The Empathy Edge

We've long been told that compassion and profitability can't coexist. My guest today challenges that idea, building her business, people systems, and technology around proving otherwise—and helping clients do the same. Rachael Kelly is a bestselling author and founder and CEO of Hive Enterprises. She specializes in strategy, organizational effectiveness, and people and culture, helping mission-dri...

We're all so busy "AI-ing" everything that nobody stops to ask — are we actually solving the right problems for the real humans on the other end?  Peter Swimm is a conversational AI product lead and solutions expert with nearly three decades of experience building and scaling technology that actually works for humans. Peter got his start in tech in 1996 teaching communities how to use the int...

On her 54th birthday, Maria gets personal, fired up, and a little cheeky. She shares the story behind her brand-new speaker reel - three minutes, eighteen years of work, and all the vulnerability that comes with watching your life’s mission condensed into a single video.  Then she reads an open letter she wrote to toxic male influencers and leaders, on behalf of boy moms everywhere, about the...

What if your energy worked exactly like money?  My guest is Claire Mia Burnett, a coach and currently the Director of Operations and Effectiveness at McKesson. She has spent her career working with some of the most recognizable organizations in the world, building the systems meant to help people do their best work. And what she discovered along the way is that the energy problem shows up eve...

Maria Ross and Rob Volpe are back! Today, we talk about empathy like it's an emotion: something that washes over you, or doesn't. But what if you don't feel it? Does that make you bad at empathy? The science doesn't offer a tidy answer. Some researchers show empathy is deeply felt, sometimes so intensely it leads to burnout. Others argue it's a choice we make, turned up or down depending on who's...

Here is a stat that should make every leader uncomfortable: most companies are overpaying for employee healthcare while their employees are still underserved, afraid to use it, and one medical bill away from a crisis. My guest today is Dan Cosgrove, CEO of Better Benefits USA. Dan spent over a decade at some of the most iconic companies in the world before channeling that expertise into healthcare...

Most leaders are promoted because they’re excellent at strategy, operations, or delivering results. But very few are ever taught how to lead people or give feedback. And that’s where things fall apart. Rebecca Dhrimaj is on a mission to redefine what leadership looks like in the C-suite and beyond. As a Chief Empathy Officer of The Empathy Collective, Rebecca empowers leaders to coach teams and gi...

Today we get to see what it actually looks like when a leader builds an entire organization around empathy and people - operationalizes it, measures it, and watches it drive real, bottom-line results.  When Alex stepped into leadership of JLG Lawyers, she brought an operational mindset and a transformative question that became their cultural north star: what would the legal profession look li...

Warning: We're getting a little spicy today! What if caring deeply about your people was actually the fastest way to get big sh*t done? I’m talking with Carlo Odicino, CEO and Founder of One TEAM Partners, where he helps early-stage companies bring innovations to market without burning out their teams. With more than 24 years of experience in scaling businesses, Carlo knows that psychological safe...

We are living in the Year of the Fire Horse. And if you know anything about Chinese astrology, you know that the Fire Horse is not a gentle, meandering kind of energy. It is fast, fierce, unpredictable, and transformative. It burns down what isn't working to make room for what's next.  And that feels about right for where we are as a culture, as leaders, and as human beings right now. Today,...

We’re entering a leadership era where charisma without self-awareness falls flat, expertise without empathy stalls out, and confidence isn’t a personality trait; it’s a leadership skill that can be trained. Nada Lena Nasserdeen has built her life’s work around that reality. Nada is the Founder and CEO of Rise Up For You, a globally recognized leadership development and coaching organization dedica...

What if uncertainty isn’t something to fear or even survive, but a skill you can train and a competitive advantage you can build? Scott Stirrett has spent more than a decade helping people do exactly that. Scott is a Canadian entrepreneur, author, and the founder of Venture for Canada, a national charity that has supported over 10,000 young professionals since 2013. He’s also the author of The Unc...

What if resilience isn’t about powering through, pushing harder, or staying unbreakable but about knowing how to bend, recalibrate, and return to center without losing yourself in the process? That question sits at the heart of my conversation with Dr. Ute Liersch, a German psychologist, leadership coach, and resilience expert who works with high-performing leaders, especially those navigating bur...

While many leaders want to lead with empathy, they often fail to translate that desire into actionable decisions. Today, Maria discusses the distinction between intention and decision and highlights the importance of making–and committing–to those decisions that lead to tangible changes. She also emphasizes the urgency of making the most of the opportunities we have today, not waiting for what mig...

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge. Synthesis, Contradictions & What We Actually Want to Protect Rob and Maria started this subseries with a sing...

They say “It takes a village.” But how do you build it? For all our technology, tools, and ways to stay “connected,” many of us are feeling more isolated than ever. And that lack of connection is showing up everywhere. Florence Ann Romano believes the answer isn’t doing more; it’s rebuilding what we’ve lost. Florence Ann is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and author. Her work has been featur...

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge. Morality, Conscience, Storytelling & Community Where does our sense of right and wrong actually come from? Ma...

What if the secret to a more fulfilling life (and a more effective leadership style) isn't productivity or strategy, but connection? My guest today is Dr. Adam Dorsay, a licensed psychologist and executive coach in Silicon Valley, where he works with high-achieving professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and even professional athletes. He's the host of the award-winning SuperPsyched podcast and...

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge. Aspiration, Hope, Free Will & the Future-Oriented Mind Humans don't just live in the present. We imagine futu...

We are more connected and lonelier than ever. That paradox is shaping not just our personal lives, but our workplaces, our leadership, and our long-term well-being. And if we don’t address it intentionally, loneliness becomes more than a social issue; it becomes a business risk. Today, welcome back Dr. Tracy Brower, who has spent her career studying exactly this intersection of community, happines...

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge. Is being vulnerable and admitting mistakes part of being human? Antonio Damasio is a professor at USC, not Vander...

Connection isn't a nice-to-have. It is the thing - the whole thing. And right now, in a world that seems to be working overtime to divide us, finding our people and building our communities might just be the most radical, most hopeful, and frankly most strategic thing we can do. Maria discusses the importance of connection and hope in this divided world, emphasizing community and collaboration as...

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries on The Empathy Edge. Mortality, Impermanence & Why It Drives Everything We may be the only species that lives with the conscious knowle...

What if the future of leadership isn’t about scaling faster or competing harder, but about finding empathy and remembering what it truly means to be human? Aubrey Morgan Yee invites us into a radically different way of thinking about leadership, collaboration, and the futures we’re actively creating. She is a cultural strategist, narrative practitioner, and empathy-centered futurist whose work bri...

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge. Self-Awareness, Consciousness & the Brain That Knows Itself What does it mean to be aware that you exist? In...