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

Sarah Mercier is the CEO of Build Capable and the editor of the newly released book, Design for All Learners: Create Accessible and Inclusive Learning Experiences. Sarah joins the podcast to share an inside look into Design for All Learners, revealing why everyone benefits from more inclusive design, and actionable steps you can take immediately to create more accessible content.

Sarah shares chapter sneak-peeks and explains how the story-driven format allows readers to understand accessibility in a new perspective. In addition, the conversation covers advocating for accessibility-focused roles and projects, how to make better design decisions, and going beyond a checklist mentality and basic standard compliance so that every learner can get the most out of your content.

Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcmercier
• Book: https://www.designforallbook.com/
• Build Capable: https://www.buildcapable.com/
• Episode Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/h3uEvlW6HvR

Juliana Sawaia is a happiness-at-work scientist, business consultant, and researcher with over 20 years of experience specializing in corporate happiness. On this episode, Julianna explains “why” fostering happiness is imperative not just for individuals, but as a business strategy. Tune in for actionable steps on “how” to cultivate happiness at work, as the conversation explores what the research says about happiness, why psychological safety matters, and practical strategies for getting stakeholder buy-in.

Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianasawaia

• Website: https://julianasawaia.com.br/en/

• Send a Letter to Future You: https://futureme.com/

• The PERMA Model: https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/

Jessica Kriegel, Chief Strategy Officer at Culture Partners, is an author, podcast host, and culture expert. She joins the podcast to explore the many trend predictions for 2025, forecast which ones are likely to stick, and discuss how L&D professionals can anticipate changes to their roles.

The conversation delves into the evolving use of AI tools, the future of middle managers, and why the five-day return-to-office (RTO) trend isn’t as daunting as it seems. Jessica’s insights provide a roadmap of trends that deserve your attention, and practical recommendations to navigate both the expected and unexpected in the year ahead.

Resources:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicakriegel/
• Website: https://www.jessicakriegel.com/
• Podcast: https://www.jessicakriegel.com/podcast-3/
• Jessica’s 2025 Predictions article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-predictions-2025-workplace-trends-jessica-kriegel-w7mke/
• Jessica’s Book Recommendation: https://gregsatell.com/cascades/
• RTO Article: https://www.smartbrief.com/original/what-the-data-shows-about-return-to-office-mandates