From A People Perspective

Mastering Remote Work and In-Person Balance with Vanesa Cotlar, VP People & Culture at PolicyMe

Vanesa Cotlar shares insights on remote work, building relationships with CEOs, and leveraging AI for business innovation. Discover practical strategies for career growth, team building, and staying ahead in AI technology. 00:00 – Introduction to Vanesa Cotlar 04:36 – Remote Work vs. In-Person Collaboration 08:59 – Work Style, Meetings & Productivity Habits 11:09 – Performance Reviews, Team Building & RTO Takes 12:18 – The CEO ↔ People Leader Relationship 17:34 – Career Growth & Becoming a Strategic Partner 22:33 – AI Challenges in Modern Workplaces 24:59 – AI Learning, Upskilling & Internal Innovation 28:06 – AI Tools That Changed Workflow Efficiency 31:11 – Staying Ahead of the AI Curve 34:43 – Overcoming Fear & Resistance to AI Adoption 36:28 – Closing Thoughts & Final Reflections

People Strategy in a Distributed World with Erin Goodey, Global People Director at Oyster

What if the key to better hiring, onboarding, and managing people is just making the complex simple? Erin Goodey shares real-world strategies to strip away unnecessary friction, leverage automation, and build resilient, scalable teams especially in a global context. 01:25 - Intro & icebreakers 04:45 - Email sign-off culture across countries 07:48 - Rapid fire: culture, RTO mandates & the future of work 09:28 - From criminology to HR: Erin's career journey 13:15 - Joining Oyster and building global HR from scratch 16:34 - Advising customers on complex global hiring strategy 18:20 - Work from anywhere: risk, maturity & legal exposure 20:32 - How Oyster sets standards while adapting to each client 25:18 - Heat maps, country selection & avoiding costly mistakes 26:45 - Planning for offboarding before you celebrate onboarding 29:33 - Pod countries: a smarter approach to global expansion 31:31 - Best entry points for companies new to international hiring 34:03 - Making the complex simple: automation & human-centered HR 37:16 - Lessons for fractional HR leaders 41:32 - Universal truths about the people profession 45:55 - The power of community & the "Unblock Me" channel 48:35 - What's on Erin's mind: geopolitics, complexity & building ahead 50:00 - Reimagining HR processes with AI from the ground up 51:38 - Pearl Diver: how Oyster saved 420 hours with an AI bot 55:56 - AI as a creative opportunity, not just a cost-cutting tool 58:37 - Who Erin's watching: companies pioneering AI-driven HR 1:00:21 - Final thoughts & close

How Role-Playing Games Transform Leadership and Culture with Laura Khalil, Founder of Once Upon A Roll

In this episode, we explore how role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons can transform team building, leadership, and organizational culture through immersive, hands-on learning. By using play as a tool, teams can build trust, improve communication, and uncover hidden dynamics that traditional methods often miss. The conversation highlights how experiential learning creates deeper connections, encourages authentic collaboration, and helps individuals develop skills in a low-pressure environment that translates directly into the workplace. 00:00 – Introduction & Laura Khalil background 02:00 – D&D and tabletop games explained 07:00 – Games as a model for team roles & dynamics 12:00 – Using game mechanics in real work (Stars & Wishes)  16:30 – Why games reveal real personality traits 20:30 – Corporate dysfunction & lack of collaboration 23:00 – Discovery of D&D’s team-building potential 27:00 – Real business impact: building connections across teams 31:30 – Why play is critical for learning & development 35:30 – Leadership, vulnerability & “looking silly” 40:00 – Using games to diagnose team dynamics 45:30 – Breaking hierarchy & titles through gameplay 48:30 – Google study: what makes high-performing teams 50:30 – Where to find Laura & closing thoughts

Unlocking the Power of Neurodiversity in the Workplace with Sarah Ennor, Lawyer & Founder of Growth Counsel

In this episode, Sarah Ennor shares her journey with ADHD, debunks common myths, and offers practical advice for workplaces to support neurodiverse employees. Discover how understanding and accommodating different brain types can boost organizational performance and inclusivity. 00:00 – Introduction & Sarah Ennor overview 02:00 – What ADHD really means at work 06:20 – “People over policy” hot take 10:30 – Why employees don’t disclose ADHD 14:00 – Better approach: ask for outcomes, not labels 19:00 – Making invisible differences visible 23:50 – Biggest myth: ADHD ≠ laziness 29:00 – Sarah’s ADHD diagnosis story 33:30 – Understanding ADHD differences & self-awareness 36:30 – Rethinking work structures (time, productivity) 41:30 – Challenging norms like punctuality 48:20 – How companies can unlock performance 51:00 – One key fix: believe your employees 56:50 – Why this matters for business (cost + growth) 1:02:50 – Closing & where to find Sarah

The Hidden Link Between Job Enjoyment and Performance with Jason Silver, Author & CEO of JI Business Advisory

In this episode, Jason Silver, a former Airbnb country manager turned author, shares eye-opening insights on rethinking productivity, leadership, and purpose. He reveals how scaling at breakneck speed taught him that focusing on culture and values especially the ones you pay a price for, can make or break your success. And he challenges the widely held myth that job satisfaction is about finding your passion it's about practicing it, day by day, task by task. 00:00 – Introduction & Jason Silver background 02:30 – From child actor to Airbnb: unconventional career path 06:10 – Inside Airbnb’s hypergrowth (400 → 2500 employees) 09:30 – “Don’t f*** up the culture”: lessons on scaling companies 12:30 – Why company values fail (and how to make them real) 17:00 – The book Your Grass is Greener explained 20:00 – Personal turning point: loss, perspective & mindset shift 23:30 – The “enjoyment → success” reversal (core philosophy) 28:30 – You have more control over your work than you think 42:30 – Practical exercise: redesign your work using enjoyment 47:15 – HR dilemma: misaligned roles & how to fix them 50:15 – Change HOW you work, not WHAT you do 53:00 – Small tweaks that compound into career satisfaction 59:30 – The future of work: danger of chasing “perfect jobs” 1:03:30 – Final insights on values, work, and fulfillment