Enterprise Alchemy

There will always be more work.More problems.More pressure.More responsibility.The question is:Will you still have the energy to keep going?In this episode, Michaela Doelman shares what burnout taught her about ambition, leadership, and protecting what actually matters.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Most companies say they want transformation.Very few are willing to destroy the things preventing it.Old systems.Old structures.Old ways of working.In this episode, Bailey Kropman shares what it really takes to build innovation inside a large corporation and why real transformation is uncomfortable by design.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Most companies move too slowly.Too much alignment.Too much perfection.Too much waiting.Meanwhile, the world keeps moving.In this episode, Rick Kershaw breaks down why modern businesses and HR teams need faster learning cycles, better data, and less bureaucracy.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Most companies talk about culture.Very few actually build it.Because culture isn’t what’s written on the wall.It’s what people experience every day.In this episode, Marie Ruth Garrigue explains why identity, clarity, and operational credibility truly shape culture within an organization.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Most problems aren’t what they seem.And rushing to fix them?That’s where things go wrong.In this episode, Dixie Bingham shares how great leaders think before they act and solve what actually matters.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

HR has a language problem.Too many buzzwords.Too much complexity.Not enough clarity.If people don’t understand what you’re saying…nothing moves.In this episode, Leigh Dobbs shares why great HR leaders simplify, move fast, and say things in a way people actually understand.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Most HR teams spend their time fixing problems.Conflict.Performance issues.Breakdowns.But what if that’s the wrong approach?In this episode, Duncan Forbes shares why people don’t need fixing and why the real job of leadership is creating the conditions for people to perform.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

It’s easy to assume.They’re late.They’re difficult.They’re not performing.But most of the time…you don’t know the full story.In this episode, Katy Kowalsky shares why great leaders ask more questions, listen more deeply, and resist the urge to jump to conclusions.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

HR isn’t complicated.We’ve just made it that way.In this episode, Tijana Lalovic shares a more grounded approach to HR... one that actually works in the real world.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Everyone wants to move forward.Better role.More impact.More growth.But you don’t move forward by doing more.You move forward by doing the right things...consistently.In this episode, Yessica Perez breaks down the habits that actually create momentum in your career.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

You can be good at something…and still feel like it’s not enough.In this episode, Kila Sweeney shares why finding purpose in your work matters and what happens when you align your career with impact.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Most of the time…It’s not the system.It’s not the role.It’s not the people.It's you.In this episode, Tara O'Neill shares why the biggest barrier to growth is often ourselves, and what it takes to lead differently.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Different countries.Different cultures.Different ways of working.But underneath it all…we’re not that different.In this episode, Sandra Barquilha shares why belonging, psychological safety, and human connection are universal, no matter where you work.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Where you start…isn’t where you stay.In this episode, Kathryn Curtis shares how she broke through limiting beliefs, created her own opportunities, and proved that where you start doesn’t define where you end up.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

The problem with HR?It’s trying too hard to be HR.In this episode, Carla Read, shares why removing corporate barriers leads to better conversations, faster trust, and stronger teams.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

It was working.Until it wasn’t.In this episode, Ben Lennander, shares what happens when everything you built starts to collapse and how that experience shapes the kind of leader you become.Some lessons…you only learn the hard way.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Before leadership…came responsibility.Multiple jobs.Family struggle.Learning early what it means to carry weight.In this episode, Bob Selle, shares how those early lessons shaped his leadership philosophy and why the best leaders don’t make it about themselves.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

You don’t always need a plan.Some days, survival is the only goal.No big wins.No breakthroughs.Just… getting through.In this episode, Sarah Arvanites shares what it really takes to keep going when everything falls apart and why sometimes the biggest win is simply putting one foot in front of the other.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Everyone is doing AI.But most are getting it wrong.Companies are rushing to adopt it.Running pilots. Testing ideas.And still…Seeing no real results.In this episode, Gregory Louis-Charles, shares why 95% of AI projects fail and what companies need to do differently to actually see value.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

