The CoCreators by CoCreate Work

We're adding one more episode to our AI, Workplace and Culture series. Dr. Wendy Smith has spent her career studying paradox and it turns out that's exactly the lens we need for AI right now.

We opened the conversation with a Threads post from @samanthahoilett.writes: "It's so hard to talk about AI because the people who love it don't wanna talk about its limitations and harms...and the people who hate it don't wanna talk about its merits and benefits. I'm truly somewhere in the middle and it's tough out here, especially in a world/internet that demands we pick a side." Wendy had a lot to say to that.

What We Talked About

Wendy walked us through why we default to either/or thinking in the first place. She made the case that the invitation isn't to find the middle ground or compromise, but to actually hold both things at once and see what becomes possible.

We dug into what that looks like in practice for leaders navigating AI right now: how to surface tension rather than suppress it, how to be transparent about your process when you don't have all the answers, and why asking questions out loud actually builds more trust with your team than projecting false certainty.

Wendy also introduced the tightrope walker as a metaphor. Both/And thinking doesn't mean perfect integration at every moment. It means making consistent micro-shifts so you never overextend so far in one direction that you lose the other.

Key Takeaways

• You don't have to pick a side on AI. The pressure to have a clear point of view comes largely from fear of uncertainty — and that fear is what drives either/or thinking in the first place.
• Framing tension as neutral, not threatening, is a leadership skill. What you surface, you can work with. What you suppress becomes a problem.
• The tightrope walker is never fully balanced. They're always balancing.
• Both small experiments and formal power matter. Knowledge, networks, and reliability are all sources of influence available to leaders at every level right now.

About Wendy Smith

Wendy Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management at the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business and Economics. She is a recent recipient of the Francis Alison Award, the University of Delaware's highest faculty honor, awarded annually to the faculty member who best embodies the ideal of scholar and teacher. As a leading expert in Paradox Thinking, her work helps leaders and organizations thrive by embracing competing demands and navigating complexity effectively.

Her research centers on Paradox Theory, focusing on how leaders address competing forces such as innovation and existing products, social and financial goals or global and local demands by engaging a both/and approach. This work has been featured in top journals, including Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, and Harvard Business Review. She has received numerous accolades, including the Web of Science Highly Cited Research Award for seven consecutive years (2019-2025).

Wendy is the co-author of Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems (Harvard Business School Publishing, 2022) and the Oxford Handbook of Organizational Paradox (Oxford University Press, 2017). She teaches leadership, organizational behavior, and ethics, and is a sought-after keynote speaker helping global audiences understand the power of embracing paradox — transforming conflict into collaboration, fostering innovation through Both/And Thinking, and thriving in uncertainty.

Connect with Wendy at WendyKSmith.com. Her Paradox Mindset Scale is available there as well — we're both planning to take it.

We Want to Hear From You

What tension are you navigating right now? Send your thoughts to [email protected] and subscribe to our newsletter at cocreatework.com.

As always, thank you for your leadership.

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

We're wrapping up Season 4 and our AI, Workplace and Culture series with a look back at our biggest takeaways from each guest. This is a quick, practical roundup of what stuck with us, what we've already put into action, and why this conversation isn't going anywhere.

What We Cover

Martha Shaughnessy, Founder & CEO of The Key PR – Communication has to be at the table early, especially during change. AI is both an opportunity for tremendous good and a source of real risk. Diverse lived experience is what helps organizations navigate that well.

Andrea Jordan, Founder & CEO of Empathium – You can't remove humans from the loop and expect it to work. AI also has underexplored potential to help us develop emotional intelligence, especially in high-stakes fields like healthcare and education.

Jordache Johnson, Never Tech Behind – You don't learn AI from one course. Small experiments build skills over time. His ADAPT framework is a practical starting point for integrating AI with intention, not just access.

Nikki Silvestri, Founder & CEO of Soil and Shadow – Environmental impact isn't an all-or-nothing conversation. Systems thinking means holding the full picture. And if your organization doesn't have an AI policy, people are already doing whatever they're doing.

