CultureClub X: Leadership, Employee Engagement & Workplace Culture

What leadership behaviors make the biggest difference to employee experience during change?In this episode of CultureClub X, host Jodie O’Brien sits down with Debra Corey, award-winning HR leader, founder of Step It Up HR, and bestselling author, to unpack the leadership behaviors that help employees feel supported, valued, and engaged during times of change.Debra brings more than 20 years of HR experience across industries and geographies, and today works as a consultant, speaker, trainer, and author helping organizations rethink people strategy through a more human-centered lens.The conversation explores why stability matters during change, how leaders can avoid relying on one default leadership style, and why personalization, awareness, and feedback are essential for improving leadership impact. Debra also shares her Awareness → Acceptance → Action framework, discusses the role of analytics and behavioral feedback, and reflects on what makes a truly great leader memorable.In this episode, we discuss: • Why leaders must create stability during change through mission, vision, and values • How different employees and situations require different leadership behaviors • Why curiosity and continuous learning reduce fear of becoming obsolete • How personalization improves engagement and retention during transformation • Why awareness is the starting point for leadership growth • How feedback, analytics, and action help leaders strengthen trust and performanceAbout the guest: Debra Corey is an award-winning HR leader and founder of Step It Up HR. She is a consultant, speaker, trainer, and six-time bestselling author who helps organizations build impactful people strategies and more human-centered cultures. She is widely recognized as a global thought leader in engagement and leadership.Connect with Debra Corey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debracorey/ Website: https://stepituphr.com/Explore more from CultureClub X and CultureMonkey: CultureClub X: https://www.culturemonkey.io/cultureclubx/ CultureMonkey: https://www.culturemonkey.io/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@culturemonkeyhqFollow CultureMonkey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/culturemonkeyhq/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturemonkeyhq/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/culturemonkeyhq/TagsLeadership Insights, Season 5, leadership behaviors, employee experience, change leadership, employee engagement, workplace culture

Why do so many transformation initiatives fail to translate executive goals into real employee adoption?In this episode of CultureClub X, host Jodie O’Brien speaks with Chris Manning, independent HR and workforce transformation consultant and founder of Experience HR, about how organizations can design change journeys that people actually adopt.Chris brings nearly two decades of experience across HR, workforce management, managed services, recruitment transformation, talent frameworks, and employee experience design. His work has focused on bridging executive strategy with operational reality, especially in large, high-complexity environments.This conversation explores what happens when change becomes too process-heavy, why static personas often fail to reflect real employee conditions, and how organizations can use empathy, data signals, co-design, and practical behavior-change frameworks to make transformation more human, usable, and sustainable.In this episode, we discuss: • Why transformation often breaks when executive goals do not match employee reality • How friction, blockers, duplicated effort, and clunky systems shape employee experience • Why empathy helps leaders uncover the moments that matter in change journeys • What happens when change becomes too focused on process, governance, and outputs • Why data signals often matter more than static personas and slide decks • How ADKAR, COM-B, service blueprints, and co-design support better adoptionAbout the guest: Chris Manning is an independent HR and workforce transformation consultant and the founder of Experience HR. His experience spans HR design assurance, ERP-related transformation, employee experience design, and large-scale organizational change across multinational settings.Connect with Chris Manning: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjmanning/Explore more from CultureClub X and CultureMonkey: CultureClub X: https://www.culturemonkey.io/cultureclubx/ CultureMonkey: https://www.culturemonkey.io/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@culturemonkeyhqFollow CultureMonkey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/culturemonkeyhq/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturemonkeyhq/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/culturemonkeyhq/TagsData-driven experience, Season 5, workforce transformation, change management, employee experience, HR design, transformation strategy