You don’t need confidence to start.You build confidence by starting.In this episode, Alana McNary, shares why stepping outside your comfort zone is the key to career growth and how saying yes can open doors to opportunities you never planned for.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

The conversation around AI is missing something.It’s not about replacement.It’s about competition.In this episode, Daryl Benson, explains why the real advantage isn’t AI itself. It’s how people use it.Because the gap isn’t between humans and machines.It’s between those who adapt and those who don’t.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Hiring isn’t just a process.It’s the front door of your company.And whoever controls that front doorshapes everything that follows.In this episode, Scott Long, shares why talent acquisition should never be treated as administrative, and what happens when companies rely too heavily on automation.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Growth is exciting.But it can also be dangerous.Because growth doesn’t guarantee stability.In this episode, Nahed Khairallah, breaks down how a company scaled rapidly, and still collapsed from within.Not because of strategy.Not because of revenue.But because of people.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

HR leaders are trained to have answers.But the best ones ask better questions.In this episode, Jamie Juers, Chief People Officer at AdventHealth Primary Health, explains why curiosity is the foundation of effective people strategy.Because when leaders assume they know the answer,they often stop looking for the real problem.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

HR doesn’t fail because people lack good intentions.It fails when it loses connection to the business.When HR doesn’t understand how the work actually gets done,people strategy becomes theory.In this episode, David Hawthorne, Chief People Officer at Anchor Point Management Group, shares why the best HR leaders start by understanding the business itself.Because if you don’t understand the work,you can’t lead the people doing it.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Flexibility, autonomy, and trust at work all depend on one thing:Credibility.In this episode, Diane Slater, Chief Human Resources Officer, shares the leadership principle she teaches every team she leads:You can’t cash credits you haven’t earned.It’s simple.But it offers a deeper look at workplace trust than most leadership books.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Culture is not a PDF.It’s not a values poster.It’s not something you roll out on launch day.It’s built.Protected.Felt.And if you try to copy and paste it, you’ll lose it.In this episode, Lee Melton, Chief People Officer at The Coaching Inn Group, shares what it really takes to scale from under 100 people to 1,800 without losing the DNA that made the business special.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

The fastest way to destroy trust?Half attention.Presence is one of the most underrated leadership skills.And one of the most powerful.In this episode, Marc Jongebloed, Chief People Officer at the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, shares what acting taught him about leadership, why thriving teams outperform surviving ones, and how connection, autonomy, and competence shape high-performing cultures.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Career growth isn’t always linear.Sometimes it looks like:– Moving countries at 21– Messaging 300 strangers– Leaving corporate for a pre-revenue fintechIn this episode, Ana King, shares the mindset behind her journey to Chief People Officer -- and why she operates on one simple principle: What if it goes well?If you’re waiting for certainty, you may be waiting forever.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

We say people are our greatest asset.Then we manage them like risk.In this episode, Vicky Proctor, Chief People Officer at Assystem, explains why standardizing everything is suffocating individuality and why the next evolution of work demands empowerment, not more policies.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

We don’t hire the best candidate.We hire the one who feels right.The one who reminds us of ourselves.The one who makes us comfortable.In this episode, Meryl Folb, unpacks why comfort is not capability and why instinct without structure is just bias dressed up as confidence.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

We love to celebrate compassion.But compassion alone doesn’t sustain a mission.In this episode, LeighAnn Hanrahan, Chief People Officer at Centers for Independence, reveals why doing good requires financial discipline and why sustaining compassion demands accountability.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

We’ve normalized showing up when it’s already too late.But what if staying well required leadership from you?In this episode, Dr. Olusegun Ishmael, has seen healthcare from every angle: provider, payer, executive. His conclusion is simple:The system won’t carry you.You have to fly.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

