People Managing People
Business & Finance
About
The People Managing People podcast equips forward-thinking leaders to thrive in the AI era—reshaping teams, systems, and strategy without losing what makes work human. Hosted by David Rice, each episode brings real-world insights from innovators, executives, and people leaders on topics like AI in practice, people-first leadership, performance systems, and workplace culture.
Episodes
- AI Is Making People Decisions Worse—Here’s Why
This episode explores how AI accelerates people decisions, often without sufficient context or humility. It highlights the gap between AI capabilities and organizational understanding of people data, leading to negative consequences like b…
- Only 10% of Leaders Use AI—So Who’s Teaching Everyone Else?
This episode discusses the low adoption rate of AI among senior leaders, highlighting how peer learning has become the primary method for teaching AI usage. It covers the tension between organizational pressure to adopt AI and employee cap…
- The “Mirror Test” Every Leader Needs Before Adopting AI
Victoria Pelletier discusses how leaders are adopting AI without understanding actual work processes, leading to guesswork in automation. She advocates for a bottom-up approach, starting from business strategy and task-level workflows to e…
- How Great Leaders Prioritize in a World Where Everything Feels Urgent
Barbara Nicholas, CEO at Polly, discusses how to manage urgent demands by implementing a company-wide triage system. The episode explains how to use shared language in tools like Slack, Notion, and Jira to empower teams to question urgency…
- The AI “Sandwich”: Why HR Teams Are Caught in the Middle
This episode features a discussion between Tim Fisher and Josh Rod about the current state of AI in HR, focusing on practical applications rather than fully automated futures. They explore how AI adoption is subtly altering work structures…
- AI Is Like Fast Food for Your Brain
Dr. David Zierk explains the uncomfortable premise that AI acts like fast food for the brain, removing uncertainty and potentially rewiring how people think, learn, and connect, leading to dependency and thinner thinking for leaders.
- When Your Expertise Stops Being Yours
In this episode, David Rice and Dr. Rachel Wood explore the human cost of rapid AI adoption. They discuss how automating too much can diminish essential human skills and the importance for leaders to view AI implementation as a human devel…
- What Great Leaders Do Differently Under Extreme Pressure
Anouk Brack explains that AI transformation is a biological stress test, not just a technology problem. Under pressure, leaders' nervous systems default to survival mode, subtly degrading their strategic thinking, self-reflection, and judg…
- Corporate Retail Therapy: Why More AI Tools Won’t Help
The episode discusses how leadership teams struggle with execution despite clear strategies, often overlooking the role of Learning & Development (L&D) in bridging the gap between vision and daily tasks. While AI simplifies content creatio…
- AI Can Make a Good Job Feel Too Small
Jay Caldwell joins David to discuss how low employee turnover might indicate fear rather than stability. They explore the risks of "quiet staying" in an AI era, the workforce consequences of AI adoption, and the potential negative impacts…
- Why Expertise Is Becoming Cheap—and What Leaders Must Build Instead
David Rice speaks with Chris Deaver about how fear can masquerade as excellence in organizations, leading to brittle teams. Deaver advocates for building cultures of co-creation where leaders act as integrators and connectors, fostering sh…
- Why Every Org Should Be Investing in Predictive AI
Eric Siegel, author of The AI Playbook, discusses the value of predictive AI in business, arguing that organizations should invest as much in it as in generative AI. He highlights that acting on predictions, not the models themselves, crea…
- Why Mindset Beats Skill in AI Transformation
This episode features Eliza Jackson, COO at ButcherBox, discussing the true impact of AI in the workplace. The conversation centers on how adapting one's mindset, unlearning old work methods, and rethinking delegation are more crucial than…
- Why AI Power Users Will Outpace Everyone Else
This episode discusses the significant gap between employees' current AI usage and its full capabilities, not due to lack of access but lack of understanding how to think with AI. It contrasts this with rapid AI adoption in Silicon Valley,…
- What We’re Getting Wrong About AI and Productivity
This episode features Dr. Vivienne Ming discussing how relying too heavily on AI for convenience might diminish human judgment, contrasting cognitive automation with cognitive augmentation.