How can organizations prepare leaders to guide teams through constant change?In this episode of CultureClub X, host Jodie O’Brien speaks with Lauri Romano, former Director of Learning and Development at Bausch Health, about the leadership capabilities organizations need to thrive in uncertain and fast-changing environments.With more than two decades of experience in leadership development, talent management, and organizational growth, Lauri brings a practical and people-centered view of what future-ready leadership really looks like.This conversation explores why leadership today is about more than logistics and execution. It is about helping teams navigate ambiguity, maintain engagement, and build resilience while change continues around them. Lauri also shares why traditional leadership development often falls short, what qualities matter most in today’s leaders, and how organizations can use learning, coaching, and technology to build more adaptable and human-centered cultures.In this episode, we discuss: • Why the real challenge of leadership today is guiding teams through uncertainty • What traditional leadership development is missing in a changing workplace • The leadership traits that matter most during transformation • How leaders build psychological safety and resilience during change • Why empathy, inclusivity, and trust are strategic leadership capabilities • How technology and real-time learning are reshaping leadership developmentAbout the guest: Lauri Romano is a learning and development leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations build leaders who can thrive through uncertainty. Her career includes leadership roles across pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and engineering, with a strong focus on organizational growth and culture.Connect with Lauri Romano: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-romano-0547423/Explore more from CultureClub X and CultureMonkey: CultureClub X: https://www.culturemonkey.io/cultureclubx/ CultureMonkey: https://www.culturemonkey.io/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@culturemonkeyhqFollow CultureMonkey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/culturemonkeyhq/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturemonkeyhq/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/culturemonkeyhq/TagsLeading Through Change, Season 5, leadership development, future-ready leaders, resilience, psychological safety, workplace culture

What does it really take to build a culture that lasts?In this episode of CultureClub X, host Jodie O’Brien sits down with Elizabeth S. Egan, Director of Talent Management and Organizational Development at Cerence AI, to explore how shared accountability, manager enablement, and intentional people practices shape sustainable culture.Elizabeth brings a unique perspective from both the business and people sides of organizations, with experience spanning finance, operations, organizational development, and talent management across industries including technology, e-commerce, construction, and nonprofit work.Together, they discuss why talent development cannot sit with HR alone, why employees need to take ownership of their own growth, and how organizations can support development across different roles, levels, and company sizes. The episode also explores the central role managers play in culture building, and how learning becomes more meaningful when it is embedded into day-to-day work rather than isolated in formal programs.In this episode, we discuss: • Why talent development should be a shared responsibility across the organization • How companies can help employees take more ownership of their own growth • Why development matters across all levels, not just for promotions or titles • How managers can embed learning into everyday work so it sticks • Why managers need recognition, transparency, and support to lead culture well • How peer support, mentorship, and everyday action shape lasting culture changeAbout the guest: Elizabeth S. Egan is an organizational development leader with an MBA in Organizational Development from Boston University. Her work has focused on helping organizations grow from the inside out through leadership development, culture transformation, and intentional people strategies.Connect with Elizabeth S. Egan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsegan/Explore more from CultureClub X and CultureMonkey: CultureClub X: https://www.culturemonkey.io/cultureclubx/ CultureMonkey: https://www.culturemonkey.io/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@culturemonkeyhqFollow CultureMonkey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/culturemonkeyhq/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturemonkeyhq/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/culturemonkeyhq/TagsShaping Lasting Culture, Season 5, talent development, manager enablement, organizational development, workplace culture, employee growth

We’re kicking off Season 5 of CultureClub X with a timely conversation on what it takes to build a unified workplace culture across regions, languages, and frontline realities.In this episode, Heather Kane, Senior Manager of Change Management and Employee Engagement at Robertshaw, joins host Natalie Thomas to discuss how global organizations can respect local ways of working while still building a shared culture that employees believe in.Heather brings deep experience in change management, talent development, global marketing, and business transformation. At Robertshaw, she supports cultural transformation across a workforce of 4,600 employees in nine countries and ten languages, the majority of whom are frontline employees.This conversation explores why engagement cannot be one-size-fits-all, what prevents frontline workers from connecting to company values, and how leaders can build communication systems that are more inclusive, multilingual, mobile-accessible, and grounded in local relevance.In this episode, we discuss: • Why employee engagement means different things across regions, roles, and functions • How organizations can build shared values while respecting local realities • What frontline and blue-collar employees need to feel more connected to company culture • Why direct access, relevance, and multilingual communication matter in global organizations • How managers can personalize messaging and lead meaningful change at a local level • How tools like CultureMonkey help democratize employee voice and turn feedback into actionAbout the guest: Heather Kane is a transformational change leader with experience spanning business transformation, change management, talent development, and global marketing. At Robertshaw, she leads strategic initiatives that align business transformation with cultural growth across a large multinational workforce.Connect with Heather Kane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-kane/Explore more from CultureClub X and CultureMonkey: CultureClub X: https://www.culturemonkey.io/cultureclubx/ CultureMonkey: https://www.culturemonkey.io/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@culturemonkeyhqFollow CultureMonkey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/culturemonkeyhq/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturemonkeyhq/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/culturemonkeyhq/TagsGlobal Workplace Culture, Season 5, employee engagement, change management, frontline employees, multilingual communication, workplace culture