foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work

Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman
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You’re leading people through constant change. Evolving expectations, AI disruption, and rising pressure to get culture and performance right. If you’re an HR leader, People and Culture executive, or senior business leader shaping the future of work, foHRsight is for you. foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work is a weekly podcast from future foHRward, hosted by Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman Colla. Each episode explores the most pressing issues facing HR and leadership today, including employee engagement, retention, flexible work, leadership effectiveness, and the real impact of AI on organizations. Through candid conversations with CHROs, senior leaders, and forward-thinking experts, foHRsight delivers practical insight and strategic perspective you can apply immediately. The goal is simple: help you make better people decisions, build stronger organizations, and lead with confidence in an increasingly complex world of work. Follow foHRsight on your favourite podcast platform and join the future foHRward community, a growing network of HR and People leaders connecting through conversation, events, and shared insight on what’s next for work.

  1. The Leadership Shift From Certainty to Clarity with Rachel Cooke

    1 day ago

    The Leadership Shift From Certainty to Clarity with Rachel Cooke

    Most leaders today feel stuck in a constant tug-of-war. Push harder for results and risk burnout or focus too much on engagement and worry performance will suffer. But what if that tension exists because we are solving the wrong problem? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla sits down with leadership consultant Rachel Cooke to explore a different approach to leadership and work design, one where development, connection, wellbeing, and performance are not competing priorities, but built into the fabric of how work happens every day. Together, they unpack: why traditional leadership models are breaking down under uncertaintythe difference between certainty and clarityhow leaders can better harness frontline insight and intelligencewhy work design matters more than another leadership programhow small experiments inside the flow of work can create meaningful cultural changeand the opportunity HR has to stop separating “people stuff” from business resultsThis is a thoughtful and deeply practical conversation for leaders trying to create healthier, more adaptive workplaces without adding more complexity, meetings, or programs. About Our Guest Rachel Cooke is the founder of Lead Above Noise, host of the Modern Mentor Podcast, and author of the newsletter Making Work Work Better. With a background spanning organizational psychology, operations leadership, and HR, Rachel helps organizations rethink leadership and work design in ways that strengthen both business performance and human experience. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward  Follow us on Instagram For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    32 min
  2. We’re Sleepwalking Into an AI Problem

    28 May

    We’re Sleepwalking Into an AI Problem

    Everyone is trying to move faster right now. Faster outputs. Faster decisions. Faster adoption of AI. But somewhere inside that acceleration, many leaders are starting to feel something else too: cognitive overload, constant mental switching, and a growing sense that work is becoming noisier instead of clearer. In this episode, Mark and Naomi unpack two emerging ideas gaining traction in the AI conversation: “AI brain fry” and “cognitive surrender.” Together, they explore what happens when efficiency becomes the default goal, how over-reliance on AI can quietly erode critical thinking, and why HR leaders need to be paying closer attention to the human experience underneath AI adoption. This conversation isn’t anti-AI. It’s about intentional AI use. The discussion explores:  Why productivity pressure may be pushing teams toward unhealthy AI habits  The difference between learning moments and efficiency moments  How AI-generated volume can actually increase cognitive fatigue  Why HR professionals may be especially vulnerable to “brain fry”  What organizations risk losing when human judgment disappears from the process  How leaders can create healthier norms around AI use before bad habits calcify Most importantly, this episode is a reminder that AI should augment human capability, not replace thoughtful human participation in work. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward   Follow us on Instagram For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    31 min
  3. Why the Enneagram Matters More in the Age of AI with Karl Hebenstreit

    21 May

    Why the Enneagram Matters More in the Age of AI with Karl Hebenstreit

    AI is accelerating change faster than most organizations are emotionally prepared for. Employees are anxious. Leaders are overwhelmed. And many managers are being asked to guide people through uncertainty without ever being taught how to truly understand human behaviour in the first place. In this episode of the foHRsight podcast, Mark Edgar sits down with organizational psychologist, executive coach, and author Karl Hebenstreit to explore why empathy, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness may become some of the most important leadership capabilities of the AI era. Together, they unpack: Why AI is creating more fear and pressure at work than many organizations want to admit The leadership gap created when technical experts become people managers overnight How unclear expectations quietly damage trust, performance, and culture Why understanding motivation matters more than personality labels How the Enneagram can help leaders better navigate teams, conflict, communication, and change This conversation is ultimately about something bigger than frameworks or assessments. It’s about building workplaces where people feel understood enough to actually thrive. About Our Guest Karl Hebenstreit is an author, speaker, executive coach, and organizational development leader with more than 25 years of experience helping leaders and teams work more effectively together. His work focuses on emotional intelligence, leadership development, and using the Enneagram as a practical framework for building healthier organizations and stronger human connection. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward   Follow us on Instagram For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    40 min
  4. Why Age Debt Is the Workplace Crisis No One's Talking About with Dan Pontefract

