The Team Check-in

In this solo episode of The Team Check-In, Emre tackles one of the most common frustrations in performance management: the competency framework that gets defined, written up, and then never makes it into the review itself. Almost every company has one. Very few put it to work. Emre breaks down the three reasons frameworks get built and then ignored, how to map competencies to role families rather...

In this episode of The Team Check-In, Emre sits down with Tim Newbold, founder of OKR Quickstart and a man who has helped over 70 CEOs implement OKRs effectively across their organizations. Tim makes a case that's rarely heard out loud: most OKR failures are not the team's fault but rather an executive's. From choosing the wrong problem to solve, to confusing values with goals, to the dreaded "set...

In this episode of the Team Check-In, Emre sits down with Dr. Joerg Storm, a leader who spent 12 years managing large-scale IT operations across Japan and China, holds a PhD in intercultural project management, and now lectures on intercultural communication at a university in Frankfurt. Joerg takes us inside what it really means to lead teams across cultural boundaries. From navigating the implic...

Hannes Albrecht from How-to-OKR joins The Team Check-In to break down everything you need to know about OKRs. With 12 years of experience helping companies implement OKRs, Hannes shares what OKRs actually are (and what they're not), why they shouldn't be used for individual performance measurement, what causes OKR implementations to fail, and a nightmare story of a well-known brand that over-engin...

What can swing dancing teach us about leadership? More than you'd think. In this episode, Carol Fraser, an HR veteran with 30+ years of experience and 28 years of teaching swing dance, reveals the surprising parallels between the dance floor and the boardroom. Carol breaks down how partner dancing builds trust faster than any corporate team-building exercise, why leaders need to understand "leadin...

Most organizations have company values — yet very few use them. They sit on a website, printed on a wall, or buried in an onboarding deck… but they rarely guide decisions, shape culture, or influence performance. In this episode of The Team Check-In , Emre sits down with Ann Melinger , Founder & CEO of Bink, who brings 25+ years of expertise in employee communications, culture transformation,...

In this deeply human episode of The Team Check-In , Emre sits down with veteran Chief People Officer and founder of Agile in HR, Mindy Honcoop, for a candid conversation about the emotions we rarely acknowledge in the workplace: fear, shame, and the hidden stories we bring with us into our jobs. Mindy opens up about how fear shapes behavior, why shame disconnects us from ourselves and others, and...

In this episode of The Team Check-In , Emre sits down with Felicia Heward — a seasoned HR leader who’s worked with industry giants like GE Aerospace and Tesla before launching her own fractional HR practice. Felicia shares her remarkable journey from managing labor relations in male-dominated industries to supporting growing startups that need structure and culture. She discusses what “employee re...

In the third installment of our HR Expert Series, we sit down with Natalie Ledbetter, fractional Chief People Officer, startup advisor, and consultant, to explore the role of HR in early-stage companies. Natalie shares why bringing HR in too late can create “people debt,” how hiring strategically early on can change the trajectory of a Series A or B startup, and why DEI is far more than a complian...

In the second installment of our HR Expert Series, we sit down with Ina Atanassova, Senior Talent Development Manager at MaltegoTechnologies, to talk about navigating uncertainty and making training programs truly impactful. Most strikingly, she reveals how she re-engineered Maltego's training strategy: shifting from “everyone gets a budget” to a goal-driven approach that aligns individual develop...

In the first installment of our HR Expert Series, we sit down with Barry Flack — veteran HR practitioner, advisor, and notable voice on fractional HR — to uncover what really makes or breaks digital transformation in the workplace. Barry shares candid stories from the front lines: from multi-million dollar software flops that ignored culture, to standout cases where organizations actually got it r...

In this episode of The Team Check-In, host Emre sits down with globetrotting Chief People Officer Cécile Pompei to challenge everything you think you know about HR and people management. Cecile brings a refreshingly candid perspective to modern people strategy, starting with her memorable insight that "HR processes exist to protect companies from bad managers." However, her approach goes far beyon...

From Microsoft MVP to one of the most prolific voices on LinkedIn and YouTube, Nick DeCourcy has been at the center of the Copilot conversation since day one. In this episode of The Team Check-In , Nick joins Emre to look back on the evolution of Microsoft 365 Copilot, from the hype of its 2023 announcement to the reality of how it’s actually being used today. Together, they explore what Copilot g...

