindy Honcoop helps people grow, one micro dose at a time. As the founder of Agile in HR and a seasoned people leader, Mindy brings a unique lens as her path started in the juvenile justice system, working with kids, and figuring out how happiness, and being one’s best self at work, contributed to a child’s well being.  At Running Remote, Mindy emcee’d the outside stage for two days, absorbing insights, and sharing her own perspective on the evolving nature of leadership, work, and upskilling. In this episode, she shares how fractional roles work, her approach to growth and creating a people and skills roadmap, and then training her way out of the engagement, upskilling the internal team to take the business up a notch. Mindy has a laser focus on a market segment where she identified a gap she could fill. Micro dose change is just one secret she shared. Please join me in welcoming Mindy Honcoop to the Work 20XX podcast. Editor’s Note: Recorded 2025-April-30 at the Running Remote conference in Austin, Texas.  Special thanks to Liam, Egor, Ana, and Team Running Remote. Mindy Honcoop: Fractional, Upskill, Micro dose Change | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep48 from Running Remote #MindyHoncoop #AgileHR #MicrodoseChange #Fractional #Upskill #Microdose #Change  #FractionalLeadership #Upskilling #FutureOfWork #RemoteWork #PeopleOps #Digital #Distributed #Remote #Hybrid #Workplace #RunningRemote #LeadershipDevelopment #HumanCentered #WorkplaceTransformation #ContinuousImprovement #TeamCulture #Interview #Podcast #Work20XX YouTube  - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc-JKzPVZMw&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt   Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  Mindy Honcoop: Fractional, Upskill, Micro dose Change | Work 20XX Ep48 - Work 20XX https://www.work20xx.com/episode/mindy-honcoop-fractional-upskill-micro-dose-change-work-20xx-ep48  

Justin Harlan wants you to move to Tulsa. But not just for the $10,000 check. He wants you to consider building your life in Tulsa. As Managing Director of Tulsa Remote, Justin leads a groundbreaking initiative to attract talented, remote workers to diversity Tulsa’s economic base beyond oil and gas with more knowledge workers. To grow greater Tulsa, as well as the newly transplanted community. Tulsa is also investing in ‘placemaking’ to increase the probability that these newest residents will stay for the long team. And it’s working. With over 3,500 people relocated and an 85% retention rate, Justin and team are hitting the right levers. People are coming for the incentives, they’re staying for the quality of life. Please join me in welcoming Justin Harlan to the Work 20XX podcast. And thanks Justin and Austin Remote for being active sponsors of Running Remote, hosting the welcome reception.  Recorded 2025-April-29 at the Running Remote conference in Austin, Texas. Special thanks to the Tulsa Remote team and our friends at Running Remote. Justin Harlan: $10K to Move, Stay for Community | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep47 from Running Remote #TulsaRemote #Talent #Distributed #Digital #Remote #Hybrid #RemoteWork #TalentAttraction #RelocationIncentives #CommunityBuilding #EconomicDevelopment #QualityOfLife #JustinHarlan #FutureOfWork #DistributedTeams #RunningRemote #PlaceBasedInnovation #HybridWork #DigitalNomads #Interview #Podcast #Work20XX  YouTube - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQCMEJBGsgg&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt   Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  https://www.work20xx.com/episode/justin-harlan-move-for-10k-stay-for-community-work-20xx-ep47  

Zach Boyette got a business class view of the world and decided to build a life, and company around the freedom to design one’s own life, not only for Zach the traveler, but all the employees, regardless of the design they choose, living anywhere in the world. As co-founder and CEO of Galactic Fed, Zach leads a 100% remote, 150-person global marketing agency. They designed the company from the bottom up around the principle of giving agency to employees to design they life they want to lead. At work, at home, and in their communities.  Built on a foundation of documentation, writing things down, no single point of failure. They’ve developed blueprints to describe in detail how to do various projects, from kicking off a client engagement, to interviewing new candidates.  And time together, the focus is on fun. Show and Tell, Games, and more. Since the work is digital, together time is used to strengthen the human connections.  Please join me in welcoming Zach Boyette to the Work 20XX podcast. Where we’re reminded yet again, that it’s better to be one in a million, than one of a million.  Thanks again Zach. Recorded 2025-April-29 at the Running Remote conference in Austin, Texas.  Special thanks to Liam, Egor, Ana, and Team Running Remote. Zach Boyette: Remote, Design, Freedom, Games | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep46 from Running Remote YouTube - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Q077l_SRc&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt   Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  https://www.work20xx.com/episode/zach-boyette-remote-design-freedom-games-work-20xx-ep46  

