Caleb and Adriele are joined by Joe Mull, author of the new book Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work. Together, they discuss how to create conditions at work that lead people to thrive, and how leaders can retain talent in the “Great Resignation” era. Before that conversation, they dive into this week’s news, including Goldman Sachs pressuring employees to return to the office five days a week, mortgage rates hitting all-time highs, the Maui wildfires, and menopause being added to health benefits. All that, plus a check-in on the Hollywood strikes and a judge ruling with Montana youths on climate change.

Hosts: Caleb Gardner & Adriele Parker

Guest: Joe Mull

Producer: Dave Sandell

As long as there are people, diversity, equity and inclusion needs are here to stay. But what is the state of DEI in the workplace, and just as importantly, what is the future of DEI? This week, our host and resident DEI expert Adriele Parker goes deep on the state of DEI in the workplace. Along the way, she covers how DEI goes beyond recruiting, how leaders can develop skills that push past fear, and how to identify and prioritize DEI goals and measure progress to go beyond individual behavioral change and prioritize systemic change. 

Caleb and Adriele go deep on Zoom’s return-to-work policies, and raise an eyebrow at a Fortune article that suggests remote work is one of the reasons we’ve been avoiding a recession. Plus, the SEC Chairman says he is worried about misinformation from AI driving the next financial crises. Is the causer for concern legitimate? Then, they go deep on the role of the Chief Marketing Officer and what it takes to be successful in today’s world. Plus, individuals with autism have high unemployment rates. What can employers do to help reduce that through their hiring practices? All that, plus what it means that factories across Asia are struggling to attract young workers, and the IRS is digitizing!

Articles discussed today:

Remote work is the reason why Wall Street was wrong about a recession | Fortune

The office of the CMO needs a jolt | Fast Company

Access to employment: A comparison of autistic, neurodivergent and neurotypical adults’ experiences of hiring processes in the United Kingdom | Sagepub.com

Internet legend Guy Kawasaki stops by the podcast to talk to Adriele and Caleb about the potential of Meta’s Threads, his frustration with Elon Musk and Ron DeSantis, and why A.I. might solve everything. (A gift from God?) But first, the co-hosts cover off on the week’s news, including how even Republicans are getting tired of “woke” crusades, Fitch’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, and whether or not the economy is good or bad right now. Plus, what investing with a gender lens can teach us about women in leadership, whether tattoos in the workplace matter, and why business casual is terrible.

Caleb and Adriele work through several AI stories from the week and the aftermath of the Supreme Court affirmative action decision on legacy admissions before digging into the botched rollout of X (R.I.P. Twitter). Then, they dive deep on Gallup research into the state of the global workforce, asking the question, what can leaders do about quiet quitters? They give advice for managers and a map out a helpful model for one-on-one meetings. Then, they talk about communication skills in the workplace in the era of Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, Instagram and Threads, as well as how to teach skills around interpersonal conflict in the workplace. All that, plus the Biden administration’s new rules ensuring mental health parity in insurance coverage and what the Supreme Court’s decision in June on the Voting Rights Act means for Black voters.

Discussed today:

The State of the Global Workplace - Economic Growth Is Slowing: How Should Leaders Respond?

Caleb and Adriele discuss several news stories from the week, including BlackRock adding Saudi Aramco to its board, the Stein lawsuits, innovative ways cities are approaching the housing crisis, and men returning to the office faster than women. Plus, they check in on the state of Threads and Twitter (read Caleb’s op-ed in Crain’s here) and react to new research that says treatment of workers is the ESG issue that matters most to people. Then, Adriele goes deep on companies ignoring middle managers, despite strong middle managers leading to better retention and financial outcomes. And Caleb wonders, with AI rising, what is the role of creativity? All that, plus the Biden/EPA $20B clean tech fund and the FDA approves the first over the counter birth control.

Hosts: Caleb Gardner and Adriele Parker

Producer: Dave Sandell

Articles discussed this week:

Caleb’s op-ed in Crains: Meta Twitter rival Threads will reshape social media: Opinion | Crain's Chicago Business

Research: The ESG Issues That Matter Most to People

Data Revolts Break Out Against A.I. - The New York Times

Companies Are Ignoring Their Most Important People: Middle Managers | Built In

Investing in middle managers pays off—literally | McKinsey

Author Talks: What does it mean to be a good middle manager? | McKinsey

Employees Are Losing Sleep Over Rookie Managers, Data Shows | Bloomberg

Adriele and Caleb are back and their mental health is iffy as they dive into the week’s news: the Earth is getting hotter as temperatures break records, but our ESG progress is stalling and unsold EV stock is piling up. Meanwhile, Sarah Silverman sues OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement, Apple cuts its outlook for the Vision Pro, and the US and EU reach a landmark data sharing agreement. Then, Adriele goes deep on why Black unemployment is so high, and all the structural problems around it. Next, Caleb spins a verbal knot around Threads, Meta’s new Twitter killer. The pair ask: is this it for social media? All that, plus the Inflation Reduction Act is almost a year old and having a big impact on climate change; and a new Alzheimer’s drug gets FDA approval.

Hosts: Caleb Gardner & Adriele Parker

Producer: Dave Sandell

Discussed today:

Zombie Twitter Has Arrived | The Atlantic

Instagram’s Threads surpasses 100 million users | The Verge

US Black Workers Account for 90% of Recent Unemployment Increase | Bloomberg

For the second consecutive month Black unemployment has increased | NPR

Understanding black-white disparities in labor market outcomes requires models that account for persistent discrimination and unequal bargaining power | Economic Policy Institute

Why Black workers still face a promotion and wage gap that's costing the economy trillions | CNBC

The impact of the IRA in 100 years | Greenbiz

Adriele and Caleb celebrate their 1000th download of Leadersh*t! Meanwhile, TikTok is getting into publishing, Meta is fighting European regulators, facial recognition is becoming commonplace, and a federal judge tells the Biden administration it can’t communicate with social media platforms. Then, Adriele unpacks the Supreme Court decision to effectively end affirmative action for college admissions, and what this means for corporate hiring and DEI teams (spoiler: it’s bad.) Next, Caleb asks a big question: what happens when a company becomes too big and too influential to regulate? All that, plus Adriele’s book on inclusive leadership reaches a milestone and new legislation in New York City is trying to root out bias in hiring algorithms.

Hosts: Caleb Gardner and Adriele Parker

Producer: Dave Sandell

Discussed today:

When companies have more influence than countries | TechCrunch

What Killing Affirmative Action Means for the American Workplace

The Inclusive Leadership Journal: A 90-Day Journey to Becoming a More Inclusive People Leader by Adriele Parker

Caleb and Adriele talk about the Supreme Court season, including the elections and affirmative action cases, as well as Starbucks' Pride fiasco and Vanderbilt's careless handling of trans patient records. Then, they turn their eye towards a new study that says most employees say their well-being has worsened or stayed the same, but their bosses think it's gotten better. Next, they deep dive on BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's decision to no longer use the term “ESG” and predict the fallout. They also work through the impact of most white American leaders not having diverse friend groups, especially in the context of the loneliness epidemic and the community infrastructure problem. All that, plus a new law protecting pregnant workers and the notable decline in performative allyship for Pride this year.

Hosts: Caleb Gardner & Adriele Parker

Producer: Dave Sandell

Articles discussed this week:

• Employees say their well-being has worsened, but bosses disagree: Survey

• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says he's officially retiring 'ESG' as an investing term

• 50% of CEOs Have Pay Tied to ESG Goals, up from 15% One Year Ago: IBM Survey

• Republicans Launch New Attack on ESG Investing

• How diverse is corporate America? There are more Black leaders but white men still run it

• The Roots of Structural Racism Project | Othering & Belonging Institute

• PRRI Survey: Friendship Networks of White Americans Continue to Be 90% White

• New law protecting pregnant workers set to take effect — and it's a big deal

Caleb and Adriele catch up on news, including Tesla winning the charging standard war for EVs, good climate news out of Europe (and the US!). Then they wade through lots of other news including tech office vacancies rising, all the drama with Reddit, and the state of LGBTQ discrimination during Pride month. Then, they dive deep on predictions from experts on the role of AI in the future and a reconsideration of assumptions about the global economy and ask an anxiety-provoking question: are we doing enough? Next, Adriele has feelings about Unilever investing in black women's hair without parallel investments in diversity among their senior leadership. What should they do differently in the short term and long term? All that, plus revolutions in cancer treatment and a look at a company that treats its managers as coaches, resulting in more productive and happier employees.

Articles mentioned:

As AI Spreads, Experts Predict the Best and Worst Changes in Digital Life by 2035 | Pew Research Center

Why It Seems Everything We Knew About the Global Economy Is No Longer True

This Salon Works to Understand Black Women's Hair

A company replaced all of its managers with coaches. Employees became 20% more productive–and much happier

Is a Revolution in Cancer Treatment Within Reach?