Workplace Stories by RedThread Research

In this episode, I welcome Tracie Cantu, Chief Learning Strategist and author of Running L&D Like a Business. We discuss the operational challenges facing today’s L&D teams, the critical distinction between workflows and processes, and the dangers of succumbing to “shiny object syndrome” in the era of AI. From the looming risk of a mid-level talent gap to predictions about the future of L&D itself, our conversation offers practical frameworks, strategic advice, and a glimpse into what it will take for learning leaders to thrive in an uncertain future. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 06:39 Optimizing learning function operations 08:14 Defining workflows vs processes 16:33 Evaluating investment value in L&D 18:35 Using the ‘5 Whys’ method 24:29 Discussing the problem-solving mindset 30:09 Training models and workforce readiness 36:45 AI in talent acquisition and L&D challenges 43:09 Expectations and projections for L&D's future The Power of Process Over Workflow Traditionally, L&D departments have been highly reactive—responding to requests, putting out fires, and churning out solutions, often without a clear line of sight to business goals. Tracy sees L&D as an optimizer of systems more than anything. She distinguishes between workflows—a series of tasks, often repeated for each new problem—and processes, which are more strategic, goal-oriented, and repeatable across scenarios. Many L&D teams are stuck in workflow mode, leading to reinventing the wheel rather than building scalable, impactful models. Processes enable organizations to rise above reactive task management, free up resources for strategic initiatives, and lay the groundwork for measuring real business value. People, Processes, and Technology Tracie’s operating model blueprint has three pillars—people, process, and technology: People: Are the right skills in the right roles? Or are teams over-indexed in content production but lacking capabilities in data and strategy? Process: Are you operating by checklists or by cohesive, strategy-backed processes that align to business goals? Technology: Do your tools work together as an ecosystem, or are they siloed, duplicating effort and data? L&D teams often falter at the process stage where prioritization, governance, and strategic trade-offs live. Without this backbone, even the shiniest technology will fail to deliver. Why AI Isn’t a Silver Bullet Too often, L&D falls prey to “shiny object syndrome”—embracing new technologies before understanding whether they solve any actual problem. Tracie shares the story of a company that spent half a million dollars on VR headsets for employee training, only to realize that what the team needed was human interaction and real feedback, not another gadget. Lots of organizations see AI as a means to crank out content faster, rather than as a tool to fundamentally rethink how we solve business challenges. For AI or any new tech to really be transformative in L&D, the back end—data, processes, and governance—needs to be tight. Otherwise, as Tracie says, “garbage in, garbage out, only louder with AI.” The Future of L&D Tracie shares why she thinks L&D may be split into a production-focused function in the future, essentially an in-house content shop, and a more strategic workforce enablement team, possibly absorbed into talent or HR. The risk is that as organizations cut costs and chase efficiency, they neglect long-term skills development, creating a skills dearth by 2032. Who will be responsible for upskilling and reskilling when L&D is gone? If L&D disappears, the job may fall to talent acquisition or management, but neither is equipped to oversee ongoing learning at scale. L&D professionals who embrace business partnership, systems thinking, and continuous reinvention can still carve out vital space within organizations. The path forward requires tough choices—rethinking team structure, adopting true process discipline, and resisting the allure of fast fixes. Resources & People Mentioned Running L&D Like a Business Shock of the New: The Challenge and Promise of Emerging Technology by Chad Udell and Gary Woodill Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein Rep. Liccardo Introduces SKILL Act to Prepare Workers for AI-Driven Job Market Shifts Connect Education To Jobs And Create An AI Workforce Transition Plan MEEK - Fabulous (Official Video) Connect with Tracie Cantu Tracie Cantu Tracie M. Cantu on LinkedIn Connect With RedThread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

This week on the podcast, we welcome Jennifer McCollum, President and CEO of Catalyst and author of the new book Men at Work: The Roadmap to Gender Partnership. Jennifer shares her perspective on whether true gender equity in the workplace can be achieved without fully engaging men in the solution. We dig into the data showing that modern workplaces are failing not just women, but men as well—fueling rigid expectations and limiting everyone’s potential. We discuss Catalyst’s new earned universalism framework in response to legal and societal shifts, and discuss practical strategies HR and talent leaders can use to advance inclusion, even as DEIB functions are restructured or absorbed into other parts of the business. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [00:00] Discussing gender equity strategies [07:09] Catalyst's workplace research and commitment [12:52] Work-life stress and gender expectations [16:50] Evaluating post-E.O. impact study [18:23] Balancing inclusion and flexibility [20:54] Focus shift from metrics to fairness [26:27] Promoting equal parental leave [33:28] Leadership and cultural transformation [39:48] Changing organizational culture for managers A Universal Approach to Inclusion Can Transform Work for Everyone For decades, the chief narrative was that workplaces weren’t built to support women. But Catalyst’s research is now surfacing a broader truth: many modern work environments also fall short for men. Data from their studies reveal that 82% of men feel immense pressure to conform to traditional “man box” stereotypes—such as competitiveness and emotional restraint—while 87% long for more freedom to express traits like empathy and kindness. Crucially, this “man box” doesn’t just restrict individual men. Because men still comprise much of senior leadership, these norms perpetuate rigid, stifling workplace cultures that limit everyone. Introducing Earned Universalism: Catalyst’s New Inclusion Framework Faced with mounting political and legal pressures—such as recent executive orders impacting DEI practices—many organizations are anxious about how to maintain progress without running afoul of the law. In response, Catalyst, in partnership with NYU’s Meltzer Center, introduced the concept of earned universalism. This framework acknowledges the paradox between the desire for inclusion that serves everyone and the need to support those long disadvantaged by systemic barriers. The idea is not to abandon equity, but to earn the right to universal policies by first removing specific barriers holding marginalized groups back. Practical Steps for HR Leaders With DEI departments being restructured and relabeled in many organizations, HR leaders face unique challenges. The key is to integrate partnership skills—such as curiosity, courage, accountability, and allyship—into broader talent, culture, and leadership development programs. Jennifer outlines a 5B framework for building gender partnership: Begin with You: Start with self-reflection and awareness Break Down What’s Not Working: Address both individual and systemic obstacles Build Up What’s In It for Men: Explicitly communicate how everyone gains from equity Bridge the Gender Gap: Model and drive behaviors that close divides at all levels Bring Humanity to Work: Foster real human connection and openness. Workplace equity isn’t about ceding ground or ticking boxes; it’s about pushing past old dichotomies and building cultures where all people belong and can contribute fully. Resources & People Mentioned Men at Work: The Roadmap to Gender Partnership by Jennifer McCollum Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg In Her Own Voice: A Woman's Rise to CEO by Jennifer McCollum McKinsey's Women in the Workplace report Risks of retreat: The path forward | Catalyst Connect with Jennifer McCollum Jennifer McCollum on LinkedIn Connect With RedThread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Leadership is often the deciding factor in whether organizations thrive or falter, but the way we lead matters even more. In the latest episode of Workplace Stories, Dr. Benjamin Granger, Chief Workplace Psychologist at Qualtrics and author of A Leader Worth Following, explores why so many organizations still default to dominance-based leadership, and what it means to build cultures that reward prestige-based approaches instead. Blending insights from evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and years of workplace research, Ben shares his thoughts on how leadership styles shape employee experience and business success. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 00:00 Discussing Leadership Challenges and Trust 06:21 Understanding organizational psychology 07:30 Balancing theory and practical application 14:50 Playing the power politics game 20:00 Discussing organizational power shifts 22:36 Operating under dominant leaders 35:12 Handling Uncertainty as a Leader 37:46 Influence of environment on behavior 40:58 The impact of physical environment 50:44 Focusing on honest feedback The Evolutionary Roots of Leadership Most social animals, including humans, establish hierarchies where certain individuals rise to the top. In non-human species, this rise is usually based on dominance: the biggest, strongest, or most aggressive become the alphas by imposing their will on others. Humans, however, have developed an alternative: prestige. Prestige-based leaders earn followership by demonstrating genuine competence and contributing to the group's well-being, prompting others to follow willingly rather than out of fear or obligation. Prestige is one of the things that makes us the most evolutionarily distinct. But despite its clear advantages, modern organizations too often favor dominance. Dominance works in the short term, it gets quick results, especially in high-pressure situations, but, like alphas in the animal kingdom, it’s always temporary and can be overturned by newer, stronger rivals. Why Organizations Default to Dominance Despite prestige-based leadership delivering better outcomes, structural pressures and cultural inertia mean that organizations still often rely on dominance. Environments that obsess over immediate results—hitting quarterly numbers, quick responses to crises—inevitably reward those who can “get it done now,” even if it means sidelining empathy, trust-building, or transparency. Organizations often pay lip service to soft skills, layering emotional intelligence and empathy expectations over systems fundamentally designed for command-and-control. This is backward, though, every organization exists to meet the needs of other people, and if it doesn't do that, it doesn't exist. Building Prestige-Based Cultures Changing leadership norms starts with both organizational systems and individual behaviors. Audit Your Core Values: Are they truly reflected in observable behaviors and environmental cues—from glass doors symbolizing transparency to real open Q&As in all-hands meetings? Measure What Matters: Don’t just reward outcomes; examine how results were achieved, looking for consistency with your stated values. Foster High-Fidelity Communication: In an age of automation and AI, preserve spaces for genuine human dialogue to counteract the erosion of trust and connection. Invest in Leadership Skills: Require training in rhetoric, body language, and executive presence for all leaders—not to polish surface impressions, but to deepen real influence and trust. The Future of Leadership in an AI World AI and automation are accelerating every aspect of business, but they also risk stripping away the very things that make organizations human. Rigid digital systems (like micromanaged expense policies) can signal distrust as surely as an angry boss. If organizations lean too heavily on these tools, they may unwittingly degrade the high-trust, collaborative communication on which true prestige-based leadership is built. As Benjamin says, “Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking, its greatest failures by not talking. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking”. Leadership for the future is about mastery of self and service to others, pulling people forward by example, not pushing them down by force. Resources & People Mentioned Dr. Steve Hunt Josh Bersin Edgar Schein Stephen Hawking A Leader Worth Following: How to Master Yourself, Influence Others, and Create Exceptional Experiences by Benjamin Granger Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust Connect with Benjamin Granger Benjamin Granger on LinkedIn Connect With RedThread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

When IBM spun off its infrastructure services business into Kyndryl, it created the largest public company spin in New York Stock Exchange history—launching with 90,000 employees and a daunting reality: 60% of customer accounts were unprofitable, and revenues were shrinking. Amid intense pressure to reset the trajectory, Kyndryl’s then-CHRO Maryjo Charbonnier architected a workforce strategy that prioritized people, data, and adaptability. On the podcast this week, Maryjo shares her expertise on how to build a skills-centric enterprise ready for an AI-powered future. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [04:22] Overcoming workforce skill challenges at Kyndryl [13:51] Defining company culture and values [16:45] Reducing and restructuring the workforce [24:58] Improving employee redeployment rates [31:05] Tackling vended labor challenges [38:21] Managing skills across job families [42:49] Finding allies in unexpected departments [52:10] Improving Kyndryl resource planning [53:02] Future workforce tracking challenges Building a Culture First, Systems Second While it may be tempting for HR to leap into systems and processes, Maryjo insists that everything should begin with culture and purpose. Kyndryl first articulated the culture they wanted to be by conducting research with customers and employees to distill the company’s values. These values of kinship, growth, restlessness, empathy, and devotion to shared success shaped the Kyndryl way and anchored every subsequent transformation, from talent architecture to performance management. Shaping the Workforce with Skills Data—Not Just Headcount Maryjo describes her central CHRO responsibility as keeping as many people employed as possible through responsible enterprise stewardship. That means managing the direct workforce and aggressively addressing contractor and vended labor. Instead of allowing easy backdoor entry for outsourced services when headcount was reduced, Kyndryl prioritized retraining and reallocating internal employees—a strategy that cut the vended workforce by 50% and drove up redeployment to nearly 80%. Critical to this approach was creating a unifying global job architecture and skills taxonomy, merging inventory across employees, contractors, and service vendors. This required overcoming system fragmentation and forging new alliances with procurement, IT, and legal to track all labor, however it came in, and create transparency across all workstreams. From Data Layers to Business Impact While a single-pane-of-glass HR system was the dream for Maryjo, the reality meant integrating financial, HR, procurement, and vendor management systems and building semantic layers that could track, reconcile, and translate skill data at scale. No single software suite could do it all, so success depended on building partnerships with IT and developing custom layers, predictive tools, and AI agents for matching talent to customer needs. Kyndryl anchored its use of AI in solving real business and customer problems rather than tracking individual productivity. The most important thing is to have someone ready to go with the skills that the customer needs to do that piece of work. Resources & People Mentioned Eightfold SkyHive TechWolf Workday Dave Ulrich Connect with Guest Name Maryjo Charbonnier on LinkedIn Connect With RedThread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Artificial intelligence is transforming not just our workplaces, but the very nature of education and professional development. Our guest this week, Michael Noble, Vice President of Academic Program Development at Western Governors University (WGU), shares his views on how higher education can rise to the current moment, bridging the gap between academic learning, employable skills, and the changing needs of the workforce. We also dig into how WGU’s innovative approach might become a template for organizations and educational institutions navigating the AI era. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [00:00] Upskilling entry-level talent with AI [03:59] Integrating liberal arts with tech skills [09:34] Discussing higher education trends [15:36] Creating personalized skill-based curriculums [26:13] Leveraging WGU's alumni network [29:14] Challenges in employee development [31:43] Impact of AI on job training [35:17] Integrating philosophy into the curriculum [48:40] Specialization vs. flexibility [55:28] Finding fulfillment through creative work From Degree to Competency Higher education is experiencing a moment of reckoning around its relevance for today's job market. Traditional models have long focused on grades and credit hours, but WGU centers its model on competency-based education. Students demonstrate mastery of validated competencies—skills verified through rigorous assessment, rather than simply accumulating classroom hours or participation credits. This approach better aligns with employer demands, emphasizing what learners can actually do rather than what they have passively experienced. WGU’s adaptability has enabled it to cater to working adults seeking career advancement, and to students entering directly from high school, who now make up over 40% of its enrollment. By focusing on practical skills and direct assessment, WGU is closing the gap between academic learning and the immediate needs of employers, allowing for more individualized and efficient upskilling. The Power and Challenge of University-Corporate Partnerships With AI and automation taking over many entry-level tasks, companies and universities face a new imperative: how do we prepare new hires for roles that require immediate impact and advanced judgment, skipping the traditional ramp-up provided by routine tasks? We discuss WGU’s partnerships with companies like CVS Health, where tailored programs help pharmacy techs advance within the organization and are supported by real-time competency and skills data. Internships, micro-internships, and simulated externships emerged as critical solutions for giving students hands-on, relevant experience. Aligning incentives between corporations seeking skilled workers and universities eager to prove their graduates’ real-world readiness could radically reshape how both sectors approach workforce entry. AI as a Catalyst for Change in Learning and Development AI isn’t just changing what skills are needed, but how learning itself happens. WGU is embracing AI-native tools—virtual assistants for students, personalized learning feedback, and AI-assisted evaluation—to both scale quality learning and support the work of instructors and curriculum developers. This technological shift is also transforming the structure of learning and development teams. Specialists are becoming “augmented generalists,” using AI tools to speed up design, delivery, and personalization, but the need for deep expertise and sound judgment remains crucial. Just because something looks polished doesn’t mean it’s fully accurate or effective. Recognizing that many students lack the networking advantages of elite institutions, WGU is using its growing alumni network, piloting programs that help students connect with industry veterans, and offering achievement “wallets” to showcase their skills and experiences—key ingredients in leveling the playing field for career advancement. Resources & People Mentioned Office of the President Scott Pulsipher Bryan Alexander: Georgetown University Ruth Bader Ginsburg Midwest Innocence Project Connect with Michael Noble Michael Noble on LinkedIn Connect With RedThread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn

Learning and Development (L&D) is at a crossroads. As artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates changes in the workplace, L&D’s traditional stronghold—the creation and curation of content—is rapidly losing its strategic value. In this episode, I discuss the rapidly evolving intersection of AI and Learning & Development (L&D) with Don Taylor and Egla Vinauskaite. Our conversation explores how the AI “on ramp” has disappeared, leaving many L&D organizations feeling left behind, and highlights the importance of direction, not just decision, for real transformation. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [05:56] Early years of AI in L&D [08:16] Adapting to AI in Industry [18:44] Technological turmoil and AI evolution [20:29] Challenges in transforming organizations [25:40] Decision-making and organizational hierarchy [28:59] Importance of fieldwork and presence [37:42] Understanding Drag in L and D [46:49] Role of a Leader in Change [53:40] Activating independent organizational growth The Vanishing ‘On-Ramp’ and the Challenge of Catching Up The rapid evolution of AI in the workplace has created a new sense of urgency for L&D teams. In 2023, everyone was at the same starting line, experimenting with generative AI tools for the first time. Now, the landscape has shifted dramatically, with advanced conversations moving toward AI agents and full-scale workforce transformation. Those who didn’t jump on the AI bandwagon early are finding it increasingly difficult to catch up, with the “on-ramp” to entry effectively gone for newcomers. This sense of inaccessibility is causing some people to self-select out of L&D entirely, feeling left behind by the accelerating pace of change. The Disappearing Content Moat For years, L&D has built its identity around its expertise in content creation—the so-called “moat” that protects its value. But the rise of AI has reduced the barriers to creating effective learning content. Anyone can now create quality resources with minimal expertise, eroding the unique advantage L&D once held. Content can no longer be the cornerstone of L&D’s strategy. Instead, L&D needs to determine its new value proposition in a world where content is ubiquitous. The Transformation Triangle The Transformation Triangle proposes three potential futures for L&D organizations. Skills Authority: Organizations that pursue this path become the go-to stewards for everything related to skills in the business—tracking what skills exist, what’s needed, and how to develop them. They treat skills as a critical business asset and ensure the organization stays competitive by closing gaps efficiently. Enablement Partner: Acting as connectors rather than creators, these organizations focus on surfacing, amplifying, and distributing the expertise already embedded within the workforce. Their role is to ensure knowledge flows efficiently where it’s needed to elevate performance organization-wide. Adaptation Engine: The most transformative model, these teams see themselves as stewards of organizational adaptability. They diagnose and address performance issues as complex systems problems—sometimes solving them through learning, but often intervening through process or tool changes to maximize business impact. None of these are final destinations—organizations may move between them, combine elements, or adapt over time. Overcoming Structural, Cultural, and Capability Drag Achieving escape velocity from the gravitational pull of content-focused L&D isn’t easy. In the conversation, we identify three types of “drag” that hold teams back: Structural drag: Where L&D sits in the org chart and its direct authority. Cultural drag: Long-standing perceptions of L&D’s role as content creators. Capability drag: Skills and mindsets required to operate in new, more impactful ways. Successfully overcoming these drags and embedding new models into systems and infrastructure. ensures changes stick even as leaders come and go. Resources & People Mentioned Learning Technologies in the Workplace by Don Taylor Claude Code Claude Cowork Microsoft Copilot One of Each | Newsletter by Nodes Global Sentiment Survey Connect with Don Taylor & Egle Vinauskaite Egle Vinauskaite on LinkedIn Don Taylor on LinkedIn Connect With RedThread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Organizational change is now a constant rather than a phase. Few stories illustrate this better than Hearst Networks’ journey, as shared by Dean Possenniskie, CEO, and Lucy King, Chief People Officer, on this episode of Workplace Stories. Moving from a legacy cable business into a diversified, higher-margin media powerhouse, Hearst proves that reinvention is possible not just for startups but for well-established companies with deep roots and long histories. Hearst, an organization with a legacy and heritage, and a willingness to continually reinvent itself, has adopted the “phoenix” metaphor to frame its transformation. They’ve made hard choices, like closing brands, exiting joint ventures, and even shutting offices, before expanding into new partnerships with giants like Sky, Amazon, Apple, and YouTube. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [07:59] Working in HR during transformations [12:36] Transitioning to full Hearst ownership [18:29] Crafting a purpose statement [21:12] Why it pays to implement a coaching mindset [25:30] Investing in learning and development [32:11] Defining company values and culture [37:08] Improving profitability and growth focus [39:16] Valuing autonomy and trust at Hearst [44:15] Encouraging innovation company-wide [47:14] Balancing governance with creative autonomy Culture at the Core Culture is often seen as a soft layer, a set of values on a wall, or the flavor of the latest offsite. Dean Possenniskie and Lucy King see it differently: culture had to be the engine of transformation, integral to performance and strategy. One of Dean’s earliest moves was to reposition the people and culture function away from finance, placing it directly alongside the CEO—a signal of culture’s importance as a business driver. The results speak for themselves. While revenues declined 20%, margins grew by more than 40%, and internal workplace surveys saw “great place to work” scores leap from 53% to over 80%. This wasn’t about being “nice,” but about creating a place where people could do their best work, take risks, and feel empowered. Building Change Muscle A core tenet of Hearst’s approach to transformation was empowerment at every level. Lucy describes removing archaic performance systems and replacing them with coaching-centered one-to-ones, helping managers foster a sense of ownership, capability, and resilience in their teams. The organization invested in professional coaching for anyone, at any level, who requested it, a significant commitment, but one tailored for maximum impact rather than blanket sameness. This was complemented with mentoring, leveraging technology to link senior leaders with mentees across the company. This “bottom-up” ethos even shaped their AI and technology adoption: rather than mandating tools from the top, creative, programming, and scheduling teams were given room to experiment and bring forward the solutions that actually worked for them. The Power of Purpose and the “Deal” Change is unsettling, and ambiguity can erode trust. To anchor their people, the leadership spent months articulating a purpose statement—a north star for decision-making and daily work. More boldly, they introduced “our deal,” a written two-way document explaining not just what the company expected from employees, but what employees could expect in return: support, development, and clear direction. Dean describes this as adult-to-adult relationship building. It’s about empowering personal leadership and ownership, backed by transparent communication—even when delivering hard messages or acknowledging failures. As they say, “we learn fast, not fail fast.” Resources & People Mentioned About - HEARST Leave Something on the Table: and Other Surprising Lessons for Success in Business and in Life by Frank Bennack The Problem with Change: And the Essential Nature of Human Performance Kindle Edition by Ashley Goodall Understand the network dynamics of culture 'Sapiens' by Yuval Noah Harari Connect with Lucy King and Dean Possenniskie Lucy King | Hearst Networks EMEA Dean Possenniskie | Hearst Networks EMEA Connect With Red Thread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

This week on the podcast, we welcome Heather Stefanski, Chief Learning and Development Officer at McKinsey & Company. We explore how organizations like McKinsey are reimagining employee development for the age of AI, shifting learning into the flow of work, focusing on systems and purposeful apprenticeships, and embedding L&D directly into workflow design. You'll also hear all about the evolving skill sets for L&D teams and the importance of updating how we measure development. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 00:00 Integrating development into AI assistants 04:49 Heather's role at McKinsey 08:32 Developing skills in the workplace 16:08 Designing developmental workflows with AI 24:56 Understanding skill proficiency levels 26:25 Building agentic development solutions 30:53 Assessing AI proficiency levels 33:18 Future skills focus at McKinsey 42:55 AI in performance evaluations 53:13 Using AI for feedback and review Rethinking Language: Why Development Surpasses Training One of the first shifts Heather Stefanski identifies is a deliberate move away from talking about “training” or even just “learning.” Instead, McKinsey centers its L&D strategy on development, a more holistic approach that encompasses formal programs, feedback mechanisms, leadership modeling, and real-time experiences in the flow of work. For McKinsey, development is inseparable from business outcomes, and employee development is critical to the firm’s value proposition. This means McKinsey designs work intentionally to be developmental, combining upskilling, leadership building, and project experiences into a seamless ecosystem. Purposeful Apprenticeship Heather discusses embedding rituals, such as performance check-ins and feedback sessions, directly into core workflows to build a system grounded in purposeful practices. By standardizing these rituals, McKinsey can even quantify the impact of great teachers on advancement, and L&D becomes part of organizational culture rather than a siloed function.The New Learning Tech Stack One of the most exciting transformations is McKinsey’s ongoing work to blend learning seamlessly into technology-enabled workflows. Rather than relying solely on traditional LMS platforms, McKinsey is embedding learning designers into business teams that are building agentic workflows—AI-powered systems that guide, prompt, and provide real-time feedback as employees work. AI agents are being designed to do more than just increase productivity. Heather emphasizes that agents should also foster professional development by challenging users, prompting reflective questions, and offering immediate coaching. This shift pushes L&D professionals to evolve their skills, requiring fluency not just in instructional design but in data analysis and collaborative workflow engineering. What Skills Do Employees Still Need? As AI tools automate routine tasks, think aligning PowerPoint columns or data cleanup, McKinsey is strategically deciding what to stop teaching, redirecting focus to what keeps the firm distinctive: problem solving, judgment, metacognition, systems thinking, and authentic leadership. Purposeful abandonment of now-obsolete skills is as vital as doubling down on those that matter, ensuring development keeps pace with the shifting demands of knowledge work. Resources & People Mentioned Lisa Christensen on LinkedIn mckinsey.com Cursor CLO Lift Group Connect with Heather Stefanski Heather Stefanski at McKinsey & Company Heather Stefanski on LinkedIn Connect With RedThread Research Website: RedThread Research On LinkedIn Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Frontline workers form the massive, beating heart of the global workforce, constituting up to 80% of all employees. But their enablement, experience, and upward mobility often remain quietly neglected. We sit down with J.D. Dillon, author of the upcoming Frontline Enablement Playbook, to dissect the persistent challenges these vital employees face and explore how organizations can better support and empower the often-overlooked deskless workforce. We discuss why frontline managers are structurally trapped, JD breaks down a hierarchy of frontline worker needs, and shares more about the essential role of connection—over traditional training—and why genuinely understanding, not "othering," frontline experiences is key to meaningful change. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [00:00] How organizations support their managers [12:08] Understanding the frontline workforce [28:42] Improving employee retention strategies [36:39] Measuring impact on frontline work [40:33] Inviting in frontline employee feedback [48:40] Challenges faced by frontline managers [52:10] Supporting new managers effectively [57:07] AI tools for frontline employees Understanding the Structural Trap for Frontline Managers Managers are often tasked with driving outcomes, hitting KPIs, retaining staff, and resolving customer complaints, but can be denied the resources or authority necessary to actually effect change. Everything in organizations is pushed through managers, but the visibility and empowerment of frontline managers is substantially less than that of their corporate peers, making both their influence and recognition of their struggles far more limited. This leads to a burned-out, under-supported middle layer that directly impacts both employee engagement and business performance. Connection Over Content Traditional strategies for improving frontline performance tend to default to more training or pressuring managers to be the catch-all for corporate initiatives. But this approach is not just incomplete—it may even be counterproductive. Instead of overloading managers with binders and leadership development modules, organizations should focus on fostering connection—especially enabling peer connections among frontline managers at different locations. Meaningful conversations, mentoring, and crowdsourced problem-solving trump content-driven learning. Managers, after all, best learn from each other’s lived realities, not generic directives. The Hierarchy of Frontline Needs At the core of Dillon’s framework is a hierarchy of needs for frontline workers: Livelihood – The basic requirement: fair pay and benefits, recognizing that for many, work is first and foremost about economic necessity. Stability – Reliable schedules, clear policies, and the ability to plan life around work. Community – A sense of belonging and connection with coworkers; the knowledge that one’s immediate work environment isn’t built around corporate KPIs, but relationships. Culture and Purpose – The “top” of the pyramid: tying individual roles to broader organizational purpose and values. Organizations often leap to culture-focused initiatives while neglecting the foundational layers. Without addressing pay, scheduling, and daily support first, those higher-order efforts rarely stick. Tensions, Trade-offs, and Small-Scale Change Frontline management must constantly navigate tensions such as being tasked with outcomes but denied the necessary authority, being pushed to develop staff but overwhelmed by daily operational issues, and being measured by metrics that don’t always reflect lived realities. JD believes that these tensions don’t have simple solutions; they have to be navigated, not "fixed". Large-scale, top-down changes are rare. Instead, incremental improvements, like investing in small process shifts, removing single pain points for managers, or fostering peer communities, can create real traction every shift. “Every shift counts, small shifts matter,” according to JD. Resources & People Mentioned The Frontline Enablement Playbook by JD Dillon Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari Connect with Guest Name JD Dillon’s Website JD Dillon on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

In this episode, we sit down with John Barrand, CHRO for the State of Utah, to discuss an inspiring transformation in public sector performance management. John led a bold effort to overhaul Utah’s performance management system—moving it from a culture of “adequacy” and silence to one focused on learning, growth, connection, and accountability. John shares how he and his team achieved legislative change requiring quarterly check-ins, implemented management training, and shifted the state’s mindset around performance and development. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [01:16] Initial state of Utah’s performance management system [06:23] Value of continuous learning and curiosity in government [10:06] Defining the “why” for performance management in Utah [17:02] Risks and Resistance in Systemic Change [20:06] Quarterly employee check-ins initiative [25:59] Balancing fairness and measurement without alienating staff [34:28] Creation of a system-wide talent mobility program [40:01] Development of incentive structures and bonus allocations [44:22] Sustainability and future of the program Performance Management is a Sector-Spanning Challenge Performance management has a notorious reputation, often maligned as bureaucratic and misaligned. These challenges aren’t confined to just the private sector. Public organizations often face a wealth of bureaucracy and challenges that can inhibit transformation, compounded by a cultural tendency towards silence and an adequacy mindset. When John assumed his role in 2021 for the state of Utah, over 70% of employees had an “unknown” performance rating, and only 16% had received annual reviews. The pervasive culture of silence fostered disengagement and suspicion, and performance management, where it occurred, was simply about maintaining adequacy—a relic from nearly a century and a half of defensive bureaucracy. From Compliance to Connection The first pivotal move was defining purpose. Clarity on the “why” behind performance management is crucial. For Utah, the why was growth: enabling employees to learn and grow while retaining top talent—shifting away from the punitive roots of performance management. As John says: “Employees don’t want feedback, they want connection. They don’t want evaluation, they want attention”. One of the new steps John took was to require quarterly check-in conversations with all employees. The effect was transformational: from just 16% of employees having annual reviews to 89% participating in four quarterly check-ins within the first year. This regular cadence broke the culture of silence, making communication a legal and cultural imperative. Overhauling the System: What Changed Where most organizations tinker at the edges, Utah’s public sector embraced bold, structural change. They implemented legislation for conversations, which included quarterly check-ins and annual reviews, demonstrating a high-level commitment to improving performance management. Only 30% of managers previously had any training, and now, over 87% have been developed in crucial skills such as feedback, resilience, and collaboration. Utah also funds performance management by reallocating cost-of-living adjustments and introducing performance-driven bonuses. Goals now consist of both output-aligned objectives and developmental “how” objectives, pushing employees to reflect on and improve their impact. Evidence of a Transformed Culture Performance conversations have become increasingly meaningful. The organization saw a 40% increase in first-year exits for cause—not a sign of ruthless weeding out, but of identifying and addressing performance issues sooner, thereby improving overall health without a drop in retention. High-potential (HIPO) employee retention rates rose 16% above the general population, and newly calibrated bonus systems rewarded and motivated top talent. Utah’s success has garnered attention from major institutions—including Harvard and the London School of Economics—looking to distill lessons from its model. Resources & People Mentioned Utah Governor's Office Utah Legislature Harvard University LSE HB0104 GRIT Initiative Connect with John Barrand John Barrand Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

In this episode, we welcome Lisa Kay Solomon, designer-in-residence at Stanford's d.school and host of the "How We Future" podcast, and Jeffrey Rogers, principal of Learning and Facilitation at Radical and co-founder of Projectory. We discuss why foresight—the ability to anticipate and design the futures we want—is everybody's job, not just the domain of senior leaders or specialized futurists. They challenge the idea that organizations operate on an "official future" built from unexamined assumptions, and explore how narrative shapes both our approach to work and our readiness for rapid change, especially in the face of AI disruption. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [00:00] Rethinking future-focused leadership [03:39] HR's evolving role in shaping the future [07:18] Understanding contested narratives and the potential to challenge them [21:50] The importance of adopting futures thinking through broad learning across multiple perspectives [25:47] Strategic foresight and future practices [35:13] Rethinking knowledge and learning priorities [39:21] Reflecting on AI adoption barriers [47:08] Helping leaders develop future-oriented skills [51:14] Looking ahead to the future The Leadership Muscle We Forget to Use One of the most powerful ideas to emerge from the conversation is that of foresight as a "leadership muscle." Most leaders are trained and incentivized to focus on quarterly results and annual plans. The urgent often squeezes out the important, leaving little room for the kind of long-term, strategic thinking that anticipates disruption rather than simply reacts to it. Foresight isn't someone else’s job—it's every leader's job. Yet, most organizations have let this muscle atrophy. Through scenario planning and immersive exercises like those facilitated at last year’s Summit, the hosts argue that HR and organizational leaders can rediscover the collective ability to inquire, imagine, and influence the future, rather than endure it. Challenging the "Official Future" and the Power of Narrative Every organization operates on an "official future," a set of unspoken assumptions about what tomorrow holds. In stable times, these guiding narratives are rarely questioned. But when the world is in flux, from technological disruptions like AI to geopolitical shocks, such narratives become vulnerabilities. Leaders, especially in HR, have a responsibility to both recognize and challenge prevailing stories about the future. Wherever there’s a narrative, there’s also the possibility for a counter-narrative, and organizations need to cultivate the skill of holding multiple possible futures in mind, letting diverse perspectives inform strategic choices rather than defaulting to inherited assumptions. Building Organizational Foresight: Tools, Skills, and Community The value of events like the Red Thread Summit lies in three core takeaways: the experience of stepping back