Lead Human - A Podcast About the Future of Work By Eli Harrell

What does it actually take to build a team that trusts you — and each other?

In this conversation, I sit down with Char, a human-centric leader who has spent her career in the outsourcing space building teams from the inside out. Every senior leader and team lead in her organization started from rank and file. That's not a coincidence — it's a philosophy.

We get into the distinction between managing tasks and managing people, and why so many leaders confuse the two for years before something forces them to wake up. Char talks about how her enti...

I sat down with Penny, Co-CEO of Virtua Solutions, a remote staffing company that's been quietly doing something most companies just talk about — keeping people. At 95% employee retention, some team members still around from 2014, Penny's built something rare: a team that actually wants to stay.

But this conversation isn't a highlight reel. Penny gets honest about the moments that humbled her — including a hard lesson about communicating change to her team the wrong way, one that cost Virtua a client. That story alone is worth the listen.

We go deep on what "people first" actually look...

Most HR leaders walk into organizations armed with frameworks, programs, and best practices. Mia walked in and just... listened.

In this episode, I sat down with Mia, Head of People for TALA in the Philippines and Vietnam — a leader whose career path is anything but traditional. She started in brand management, moved through change management and consulting, got certified as an executive coach, and eventually found her way to one of the most people-forward roles in the Philippine tech space.

What makes Mia's perspective rare isn't her credentials. It's her relentless insistence on context — on actu...

In this episode of the Lead Human, Eli shared a conversation with Dr. Mena Ramos Co-Founder & Co-CEO of GUSI.

Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI) is on a mission to revolutionize patient care worldwide — equipping medical professionals with the skills and tools to use Point of Care Ultrasound at the bedside, enabling faster, more informed clinical decisions that save lives. Through an innovative wrap-around learning platform combining AI-enabled technology, virtual mentorship, and tele-ultrasound, GUSI is bridging the gap between cutting-edge healthcare technology and everyday medical practice — one scan at a time.

At the helm of that mission is D...

Welcome to Lead Human — a podcast for Filipino leaders rethinking how people are developed, how organizations grow, and what leadership looks like when humans come first. I'm Eli Harrell, the host of this Podcast and if you're someone building something and trying to get the people part right — this is for you. Follow the show so you don't miss it