Phil Kirschner returns to Work 20XX with a fresh perspective on how we actually get work done, and exploring a concept he calls “vibe officing.” And yes, it’s a verb. As Phil puts it, “technology should help us be more human,” navigating between spaces, people, and pulse moments with greater flow and fewer barriers. Sitting face to face from Running Remote in Austin, Phil shares practical insights for leaders navigating change for their teams and organizations, culture shifts, and compliance challenges, with an update on New York City’s Local Law 97.  Please join me in welcoming Phil Kirschner back to the Work 20XX podcast from Running Remote. As founder of PK Consulting, former McKinsey expert, and veteran of WeWork’s meteoric ride, Phil has seen firsthand how organizations build, adapt, and sometimes stall. His new newsletter, The Workline, has quickly become essential reading for workplace strategists, changemakers, and executives trying to align culture, operations, and experience. We dug a little deeper into a few choice editions.  Thanks again Phil. Recorded April 24, Running Remote, Austin Special thanks to Liam Martin, Egor Borushko, Ana Maria Bennett & Team Running Remote Phil Kirschner v2: Vibe, Pulse, Transparency, Nudge | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep45 from Running Remote YouTube - Click Here   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNfo6fLWjSM&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  https://www.work20xx.com/episode/phil-kirschner-v2-vibe-pulse-transparency-nudge-work-20xx-ep45  

Sophie Wade returns to Work 20XX with a powerful reminder, the future of work is digitalized, multi-gen, and human-first. And that’s not a typo, it is a process of work being broken down, and digitalized, and to quote Sophie, ‘the tech driven world and operations is changing how we work, not the other way around.” In person, from Running Remote in Austin, Sophie shares deep insights on how empathy, adaptability, and trust are reshaping workforce dynamics.  Please join me in welcoming Sophie Wade back to the Work 20XX podcast from Running Remote. As founder of Flexcel Network, author of Empathy Works, host of the Transforming Work podcast, and creator of the Work in Progress Report newsletter, Sophie has been a relentless advocate for designing work experiences that prioritize empathy, people and performance. Literally hundreds of thousands have attended her LinkedIn Learning classes in pursuit of a more responsive, flexible, and inclusive workplace. And breaking news, she’s launching a new series of classes on Sophie Wade dot com this month. The first one, Selling with Empathy. Lots more in the show notes.  Recorded April 30, Fair Market, Austin Special thanks to Liam Martin, Egor Borushko, Ana Maria Bennett & Team Running Remote Sophie Wade v2: Digitalized Multi-Gen, What Is | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep44 from Running Remote YouTube - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWXG1mNidpg&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt&index=1 Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  https://www.work20xx.com/episode/sophie-wade-v2-digitalized-multi-gen-what-is-work-20xx-ep44  

Brian Elliott returns to Work 20XX with a fresh lens on scaling distributed work, investing in people, and navigating the J-curve of technology adoption inside teams. Because what works for supporting distributed teams, works for increasing team AI adoption. Align on real goals, only three to five, and check in with tweet sized updates, once a week, on those three goals.  Please join me in welcoming Brian Elliott back to the Work 20XX podcast from Running Remote. As co-founder of Future Forum, co-author of How the Future Works, and now with his new  Newsletter, Work Forward, Brian is a data-filled champion of distributed teams years and years, long before Covid, before it was in fashion. He continues in that tradition with his latest, the Work Forward newsletter, chock-full-o case studies, research, and exercises to help you get more out of your team.  He pulls from the best, including a heavy dose of Atlassian, PagerDuty, and Neiman Marcus. Recorded April 30, Fair Market, Austin Special thanks to Liam Martin, Egor Borushko, Ana Maria Bennett & Team Running Remote Brian Elliott v2: Invest, J-Curve, Goals, Team | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep43 from Running Remote YouTube - Click Here  Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here 