to envision the future, a toolkit of practices that can be applied immediately, and the creation of a community dedicated to learning and experimentation. There are three critical skills: Recognizing the narrative: Are you taking assumptions as fact, or seeing them as just one possible story? Crafting your own narratives: Are you able to articulate clear, alternative futures? Communicating vision: Can you equip others to see and believe in those visions? Perhaps nowhere is the need for foresight and narrative-shaping more acute than in the realm of AI and automation. Today’s leaders are under immense pressure to adopt and justify new technologies, to navigate uncertainty, and to avoid being blindsided by change. A key theme is the emerging digital (and AI) divide: those who are experimenting, learning, and shaping technology are pulling ahead, while those waiting for certainty risk being left behind. Learning, experimentation, and cross-pollination are essential. Creating the Conditions for Resilient Futures Rather than chasing after blueprints or one "correct" answer, try to cultivate a design mindset: creating organizational conditions in which new ideas and approaches can flourish. This means expanding our definition of leadership to include not just the preservation of knowledge, but the nurturing of curiosity, experimentation, collaboration, and adaptability. Resources & People Mentioned Peter Drucker Articles by Lisa Kay Solomon Pascal Finette on LinkedIn Implications Wheel View from the Future at Stanford d.school Hazel Henderson Connect with Lisa Kay Solomon and Jeffrey Rogers Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn Jeffrey Rogers on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

This week, we’re sitting down with Ron Storn, Chief People and Culture Officer at Truckstop, to discuss culture—how it forms, who owns it, and how it scales in growing organizations. We explore the relationships between systems, processes, and cultural values, and discuss signs of cultural breakdown and the keys to recovery. We also discuss how AI is reshaping workplace dynamics, hiring practices, and performance management, and Ron offers practical, research-based insights and strategies for understanding and supporting positive workplace culture. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 00:00 How company culture is formed 09:19 Building strong HR and leadership systems 11:54 Creating a positive culture for business success 18:59 Scaling and preserving company culture 22:53 Defining team behaviors and principles 29:26 Aligning culture with decision-making 32:13 Signs of a broken workplace 36:50 Challenges with management and team culture 41:45 Advantages of remote vs in-person work 44:56 AI's impact on workplace culture Defining Culture Some companies treat culture as little more than a list of values on the wall, disconnected from the day-to-day decisions and actions that define what it’s really like to work there. Ron believes culture is best understood as a set of shared behaviors, decision rights, and expectations to determine how a company actually executes its strategy when no one is watching. It’s how decisions are made, how people are hired or rewarded, and how work gets done when leadership isn’t in the room. In smaller organizations, culture often starts with a clear vision or set of norms, and systems are built around it. As organizations scale, systems and practices increasingly shape (and sometimes reshape) the prevailing culture, the challenge is finding ways to make culture systemic, woven into processes, rewards, and leadership behaviors, so that the company’s values endure as it grows. Who Owns Culture? Leadership, HR, and Systems While HR is often perceived as the “owner” of culture, Ron believes it should be a shared responsibility, with ultimate ownership being at the very top. CEOs and founders define and embody desired cultural norms, while executive leaders model and cascade those norms through decisions and behaviors. HR’s role is to craft the mechanisms for how people are hired, evaluated, and developed to reinforce the company culture at scale. If only HR champions culture while leadership pays lip service or models different behaviors, culture will break down. Everyone, especially managers, must reinforce and live the culture for it to endure. Signs of Cultural Erosion and How to Recover When culture unravels, it’s usually a gradual process, increasing decision friction, high performers becoming disengaged, and inconsistent behaviors creeping in across teams. If left unchecked, the result is a loss of trust, bureaucracy, and top talent walking out the door. Recovery is possible, but it needs radical transparency and recommitment. Ron recommends that organizations in crisis go back to their roots and principles, engaging teams in candid conversations about what must change. Leaders should model vulnerability, drive clarity on decision-making and expectations, and ensure every manager is accountable for rebuilding the cultural fabric. Resources & People Mentioned Truckstop.com Connect with Ron Storn Ron Storn on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

On this episode, we’re with Jenna Filipkowski, the Head of Learning and Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. With a background in organizational psychology and research, Jenna brings a fresh, outsider perspective to the world of L&D, challenging traditional approaches and driving innovation within the unique environment of the Fed. We discuss the importance of team development over individual learning, the shift from self-directed "Netflix of learning" approaches to more guided, in-person experiences, and the crucial role of branding and communication in building credibility for L&D organizations. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 00:00 Team-based learning evolution 05:06 Improving the workforce experience 07:59 Embracing opportunity in HR leadership 15:46 Team coaching as facilitation 19:56 Aligning learning with business goals 25:40 In-person vs. virtual leadership training 33:12 Improving organizational learning through data 37:46 Cohesive branding and storytelling 40:20 Leadership accountability and development From Individual Focus to Team Development Historically, L&D programs have targeted individual upskilling and career navigation. At the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Jenna Filipkowski is pioneering an approach grounded in 6 Team Conditions, a research-backed model that moves beyond one-off workshops. Her Energize program uses diagnostics, assessments like Hogan and Insights Discovery, and customized workshops to identify and strengthen the underlying conditions for team success. Rather than a one-size-fits-all or quick-fix model, teams undergo a tailored process, allowing for deeper systemic improvement. It’s about giving teams the tools and support to accelerate their performance because they’re set up for success, not just treating every challenge as an off-the-shelf problem. The Death of Netflix of Learning For years, L&D has been swept up by the promise of Netflix learning, providing endless on-demand content and empowering employees to self-direct their learning journeys. But this laissez-faire model has started to unravel, because organizations and individuals are craving more structure and intentionality. At the New York Fed, the move to in-person, cohort-based programs is intentional. In-person learning provides social connection, time to focus, and shared experience, resulting in deeper reflection and lasting impact. While technical upskilling may still leverage digital and asynchronous methods. Blending modalities based on program intent, not defaulting to digital just because it’s easier. Branding L&D Standing out in a large, multifaceted organization is a challenge for any L&D team, and Jenna’s approach is to treat L&D as a brand. Programs at the Fed share unified branding with cohesive names and visual identity, making offerings memorable and fostering a sense of exclusivity and aspiration. Branding goes hand-in-hand with effective communication. Frequent roadshows, town halls, engaging graduation ceremonies, and leadership conferences help communicate value not only to employees but also to senior leadership. Measurement and Accountability At the Fed, Jenna and her team use a mix of reach, participant demand, stakeholder feedback, and practical business cases solved to demonstrate L&D’s value. They push to correlate L&D participation with metrics like engagement and retention—demonstrating impact beyond traditional learning outcomes. The vision for the future includes more robust, passive data collection and real-time intelligence—but for now, using multiple data sources creatively is key. As workplaces shift once again, the future of L&D will center on three things: helping people grow in their roles, building strong leaders, and fostering connection through learning alongside others. The journey away from content chaos and toward strategic, human-centered, and measurement-driven L&D is just beginning. Resources & People Mentioned Hogan Development Survey Insights Discovery® 6 Team Conditions Connect with Jenna Filipkowski Jenna Filipkowski on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Strategic workforce planning is back, and not in a nostalgic “this trend is back around” kind of way. It is back because the old staffing model, react late, hire fast, hope the market delivers, is failing more often than it works. The biggest misunderstanding is still the same one: strategic workforce planning is not long-term headcount forecasting. It is not a spreadsheet exercise dressed up with better visuals. It is a business discipline that exists for one reason, to stop leaders from committing to strategies the workforce cannot deliver. In this episode of Workplace Stories, David Edwards, author of The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook , lays out a definition of SWP that is refreshingly usable. Strategic workforce planning is workforce planning for the strategic things in the organization, not an attempt to plan the entire workforce. That single shift makes SWP more approachable, more realistic, and far more effective. If you have not listened yet, this is one of those episodes worth hearing end-to-end. The conversation is practical, occasionally blunt, and full of the kind of “this is what actually happens inside companies” detail that most workforce planning content avoids. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [00:00] A clearer, more usable definition of strategic workforce planning. [00:43] Why SWP is back right now. [03:20] How SWP supports scenario thinking without false precision. [09:50] The questions SWP must answer to be useful. [11:40] Uncertainty, talent scarcity, and skills half-life as drivers. [14:30] Why SWP is an exercise in ambiguity, not certainty. [17:20] Why SWP works best as a business process, not an HR project. [20:05] What HR should do if it is not included in strategy conversations. [22:00] How to define “strategic” beyond leadership roles. [25:10] Why tasks matter more than skills for future work. [28:00] The contextual data missing from most workforce planning. [31:15] How AI forces better workforce planning questions. [41:20] What happens when SWP forces leaders to narrow priorities. [45:30] What to do when the business will not listen. [46:45] Why this work matters at the human level. Strategic Workforce Planning Starts With One Uncomfortable Question Strategic workforce planning becomes useful the moment it stops pretending it can predict the future. The real starting point is simple: Is the workforce fit for the organization’s future business purpose? That framing does two things immediately. First, it moves SWP out of the “HR process” bucket and into the “business execution” bucket. Second, it forces the conversation away from false certainty and toward risk, trade-offs, and feasibility. One of the most helpful parts of this episode is how clearly the conversation draws a line between strategic and long-term. Strategic does not automatically mean five years out. In some organizations, planning 15 months ahead is strategic compared to how they have historically operated. If you want the cleanest definition of SWP in the most human language possible, it is worth listening to the early part of the conversation where this is unpacked in real time. Why Workforce Planning Has Returned Workforce planning always comes and goes. It resurfaces when the world feels unstable, and it fades when leaders believe they can hire their way out of problems.Right now, hiring your way out of problems is not working.There is too much uncertainty, and it is coming from too many directions at once. Geopolitical instability affects where work can happen. Talent shortages continue to constrain hiring. Skills decay faster than most organizations can reskill. Generational shifts are changing expectations around mobility and development. And technology is changing the shape of work itself. The point is not that leaders suddenly became more disciplined. The point is that the environment is forcing discipline.Strategic workforce planning is the response to that reality. Not because it gives certainty, but because it gives options. It gives a way to talk about what might happen without having to pretend anyone knows exactly what will happen. Strategic Workforce Planning Works When It Stops Being “HR’s Thing” A lot of SWP efforts fail for a predictable reason. They are treated like an HR deliverable. A report. A deck. A spreadsheet. A set of numbers handed over to leadership. Strategic workforce planning is not a deliverable. It is a business process. It is a feasibility process. It is a risk conversation. One of the strongest through-lines in this episode is the idea that HR must initiate this conversation, not because HR owns strategy, but because HR holds the missing information. HR knows things about recruiting realities, workforce behavior, retention patterns, internal mobility, and capability development that business leaders often overlook. But knowledge is not enough. The shift HR has to make is from reporting to synthesis. People analytics without business context is just numbers. When workforce data is layered onto business strategy, a story emerges. A small function may be revenue-critical. A demographic cliff may be coming. The external market may not supply replacements. The timeline may be unrealistic.This is where SWP becomes sharp. Strategic Does Not Mean Leadership Only Many organizations quietly turn strategic workforce planning into succession planning. They define strategic as director and above, focus on leadership roles, and build plans around titles. That is leadership continuity planning. It is not strategic workforce planning. Strategic workforce planning is about what is material. Sometimes the most strategic workforce segment is a small team of individual contributors with rare expertise and direct revenue impact. They may never appear in succession planning decks. They may not have high-profile titles. But losing them becomes a board-level issue the moment revenue drops or delivery fails. Skills Are Not the Answer, Tasks Are the Missing Middle Skills still matter, but the skills conversation has gotten out ahead of itself. The problem is not that skills are irrelevant. The problem is that skills are being treated as the answer to a question they cannot solve. Skills describe people. Work is made of tasks. People use skills to perform tasks. That middle layer is what connects workforce planning to reality. This becomes especially obvious when AI enters the picture. AI does not simply change which skills people need. It changes which tasks exist, how tasks are performed, and which tasks no longer require a human at all. If an organization cannot describe how work is changing at the task level, the skills conversation stays abstract. It becomes a taxonomy exercise instead of a planning exercise .This is one of the most useful reframes in the conversation, and if you are wrestling with the skills-versus-tasks debate inside your organization, it is worth hearing how this is discussed in context. Workforce Planning Has to Include the Person, Not Just the Skill A skill taxonomy can tell an organization that someone has a skill. It cannot tell the organization whether that person wants to use it. Whether they have demonstrated it in real execution. Whether they are willing to take on leadership. Whether they just moved into a role and are still ramping. Strategic workforce planning becomes more realistic when it includes contextual data, not just skill labels. This is where SWP becomes less about classification and more about decision-making. It stops treating people like skill containers and starts treating them like human beings with preferences, histories, and constraints. HR Influence Requires Persistence, Risk Language, and Political Skill Even when HR gets the analysis right, many organizations still do not listen. That is not paranoia. It is often true. In environments where HR has historically been transactional, leaders do not expect HR to challenge strategy feasibility. They do not expect HR to raise uncomfortable risks. They do not expect HR to show up with options. Strategic workforce planning forces HR into a different posture. It requires HR to speak in the language of risk, to persist, and to get political when necessary. If one group will not listen, find another that will. Engage operational risk. Borrow credibility. Use the channels that the organization already respects. This is one of those episodes where the advice is not theoretical. It is practical, and it is the kind of thing HR leaders often need to hear said out loud. Connect With David Edwards David Edwards on Linkedin Connect With RedThread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter

From overcoming initial anxieties through hackathons and playful experiments, to setting an ambitious organizational roadmap for AI, Dessalen Wood shares how Syntax is embedding artificial intelligence across departments, focusing on pragmatic progress rather than hype. You’ll hear stories about driving excitement, learning by doing, and the all-important challenge of measuring real impact. More than just technology, this episode dives into the culture shifts, collaboration with IT, and leadership mindsets that are pushing companies out of their comfort zones and into the future, while keeping authenticity and humanity front and center. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 00:00 Overcoming AI fear through collaboration 03:30 Defining AI readiness today 09:55 AI's role in business transformation 15:46 AI anxiety in the workplace 22:05 Making AI adoption fun 28:11 AI expertise requires human touch 36:42 AI strategy: Three layers explained 41:31 True transformation vs. improvement 53:21 Rethinking work, technology, and AI Overcoming AI Anxiety Early stages of AI adoption in organizations are often marked by fear. Employees worry about being displaced, making mistakes, or failing to keep up. At Syntax, Dessalen Wood and her fellow leaders tackled these concerns by creating safe, engaging, and transparent opportunities to experiment. One of the most effective strategies was an organization-wide AI hackathon. Everyone, regardless of their role, was invited to submit ideas for automation and improvement—ideas that the tech team then built. Not only did this demystify AI, but it also provided a healthy dose of competition and excitement. Dessalen describes that, “Instead of people fearing automation, it became a competition... People were saying, please, automate my tasks!” This shift from apprehension to enthusiasm helped break through adoption barriers and foster a culture of creative problem-solving. Structuring Success: A Multi-Layered AI Roadmap Syntax’s approach moves AI from a buzzword to a set of actionable strategies. The leadership distinguished between three core areas: Department Initiatives: Leveraging AI for productivity and process improvement within teams Customer Value: Enhancing solutions and services delivered to external clients Business Transformation: Reimagining core business models and operations for strategic advantage Many organizations mistakenly assume one AI initiative will magically improve all three—but real impact comes from tailored strategies for each. In practice, this means differentiating between continuous improvement (making existing tasks more efficient) and true reinvention (fundamentally transforming how and why work gets done). The creation of AI champions, employees trained as internal advocates and solution designers, helped ensure that innovative ideas didn’t just sit in a backlog. Instead, those not ready for large-scale investment could be adapted, piloted, and iterated by these champions, keeping the spirit of experimentation alive while prioritizing resources for the highest-value initiatives. The Human Element: Authenticity, Experimentation, and Measurement As AI tools become more prevalent, a new challenge emerges: maintaining authenticity in communication, development, and leadership. The team discussed the “hollowed-out leader” phenomenon—where over-reliance on AI could dilute critical thinking and personal investment. Dessalen explains why expertise, context, and human customization are more important than ever: If it doesn’t demonstrate expertise and isn’t highly curated, it just turns people off. Measurement is also evolving. Early wins in AI productivity are being tracked, not just in terms of completion rates or tool adoption, but in demonstrable business outcomes and stretch goals. Syntax uses tools that help employees articulate their productivity gains and set new impact targets, ensuring that activity translates into organizational value. Resources & People Mentioned Experience Qualtrics Management Resources Connect with Dessalen Wood Dessalen Wood on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