Key Takeaway

Whether you're bullish or bearish, not engaging is not a neutral position. Know where you stand, understand what's happening in your space, and lead from there.

We Want to Hear From You

What's your biggest takeaway from this series? Email [email protected] and subscribe to our newsletter at cocreatework.com.

Season 5 is coming. Stay tuned, and as always, thank you for your leadership.

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

We're closing out our AI and Culture series with Nikki Silvestri, CEO and Founder of Soil and Shadow, international keynote speaker, and environmental advocate. Nikki has spent her career asking hard questions about who benefits and who bears the cost, and she brings that same lens to AI. This conversation covers environmental impact, personal responsibility, and what it means to lead with ethics when technology is moving this fast.

What We Cover

The Commons vs. the Wild West – AI is actually both happening simultaneously, and the education gap is the biggest driver of why.

The urgency is real – The pressure to adopt AI isn't false. Productivity expectations are shifting and jobs are being replaced. But individual blame isn't the answer.

Environmental impact in context – Data centers use energy and water, but so does streaming, Zoom, and Spotify. A systems view means holding the whole picture, not just the sound bite.

The regional advocacy gap – Placing data centers in drought-prone or already-stressed regions has real consequences, and local advocacy matters more than most people realize.

BYO AI and Shadow Tech – 70-75% of organizations have no AI policies, but the same percentage of people are using it individually. That gap is where risk lives.

Using AI to reclaim your time – Nikki's personal case for how AI is giving her back the mental and psychic energy that intellectual work used to drain, especially for women and neurodivergent leaders.

What to actually do – Understand your footprint, advocate for democratic infrastructure, use free templates to get your team aligned before you spend money on outside help.

Bullish or bearish? – Both. The power of the tool is real. The incentives of the companies building it are not in your favor.

Key Takeaway Growth mindset. A lot is changing fast and it is scary. Stay at the growth edge, but you don't have to make yourself unsafe to do it.

Guest Resource

Nikki Silvestri and Soil and Shadow: soilandshadow.com

We Want to Hear From You Send your questions to [email protected] and subscribe to our newsletter at cocreatework.com.

As always, thank you for your leadership.

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

This episode is for leaders and individuals who know AI is changing everything — but aren't sure where to start, or why their organization's adoption keeps stalling. We sat down with Jordache Johnson, founder and CEO of Never Tech Behind, to break down what AI fluency actually means, why most transformations fail, and what it takes to build a culture where AI works for your people, not around them.

The Big Question

How do leaders move their organizations — and themselves — from fear of AI to actual fluency?

What We Cover

• AI fluency isn't about knowing the code — it's about knowing when and how to apply AI to solve real problems, and having the confidence to experiment without fear.
• Compound learning is the real unlock — you don't learn AI from a course. You learn it by doing small experiments and letting your skills stack over time.
• AI transformation is a 70% people problem — if your people don't trust it, understand it, or feel safe using it, the tools don't matter.
• The ADAPT Framework — Jordache's system for building an AI-powered, human-always culture: Assess, Develop, Analyze, Plan, Train.
• What keeps him up at night — Jordache gets real about the risks he does and doesn't worry about, and why he built his whole company around the idea that no one gets left behind.

Key Takeaway

Don't wait for your employer to give you permission. Start experimenting now — small projects, dedicated time, genuine curiosity. The compounding effect is real and available to everyone.

Connect with Jordache Website: jordache.ai and join his newsletter for all the latest in AI.

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

Andrea Jordan is the Founder and CEO of Empathium, and she's building something radically different in the AI space. While everyone else is focused on automation and efficiency, Andrea is building emotionally intelligent AI for the moments that matter most.

What we loved about this conversation is Andrea's willingness to sit with the tension. She's not blindly pro-AI, and she's wrestling with big questions about what it means to use these tools to create more equitable systems.

What We Talked About

Andrea walked us through why companies are rolling back their automation efforts—turns out removing humans from human care is an expensive mistake. We explored how AI can actually help people develop empathy, attunement, and relational confidence instead of replacing those skills. She shared why Empathium is designed to work in places with limited or no connectivity (because if it only works in optimal conditions, who are we really serving?). And we grappled with Audre Lorde's wisdom about the "master's tools" and what it means to build from inside systems we're trying to change.

Key Takeaways

The self-checkout, robo-customer-service era taught companies a hard lesson: you can't just remove humans from the loop and expect it to work. Empathium is building on that recognition—not automating human interaction, but attuning humans themselves.

AI's best qualities are agility, adaptability, and scale. The question is whether we use those to replace human connection or to support it. Andrea is betting on support—building tools that help people show up better in high-stakes moments.

If we want better systems, we need tools that make emotionally intelligent care scalable. That means designing for healthcare, education, and human services where communication failures have the highest human and economic costs.

Empathium is designed as a global product that works without constant connectivity. As Andrea puts it: "If we can't foster human connection there, are we really doing the work?"

On using the "master's tools": Andrea openly wrestles with this tension. Her take? She's not trying to dismantle the house but to "make space for all of us to live in it." Use the tools we have strategically while staying grounded in intention.

AI isn't the answer to everything. We need critical thinking about which tools to use when—and to recognize when we're using a hammer for a wrench's job.

About Andrea Jordan

Andrea's background spans social work, behavioral health, and systems-level leadership. She specializes in designing products at the intersection of trauma-informed care, AI, and high-stakes communication. With Empathium, she's developing adaptive emotional intelligence infrastructure focused on where communication failures cost the most. Her belief is simple: if we want better systems, we need to build tools that make emotionally intelligent care scalable—not by replacing humans, but by building a bridge to human connection.

Connect with Andrea

Andrea welcomes conversations about what she's building:

LinkedIn: Andrea Jordan Goubeaux

Website: empathium.ai (join the waitlist)

Early access to Tynd: Reach out to Andrea directly on LinkedIn

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

We're kicking off our AI Workplace and Culture series with Martha Shaughnessy, founder and CEO of The Key PR. Martha isn't just observing the AI transformation—she's living it. Her firm works with tech startups building with AI, and she's implementing AI tools in her own company.

What we really appreciated about our conversation is Martha's refusal to give easy answers. She's both optimistic and pessimistic about where we're headed.

Martha walked us through what's actually happening in the startup world right now (spoiler: it's all AI, all the time). We dug into why communications needs to be involved at the earliest stages of strategy, not bolted on at the end. She shared her framework for crisis communication when the tools and rules keep changing. And we explored what it means to co-create work when everything is shifting underneath us.

Martha also brought what she calls her "punk ass perspective" on who gets to dominate the tech conversation—and why that matters for all of us.

Most companies are either building with AI from the ground up or retrofitting existing products. The Wild West analogy applies, except those already on top (Google, Amazon, OpenAI) have such a dramatic lead that the playing field is fundamentally different.

For most people, technology is magic. They don't care how it works—they care why it matters. The job is finding both the selfish impact (how it affects you personally) and the global impact (how it makes the world better).

In crisis communication, simple truth beats complicated explanations every time. Over-explaining makes people suspicious. And sometimes you just have to take it—because if you messed up, someone's going to be mad.

The "get it off my desk" jobs are most at risk. But curiosity, creativity, and systems thinking? Those become more valuable than ever. Martha's hope is that we graduate from productivity-first culture and reinvest in what makes us human.

AI can do tremendous good—and tremendous harm. From literacy tutoring for kids with dyslexia to environmental damage from energy demands, this technology cuts both ways. We need visionary leadership and diverse perspectives in the room to navigate it well.

Communications needs to be at the table early. Not as a bolt-on at the end, but at the concept stage when you're still figuring things out. That's where you catch potential crises before they happen.

Martha is the founder and CEO of The Key PR, a Bay Area-based communications firm she founded in 2017 with a mission to deliver high-impact, no-BS communications to her clients. Over the past 20+ years, Martha has worked with tech companies, startups, and nonprofits, helping them navigate the complex intersection of technology, culture, and human impact. She specializes in helping organizations tell stories that matter—finding the human thread in even the most technical products.

Martha welcomes conversations about big ideas. Reach out if this resonated with you:

• Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
• Website: thekeypr.com
• LinkedIn: The Key PR

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

Welcome to our

AI Workplace & Culture series! Over the next four episodes, we're diving deep into the real impact of artificial intelligence on work, culture, and leadership.

We sat down with four incredible experts who are doing transformative work at the intersection of AI and their respective fields. This isn't about fearmongering or hype—it's about understanding what's actually happening on the ground and how we can navigate this evolution thoughtfully and ethically.

Featured Guests in This Series:

🎙️ Martha Shaughnessy - Founder & CEO of The Key PR Working with tech startups and implementing AI within her own company

🎙️ Andrea Jordan - Founder & CEO of Empathium Developing emotional intelligence through AI with an ethical foundation

🎙️ Jordache Johnson - Founder & CEO of Never Tech Behind Helping organizations adopt AI ethically and effectively

🎙️ Nikki Silvestri - Founder & CEO of Soil and Shadow Environmental leadership and the ethical implications of AI

Each conversation offers both practical advice for using AI in your company and big-picture thinking about culture, ethics, and the future of work.

What to expect: Real insights, surprising perspectives, and actionable takeaways. Grab a pen and paper—you'll want to take notes!

📧 Share your thoughts: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes and join us in co-creating the future of work!

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

Welcome back! In our first episode of 2026, we share how we spent our two-week company break, why we structure intentional pauses into our business, and what intentions we're each setting for the year ahead.

What We Cover

Company break structure – CoCreate Work closes three times a year with everyone off at the same time.

Resisting productivity creep – Why we chose to stay offline instead of "just doing a few more things."

Seven types of rest – Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith's framework. Schedule rest intentionally if productivity is a core value.

Meeting yourself where you are – Create systems that work for you instead of judging yourself.

Setting intentions for 2026 – Chloe: "Do Epic Shit." La'Kita: Vision boards. Intentions become decision-making filters.

Key Takeaway

Company-wide breaks work. Share your intentions to make them more powerful. What we intend happens.

Resources Mentioned

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith: Seven Types of Rest

Suzy Welch's Values Bridge Assessment

We Want to Hear From You

What's your intention for 2026? Email: [email protected]

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

In this special year-end episode, Chloe shares her top six TikTok creators who have brought inspiration, insight, and joy to her feed throughout 2025. From heartwarming dog rescue stories to powerful career pivots, these accounts offer valuable perspectives that extend far beyond social media entertainment.

Featured Creators:

1. Simon Sits (@simonsits)

Creator: Isabelle Klee

Isabelle fosters dogs with severe behavioral issues, abuse histories, and special needs in Brooklyn. Her beautiful writing and narrative approach showcase the transformative power of care, love, and environment. She has a book releasing soon.

2. Josie Balka (@josiebalka)

New York Times bestselling author, writer, and poet

Josie creates relatable poetry about life, relationships, and self-acceptance. Her work offers refreshing perspectives on beauty standards and what truly matters in how we remember and value people.

3. Coach Jackie (@jcubedhax)

Sports journalist highlighting women's sports

Coach Jackie brings attention to achievements in women's sports with compelling storytelling. Featured video covers Lindsey Vonn's historic comeback at age 41, returning to competitive skiing after partial knee replacement surgery.

4. Nate B Jones (@nate.b.jones)

Tech creator covering AI, tech trends, and careers

Nate provides accessible insights into the technology world, particularly AI developments. His year-end prompts for ChatGPT (applicable to any AI tool like Claude) offer fun ways to reflect on how we use AI.

5. Amy Woods Fitness (@amywoodsfitness)

Endurance athlete and running coach

Amy shares running training insights with a focus on identifying limiters rather than just adding more training. Her approach of asking "what's getting in my way?" applies to any goal-setting context.

6. Air It with Arit (@air.it.with.arit)

Former tech leader turned bookstore employee

Arit documents her career pivot from 15 years in tech to working at a bookstore and launching her coaching business. Her perspective on alignment and knowing when something feels right resonates with anyone considering major life changes.

Episode Highlights

• Why curating your social media algorithm matters for your mental diet
• The power of narrative in sharing transformative stories
• How different creators offer lenses for examining our own lives and goals
• The value of diverse perspectives—from dog rescue to endurance sports to career pivots

Coming in 2026

Look forward to special episodes about AI in early 2026, plus our regular content on leadership and the future of work.

Happy New Year from the CoCreators team! Thank you for your leadership.

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]

La'Kita shares her favorite podcast episodes from 2025—the ones that taught her something new, challenged her thinking, and offered frameworks she immediately put into practice. All episodes feature guests (a nod to the power of co-creation), and each brings lessons on bold leadership, thinking bigger, and living authentically.

Coming next: Chloe's top TikTok creators of 2025.

Podcast: She's So Lucky with Les Alfred

Guest: Rachel Rogers

Rachel shares her personal grief story and talks about 10X thinking—instead of asking "how do I double this?" ask "what would it take to 10X this?" A shift from incremental growth to exponential possibility.

Also covered: The "who, not how" principle. When you get stuck on how to do something, you're asking the wrong question. The right question is who can help you do this?

Key question: What would the 10X version of your 2026 goal look like?

Podcast: The Jasmine Star Show

Guest: Dr. Alan Barnard

La'Kita immediately re-listened to this episode and sent it to five people. The frameworks are that good.

The 100 Initiative Exercise: List everything demanding your attention. Ask: how does this help me achieve my one big goal? Most things won't. Get ruthlessly clear about what actually moves you forward.

"It's Impossible Unless": When someone says something is impossible, respond with "It's impossible unless..." and let the silence sit. This moves subconscious limitations into conscious problem-solving.

Podcast: Becoming You with Suzy Welch

Suzy emphasizes how easy it is to get caught up in a B+ life. If you're at a C or C- life, you'll feel urgency for change. But if you're in a B+ life, you might feel comfortable enough not to push yourself toward what you really want.

The 85th Birthday Question: What would make you cry from regret on your 85th birthday? If you didn't take the risk, didn't accept the challenge, what would haunt you? If there's an answer, you might be living a B+ life.

Podcast: Aspire with Emma Grede

Guest: Jens Grede

Emma and Jens are life partners who also work together in business (both involved with SKIMS and Good American). They talk about managing busy lives, family, and business partnership—acknowledging nothing is perfect.

Key principle on decision-making: Whoever cares most or has the most knowledge makes the final decision. You can have debate and friction (which is valuable), but ultimately you need role clarity and respect for expertise.

On anxiety: Jens shares his experience with anxiety, how he processes it, how he's learned to leverage it as a superpower, and how he takes care when it becomes overwhelming.

Podcast: The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett

Guest: Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris brings transparency and vulnerability in telling her own story post-election.

Core principle (from her mother): "Don't let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are." She decided it was important to control her own narrative: "History is going to write about the 107 days, and I'm not going to let that history be told without my voice being present."

On confidence: When you walk in the room, put your chin up, shoulders back, and remind yourself that you belong in any room you're in. You have something to contribute.

All five episodes demonstrate the power of co-creation—great hosts bring their own story but leverage their curiosity to bring out the magic in others.

Your turn: What is your "it's impossible unless" question?

• Values Bridge Assessment

As always, thank you for your leadership

Resources:

• Leading through growth takes intention. Our capabilities deck shows how we help founders and leadership teams lead boldly and build cultures that scale.
• Think coaching might be right for you? Schedule a free consultation to explore how we can help you step into your next level of leadership.

We would love to connect with you!

• CoCreate Work on LinkedIn
• CoCreate Work on Instagram
• La’Kita on Instagram
• Chloe on Instagram
• Visit our Podcast Page

Questions you would like us to answer on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]