Humanity Working
Humanity Working is a podcast focused on employee development for the future of work. In each episode, we engage with authors, business leaders, and top-tier academics to understand how workplaces can adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving world. This podcast aims to provide employers with actionable strategies to build a resilient, adaptable, and future-proof workforce. Join us as we navigate the changing landscape of work, exploring topics such as workforce transformation, leadership development, employee adaptability, and resilience. Discover the steps you can take to foster a humane, productive workplace that is prepared for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
Why Employee Enablement Doesn’t Work
The world of work has changed hugely in the last few years but the way we enable employees to do it has barely shifted this century.
In this episode Paul and Matt discuss what’s wrong with employee enablement today and how to fix it.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by...
Adapt or Die!
Work is moving so fast that traditional career planning doesn’t work.
In today’s episode Paul gives a sneak preview of his new book, due out later this year - which looks at how to truly build a career when every day is different to the last.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can learn more about them on Li...
Growing in an Interconnected World
We live in a more interconnected world than ever, meaning we can be exposed to new ideas and new ways of working more than ever before.
In today’s episode - Matt and Paul discuss how this change is really affecting us, and look how to sift through the noise to truly learn and grow.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
The Truth About AI Skills
AI is not just a tool—it fundamentally changes how work gets done. So, just doing a prompt engineering course isn’t going to cut it when it comes to creating business value with it.
In today’s episode, Matt and Paul discuss the types of skills that are really needed to thrive with AI, and how you can go about getting them.
Resources mentioned in this podcast. Thrive With AI Program - https://billionminds.com/ai-readiness-program/
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for...
Is Growth Mindset Dead?
Growth Mindset has been a hot topic in enterprises for nearly a decade, but does it REALLY help employees grow?
In today’s episode Paul and Matt look at what’s been happening inside organizations using this approach, and propose an alternative that can achieve better results in today’s world of work.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can lea...
Me vs. We: What Creates More Value?
Work is getting more distributed and we are doing a lot of it solo, so what’s more important to focus on - how we work as individuals or how we work in a team?
Matt and Paul get together to discuss what matter more, and what teamwork even means in the context of today’s work environments.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resi...
Social Connection
The last surgeon general of the United States described loneliness as an epidemic.
In this episode, Paul and Matt explain how the way we do work today contributes to this challenge, the effect it is having on us, and what to do about it, even if you are an introvert.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can learn more...
Movement
It’s great to exercise, but when it comes to being sustainably effective at work, that’s not all you need. Movement needs to be a critical part of your routine, and most people are not getting near enough of it.
Paul and Matt explore why this is and discover what to do about it.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
...
Rest
When it comes to doing great work, rest is really important, but rest isn’t just about sleep.
In this episode Paul and Matt look at four types of rest, and how to make sure you are getting enough of all of them while still getting work done.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can learn more about them on...
It’s Complicated
A sure sign of your understanding of a topic is the ability to explain it to others that don’t. But it can be a real challenge to take complex topics and explain them effectively in a way that others will understand.
In today’s episode Paul and Matt explain some key principles you can use to get better at explaining complicated subjects, and give you some exercises you can use to practice this difficult skill.
Resources mentioned in this episode
1) Paul’s newsletter - Communicating Ideas in 2025 - https://www.humanityworking.net/p/communi...
Let’s Be Brief
It’s good to talk, but how much?
Paul and Matt discuss the power of brevity, look at why it’s difficult, and how to get good at saying a lot with fewer words.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.
SuperBusy
We live in a cult of business, where almost everyone in the workplace is not just stretched to the point of exhaustion, they want to tell everyone else about it.
Paul and Matt discuss this phenomenon, why being so busy can make you less effective, and how to move beyond busyness to effectiveness.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You...
Why Remote Work is not all good (or all bad)
Remote work is back in the headlines again, with government mandating a return to office.
But is there any merit to it, and what do we REALLY know about remote work, now it’s been mainstream for a while.
Paul and Matt discuss…
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by v...
Work-Life Separation
What really is the best way to separate work and life?
The Apple show Severance provides a unique way to do this, but the rest of us have to figure out how to create separation ourselves.
