Art of Great Meetings, AI Anxiety and Antisocial Animals at Work

Meetings often get a bad rap, but did you know they can actually be the cornerstone of a positive workplace culture? In this episode of Workplace Weirdness, host Maya Kadar Kovalsky is joined by Hannah Dubin, founder of The Group Forward and a powerhouse facilitator with a background in camp leadership, corporate consulting, and culture design. Together, they explore what it really takes to lead humans—awkward moments, messy emotions, and all. Hannah shares how her early work in summer camps shaped her facilitation style and why she believes your meetings reflect your workplace culture more than anything else. Hannah and Maya touch on topics like design thinking, power dynamics, and the importance of emotional intelligence in group settings. They also discuss the role of AI in the workplace and how to foster a culture of experimentation without fueling anxiety. Key Takeaways How design thinking helps build smarter solutions—with real human input. AI adoption isn’t just about tech—it’s reshaping workplace power and pace. Pitching yourself after a layoff? Package your value. Show, don’t tell. How to deal with negative workshop feedback (and how to not take it personally). When pets and professionalism clash—and what your dog’s behavior says about your judgment. In This Episode: [00:00] Introduction to Hannah Dubin [04:10] Getting into facilitation and early inspiration [07:15] Designing meetings for humans [08:56] AI’s role in facilitation and experimentation [10:33] Weirdest workplace moment [13:47] Power literacy in the workplace [14:54] Week in Work: AI reshaping the workplace [26:08] Listener question #1: Edtech career pivot [32:35] Listener question #2: Handling negative training feedback [36:55] Cringeworthy question: pet-friendly office mishap [41:12] Closing thoughts Notable Quotes [05:50] “You don’t change the world by telling people what to do. You change the world by asking, “Do you want to explore this question with me, and what do we want?" — Hannah [07:30] "Your meetings are your culture. Period." — Hannah [08:22] "How do I want the humans to feel before, during, and after the experience? You might have plowed through and crushed it on goal one, but if everybody feels like crap, then was that worth it?." —Hannah [18:02] "I’ll tell you the truth. I feel like there is fear around AI, and anything we can do to dissipate that fear, I think, is positive. On the other hand, the fear comes from this end-of-the-world scenario where we think robots are taking over." — Hannah [24:06] “'I love the idea of teams working together to build something, and I see work as a shared culture toward a positive goal.” — Hannah [36:27] “You make yourself vulnerable when you stand in front of a room of people, and you’re just going to get better with more practice.” — Maya Hannah Dubin The Group Forward - https://www.thegroupforward.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-feldberg-dubin Maya Kadar Kovalsky Website - https://www.mayakadar.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayakadar/ Workplace Weirdness Email: [email protected] SpeakPipe - http://speakpipe.com/workplaceweirdness Website - http://workplace-weirdness.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/workplaceweirdpod/ Mentioned Forbes Article on AI Reshaping the Workplace - https://www.forbes.com/sites/solrashidi/2025/05/31/ai-is-reshaping-the-work-faster-than-companies-can-upskill/ Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as professional, legal, or workplace-specific advice. Listeners are encouraged to seek guidance from qualified professionals for their individual situations.