Return to People

Kaleem Clarkson
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Great employee experiences don’t happen because of location - they're shaped by empathetic leaders. Join us to hear real-world stories from executives, founders, and people operations professionals who've successfully created thriving employee experiences within remote and hybrid teams. Each episode highlights real-world experiences, insights, and lessons learned from sustaining culture at scale to fostering meaningful social connections beyond the office, providing listeners with actionable insights for building better workplaces. Hosted by remote work expert and keynote speaker Kaleem Clarkson, whose passion for work-life integration and improving remote employee experiences has earned recognition as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Remote Work and featured in Harvard Business Review.

  1. Aug 12

    Beyond Broadcast: Rebuilding Agency Culture for a Hybrid World - ep. #030

    How do high-growth creative agencies balance rapid expansion, shifting workplace models, and intentional human connection without fracturing their core culture? In the latest episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Christian Jacobsen, Co-founder and Board Member of The Many. From 30 years in advertising forged on Madison Avenue and sharpened through a landmark stint with Red Bull to leading a global creative agency that has won Lions at Cannes, Christian brings a rare combination of strategic depth, entrepreneurial grit, and cultural fluency to modern workplace transformation. This conversation uncovers what happens when a high-growth agency collides with the seismic disruptions of the pandemic era and what a thoughtful leader does to rebuild from the inside out. As headcount doubled in a fully virtual environment, informal founder processes began to fracture, creating operational strain, burnout, and isolated team pockets with competing norms. Rather than implementing rigid corporate mandates, leadership intentionally built a flexibility-first hybrid model that balances local collaboration with seasonal work-from-anywhere windows. Drawing from his upcoming book, Wired to Participate, Christian also explores why humanity's fundamental wiring for tribal connection remains our greatest asset in an AI-driven world. "People are the core of everything and the heart of everything... Growth without operational intention can fracture culture. You have to protect the people while you scale the business." The episode dives straight into the real friction points and major wins of running a modern hybrid agency: The Core Challenges: Rapid growth without standardized operations created information gaps and fragmented a unified culture into isolated team pockets. Managing remote leadership development and addressing perceived equity tensions between office and virtual perks required moving away from surveillance toward intentional workplace design. The Core Successes: The Many designed a trust-first hybrid model featuring flexible core days, relocation support for LA returns, and two dedicated work-from-anywhere periods (July and the holiday season). By prioritizing autonomy and human connection, they successfully stabilized employee experience while driving performance Learn More About Christian Christian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-jacobsen-b7222811/ The Many's Website: https://www.themany.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  2. Jul 29

    Scaling a Global Remote Team Without Losing the Human Touch - ep. #029

    Can a company scale a globally distributed engineering team across 17 countries without losing its human-first soul? In the latest episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Netlify CTO Dana Lawson. From a military origin story building servers with stacks of floppy disks to executive leadership roles at GitHub and New Relic. Dana brings a rare blend of deep technical mastery and radical empathy to modern operations. This conversation uncovers what it takes to run a high-performing team built on global talent rather than geographic proximity. Netlify didn't adopt remote work as a pandemic pivot; it was built from day one around the idea that geography shouldn't limit excellence. By purposefully keeping team size manageable, dismantling the pressure around mandatory meetings, and measuring leadership success by how well employees grow their overall careers, Netlify offers a masterclass in modern people operations. "The only thing that matters is fulfilling the dreams of the people around you. Because as a leader, that's really what you're trying to do... The developer experience is the human experience, because developers are people the last time I checked." The episode dives straight into the real friction points and major wins of running a distributed global workforce. Learn More About Dana Dana´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dglawson Netlify´s Website: https://www.netlify.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  3. Jul 15

    The Flexibility Playbook: Turning Workplace Autonomy into Shared Responsibility - ep. #028