Sacha Connor returns to Work 20XX and asks, how do you self advocate, make sure the right people see and are familiar with your accompaniments, skills, and potential, when the most important factor when being considered for that next promotion or fresh opportunity is an AI agent preparing a list of candidates for consideration. Are you on the agent’s radar? What digital persona is assembled by the AI after consuming the knowledge management system data, presentations, actions plans, meeting notes, agendas, project summaries, IMs, emails, meeting transcripts, and more digital exhaust? How does it compare to others? Please join me in welcoming Sacha Connor back to the Work 20XX podcast at Running Remote,  As Founder and CEO of Virtual Work Insider, Sacha has long been a leading voice and resource for building distributed team success for years.  In this episode, we explore how in today’s AI world, people must signal their value to not just their managers and people who make decisions, but the AI agents that create the nominations based on a wide swath of internal systems communications data.  Recorded April 29, Fair Market, Austin Special Thanks to Liam Martin, Egor Borushko, Ana Maria Bennett & Team Running Remote Sacha Connor v2: Self-Advocacy in the Age of AI | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep42 at Running Remote YouTube - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLrTlErF3OU&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt Transcript and Show Notes - Episode Page - Click Here  https://www.work20xx.com/episode/sacha-connor-v2-self-advocacy-in-the-age-of-ai-work-20xx-ep42  

Ryan Anderson and his global research team are spread across more than 20 countries, allowing them to study a wide variety of built environments, workplaces, homes, schools, and healthcare, not just remotely, but in person. That in-person presence is critical. It gives them the ability to feel what’s happening in different types of spaces, each designed around distinct objectives. Ryan also hosts one of the leading podcasts in the space, About Place—a true masterclass in all things design, workplace, and beyond. In fact, his podcast was one of my earliest and most valued resources as I dove into this community and topic. So it was a real pleasure to sit down in person at Running Remote 2025 in Austin. Ryan shares how experience-based design isn't just about furniture or aesthetics, it's about creating environments that support engagement, autonomy, and wellbeing.  We explore the purpose behind workspace design, the data behind engaged teams, and the human factors that too often get overlooked. Ryan also talks about the role of choice and trust in workplace effectiveness, and why spaces that reflect organizational values are more important than ever. Please join me in welcoming Ryan Anderson back to the Work 20XX podcast. Recorded April 29, 2025 | Fair Market, Austin Thanks to Liam Martin, Egor Borushko, Ana Maria Bennett & Team Running Remote Ryan Anderson v2: Support Rich Interpersonal Interactions | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep41 from Running Remote  YouTube - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WskmM6kJiKI&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt   Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  https://www.work20xx.com/episode/ryan-anderson-v2-support-rich-interpersonal-interactions-work-20xx-ep41  

Jessica “JJ” Reeder was there, with Darren Murph, at GitLab, early pandemic, when suddenly the entire world was interested in their masterpiece, the GitLab Remote Work handbook. When the world was thrown into remote and distributed work over a weekend in Spring 2020, and answers to many of the questions were contained in the tens of thousands of words, and thousands of pages in the GitLab remote work playbook. As JJ recently reminded, that work started a decade ago. She and Darren are no longer at GitLab, and the Pandemic is 5 years removed and fading in the new rear view mirror. Good news, eyes on the future. The future is AI-powered. Good news, the same behaviors, attributes, and best practices that powered success in distributed teams, are the same required to increase team AI adoption. The long held dream of a high functioning organizational knowledge platform, is finally, almost here?  Please join me in welcoming “JJ” Jessica Reeder to the Work 20XX podcast. JJ and team are implementing said knowledge platform in her new role at Upwork. As we discuss in this interview, it’s about the hard work, and everyone doing their part, that builds the buy in, and the data base, to dramatically improve the chances of success, wide spread adoption, and a significant reduction in the time spent searching for information. Thanks again, JJ. Editor’s Note: Recorded 2025-April-29 at the Running Remote conference in Austin, Texas. Special thanks to Liam, Egor, Ana, and the entire Running Remote team for collaborating with Work 20XX to capture these in-person interviews with the top minds shaping the future of work. “JJ” Jessica Reeder: Scaling Knowledge, Evolution, Operations | Work podcast with Jeff Frick 20XX Ep40 from Running Remote  YouTube - Click Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmpI_FOdyyo&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  https://www.work20xx.com/episode/jj-jessica-reeder-scaling-knowledge-evolution-operations-work-20xx-ep40