Caregiving is often a silent role—shaped by culture, emotion, family expectations, and the realities of aging across borders. In this episode, Jami de Lou shares the unseen labor of caregiving through her family’s recent loss and offers strategies to navigate it. She explores cross-cultural caregiving, the administrative and emotional load families hold, the rituals that protect dignity, shifting family roles, and why caregiving often stays invisible until you’re in it. 

When change hits at work—a layoff, reorg, or new leadership—it doesn’t just shake your job. It shakes identity, belonging, and the body’s sense of safety.

In this episode of Adaptive Humans™, host Jami de Lou shares practical, compassionate tools for navigating those first few days after everything changes. You’ll learn how to spot your body’s stress patterns, build a 72-hour plan to find stability, and support others through uncertainty.

This episode is for anyone who’s been laid off, “survived” a reorg, or leads a team in transition.

In This Episode

• What fight, flight, freeze, and fawn look like at work — and how to move through them
• How to create a 72-hour plan for your first three days of transition
• Self-care cues, breathing resets, and short focus sprints to re-regulate
• Text and meeting scripts to set boundaries and ask for help
• Practical actions for managers supporting impacted teams

Flexibility isn’t a perk; it’s a culture shift. In this conversation, Manar Morales, CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance and author of The Flexibility Paradigm, joins Jami de Lou to explore what it really takes to Live Your All at work and beyond. We unpack how to move past command-and-control leadership and design systems where ambition and well-being sit at the same table.

You’ll hear:

• Why flexibility is a shared responsibility across orgs, leaders, and individuals
• The mindset shift from either/or to yes/and—and how it unlocks collaboration
• Practical ways to build return on experience (not just return to office)
• A simple reset: asking, “What do I need most right now?” to move from doing to being

If you lead people, or lead yourself, this episode offers clarity, language, and practices to support wholeness without burnout.

Resources & Links
• Diversity & Flexibility Alliance (consulting, research, events): Diversity and Flexibility Alliance
• The Flexibility Paradigm by Manar Morales (publisher page): Georgetown University Press

If today’s episode resonates, share it with a colleague who’s building a human-centered workplace. And remember: adaptability starts with presence.

In Part II of our cultural collisions series, we go deeper into how to build your Cultural Intelligence (CQ)—the ability to shift perspectives and adapt across differences.

You’ll hear:

• Why hidden codes at work create misunderstanding.
• The 4 dimensions of CQ: Drive, Knowledge, Strategy, Action.
• A Brave Enough Moment where I slipped into fawn mode—and what I learned.
• The ADAPT™ framework to reset when cultures collide.
• The Cultural Reframe: 4 steps to pause, breathe, name assumptions, and bridge with curiosity.

Because the truth is, culture and identity are always in the room. Pretending they’re not only deepens silos. Let’s practice choosing curiosity over reactivity.

 When cultures collide at work, it’s not about “difficult people”—it’s about unseen cultural codes. In Part I of this two-part series, Jami de Lou explores how minimization (downplaying differences) erodes trust and clarity. Hear a Brave Enough Moment, learn a simple Cultural Reframe reset, and discover how naming and bridging differences builds collaboration and belonging. 

The final months of the year can feel like a storm from navigating deadlines, reviews, holiday stress, and even job loss or career transitions. In this episode, Jami de Lou shares ways to find steady ground in work, life, and transition. You’ll hear simple resets to notice stress, create space for others, and honor sacred holidays. And if you’re in transition or searching for a new role, this conversation offers encouragement and tools to help you navigate the storm with clarity.

✨ Resource: How to Respect Religious Observances on Your Team

In Part II of our grief series, host Jami de Lou sits down with creative leader and Sentiment Project founder Kerri Soukup to explore how art and storytelling can transform how we process loss—including suicide loss.

Kerri shares the unexpected origins of her project, how a single letter (“E”) became a path to empathy, and why feeling grief can open the door to healing. Together, they reflect on creativity as a safe container for grief, and Kerri offers a Just Be Reset with small practices to process emotions. 

Content note: ⚠️ Content Note: This episode discusses suicide loss and navigating grief. Please listen with care. If today isn’t the right time for this conversation, you’re welcome to return when you’re ready. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Call or text 988 in the U.S. to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

To Learn more about the Sentiment Project, you can find more details on IG at @sentiment_project. 

This is Part 1 of a two-part series on grief. In this episode of Adaptive Humans, Jami de Lou reflects on the quiet weight of grief anniversaries, including the collective memory of 9/11. She shares her own story of personal loss and generational impact, explores how purposeful vulnerability creates connection, and reminds us that acknowledging grief—in ourselves and others—can be healing. Plus, Jami offers a Just Be Reset with practical tools to release stress and honor emotions. If today isn’t the right time to listen to a conversation about grief, you’re welcome to come back when you’re ready.

In the very first episode of Adaptive Humans™, host Jami de Lou shares why this podcast exists and offers a peek into the show’s signature segments—Beyond the Bio (real stories behind titles), Brave Enough Moment (stepping forward even when it’s messy), and Just Be Reset (practical tools to restore and renew). Together, they set the tone for real talk and intentional growth each week, exploring how we work with emotions, bridge differences, and steady ourselves when stress runs high.