Enterprise Alchemy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The dangers of top down leadership when dealing with real life disasters. The answers are at the community level, with the people living the consequences of your decisions. In this episode, Joanne Greenfield breaks down why the most effective leadership is rooted in local insight, not top-down assumptions. 🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

The moments that break us open are often the moments that make us better leaders. In this episode, Peter Ter Weeme shows why empathy, humility, and connection matter more than authority ever will. 🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

It’s easy to talk about innovation. It’s harder to build systems that don’t kill it. Progress only happens when ecosystems, policy, permitting, incentives, and speed all move in the same direction. In this episode, Asma Sharafi reveals what’s blocking the future we keep talking about. 🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.

The next era of work isn’t human versus machine. It’s human + machine, and the tension between those two forces is where the real leadership begins. In this episode, Marc Sirkin shares how to navigate that tension, name your resistance, and turn uncertainty into momentum. 🎧 Listen in & tell us what you think.