In this episode Paul and Matt discuss how the way work has changed has created the need for us as individuals to create separation between work and go through strategies to achieve it.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
...
How People Learn
We’ve been learning since humankind began, and even formal learning environments have existed for thousands of years, but does the way we learn today suit the demands of our jobs?
In today’s episode, Paul and Matt discuss how the changing world of work is changing what we need to learn, and how we need to learn it.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adap...
2025 And All That
We are back for 2025 - smaller and better!
By smaller, we really mean shorter and hopefully more perfectly formed.
In today’s episode Matt and Paul what to expect in 2025, and to ask you for 10 minutes of your time once a week.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Humanity Working Website - www.humanityworking.net. This is your one stop shop for all things Humanity Working.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds he...
Building Organizational Resilience
In this episode, Paul sits down with Mindy Honcoop, a seasoned People Leader and HR advisor with over 20 years of experience.
Mindy shares her insights into helping organizations and leaders navigate the complexities of rapid change in today’s dynamic work environment. She emphasizes the importance of creating frameworks that foster resilience and adaptability, both at the employee and leadership levels.
The conversation dives into the challenges managers face in times of change, the role of HR in driving strategic initiatives, and the growing trend of fractional HR leadership. Mindy and Paul explore why humans naturally resist ch...
Emergency Pod: A Step Forward In AI?
We’ve seen the future and it kind of works. Google’s release of Notebook LM is really fascinating, but social media is awash with one aspect of it particularly, the “mini-podcasts” it can create from a text source.
In this episode, Paul puts it to the test against an article that he wrote about AI, and discusses what it get’s right and what it get’s wrong… After listening to this episode, we recommend you read the original article and judge for yourself.
Link to the original article: https://humanityworking.substack.com/p/im-sorry-dave...
Spiral Impact with Karen Valencic
Karen Valencic is the author of the book Spiral Impact: The Black Belt Edition The Power to Get It Done with Grace.
In this episode, Paul and Karen discuss how to turn conflict from a negative into something that sparks innovation and leads to positive change. They also examine how looking at the same issue form different perspectives can unlock higher performance in teams.
Resources mentioned in this episode: Karen’s book - https://www.bookhampton.com/book/9781946533845
Karen’s practice - https://www.karenvalencic.com/
Humanity Working is brought to y...
One Drop of Poison
Sean Lemson is founder of Motivated Outcomes and the author of the book One Drop of Poison: How One Bad Leader Can Slowly Kill Your Company.
In this provocative discussion, Paul and Sean examine his own experiences with poisonous leadership, and how he coaches leaders on how to avoid behaviors that cause poison to seep into organizations of all sizes.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
One Drop of Poison Book - https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?DU3WBRFCohZANjrxgk7USASQf1Gtl7xp0V0Rq9fsqjQ
Motivated Outcomes Company - https://www.motivatedoutcomes.com...
Begin With We
Kyle McDowell is the author of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best selling book - Begin With We: 10 Principles for Building and Sustaining a Culture of Excellence.
In this episode Kyle and Paul discuss the challenges of leading in rapidly changing work environments, the non-negotiable elements of high performing work environments, and Kyle’s own transformation to his current leadership style.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Begin with We book - https://a.co/d/cl0L27m
Kyle’s Consulting Company - https://kylemcdowellinc.com
Why following thro...
Is HR now about Math?
Keith Goode is the vice president of products and services at ZeroedIn Technologies - an organization that uses data analytics to make HR decisions more effective.
In this episode Paul and Keith discuss the role that data analytics and HR can responsibly play, but also the challenges that emerge when organizations rely too much on data.
Resources mentioned in this episode ZeroedIn Technologies - https://www.zeroedin.com
Keith’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithagoode/
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that make...
How To Get Serious About AI
Boaz Ashkenazy is CEO and Co-founder of Simply Augmented, an organization committed to establishing a premier AI-first solutions provider that empowers businesses to harness generative AI for optimizing their core business workflows.
Boaz is also the creator and host of the Shift AI podcast, which is syndicated through Geekwire. The podcast serves as a platform for spotlighting thought leaders who are pushing the boundaries in AI and the future of work.
In this episode, Boaz and Paul discuss the difference AI is making to the world of work today, and what the impact will be...
A Very Particular Set of Skills
Ben Slater is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Beamery - a platform that uses AI to hire candidates faster, develop the skills of a workforce, and increase employee retention.
In this wide-ranging discussion - Ben and Paul examine the types of skills that are necessary in the workplace today, why L&D budgets are often the first to go in tough times, and how educational institutions need to change to stay relevant in the new world of work.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Beamary - https://www.beamery.com
...
How to Not Suck as a Leader!
Paul is joined by Dr. Allessandria Polizzi for the first live recording of Humanity Working!
In this episode, Paul and Dr. Al answer questions you’ve shared on leadership - what works, and what doesn’t in today’s new world of work.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Workplace Mental Health Strategy Workbook - https://verdantconsulting.net/buy-our-workbook
One Drop of Poison - https://www.amazon.com/One-Drop-Poison-Leader-Company/dp/1733004238
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
The WD-40 Story. How to Put People at the Heart of an Enterprise
In 1997, after 10 years at the company - Garry Ridge became CEO of WD-40, and began the transformation of the organization into a truly global company. Garry’s big bet? That focusing relentlessly on the people inside WD-40 would drive outsized results.
In this fascinating interview, Garry describes the journey of his organization, the processes that were instituted inside WD-40 to create a thriving culture, and how he continues this work today as Chairman Emeritus of WD-40 and the founder of The Learning Moment.
Resources mentioned in this episode: The Learning Moment - https://thelearningmoment.net/
Mental Health at Work - What We Are All Getting Wrong
Dr. Allessandria Polizzi - is a former HR executive and now the CEO of Verdant Consulting, a top 20 workplace wellness provider of 2022. She is the ISO global liaison for occupational health and safety. She also serves as an expert on psychological health and safety for professional associations, media, and the National Safety Council.
She’s recently published the Workplace Mental Health Strategy Workbook, designed to help companies to proactively address this issue. In this episode Paul and Dr. Al discuss why simply addressing mental health challenges as they arise makes poor business sense, and look at practical me...
Glass Ceilings. Sticky Floors.
Erica Rooney is a Chief People Officer, Executive Coach and Consultant, and host of the Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors podcast.
Her new book “Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors” is due out later this year.
Erica is on a mission to to help women get seen, get heard, and get promoted, by empowering them to break free from the sticky floors to bust through the glass ceiling. In this episode, Paul and Erica discuss limiting beliefs and toxic behaviors that Erica believes are holding women (and men) back from fully reaching their goals.
Resou...
How the Future Works
Brian Elliott is the co-founder of Future Forum, an initiative backed by Slack and Boston Consulting Group, focused on building flexible work environments that Flourish. He is the author of the best-selling book “How the Future Works”.
Resources mentioned in this episode: How the Future Works - https://futureforum.com/how-the-future-works/
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You can learn more...
Team Habits
Charlie Gilkey is a business author, speaker, coach, and entrepreneur specializing in leadership, teamwork, and productivity.
His new book is Team Habits: How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results
Resources mentioned in this podcast: Charlies’s Company - Productive Flourishing - https://www.productiveflourishing.com
Team Habits Book - https://www.betterteamhabits.com
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.
BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees.
You...
Same As it Ever Was
Becky Farone is a certified career change coach and the founder of Fireworks Coaching. Becky specializes in helping professional women over 40 decide to stay or leave distressing work or careers – and what to do next, using a foundation of design thinking.
In this podcast, Paul and Becky discuss: - How to use the principles of design thinking when evaluating yourself and your career - Specific considerations for women who are looking to change career direction - Differences between this approach and traditional career coaching.
Resources mentioned in this podcast: Fireworks Coaching - https://www.fireworkscoaching.co...
The Leadership Revolution
Lori Mazan is a the co-founder, president, and chief coaching officer of Sounding Board, Inc., which offers a tech-driven, human-centric approach to leadership development to customers including Chevron, Sprint, and Citibank.
In her new book Leadership Revolution: The Future of Developing Dynamic Leaders - Mazan describes how to develop capabilities in leaders that produce immediate, positive business results.