    14 May

    Why Age Debt Is the Workplace Crisis No One's Talking About with Dan Pontefract

    Many organizations are planning for AI disruption. Far fewer are planning for demographic disruption. In this episode of foHRsight, Dan Pontefract joins Naomi Titleman Colla to unpack what he calls “age debt” — the growing organizational risk created when companies ignore longevity, ageism, workforce demographics, and the loss of institutional wisdom. The conversation challenges the way we think about generational labels at work and asks a bigger question: what happens when organizations become so focused on optimization and speed that they stop valuing experience altogether? Dan introduces a new framework for thinking about careers through evolving life stages instead of fixed generational identities, and explores why the future of work will require organizations to rethink career paths, knowledge transfer, leadership structures, and workforce wellbeing. For HR leaders navigating talent shortages, succession concerns, burnout, and constant change, this episode offers a more human and sustainable lens on what future-ready organizations actually need. About Our Guest Dan Pontefract is an award-winning author, leadership strategist, keynote speaker, and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria. A former Chief Learning Officer at TELUS, Dan has spent decades helping organizations rethink leadership, learning, culture, and the future of work. His latest book, The Future of Work Is Grey explores the overlooked workforce risks tied to age, longevity, and organizational wisdom.  Website & free assessments: www.thefutureofworkisgrey.comTake the Personal Age Assessment to see how prepared you are for age debtTake the Organizational Age Assessment to benchmark your companyStay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward   Follow us on Instagram For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    37 min
  5. Why DEI Fails When You Only Focus on Hiring with Celeste Warren

    7 May

    Why DEI Fails When You Only Focus on Hiring with Celeste Warren

    What if the reason your culture isn’t shifting… isn’t your people? For many HR leaders, the pressure is familiar. You hire thoughtfully. You invest in development. You talk about inclusion. And yet, something still doesn’t move. Because the issue isn’t just who is in the organization. It’s what they move through once they’re there. In this episode, Mark Edgar sits down with Celeste Warren to unpack a more pragmatic, and more demanding, view of diversity, equity and inclusion. One that moves beyond representation and into the systems that shape access, opportunity, and performance. They explore why so many DEI efforts fail to create real change, how the role of the Chief Diversity Officer has evolved through a decade of volatility, and what it actually takes to build environments where people can thrive. This is not a conversation about optics or ideology. It’s about how organizations work, who they work for, and what leaders need to redesign if they want performance to be sustainable. If you’re leading through complexity, trying to balance business outcomes with human realities, this episode will challenge how you think about both. About Our Guest Celeste Warren is a former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and global HR leader with decades of experience across complex organizations. She now advises companies on how to embed inclusive and equitable practices into business and people systems. Her work is grounded in both lived experience and deep operational expertise, making her perspective both practical and hard to ignore. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward   Follow us on Instagram For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    38 min
  6. Why Starting with AI Is the Wrong Strategy with Kelly Monahan

    30 Apr

    Why Starting with AI Is the Wrong Strategy with Kelly Monahan

    What if the problem isn’t that your people aren’t performing… but that your system is broken? Right now, many organizations are rushing to adopt AI, cutting entry-level roles, and asking more from leaders who are already at capacity. It feels efficient. It looks strategic. But it’s quietly eroding the very foundation of future performance. In this episode, host Mark Edgar sits down with Kelly Monahan to challenge the way we’re thinking about work, leadership, and AI. They explore why starting with technology is the wrong move, how outdated systems are limiting human potential, and what leaders need to rebuild if they want sustainable performance. This is a conversation about getting the moment right. Not just implementing AI, but redefining how value is created, how people are developed, and what leadership actually requires now. If you’re feeling the pressure to “move faster” while sensing something deeper is off, this episode will help you step back and rethink where to start. About Our Guest Kelly Monahan is a future of work advisor, researcher, and bestselling author focused on the intersection of human behavior, leadership, and technology. With a background in HR and a PhD in organizational research, she works closely with executives to help them navigate AI-driven transformation while keeping human performance at the center. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward   Follow us on Instagram For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    32 min
  7. Why Leaders Only See 30 % of Their Culture with Mark Jesty & Dr. Harry Toukalas

    23 Apr

    Why Leaders Only See 30 % of Their Culture with Mark Jesty & Dr. Harry Toukalas

    What if you could see your organization’s culture like an X-ray? In this episode, host Naomi Titleman sits down with behavioral scientist Dr. Harry Toukalas and talent strategist Mark Jesty to explore how organizational network analysis is replacing guesswork in HR and what the rise of AI means for human accountability at work. Because most leaders believe they understand their culture. They’ve run the surveys. They’ve reviewed the data. They’ve built action plans. But they’re often working from a partial view. This conversation challenges that assumption by unpacking what sits beneath the surface: the informal networks of trust, influence, and communication that actually determine how work gets done. The parts of culture that don’t show up in surveys or org charts, but shape performance every day. We explore the gap between what people say and what they do, why hybrid work is quietly eroding cross-team collaboration, and how behavioral data can reveal early signals of disengagement before they become exit interviews. Most importantly, this episode reframes the role of HR. From interpreting opinions to measuring behavior. From reacting to problems to predicting them. Because when you can see how culture is forming and spreading in real time, you can finally intervene with precision and credibility. About Our Guests Mark Jesty is a talent strategist and advisor who has spent decades helping leaders strengthen performance and leadership inside complex organizations. Dr. Harry Toukalas is a behavioral scientist and CEO of Swarm, where he combines behavioral science and AI to analyze how decisions, culture, and performance actually form and evolve inside organizations. Stay connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on Instagram   For more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    31 min
  8. What High Performing Teams Do Differently With Meetings with Rebecca Hinds

    16 Apr

    What High Performing Teams Do Differently With Meetings with Rebecca Hinds

    Most leaders know meetings are broken. What’s harder to admit is that we keep reinforcing the system that makes them that way. Calendars are full. Teams are exhausted. And yet, meetings continue to multiply. Not because they work, but because they signal work. In this episode, Rebecca Hinds challenges the idea that meetings are just a scheduling problem. She reframes them as a deeper organizational issue rooted in visibility, status, and outdated ways of measuring value. You’ll hear why meetings often aren’t the root problem, but the most visible symptom. Why hybrid work and AI haven’t fixed collaboration, and in many cases have made it worse. And what it actually looks like to design meetings and workflows with intention, not habit. For HR leaders, this conversation is a wake-up call. Not just to reduce meetings, but to rethink how work itself is defined, measured, and experienced. Because if we don’t change it deliberately, AI will simply help us do more of what isn’t working. About our guest Rebecca Hinds is a leading expert in organizational behavior who works with companies navigating the challenges of modern work. She founded the Work Innovation Lab at Asana and the Work AI Institute at Glean, where she bridges the gap between academic research and real organizational practice. Her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more. She is also an instructor for CNBC's Make It Masterclass: How to Use AI to Be More Productive and Successful at Work, and the author of Your Best Meeting Ever. Key Topics & Timestamps [~12:50] Check-In: Rebecca's best meeting ever  [~19:40] Why meetings got worse after the pandemic [~22:10] Visibility bias: why we equate busyness with value [~24:45] The WWII sabotage manual  [~27:00] The $1.4 trillion problem  [~30:10] Meetings as your most expensive, overlooked product  [~35:45] "Process is a proxy"  [~36:00] Where AI helps and where it hurts meetings [~38:30] The brainstorming debate: to AI or not to AI?  [~43:40] One tip for HR leaders: where to start [~45:05] It's okay to cancel  Resources & Links 📘 Book: Your Best Meeting Ever by Rebecca Hinds🌐 Website: rebeccahinds.com🔬 Work AI Institute: workai.institute💼 LinkedIn: Rebecca Hinds📺 CNBC Make It Masterclass: How to Use AI to Be More Productive and Successful at WorkStay connected with foHRsight Sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsightFollow us on LinkedIn:Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRwardFollow us on InstagramFor more information on our private community for forward-thinking HR leaders, including how to join our next Manager-Director HR Leader cohort launching this spring, visit our website at futurefohrward.com/community. We are also currently welcoming new members in our CHRO and VP+ HRBP & Talent cohorts. Don't miss your chance to join the community you've been missing! Support the show

    34 min
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You’re leading people through constant change. Evolving expectations, AI disruption, and rising pressure to get culture and performance right. If you’re an HR leader, People and Culture executive, or senior business leader shaping the future of work, foHRsight is for you. foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work is a weekly podcast from future foHRward, hosted by Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman Colla. Each episode explores the most pressing issues facing HR and leadership today, including employee engagement, retention, flexible work, leadership effectiveness, and the real impact of AI on organizations. Through candid conversations with CHROs, senior leaders, and forward-thinking experts, foHRsight delivers practical insight and strategic perspective you can apply immediately. The goal is simple: help you make better people decisions, build stronger organizations, and lead with confidence in an increasingly complex world of work. Follow foHRsight on your favourite podcast platform and join the future foHRward community, a growing network of HR and People leaders connecting through conversation, events, and shared insight on what’s next for work.

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