From LinkedIn’s first Chief HR Officer to the author of Workquake , Steve Cadigan has long been at the forefront of how work is evolving. In this episode of The Team Check-In, Steve sits down with Emre to talk about what today’s leaders get wrong about retention, why employee departures shouldn’t be feared, and how the employment contract is being rewritten in real time. Together, they unpack why...

From VP of Product Management to full-time content creator, Aakash Gupta has built a thriving business through his insights on leadership, growth, and product strategy. In this episode of The Team Check-In , Aakash shares his journey from writing LinkedIn posts during COVID to launching a paid newsletter and a top-performing podcast. Along the way, he and Emre discuss the challenges of leadership...

Keirsten Greggs is one of the most prominent voices in recruitment today. As a Forbes Coaching Council Member, the founder of TRAP Recruiter, and a top recruitment influencer, she shares her insights on recruitment with thousands of followers every single day. She joined The Team Check-In for a very special episode, discussing how organizations can integrate relationship-building and trust into th...

In this "All Things Workplace Feedback!", episode of The Team Check-In, we were beyond excited to welcome Anna Wildman to the show. You might be familiar with Anna's work as the founder of The CEDAR feedback model! This episode covers everything from all the do's and don'ts of feedback in the workplace, why the feedback sandwich may not be as effective as you think, as well as how different power...

On this episode of The Team Check-In, we welcome Femke Cornelissen to the show. Femke is a Chief Copilot, a Microsoft MVP, and a founding member of the Dutch Women in Tech community. This is a truly inspiring episode as Femke walks us through what it means to be a woman in tech in 2024, shocking statistics, how to build and manage strong, organic communities, and so much more. This episode also pr...

Sometimes the best team-building happens beyond the office walls. In this episode of The Team Check-In , we welcomed Mark Smith, aka NZ 365 Guy, to share his unique insights into harnessing AI in the workplace. With an extensive career in Microsoft’s Power Platform and a commitment to making tech accessible, Mark brings a refreshing, hands-on perspective to AI's role as an “extension of the self.”...

In this episode of The Team Check-in, we had the pleasure of welcoming Chris Huntingford! One of the most entertaining voices in digital innovation and a Microsoft MVP, Chris has plenty of incredible insights to offer when it comes to building a digital ecosystem for your company, using AI responsibly, and so much more! Emre and Chris go into detail on digital ecosystems, sustainable AI, Ed Zitron...

What does it mean to have an outward mindset at work? In this episode of The Team Check-in we welcome Mitch Warner, managing partner at The Arbinger Institute. Hot off the heels of the release of the fourth edition of "Leadership and Self Deception" by The Arbinger Institute, Mitch joined our show to go over how the book has transformed mindsets over the years, the growing disconnect between emplo...

On this episode of The Team Check-in, we welcome dual Microsoft MVP Jannik Reinhard to the show! Jannik is well-versed in all things Azure AI and brings a unique and educated perspective into the AI conversation! Jannik and Emre go over some of the common misconceptions about the use of AI at work as well as how the mindset changes organizations will be going through as AI tools become more and mo...

In this episode of The Team Check-in, we welcome Daria Rudnik to the show! Daria is one of the premier voices when it comes to team building. Emre and Daria go deep into what it means to be a team architect, the effects of leadership in team chemistry, her interesting venture into an AI leadership assistant, and so much more! If you are currently running a remote team or planning to in the future,...

On this episode of The Team Check-in, we welcome Chris March to the show! Chris is one of the top voices on LinkedIn when it comes to everything leadership, coaching, and development. Chris and Emre take a deep dive into some of the misconceptions around coaching, training programs in the workplace, and most importantly how people can make sure their skills are future-proof! Learn more about Teamf...

What does it mean to be a Microsoft MVP? How do you become one? In this episode of The Team Check-in, we had the pleasure of welcoming Microsoft MVP Emmanuel Gallis to the show! He not only answered our questions on being a Microsoft MVP but as the Power Apps Jedi master, he took a deep dive into all things Power Apps with Emre. If you want to start getting into creating apps with Power Apps, you...