The people in the room shape the future.But the real question iswho isn’t there?In this episode, Keren Joseph-Browning, Chief People Officer at Star, unpacks how bias hides inside “potential,” how culture fit can quietly exclude, and why real equality requires structural design.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Leadership isn’t about avoiding hard things.It’s about lifting them.And building something lasting from what you find underneath.In this episode, Shannon Vargesko, Chief People Officer at YMCA Greater Pittsburgh, shares what it means to lead through instability, bankruptcy, crisis, and culture repair -- without losing compassion.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Authentic leadership isn’t about being liked.It’s about being real enough to be trusted.In this episode, Marcus Ooi, General Manager, unpacks what leadership looks like when it’s grounded in vulnerability, self-awareness, and the courage to fail forward.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Culture doesn't scale on paper.It scales through respect. In this episode, John Brown, COO at GEHA, reminds us that leadership isn’t about hierarchy, documentation, or process first. It’s about how you treat people. 🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Your first hire is not a staffing decision.It’s an identity decision.In this episode, Brandon Bowers, Chief Operating Officer, breaks down why your first hire is the real turning point in your business and why growth requires courage more than capital.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

A CEO can grow a company.But can they carry the weight of what comes with it?In this episode, Roy Sasenaraine, Chief Executive Officer, shares a rare reminder that leadership is not just about profit.It’s about the lives your decisions touch.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Your strategy isn’t failing.Your operating system is.In this episode, Jared Koesten, Executive & Leadership Coach, connects the dots between trust, leadership behavior, and performance. Because when trust is strong, everything moves faster.When it isn’t, everything costs more.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Everyone wants to follow “market practice.”And then they wonder why they can’t stand out.In this episode, Emma Jeffries, breaks down why copying the market is one of the fastest ways to lose your competitive edge.Because if you build your people strategy based on what everyone else is doing, you’re not leading. You’re blending in.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

We keep asking, “Are our people happy?”But the better question is, “Are they growing?”In this episode, Robert Whitehouse, Chief People Officer at MIQ, offers a simple leadership reset: stop chasing happiness. Build the conditions for growth and meaning, and happiness becomes the byproduct.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Culture is the only thing that scales without breaking trust.Everything else eventually does.In this episode, Jon Caldwell, Chief People Officer at Valvoline, explains why culture becomes a competitive advantage only when leaders model it consistently at every level.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

HR doesn’t fail because people don’t care.It fails when it’s disconnected.In this episode, Tara Sikes, Chief People Officer, unpacks why proximity, presence, and trust matter more than perfect policies when it comes to performance.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Failure is often framed as a lack of effort.But what if it’s really a lack of preparation?In this episode, Dr. Olayinka Kowobari reminds us of a harder truth: performance is built long before opportunity appears.If you were never taught, trained, or given access, excellence becomes an unfair expectation.

What if our policies are limiting the very people we depend on most?In this episode, Stephanie Roseman, Chief People Officer, challenges why so many workplaces manage everyone like a risk instead of trusting the majority who show up and do the work.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

Most leadership advice focuses on what to do next.Very little prepares you for what leadership actually demands.In this episode, Jeff Bettinger, Chief Human Resources Officer, explores why self-awareness becomes the real differentiator as leaders move from individual performance to influence at scale.Because at some point, strategy stops being the problem.And how you’re experienced becomes the work.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

We love talking about opportunity, but we’re far less honest about what it actually takes to be ready for it.In this episode, Shawn Abner-Purnell, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, shares why access alone doesn’t change outcomes and how accountability, exposure, and expectations quietly determine who rises and who stalls.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

If recovery isn’t designed in, burnout is designed by default.In this episode, Tiffany Nugent reflects on what years of hypergrowth revealed about burnout, leadership, and the systems we rely on to sustain performance over time.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think

Most failures aren’t human failures.They are system failures disguised as bad performance.In this episode, James McGinnis shows why real leadership begins when we stop blaming individuals and start fixing the conditions they work in.🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.