- Designing for Readiness, Not Just Efficiency, in an AI-Augmented World
The episode features Taylor Blake of Degreed discussing the impact of AI on L&D teams, emphasizing a shift from efficiency to readiness. Blake explains how Degreed uses its own AI tools internally, highlighting the challenges and opportuni…
- From Tools to Agents: Preparing for the Next Phase of AI at Work
Researcher Christopher DiCarlo joins People Managing People to discuss the next phase of AI at work, moving beyond AI as a productivity tool to a paradigm shift that redefines work, power, and morality. The conversation challenges leaders…
- From Curiosity to Confidence: A Practical Framework for AI Adoption
Justin Angsuwat of Culture Amp explains their "Accelerate" program, which fostered AI confidence in 80% of their workforce in six weeks by separating exploration from expectation and prioritizing confidence as a key metric.
- Why HR Gets Stuck on AI—and What It Takes to Lead the Transformation
Dr. Dieter Veldsman discusses with David why HR teams often get stuck in compliance when implementing AI, focusing on activity over strategy. He explains that AI is a people and organizational transformation, not just a tech project, and o…
- The Real Work Now Is Managing Energy, Not Productivity
Lena Thompson argues that modern work value comes from managing emotional energy, not just productivity or logic, as AI excels at processing. This episode explores emotional energy
- Why Your AI Strategy Needs HR From Day Zero
This episode discusses the critical role of HR in AI adoption, emphasizing that successful implementation requires managing human change at scale, not just a tech rollout. HR leaders need to be involved from the initial strategy phase to a…
- How Microcultures and Mental Fitness Are Redefining People Strategy
This episode discusses how microcultures and mental fitness are redefining people strategy. It argues that focusing on employee 'state of mind' is a more predictive risk factor than traditional lagging indicators like turnover or burnout r…
- Building Confidence and Imagination in the Age of AI
Charlene Li talks with the host about the barriers to AI adoption within companies, highlighting that the obstacles are psychological rather than technological, involving fear, control, and a deficit of imagination. The discussion explores…
- The Hidden Costs of Poor AI Adoption (And Who Should Fix It)
This episode explores the hidden costs of poor AI adoption, arguing that the failure lies in organizational readiness and cultural mismatches, not the technology itself. It features David Swanagon discussing why traditional leadership trai…
- How to Prepare Your Workforce to Lead and Collaborate with AI
This episode features Glen Cathey discussing practical strategies for organizations to achieve AI adoption, focusing on leadership
- AI, Trust, and the Future of Leadership: What We’re Getting Wrong
This episode discusses the misuse of AI in organizations, highlighting how its use as a surveillance tool and outsourcing of decisions to algorithms erodes trust between employers and employees. It emphasizes the need for leaders to humani…
- What AI Will — and Won’t — Replace in People Analytics
Experts discuss the current and future impact of AI on people analytics, differentiating between tasks AI can automate and those requiring human insight and business acumen to remain relevant in the HR function.
- Surveillance, Burnout, and Pickup Lines? The Realities of AI in the Workplace
This episode discusses the practical application of AI in HR, distinguishing between true innovation and superficial solutions. It addresses how HR leaders can invest wisely, build AI readiness, and ensure data-driven decisions do not comp…
- AI Readiness Starts with Documentation: Lessons from Remote Work
This episode of People Managing People features Darren Murph discussing how robust documentation and remote work practices are essential prerequisites for successful AI adoption. The discussion highlights that companies lacking foundationa…
- How Agentic AI Is Changing Onboarding, Mentorship, and Retention
This episode discusses how agentic AI, autonomous systems that act on insights, are changing HR. Guests Francisco Marin and Dan George explain its role in real-time workforce pattern detection, proactive interventions for onboarding, mento…
- The ROI of AI: How to Build an AI-Augmented Organization
In this episode, futurist Ravin Jesuthasan joins host David Rice to discuss why organizations struggle to achieve ROI from AI. Jesuthasan argues for a 'work-first' approach, emphasizing the human element over technology and exploring the e…
- What AI Fluency Actually Looks Like—and How to Get There
Kenneth Corrêa discusses AI fluency, explaining how leaders can transition from experimentation to systems-level adoption of generative AI. The episode emphasizes education over fear for responsible implementation and highlights empowered…
- Why Financial Wellness Programs Fail—and How to Fix Them
In this episode of People Managing People, Jason Lee, founder of DailyPay and Chime Enterprise, explains why financial wellness programs struggle to engage employees. Lee discusses outdated benefit designs and contrasts them with a propose…
- Equipping Teams to Use AI Without Losing Purpose
Matt Granados and David Rice explore how to guide teams using AI without losing sight of their purpose, addressing burnout caused by unsustainable paces and misaligned goals. The discussion covers optimal performance, the difference betwee…
- How AI Is Reshaping Leadership (and Why Agility Matters More Than Ever)
This episode features David Jones, CEO and Partner at Mercer Assessments, discussing how AI impacts leadership and careers. The conversation covers the importance of agility, grounding leadership in productivity, positivity, people, and pu…
- Building Hybrid Teams That Work — Lessons Leaders Need Before Adding AI
This episode features Lynette Caruso discussing her field research on hybrid work, identifying factors for success and failure. It explores how flexible policies can falter within rigid cultures and offers insights for teams struggling wit…
- How Nextdoor’s Head of People is Protecting Workplace Mental Health While Adopting AI
Bryan Power, Head of People at Nextdoor, discusses reframing workplace mental health as accessible rather than a crisis. The episode covers resilience, performance, everyday practices for well-being, the shift in workplace boundaries, gene…
- AI Risks in HR: Bias, Leadership Buy-In, and Employee Trust
This episode addresses listener questions about AI in HR, discussing issues like bias in automated performance reviews, executive adoption of AI tools, and employee fears surrounding automation. It also touches on a specific HR dilemma reg…
- From Layoffs to Loyalty: Building Alumni Networks That Work
This episode discusses approaching layoffs and employee exits with dignity, emphasizing the importance of alumni networks and boomerang employees in talent strategy. It explores how thoughtful offboarding contributes to company culture and…
- Beyond Corporate Astrology: The Science and Strategy of Personality Assessments in Hiring
This episode features Jason Hreha discussing the limitations of many workplace personality tests, contrasting them with evidence-based tools. The conversation covers reliability, predictive validity, and the application of behavioral scien…
- Redefining Engagement in a Post-Trust Era
The word “engagement” gets thrown around a lot—but what does it really mean in today’s workplace? In this candid, first-half conversation with Kamaria Scott, industrial-organizational psychologist and founder of Enetic, we take a hard look…
- No Secrets, No Surprises: Inside a Firm with 15 Years of Open Books
Most leaders assume that transparency around pay and finances will sow discord or fuel envy. Mel Price is living proof that the opposite is possible. As co-founder and CEO of Work Program Architects, she’s spent the last 15 years running a…
- How AI Can Help HR Speak CFO: Turning Data into Strategy
HR leaders say they want a seat at the table—but too often, they show up without speaking the language. In this episode, David talks with Julie Mahfouz Rezvani, Managing Director of The Orion Group, about the critical gap between HR's peop…
- Is Your Mission Real or Just Branding? How to Tell (and What to Do About It)
What happens when your mission statement no longer fits the company you're building? For Chase Warrington, Head of Operations at Doist, that question wasn’t rhetorical—it was a radical prompt that reshaped their culture. In this candid, li…
- Why Connection in Remote Teams Must Be Designed, Not Accidental (And How to Do It)
We’ve heard all the usual suspects when it comes to remote engagement—Slack check-ins, virtual happy hours, maybe an annual engagement survey if we’re lucky. But what if the problem isn’t the tools, but the assumptions? In this episode, Da…
- From Values to Behaviors: How to Build a Culture of Candor
Candor is easy to value and hard to operationalize. It takes more than writing "feedback" on a poster and hoping people magically feel safe being honest. In this episode, I talk to Valentina Gissin, Chief People Officer at Garner Health, a…
- The New Manager Playbook: How to Lead with Clarity and Confidence
Most new managers aren't failing because they're bad at the job. They're failing because no one ever told them what the job actually is. In this episode, David talks with Lia Garvin, author of The New Manager Playbook, about the real barri…
- From Government to Growth: Lessons in HR Leadership Across Sectors
Transitioning from the public sector to private HR isn't just a career move—it's a full-on culture shock. In this episode, Kimberly Williams, VP of People, Culture & Compliance at Walker Advertising, joins David to unpack her journey from…
- The Tech Talent Shift: Navigating AI, DEI, and Next-Gen Workforce Demands
What do tech hiring, Olympic figure skating, and the shifting tides of global work culture have in common? According to Ann Kuss, CEO of Outstaff Your Team, more than you'd think. In this episode, Ann joins David Rice to dissect the rapidl…
- Offsites Are the New Office: How to Drive Connection and Alignment in a Distributed World
Jared Kleinert, founder and CEO of Offsite, shares insights on the growing importance of team retreats in today’s distributed work environment. As remote and hybrid models become the norm, retreats have evolved from perks to essential stra…