In this episode, Paul an Lori discuss the major findings from her book, and look at how leadership is evolving as work environments transform.
Humanity Working is brought to y...
What Do People Really Want?
Sharekh Shaikh is the Founder of CleverX, a platform that powers market research teams by providing them with access to the tools and the hardest-to-reach commercial audiences.
Sharekh previously worked with Gartner, to create secure collaboration environments for tech leaders.
In this edition, Paul and Sharekh discuss the benefits and challenges of researching sentiment in business customers, and take a detailed look at how the same techniques can be used to understand sentiments inside organizations.
Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for t...
Lessons from an AI Startup
Zach Rattner is the CTO and Co-Founder of Yembo.ai, and author of the new book, Grow Up Fast: Lessons from an AI Startup. In this podcast Zach and Paul discuss how AI is way more than just ChatGPT - what it’s good (and not good at), how it’s being used in specialist settings, and what that means for employees looking to thrive in a world increasingly dominated by AI.
Resources mentioned in this podcast:
Yembo.ai is the global leader in AI-based virtual home surveys - https://yembo.ai
Details of Zach’...
The Whole Human at Work
Dr. Laura Hamill is an organizational psychologist and business leader, focusing on the intersection of science and HR. Laura is an expert on creating great places to work. Her research is centered around employee well-being, employee engagement, and organizational culture.
Laura is the owner of Paris Phoenix Group, a consulting firm specializing in driving impactful research and outcomes. In her consulting business, Laura has had the opportunity to work with numerous organizations to assess and transform their cultures.
Laura was also a co-founder of Limeade, an employee experience software company, where she held the dual roles of...
Workforce Readiness for the Future of Work
Paul is joined by his BillionMinds co-founder Ryan Tubbs to explore the dynamic world of employee development.
Drawing from Ryan's recent in-depth research, they discuss the pivotal role employers have in fostering soft skills like adaptability and resilience within their organizations.
Included in this episode:
This conv...
Building Organizations Where Everyone Thrives
Minal Bopaiah is an award-winning author, keynote speaker and equity strategist. She founded Brevity & Wit, a strategy and design firm that helps organizations achieve the change they want to see in the world.
Her first book, Equity: How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives (Berrett-Koehler, 2021), was described as “a succinct jewel” by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams and was awarded the 2022 Terry McAdam Book Award for the book most likely to change the way nonprofit professionals work.
Minal has delivered memorable talks at numerous conferences and companies, including Salesforce, NPR, and SXSW. Her...
The Endless Job Hunt
Paul welcomes back Dr. Charles Michael Austin, also known as Dr. Chaz, for an in-depth discussion about his latest book, "101 Ways to Find Work... and Keep Finding Work for the Rest of Your Career."
This episode is a must-listen for anyone eager to navigate the evolving landscape of employment, whether you're job hunting, seeking growth in your current role, or just curious about the changing dynamics of the workplace.
About Dr. Chaz: Dr. Charles Michael Austin, an expert in Organizational Leadership with a Doctorate from Pepperdine University, brings over two decades of experience...
The Business Case for DEIB
Sarah Scala M. Ed & OD is the Founder, President, and Principal Consultant of Sarah Scala Consulting, which provides executive coaching, DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) facilitation, organization development, learning strategy, LGBTQ+ leadership coaching, leadership development, and change management consulting to organizations, with the goal of increasing client revenue, reducing turnover, and creating business value.
In this discussion Paul and Sarah talk about DEIB. They discuss how DEIB initiatives translate into improve business results, how the field has transformed over the years, the impact of recent rulings in the Supreme Court, and how the influx of new...
Design Thinking for Leadership Development
Paul explores the transformative power of design thinking in leadership with Karen Ziegler, the leader of Designed for Innovation. In the discussion they demystify design thinking and showcases its role in sculpting today's and tomorrow's leaders. Whether you're new to the concept or well versed in human-centered design, this discussion will help you understand how to craft innovative solutions and bolster your leadership skills. Karen's insights promise to inspire a shift from traditional roles to dynamic skill sets, all through the lens of rigorous design thinking methodologies.
This episode comes to you from BillionMinds, your partner in preparing...
