Siri Chilazi, senior researcher at the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School and co-author of Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results, joins the podcast to explore how organizations can meaningfully advance fairness at work.

Drawing on insights from her research and the book, Siri discusses how to drive change even in risk-averse or hesitant environments. She unpacks the difference between fairness and sameness, how to bias-proof training, and what it really takes to embed behavior change into day-to-day decision-making.

From debunking persistent workplace myths to practicing “norm entrepreneurship,” Siri offers practical strategies—grounded in data—that leaders and teams can apply right away.

Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sirichilazi/
• Website: https://sirichilazi.com/
• Book: https://sirichilazi.com/books/make-work-fair/

Neil Thompson is the founder of Teach the Geek, a company dedicated to helping technical professionals effectively communicate the value of their work to non-technical stakeholders. He joins the podcast to share how anyone with a specialization can sharpen their presentation skills—moving beyond acronyms and jargon that only experts understand.

This conversation also explores what L&D professionals can do when they’re on the receiving end of technical lingo. How do you collaborate with a SME who seems to speak a different language? How can you encourage technical workers to embrace soft skill training? And where do we even start when it comes to AI?

Neil answers all of these questions and offers practical tips to solve a common workplace issue: getting too technical.

Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilithompson/
• Website: https://teachthegeek.com/
• TD Magazine article (Member-only): https://www.td.org/content/td-magazine/public-speaking-struggles-for-technical-professionals
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/teachthegeek

Jenny Wood, former Google executive and author of Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It, challenges the idea that success means playing it safe. In this episode, she reveals how to reclaim nine so-called "negative" traits—like being selfish, nosy, or even manipulative—and use them to build confidence, influence without authority, and stand out in your career.

We explore how these traits play out in risk-averse vs. risk-friendly workplaces, how to apply them in team settings (not just as individuals), and how to avoid Trait Traps that turn strengths into weaknesses. Plus, Jenny tackles skepticism around reframing words like "manipulative" and shares which trait challenged her the most.

Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyilles/
• Website: https://itsjennywood.com/
• Book: https://itsjennywood.com/book
• Download Get Promoted Guide: https://itsjennywood.kit.com/7b1b560076
• More Tools from Jenny: https://itsjennywood.com/resources