    Can workplace flexibility survive without a rigid clock-in culture? In the latest episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Donald Walker, the COO of Raben. With over 15 years of experience spanning higher education and workforce operations, Donald shares how this national advisory firm built a thriving hybrid model that completely ditches attendance tracking and puts absolute trust front and center. Donald unpacks a powerful paradigm shift: treating workplace flexibility not as an individual privilege, but as a shared responsibility. For Raben, the evolution of their hybrid workspace wasn't sparked by a fear of lost productivity. Instead, it was intentionally designed around mentorship, culture transfer, and a profound belief that organizations have a duty to care for their employees, their clients, and the broader local communities they operate within. As Donald notes: "We're way more concerned about the outcomes than we are about the process of how we get there... It's not just about me and what's convenient for me. We have to think about the whole gamut of people and what's the impact that we have on those people." The conversation dives deep into the realities of navigating this modern workplace framework, mapping out the core friction points and breakthroughs every leadership team faces: The Core Challenges: Donald opens up about the realities of remote onboarding and development for younger, junior staff. Without regular in-person interaction, newer employees can struggle to absorb organizational culture, master client relationship management, and access the informal, organic coaching that naturally happens in shared physical spaces. The Core Successes: You'll learn how Raben unlocked radical trust by evaluating teams purely on outcomes rather than micro-managing activity. Furthermore, Donald highlights their unique responsibility framework, which considers the economic and social impact of corporate hybrid decisions on local service workers and surrounding neighborhood businesses. Learn More About Donald & Raben: Donald´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wdonaldwalker Raben´s Website: https://www.raben.co/people/donald-walker Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  4. Jul 1

    Small Team, Massive Footprint: How to Scale Without the Overhead - ep. #027

    Can a company scale to thousands of retail stores and achieve millions in revenue with a team that fits at a single dinner table? In the latest episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Lisa Curtis, the Founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli Foods. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and one of Inc. Magazine's top 100 female founders, Lisa shares how her mission-driven superfood brand cracked the code on building a high-performing, globally distributed team without sacrificing impact or profitability. Lisa unpacks the reality of running a global remote team without a tech company budget, explaining how she turned unexpected tariff challenges into an opportunity to tap into international talent. Instead of viewing time zones as an obstacle, Kuli Kuli treats geographic dispersion as a quiet competitive advantage that enables nearly 24-hour operations. She also emphasizes the importance of intentionality in the distributed employee experience. From flying executives across borders for side-by-side training to celebrating diverse cultural traditions at weekly standups, Lisa argues that running a lean business across borders requires moving away from startup hustle culture and treating entrepreneurship as a marathon, not a sprint. As Lisa puts it, "No market, no mission. We gotta sell products. But we also have to do it in a way that really improves the lives of people around the world." The conversation dives deep into the realities of navigating this modern workplace framework, mapping out the core friction points and breakthroughs every leadership team faces. Learn more about Lisa: Lisa´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamariecurtis/ Kuli Kuli´s website: https://www.kulikulifoods.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. Jun 17

    Hybrid Workplace Strategy: Proximity Without Office Mandates - ep. #026

    What happens to your company culture when your team is scattered across multiple time zones and continents? In the latest episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Dustin Hutton-Alcorn, the Director of People at Intellistack. With a background in human rights and people operations, Dustin shares how his company evolved from an office-centric setup into a mature, flexible SaaS organization that treats culture as a core business driver. Dustin unpacks the challenge of building what he calls "connective tissue" across a distributed workforce, especially during remote onboarding. To solve this, Intellistack utilizes a clever people hubs strategy, recruiting near major cities to encourage organic, employee-led gatherings rather than forcing performative attendance. He also emphasizes the importance of protecting budgets for purposeful in-person collaboration. Dustin argues that maintaining true workplace flexibility serves as a powerful recruiting weapon, especially as larger tech companies push for strict return-to-office policies. As Dustin puts it, "At the core of who I am as a person, what I love is being able to craft experiences and deliver results that have the human experience at the core of what I do.” The conversation dives deep into the realities of navigating this modern workplace framework, mapping out the core friction points and breakthroughs every leadership team faces: Learn more about Dustin: Dustin´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinhuttonalcorn/ Intellistack´s Website: https://www.intellistack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  6. Jun 3

    Scaling Remote Culture from the Ground Up - ep. #025

    How do you maintain a truly people-first culture in an industry notorious for grinding schedules and client-driven burnout? In this episode of the Return to People podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson welcomes Annie Diiorio, the HR Manager and Executive Business Partner at Canidium. Annie’s career path is incredibly unique, having transitioned from an intern who suddenly became the sole HR professional for the organization in just one month, to an HR Leader. Managing a distributed workforce of 130 employees across 28 states and six countries, she brings a wealth of experience in balancing tight client deadlines with employee work-life balance. The conversation dives into how Canidium actively pushes back against harsh industry norms through manager-led rest policies. Built from the ground up as a remote company since 2008, the company prioritizes optional office attendance and intentional engagement over forced participation. Annie also shares her commitment to human-centered hiring, explaining why she rejects AI screening to personally interview every candidate. "It's pretty rare to have good work-life balance at a consulting company, but it is something that we really strive for.” Whether you're running a fully remote team or trying to build a workplace culture where people actually want to be part of for five years, Annie’s perspective offers a guidance in high-touch, high-impact leadership. Learn more about Annie: Annie´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniediiorio/ Canidium´s Website: https://www.canidium.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. May 27

    Stop Chasing Engagement and Start Building Participation - ep. #024

    Are you ready to move beyond surface-level and discover what actually drives participation in a global, distributed workforce? In this episode of the Return to People podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson welcomes Barbara Nicholas, the CEO of Polly. Barbara’s career path is as unique as her leadership style, having transitioned from an operator in cybersecurity to the CEO role at a SaaS platform essential for modern team collaboration. Leading a fully distributed company that has embraced remote work for over a decade, she brings a wealth of experience in scaling systems and building infrastructure that moves the needle for high-growth organizations. The conversation dives deep into the evolution of the remote employee experience, moving past simple engagement to a more robust framework of participation. Barbara shares her insights on building deep trust and clear responsibility across global teams spanning from APAC to the US. Interestingly, she draws a powerful parallel between her professional leadership and her work leading search and rescue operations in the Colorado wilderness, where trust and clarity are quite literally matters of life and death. Trust and clarity don't just build great teams, they save lives. Throughout the episode, we explore the challenges of managing a lean global team, the ethical implementation of AI in people-centered organizations, and the lessons learned from being a customer before becoming the CEO. Whether you are navigating the complexities of a 100% remote model or looking to refine your team’s engagement strategy, Barbara’s perspective offers a masterclass in high-stakes, high-impact leadership. Learn more about Barbara: Barbara´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-nicholas-polly Polly´s Website: https://www.polly.ai/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  8. May 20

    The People-First Blueprint: Turning Human Connection into a Business Model - ep. #023

    Are we merely managing remote logistics, or are we intentionally designing a culture where trust is the standard? In this episode of the Return to People podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Peter Georgariou, the Founder and CEO of Karmadharma, to answer that very question. Drawing from nearly three decades of experience leading major media rollouts and helping hundreds of mission-driven organizations scale, Peter shares how he turned purpose into a successful business model. The conversation dives into the real-world challenges of remote onboarding, specifically helping younger employees who entered the workforce during the pandemic adjust to professional norms and build confidence. Peter explains how Karmadharma combats this through structured, intentional engagement, such as weekly gratitude and reflection calls, that fosters deep trust and psychological safety. By avoiding micromanagement and treating employees like adults, the agency proves that when you trust your team and involve them in strategic planning, they naturally take ownership of their performance. “When you put people first, the results take care of themselves.” If you are building, leading, or scaling a team, this conversation offers an inspiring, practical blueprint for combining creative growth with a values-driven culture that truly prioritizes its people. Learn more about Peter: Peter´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergeorgariou/ Karmadharma´s web: https://karmadharma.ca/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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About

Great employee experiences don’t happen because of location - they're shaped by empathetic leaders. Join us to hear real-world stories from executives, founders, and people operations professionals who've successfully created thriving employee experiences within remote and hybrid teams. Each episode highlights real-world experiences, insights, and lessons learned from sustaining culture at scale to fostering meaningful social connections beyond the office, providing listeners with actionable insights for building better workplaces. Hosted by remote work expert and keynote speaker Kaleem Clarkson, whose passion for work-life integration and improving remote employee experiences has earned recognition as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Remote Work and featured in Harvard Business Review.

Information

  • Creator
    Kaleem Clarkson
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Kaleem Clarkson
  • Show Website
    Return to People