The way organizations think about artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace has shifted dramatically over the past few years. While early conversations centered on isolated experiments and technological hype, organizations now face the much harder task of integrating AI into the fabric of how work gets done. We welcome Melissa Reeve, author of “Hyper Adaptive: Rewiring the Enterprise to Become AI Native,” to discuss what AI adoption really means for people, processes, and culture. Melissa tackles some tough questions about organizational complexity, shifting operating models, and the critical role of culture and systems thinking in successful AI integration. Listeners will get candid advice on starting small, experimenting with purpose, and preparing for the rewiring ahead. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... 03:38 Integrating AI into organizations 12:47 AI Native enterprise structure 15:51 Dynamic AI governance framework 18:58 AI implementation foundations 23:56 Process mapping for AI integration 29:44 Balancing efficiency and leadership focus 37:02 Start small with value streams 40:59 Innovative organizational funding models 42:14 Starting a skills-focused organization 47:03 Digital Twins in Product Testing Navigating the AI Revolution at Work Melissa Reeve’s journey began on the factory floors of Toyota, learning firsthand how small process shifts can drive system-wide change. Building on years of research and influence from Lean, Agile, and DevOps practitioners, Reeve authored a five-stage maturity model she calls hyperadaptive, designed to guide organizations through the incremental steps needed to become truly AI-native. The five stages of Melissa's model: Foundation – Build organizational understanding of AI; create dynamic governance structures and clarify guardrails. Optimization – Identify and optimize business processes for AI interactions; move beyond basic experimentation. Agents & Automation – Develop and manage AI agents that execute tasks and processes autonomously. Rewiring – Shift organizational architecture from rigid hierarchies to flexible, value-stream teams funded and incentivized differently. Hyperadaptive – Fully sense-and-respond organizations capable of real-time adaptation. Melissa splits these into two main categories: Basecamp (the first three stages, where most companies currently operate) and the Emerging Frontier (rewiring and hyper adaptivity). Why Organizations Struggle with AI Integration According to Melissa, most organizations are stuck because they underestimate the support structures required for successful AI adoption. It’s not just about updating technology, in fact, 70-80% of AI success depends on people, culture, and processes, not algorithms. Companies often rush to deploy AI agents or experiment without a clear North Star, leading to pilot fatigue and an 80% failure rate. Many organizations haven’t even finished laying the foundational groundwork, such as establishing unified governance or mapping work processes. Another common pitfall is the tendency to try everything at once. Pressure for fast results drives teams to bite off too much, resulting in burnout and costly errors. Moving from Experimentation to Purposeful Transformation Playing with AI is not a strategy. While experimentation is necessary, organizations must put bounds on these efforts, know why they're experimenting, what hypothesis they're testing, and what success will look like. One necessary precursor is getting to grips with how your organization actually works. Many leaders lack visibility into workflows, decisions, and skillsets, making process optimization difficult. Reeve suggests collaborative process mapping—sometimes supported by AI tools—to unlock tacit knowledge and identify where AI can augment or reinvent workflows. Organizing Around Value Streams One of the most transformative elements is the shift from function-based silos to cross-functional value stream teams. Melissa draws on examples from Toyota, Zappos, and Unilever—organizations that reimagine workflows, funding mechanisms, and team incentives to deliver value rather than preserve hierarchy. Dynamic budgeting, focused experimentation, and flexible team structures help organizations scale AI success without tearing up everything at once. Culture, Upskilling, and Durable Success AI’s impact will be decided by how well organizations invest in people. Unilever’s Future Fit program exemplifies this approach, aligning reskilling efforts to individual purpose and business needs. It’s not algorithms that set successful organizations apart, but their ability to create cultures and support systems that empower people to adapt, reinvent themselves, and thrive amidst change. Start small, experiment with purpose, invest in support structures, and prepare to rewire not just technology, but how your organization thinks about work itself. AI may be the catalyst, but people, empowered and organized around value, are the key to lasting transformation. Resources & People Mentioned Hyperadaptive: Rewiring the Enterprise to Become AI-Native Connect with Melissa Reeve Melissa M. Reeve on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Manuel Smukalla, Global Talent Impact, Skills Intelligence, and Systems Lead at Bayer, joins Workplace Stories to unpack one of the most ambitious organizational transformations underway today. As Bayer confronts significant market, legal, and profitability pressures, the company has taken a radically different approach to how work, leadership, and talent are structured, rethinking everything from management layers to career progression. In this episode, Manuel walks through Bayer’s shift to Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO), a decentralized operating model built around networks of teams, 90-day work cycles, and leaders who coach rather than control. He explains why skills visibility became a foundational requirement for this model to work and how Bayer is using skills data to democratize opportunities, improve talent flow, and fundamentally rethink careers inside a global enterprise. You’ll hear how Bayer reduced management layers by more than half, redesigned leadership expectations through its VAC (Visionary, Architect, Catalyst, Coach) model, and moved toward a culture where employees are empowered, and expected, to own their work, development, and impact. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [01:01] Why Bayer embarked on a radical organizational transformation. [04:30] What Dynamic Shared Ownership really means in practice. [06:55] Moving from hierarchical structures to networks of teams. [10:40] Why skills visibility became a critical business problem. [14:05] How 90-day work cycles change accountability and outcomes. [18:10] Building organizations around customer problems, not functions. [21:15] Launching skills profiles as a starting point, not an endpoint. [23:00] How Bayer’s talent marketplace democratizes opportunity at scale. [27:00] The three pillars of a skills-based organization. [33:00] Rethinking careers, performance management, and feedback. [43:10] The VAC leadership model explained. [52:30] Measuring success in a decentralized organization. [53:45] Advice for organizations considering similar transformations. Dynamic Shared Ownership: Redesigning How Work Gets Done At the core of Bayer’s transformation is Dynamic Shared Ownership, an operating model that replaces traditional hierarchies with flexible networks of teams. Manuel explains how Bayer reduced its management layers from thirteen to six and reorganized work into 90-day cycles focused on clear outcomes. After each cycle, teams reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and whether the work should continue at all. This approach decentralizes decision-making and forces a shift away from command-and-control leadership. Leaders are no longer expected to direct every task; instead, they create the conditions for teams to succeed, setting direction while trusting teams to determine how outcomes are achieved. Skills as the Engine of Talent Flow For Dynamic Shared Ownership to function, Bayer needed a new way to understand and deploy talent. Manuel shares a pivotal realization: managers were turning to LinkedIn to understand employee skills because the organization lacked internal visibility. That insight sparked Bayer’s skills journey. Rather than starting with complex taxonomies, Bayer focused first on skill visibility. Employees created and maintained skills profiles, supported by workshops on how to describe capabilities effectively. Over time, this evolved into a talent marketplace that matches people to work based on skills, not job titles, career level, or location, helping democratize access to opportunities across the enterprise. Moving Talent to Work, Not Work to Talent Manuel outlines three defining pillars of a skills-based organization. First, talent must move to work rather than work being constrained by static roles. Second, organizations must commit to permanent upskilling, recognizing that development is continuous, not episodic. Third, opportunities must be democratized at scale, reducing reliance on manager sponsorship or informal networks. Bayer’s marketplace supports fixed roles, flex roles, and fully agile project-based work, encouraging employees to actively shape their careers while remaining accountable for outcomes. This model challenges long-held assumptions about promotions, ladders, and linear advancement. Leadership and Performance in a Decentralized World Leadership at Bayer has been redefined through the VAC model: Visionary, Architect, Catalyst, and Coach. Leaders set direction, help teams design how value is created, remove barriers, and support rapid cycles of learning. This requires significant unlearning for leaders shaped by traditional hierarchies. Performance management has also shifted. Goals are set in 90-day cycles at the team level, with feedback coming from peers and work leads rather than solely from a direct manager. Over time, this creates richer data on contribution and impact, but also demands a cultural shift toward transparency, shared accountability, and continuous feedback. Connect with Manuel Smukalla Manuel Smukalla on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Christine Crouch, Senior Director of Learning at General Mills, joins Workplace Stories to discuss a massive shift in how one of the world's legacy food companies approaches talent development. General Mills has recently transitioned to a centralized and integrated learning model. In this episode, Christine lays out one of the clearest cases for centralization we have heard. While efficiency is a benefit, she argues that the true drivers are decision-making power and better data. By unifying the function, General Mills gains a stronger view of learning activity and business needs, creating the strategic infrastructure necessary for the future of work. You’ll hear how Christine’s team manages to be centralized without losing the "local feel" through a robust Learning Business Partner model. She also details how centralization unlocks the ability to correlate learning metrics with talent outcomes like retention and performance. Finally, Christine shares her philosophy on AI, not as a replacement for human connection, but as a tool to elevate the human side of learning. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [06:07] Background on General Mills and its culture. [07:00] The shift from decentralized to centralized L&D. [11:11] How to make centralization feel local to business stakeholders. [18:30] The Learning Business Partner model explained. [21:07] Correlating learning metrics with talent outcomes. [27:58] Managing "rogue purchases" in a centralized model. [34:20] Why AI will elevate, not replace, the human side of learning. [47:35] Piloting AI coaching tools like "Nadia". The Strategic Case for Centralization For many organizations, the move to centralize L&D is purely a cost-cutting exercise. However, Christine frames the shift at General Mills as a play for better data and strategic decision-making. A centralized function provides a unified view of the organization's needs, allowing L&D to prioritize investments that drive enterprise-wide capabilities rather than just solving isolated functional problems. As AI accelerates, this strong data infrastructure is what will allow the organization to distinguish between what people actually need to know versus what can be offloaded to technology. The Learning Business Partner Model Centralization often brings the fear of losing touch with the business. General Mills solves this through the "Learning Business Partner" role, individuals who sit on the leadership teams of specific functions or segments but report back to the central L&D organization. These partners act as a bridge; they understand the HR strategy and business plans of their specific function while ensuring continuity with the broader enterprise goals. They are expected to be performance consultants first, identifying the root problems to solve rather than just taking orders for training. AI: Elevating the Human Element Christine’s approach to AI is grounded in optimism and human-centricity. She believes AI will not replace the human side of learning but elevate it. General Mills is actively piloting AI for tasks like personalization, automation, and coaching via a tool called "Nadia," which acts as an "always-on" coach. However, Christine emphasizes that deep skill building, like change leadership, still requires human connection, peer discussion, and the ability to "read the room," skills that AI cannot fully replicate. Connect with Christine Crouch Christine Crouch on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

On the latest episode of Workplace Stories, we sit down with Koreen Pagano, author of "Building a Skills-Based Organization," to talk about one of the hottest and most complex topics in the world of work: how organizations can become truly skills-based, and what that really means in today’s rapidly changing, AI-driven landscape. The conversation was loaded with practical insights, candid stories, and wisdom from the front lines of workforce transformation. Koreen shares her journey from ed-tech and product leadership to guiding hundreds of organizations through the maze of skills transformation. We discuss the crucial front-of-house and back-of-house elements, from clear communication and partnership models to building the right data and technology infrastructure. You’ll hear fresh perspectives on using skills data as an early signal for retention, the shifting role of tasks versus skills, and what it means to future-proof your workforce for ongoing change. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [05:17] Skills vs job architecture approaches. [10:04] Navigating skills-based organizations. [14:33] Workforce data challenges with AI. [23:04] Skills over jobs for strategy. [27:04] Building resilient data systems. [34:33] Building trust in skill data. [39:32] Predicting employee retention through data. [45:59] Helping organizations align AI transformation with business goals. Why Skills Still Matter in a “Task-Talk” World There’s a persistent misconception that the age of “skills” has passed and that “tasks” offer a more practical lens, especially with AI in play. Koreen shares how, at a recent industry event, she heard professionals say, “We don’t need to worry about skills, we have to focus on tasks.” But she thinks that it’s misguided to abandon skills just when organizations are barely starting to understand and leverage them. While tasks describe the work to be done, skills reflect the underlying human (and sometimes machine) capabilities that make that work possible. Both are crucial, but without a foundational understanding of your organization's skills, mapping tasks is like building on sand. Front of House, Back of House, and Getting Skills Right We need to balance “front of house” and “back of house” considerations when building a skills-based organization. Organizations often focus either on external communications, partnerships, and culture (front of house), or purely on technology, data, and infrastructure (back of house), but rarely both. Koreen is unique in straddling the two, and it’s this holistic approach, blending people and process with tech and data, that sets successful organizations apart. The Evolution of Data and the Rise of Skills Verification Organizations are beginning to realize that their skills data isn’t just about upskilling or reskilling; it’s tightly connected to business-critical outcomes like retention, performance, and the ability to adapt to market shifts. Koreen shares compelling examples of using skills data to provide early warning on issues like employee retention, demonstrating data-driven HR in action. She also shared her pragmatic “3Vs” model for validating skills data: Validity (how well the data measures what it claims to), Variety (different types of data from varied sources), and Volume (quantity and frequency of data collected). You can make solid business decisions with basic self-reported skills data, but for higher-stakes calls, like hiring, you need much more rigorous, validated information. Jobs, Skills, and the Trap of Static Structures Often, organizations anchor their skills strategy to their job architecture. Consultants and technology vendors frequently push companies to start by mapping skills to static jobs. We discuss why this is a dangerous place to “end”, because jobs, roles, and the tasks that define them are changing faster than ever, especially with AI in the mix. Koreen advocates for designing skills data that is flexible, lives independently, and can be mapped to jobs and tasks as they evolve, never becoming held hostage by legacy structures. Goals Over Tasks Perhaps the most powerful call to action was the need to focus less on micromanaging the “how” (a long list of tasks) and more on the “what and why”, the goals, outcomes, and genuine business objectives. In a future where work is constantly shifting, organizations that empower people around purpose, supported by dynamic skills data, will outperform those stuck mapping today’s tasks to yesterday’s job charts. Building a skills-based organization isn't a project with a tidy endpoint, it’s a transformation. As Koreen reminds us, it’s hard, messy, and as much about culture as it is about data. But for the organizations (and the people) willing to experiment, adapt, and keep skills at the center of strategy, the payoff is a workforce that’s ready for whatever comes next. Resources & People Mentioned Building the Skills-Based Organization: A Blueprint for Transformation by Koreen Pagano Connect with Koreen Pagano Koreen Pagano on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

In this episode, Stacia and Dani sit down once again with Cole Napper, author of “People Analytics: Using Data-Driven HR and Gen AI as a Business Asset.” A year after his first appearance, Cole returns with bold insights about the seismic changes facing HR and people analytics, and why now is the time to rethink how we define value in the workplace. Cole argues that the future of HR depends on shedding its transactional skin and embracing a new, data-driven paradigm. He discusses why traditional models like Dave Ulrich’s COE framework won’t survive the decade, how organizations can “discorrelate” from market forces by proving business value, and why fear, not technology, is the biggest obstacle to transformation. With sharp humor and evidence from his own research, Cole makes the case for a redefined HR: one that blends human strategy with AI-powered intelligence to drive growth, not just efficiency. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [00:00] Building a new HR paradigm in the Gen AI era. [06:00] Why people analytics hit its “identity crisis” after 2022. [12:00] How to prove HR’s business value beyond metrics. [19:00] The decline of the Ulrich HR model and what replaces it. [24:00] The future of AI-driven workforce transformation. [33:00] The tension between the HR and finance worldviews. [46:00] Why data infrastructure is suddenly “sexy” again. [52:00] Three possible futures for HR in the next decade. Building a New Paradigm for People Analytics Cole’s new book calls for a reset in how organizations use data, not as an isolated reporting function but as a business accelerator. He reveals how people analytics can move from being “scorekeepers” to strategic partners by tackling the questions behind the questions: Why is it happening? What should we do about it? His message is clear, analytics must tie directly to revenue, cost, or risk reduction, or it’s just a hobby. The End of HR as We Know It Cole predicts that the Ulrich model, the long-standing HR framework of COEs, service centers, and HRBPs, won’t survive the coming decade. As generative AI automates much of HR’s transactional work, only the strategic and human elements will remain. He and the hosts debate what should stay human and what can be delegated to machines, exploring the fine line between technological efficiency and organizational soul. AI, Accountability, and the Future of Work Cole cautions that while AI’s potential is vast, it cannot replace human accountability. Drawing a parallel with the evolution of chess, he argues that AI will transform HR’s “game,” not erase it. The goal isn’t to align around AI as a tool, but to use it to unlock entirely new possibilities in how we work, learn, and grow. Infrastructure, Not Illusion For all the hype, Cole reminds leaders that the foundation of AI success lies in data infrastructure, “the least sexy but most essential lever.” Without it, organizations risk failure in the next wave of transformation. Investing in data quality, architecture, and scalability today determines who thrives, or disappears, tomorrow. Resources & People Mentioned People Analytics: Using Data-Driven HR and Gen AI as a Business Asset by Cole Napper Connect with Cole Napper Cole on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter