In this solo episode of The Edge of Work, Al Dea unpacks a critical skill for today’s workplace: cultivating influence. Whether you're leading a bold change initiative or simply trying to align your team around a shared goal, your ability to influence others—without formal authority—is essential. Drawing from his experience as a facilitator and consultant, Al shares a practical framework of four principles: earning trust, demonstrating credibility, navigating organizational dynamics, and engaging with empathy. 

Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsaldea/
• Website: https://www.al-dea.com/

Maya Razon drives Learning & Leadership Development at the Google School for Leaders. In this episode of The Edge of Work, Maya shares how her team designs transformative learning experiences for Google’s global leaders. She explores how the “inner game” of leadership, physical space, and AI integration are reshaping how leaders learn and grow in a rapidly changing world. From leveraging neuroaesthetics in learning environments to adapting leadership programs for social impact innovators, Maya discusses Google’s human-centered, research-informed approach to developing leaders.

Links:

• Maya’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-razon-a894343/
• ReWork Article: https://rework.withgoogle.com/en/guides/learning-development-using-science-to-enhance-learning-outcomes 

In this solo episode of The Edge of Work, host Al Dea explores how leadership development can evolve in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Drawing from his keynote presentations and conversations with talent and business leaders, Al shares now is the time to reimagine how we think about leadership development in a rapidly changing world of work. During this episode, Al offers 4 principles for how leadership development professionals can think and working differently to reshape and take advantage of opportunities in this new world of work. 

Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsaldea/
• Website: https://www.al-dea.com/

In this month’s “Work in Progress” segment, Al Dea is joined by Steve Hunt and Phil Kirschner to unpack three timely topics related to the intersection of talent and the workplace: Moderna’s decision to merge HR and IT, an experiment AI + teamwork experiment from P&G, and whether AI is wiping out the first rung of the career ladder. Together, they explore the implications of AI on job design, team dynamics, early career talent, and the future of work,and what leaders can do to prepare.

Links:

• Steve’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steventhunt/
• Steve’s Book: https://talenttectonics.com/
• Phil’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philkirschner/
• Phil’s Newsletter: https://www.flexos.work/the-workline

Articles Mentioned

• Moderna: IT and HR: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-moderna-merged-its-tech-and-hr-departments-95318c2a?st=YTw4p4&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
• P&G and Teams: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5188231 
• Aneesh Raman NY Times Op Ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/opinion/linkedin-ai-entry-level-jobs.html 

Ruth Hickin is the Vice President of Workforce Innovation at Salesforce. In this episode, Ruth unpacks her team's efforts around digital labor, and shares how her team is preparing Salesforce’s workforce for the age of AI by investing in internal talent through skilling, career mobility, and human-centered design. During our conversation, Ruth provides the philosophy behind Career Connect, an AI-powered internal talent marketplace, and how it’s enabling employees to explore personalized career paths, skill development, and internal opportunities.

Finally, Ruth also shares Salesforce’s approach to job redesign, skill-based management, and the rise of agent collaboration in day-to-day roles.

Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-hickin/
• Article: https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025/03/28/hr-leaders-prioritize-l-and-d
• Article: https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2024/09/04/salesforce-ai-internal-talent-platform 

In this episode, The Edge of Work Podcast host Al Dea provides an informal recap of his time at ATD ICE ‘25 in Washington D.C. During this episode, Al covers the basics of ATD ICE, some of the programming and content themes, highlights from the expo floor and vendors, and some of his reflections from the conversations he had with talent and learning leaders.

Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsaldea/
• Website: https://www.al-dea.com/
• Career Experimentation: https://alsnewsletter.substack.com/p/how-to-help-your-employees-experiment 
• Developing Talent: https://theedgeofwork.com/how-to-turn-leaders-into-developers-of-talent/
• ATD ICE: https://atdconference.td.org/
• Uplimit: https://uplimit.com/
• Tenor: https://tenorhq.com/

Kweilin Ellingrud is a Director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) and leads Diversity and Inclusion for McKinsey globally. She is also a senior partner at McKinsey and co-author of The Broken Rung: When the Career Ladder Breaks for Women--and How They Can Succeed in Spite of It, a  book on the challenges women face in career advancement.

In this episode, Kweilin joins the podcast to discuss the concept of the "broken rung" or the first step up to manager that many women are disproportionately denied, and how this early gap significantly impacts long-term career progression. Together, they explore the importance of experience capital, the impact of bold career decisions, and the role of leaders and HR in fostering equitable growth.

Kweilin also shares practical insights on strategic networking and recognizing workplace biases, offering listeners tangible strategies to support and advance women in the workplace.

Links

• LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kweilinmellingrud/ 
• Book: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/the-broken-rung 

Carole Bennett is the Vice President of Talent Management and Development at Sutter Health. In this episode, Carole shares her journey in leading large-scale talent strategy across a major healthcare system. She unpacks how Sutter Health is investing in internal mobility, leadership development, and workforce planning to meet both immediate and long-term needs. Carole also discusses the importance of tying talent strategies to broader business goals, building trust with leaders, the concept of building a "Career Home" and creating career paths that empower employees.

Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carole-bennett-phd/

Eric Wong is an Organizational Effectiveness Leader at Adobe, where he oversees executive coaching, leads org development efforts, and facilitates leadership development programs. During this conversation Eric shares lessons from his journey across the leadership development industry, including startups, consulting, and corporate leadership, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Adobe has built and scaled its coaching strategy. 

Eric also shares his perspective on where coaching has been, how it’s evolving, and what companies (and coaches) need to do to stay relevant and impactful. From manager accountability to the role of artificial intelligence  in coaching, Eric provides  insights on driving business results through leadership development, as well as his perspective on how to stay relevant in the coaching industry. 

Samantha Simmons is the Chief People & Internal Operations Officer for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). In this episode, Sam shares how the LPGA is navigating growth, performance, and culture in a rapidly changing world of sports and work. 

During this conversation, Samantha shared the people org’s strategic priorities and why their team is scaling impact, how the LPGA is investing in manager development and wellness, and why embracing collaboration is key to high-performing teams. Sam also reflects on the evolving employer-employee relationship, the role of autonomy, and the challenges of leading in a mission-driven, global organization.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssimmonsgpc/