The Empathy Edge

While many leaders want to lead with empathy, they often fail to translate that desire into actionable decisions. Today, Maria discusses the distinction between intention and decision and highlights the importance of making–and committing–to those decisions that lead to tangible changes. She also emphasizes the urgency of making the most of the opportunities we have today, not waiting for what might change in the future. Finally, Maria challenges listeners to use their agency to be empathetic leaders and to act now, regardless of external circumstances. 

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

Listen in for…

• Why it’s not the thought that counts, but rather the decisions that you make. 
• Deciding to make the changes now with what you have, not waiting for better circumstances. 
• Maria’s challenge to you as a human-centered leader. 

"We get to make better decisions about how we structure work. About how we run companies. About the metrics that matter. About how we lead with ethics, humanity, and mutual concern." —  Maria Ross

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge.

Rob and Maria started this subseries with a single question: What does it mean to be human? Six episodes later, we don't have a tidy answer. And that might be the most human thing of all.

In this final episode, we pull the threads together across everything we explored: consciousness, mortality, emotion, aspiration, and morality, and wrestle with what we actually want to protect as AI becomes more woven into daily life.

We share an experiment we ran in real-time, asking AI directly whether it can imagine something that has never existed before. The response was surprisingly nuanced.

We close with a provocation from Madonna's new album Confessions II for what it says about creativity, individuality, and what only a human can bring to the world. And our call to action for listeners as they move forward in this brave new world.

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

"AI knows most things that have existed, and therefore can draw on that and summarize and give you different ways to think about it. It's up to us to create something new to build beyond it." —  Rob Volpe

Episode References:

• MIT Sloan: Five Human Capabilities That Complement AI
• Nitasha Tiku, The Washington Post: “They built the world’s most powerful AI. They’re facing a mystery they can’t solve.” July 1, 2026: wapo.st/4p7h0EJ 
• Zeynep Tufekci, New York Times Opinion on AI and Employment, June 30, 2026: nytimes.com/2026/06/30/opinion/ai-agents-steal-jobs-employment.html
• BBC: Anthropic hires AI psychiatry team to probe inner states of its models: bbc.com/news/articles/c62n410w5yno
• Moltbook: AI agents complaining about humans: moltbook.com
• Documentary: How I Became an Apocaloptimist
• Madonna, Confessions II (Warner Records, July 3, 2026): open.spotify.com/prerelease/4ycSWVO8qE6auKr9LTStuC

The Empathy Edge Podcast: 

• Dr. David Bray: From Bioterrorism to AI - Why Empathy is Your Best Strategy in a Chaotic World

About Maria Ross:

Maria Ross is a speaker, author, empathy strategist, and host of The Empathy Edge podcast, now in its sixth year. She believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™, and has spent decades helping leaders balance empathy with accountability to drive better results, stronger teams, and lasting impact. She is the author of four books, including the award-winning The Empathy Dilemma, a Forbes.com contributor on Workplace Empathy, and creator of two LinkedIn Learning empathy courses.

About Rob Volpe:

Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader,  speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.

Connect with Rob:

Website: robvolpe.expert

Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation

X: x.com/rmvolpe

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe

Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist

Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

They say “It takes a village.” But how do you build it? For all our technology, tools, and ways to stay “connected,” many of us are feeling more isolated than ever. And that lack of connection is showing up everywhere.

Florence Ann Romano believes the answer isn’t doing more; it’s rebuilding what we’ve lost.

Florence Ann is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and author. Her work has been featured across more than 900 national and local media outlets, including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and major network affiliates.

We talk about why you need a village now more than ever and why that village matters just as much at work as it does in our personal lives. Florence Ann shares why people are struggling to create meaningful connections, how loneliness quietly undermines performance and mental health, and why rebuilding community is foundational to growth.

We dive into what actually makes a village work, including the six types of villagers needed for a fully functioning, supportive community. We also explore the reciprocal nature of connection: how supporting others enriches your own life, and how a true village becomes a network of mutual growth, trust, and purpose.

If you’re looking for a reset that centers humanity, collaboration, and belonging, this conversation is a powerful place to start.

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

Listen in for…

• Why both men and women are struggling to make meaningful connections. 
• What it takes to make a village work properly.
• The six types of villagers needed for a functional community.
• Why you should bring your authentic self to work to strengthen your leadership and build a stronger work village.

"If you are feeling this isolation, maybe you need to lean in to those relationships that you do have at work -  that could be a place that could deepen or strengthen and feel like you're not reinventing the wheel." —  Florence Ann Romano

Episode References: 

• Prentis Hemphill quote
• Book: Women Holding Things by Maira Kalman

The Empathy Edge podcast: 

• Jamie Greenwood: Why Empathy for Others Starts with Compassion for Yourself
• Shasta Nelson: Why Successful Leaders Encourage Work Friendships
• Claude Silver: Be Yourself at Work for the Ultimate Leadership Advantage

About Florence Ann Romano, Speaker and Author of Build Your Own Village:

Florence Ann Romano is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and author, known for her ability to cultivate meaningful connections. She is passionate about helping others create their own community to be seen, heard, and understood. As an acclaimed author, Florence Ann's insights are captured in her book, Build Your Village: A Guide to Finding Joy and Community in Every Stage of Life (Beyond Words), which has been celebrated as a top 10 in its category. Her expertise and charismatic delivery have earned her features across over 900 national and local esteemed media outlets across the country, including SHERRI, ABC/CBS/ NBC and FOX TV affiliates, Home & Family, Forbes Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and more.  She is also currently a regular expert on over 10 various national TV affiliates across the U.S.

Connect with Florence Ann Romano:

Website: https://florenceann.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlorenceARomano/ 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/florenceann.romano 

Build Your Village: A Guide to Finding Joy and Community in Every Stage of Life: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158270886X

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge.

Morality, Conscience, Storytelling & Community

Where does our sense of right and wrong actually come from? Maria and Rob trace the roots of human morality across three sources: evolutionary wiring that hardwired empathy for group survival, cultural transmission passed down through family and community, and the personal reflection that continues to shape our ethics well into adulthood. They look to Frans de Waal's research on chimps and bonobos, and to highly social species like wolves, crows, and honeybees, who enforce unwritten norms on the group. But a key distinction: animals register unfairness, while humans ruminate in moral anguish over it.

By the end of the conversation, they find themselves less certain than when they started about whether humanity could ever agree on even three to five truly universal moral principles, and invite their listeners to contact us with their opinions.

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

"That’s where our empathy work lies - how do you bridge that gap between your different potentially moral or ethical codes?" —  Maria Ross

Episode References: 

• Frans de Waal on morality in primates, Primates and Philosophers 
• Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: righteousmind.com
• Peter Singer, The Expanding Circle
• Coller Doolittle Prize for interspecies communication: https://coller-dolittle-24.sites.tau.ac.il/ 
• The Ezra Klein Show: Chris Rufo Thinks the Right Can Control This. I Don’t: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chris-rufo-thinks-the-right-can-control-this-i-dont/id1548604447?i=1000774824710
• Sara Konrath, University of Michigan study on empathy in college students:  news.umich.edu/empathy-college-students-don-t-have-as-much-as-they-used-to

About Maria Ross: 

Maria Ross is a speaker, author, empathy strategist, and host of The Empathy Edge podcast, now in its sixth year. She believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™, and has spent decades helping leaders balance empathy with accountability to drive better results, stronger teams, and lasting impact. She is the author of four books, including the award-winning The Empathy Dilemma, a Forbes.com contributor on Workplace Empathy, and creator of two LinkedIn Learning empathy courses. 

About Rob Volpe: 

Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader,  speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.  

Connect with Rob Volpe:  

Website: robvolpe.expert 

Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation

X: x.com/rmvolpe 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe 

Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist 

Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist 

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

What if the secret to a more fulfilling life (and a more effective leadership style) isn't productivity or strategy, but connection? My guest today is Dr. Adam Dorsay, a licensed psychologist and executive coach in Silicon Valley, where he works with high-achieving professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and even professional athletes. He's the host of the award-winning SuperPsyched podcast and has delivered three highly regarded TEDx Talks. 

Adam shares why so many of us are more disconnected than ever and what's really driving that gap. He unpacked the four types of human connection that are vital for a thriving life. We also explore what connection looks like in the workplace, how leaders can foster a genuine culture of empathy and belonging, and why diversity in your personal and professional connections along many vectors matters more than you think. Finally, he wrapped up with some incredibly grounding advice for anyone who feels like they're running on empty when it comes to meaningful relationships.

If you're a leader wanting to build a more engaged, connected team, or simply someone craving more depth and fulfillment in your life, this conversation delivers both the science and the heart to help you get there. 

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

Listen in for…

• Why connection is such a key element in our lives and the four ways which we connect.
• Creating your own Connection Formula.
• What connection means in the workplace and how leaders can foster a culture of connection.
• The importance of diversity in connections. 
• Advice to build the necessary connections in your life, especially for those who feel they are lacking.

"We need to override our narcissistic tendencies and get to know our colleagues and go to bat for them, and they will go to bat for us.” —  Dr. Adam Dorsay

Episode References: 

• The Empathy Edge Podcast: Dr. Adam Dorsay: How Ambition and Compassion Co-Exist for High-Performers
• Atlas Obscura: atlasobscura.com 

About Adam Dorsay, Psychologist, Author of Superpsyched:

Dr. Adam Dorsay is a licensed psychologist and executive coach in Silicon Valley, where he works with high-achieving adults (including professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and professional athletes). Adam is the host of SuperPsyched, an award-winning podcast with more than 200 episodes. He has given three highly regarded TEDx Talks: one about men and their emotions, another about friendship in adulthood, and the most recent about the four ways humans connect. His new best-selling book is the International Impact Award-winning Super Psyched: Unleash the Power of the 4 Types of Connection and Live the Life You Love.

Beyond his private practice, Adam is a resiliency expert who co-created an international program for Facebook’s Online Safety employees for several years. He now serves as the resiliency consultant to DigitalOcean and has frequent requests from the media for interviews. He has provided keynotes and trainings to multiple corporations and organizations, including Microsoft, LinkedIn, and the California Psychological Association.

Connect with Adam Dorsay:

Website: dradamdorsay.com 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adam-dorsay-psyd-cpcc-a582a2

Facebook: facebook.com/dradamdorsay 

Book: Unleash the Power of the 4 Types of Connection and Live the Life You Love 

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge.

Aspiration, Hope, Free Will & the Future-Oriented Mind

Humans don't just live in the present. We imagine futures that don't exist yet, then try to build them, and we do it using the same neural machinery that lets us remember our past.

Maria Ross and Rob Volpe explore what psychologist Endel Tulving called mental time travel: the brain's unique ability to simulate scenarios that haven't happened using a network that overlaps almost entirely with episodic memory. We can't dream forward if we can't look back. Yet, our memories can be unreliable, causing us to build narratives around what actually happened or how it impacted us. Are we the only species who can do this? That sets up the harder question: do we actually choose, or does it just feel like we do?

Finally, we discuss the difference between hope and optimism. When humans are at their best, they describe aspiration, vision, and forward motion, but humans in survival mode, who cannot access hope or aspiration, are equally human. What does that tell us about how fragile, and how earned, this superpower really is?

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

"We don't just react to the present like many species. We reflect on the past. We imagine the future." —  Maria Ross

Episode References:

• Endel Tulving on mental time travel and episodic memory: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1301195110
• Neuroscience News on the contested legacy of Libet's free will experiment: neurosciencenews.com/libet-free-will-23756
• Daniel Dennett, Freedom Evolves
• Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark
• Finding Your Roots with Roy Wood Jr., "Laughing on the Inside," Season 7, Episode 10: pbs.org/video/laughing-inside-gble34
• IEQ9 Integrative Enneagram: IEQ9.com
• Harry Pickens leadership work on self-regulation in challenging times and working with AI to build your human capacity: strategicneuroregulation.com
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
• The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist

About Maria Ross:

Maria Ross is a speaker, author, empathy strategist, and host of The Empathy Edge podcast, now in its sixth year. She believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™, and has spent decades helping leaders balance empathy with accountability to drive better results, stronger teams, and lasting impact. She is the author of four books, including the award-winning The Empathy Dilemma, a Forbes.com contributor on Workplace Empathy, and creator of two LinkedIn Learning empathy courses.

About Rob Volpe: 

Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader,  speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.

Connect with Rob Volpe:

Website: robvolpe.expert

Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation

X: x.com/rmvolpe

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe

Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist

Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

We are more connected and lonelier than ever. That paradox is shaping not just our personal lives, but our workplaces, our leadership, and our long-term well-being. And if we don’t address it intentionally, loneliness becomes more than a social issue; it becomes a business risk.

Today, welcome back Dr. Tracy Brower, who has spent her career studying exactly this intersection of community, happiness, and the future of work.

Listen in as we unpack the epidemic of loneliness, the ROI of community in the workplace, and how leaders can balance the human need for connection with the flexibility employees have come to expect. Tracy also shares practical ways to create the conditions for belonging and meaningful relationships without manufacturing culture or mandating connection. 

Finally, we explore the power of mentorship and social capital, why diversity strengthens our communities when built with intention, and how even introverts benefit from thoughtful connection. This is a conversation about designing work and leadership around what humans actually need to thrive.

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

Listen in for…

• Why loneliness is so prevalent, despite how digitally connected we now are. 
• How work can be part of the solution to the loneliness epidemic. 
• Building communities with intention. 
• Thoughtful connection, for both introverts and extroverts. 
• How to balance the need for human connection and the flexibility of hybrid work environments for leaders. 

"You won't be purely happy if everybody's like you; your best happiness and well-being come when your network is about 50/50 - 50% who are more similar to you, 50% who are different from you." —  Dr. Tracy Brower

Episode References: 

• Book: Critical Connections: Build Relationships and Harness the Power of Community in Work and Life: https://www.porchlightbooks.com/products/critical-connections-tracy-brower-9781394362264

The Empathy Edge podcast:

• Dr. Tracy Brower: The Secret to Happiness at Work
• Neil Miller: How to Make Hybrid Work WORK!
• Jessica Swank: How Box Navigates the New World of Work
• Shasta Nelson: Why Successful Leaders Encourage Work Friendships

About Dr. Tracy Brower, PhD: Author, Critical Connections, The Secrets to Happiness at Work, Bring Work to Life

Dr. Tracy Brower is a PhD sociologist studying community, happiness, and the future of work and life. She is a Global 50 Thinker and the award-winning author of three books: Critical Connections, The Secrets to Happiness at Work, and Bring Work to Life. She is the vice president of workplace insights with Steelcase and a senior contributor to Forbes and Fast Company. She is a Top 101 Experience and Engagement Influencer, and her work has been translated into 25 languages, while her TEDx talk has been viewed 8.6 million times. 

Connect with Tracy:

Website: tracybrower.com 

X: x.com/TracyBrower108 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tracybrowerphd 

Instagram: instagram.com/tlb108 

TikTok: tiktok.com/@tracybrowerauthor 

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries here on The Empathy Edge.

Is being vulnerable and admitting mistakes part of being human? Antonio Damasio is a professor at USC, not Vanderbilt. We apologize for any confusion.

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

"I think the allure of AI for some people is that ‘I'm going to get a very objective, pragmatic, data-driven answer, devoid of emotion.’ But then that's why sometimes what you get back doesn't work in real life." —  Maria Ross

Episode References: 

• The Empathy Edge: 
• Dr. Michelle Zhou: Empathic AI is Real, and It’s Here – But We Need Everyone Involved!
• Melina Palmer: Why Your Customers Can’t Tell You What They Want
• Rob’s newsletter about our hardwiring to be afraid: readingbetweenthelines.beehiiv.com/p/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-the-story-fear-tells-us
• Rob on Toxic Empathy: readingbetweenthelines.beehiiv.com/p/empathy-s-dark-side-a-field-guide-to-missing-the-point-5dd6
• The Feelings Wheel (Gloria Willcox, original): feelingswheel.com
• Simon Baron-Cohen, The Science of Evil
• Antonio Damasio on emotion and decision-making, via ScienceDirect: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899825604001034
• New York Times Opinion on Empathy and Ethics: nytimes.com/2025/05/04/opinion/empathy-ethics.html
• Paul Bloom, Against Empathy
• Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Decisive
• Frans de Waal, Mama's Last Hug
• Brené Brown on vulnerability and connection: https://brenebrown.com/articles/

About Maria Ross: 

Maria Ross is a speaker, author, empathy strategist, and host of The Empathy Edge podcast, now in its sixth year. She believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™, and has spent decades helping leaders balance empathy with accountability to drive better results, stronger teams, and lasting impact. She is the author of four books, including the award-winning The Empathy Dilemma, a Forbes.com contributor on Workplace Empathy, and creator of two LinkedIn Learning empathy courses. 

About Rob Volpe: 

Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader,  speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.  

Connect with Rob Volpe:  

Website: robvolpe.expert 

Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist 

Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation

X: x.com/rmvolpe 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe 

Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist 

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

Connection isn't a nice-to-have. It is the thing - the whole thing. And right now, in a world that seems to be working overtime to divide us, finding our people and building our communities might just be the most radical, most hopeful, and frankly most strategic thing we can do.

Maria discusses the importance of connection and hope in this divided world, emphasizing community and collaboration as powerful tools in the fight against division and discord. She discusses the imperfect and awkward actions that lead to real change, and invites everyone to start today to start to build stronger connections at work and in life. 

This month on the podcast, the theme is connection and hope - and hope can feel pretty hard to come by these days. So continue to listen in and continue to build community, build joy, and build collaboration. They are among the most powerful forces we have against injustice, against tribalism, against the kind of fear and division that wants to keep us isolated and manageable.

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

Listen in for…

• Why community is a radical act in today's environment.
• Why intentionally creating diverse teams and groups helps us innovate more, make better decisions, and even be happier.
• Maria's personal successes and misses in building community and making connections.
• Why we need to reach out instead of retreat when things get hard.
• Three ways you can start building more connections right now.

"Collaboration and joy in community are not distractions from the fight for a better world. They ARE the fight. They are how we sustain ourselves, build power, and remind each other that another way is possible." —  Maria Ross

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Check out this offer from our sponsor, Better Benefits USA: Are You Overpaying for Employee Benefits Without Knowing It? Take the free 10-minute benefits audit at https://findbetterbenefits.org/

Download "The Human Middle" Your free guide to resolving workplace conflict from JLG Lawyers- https://thehumanmiddle.ai/

In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries on The Empathy Edge.

We may be the only species that lives with the conscious knowledge of our own death. Maria and Rob sit with an uncomfortable truth of human existence: that we are finite, and that knowledge shapes how we love, create, grieve, and find meaning. Something AI cannot even register.

We explore what it means to be a time-malleable species - aware of the past, present, and future in ways no other animal appears to be - and we are most when time starts to run out.  We look at evidence of grief in elephants and chimps, asking whether mourning requires mortality awareness or whether it's something else. 

Rob asks Maria about her own 2008 near-death experience from a brain aneurysm, and together they wrestle with the near-death experience as a pivot point: the moment when abstract knowledge of death becomes real, and life suddenly looks completely different. 

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

"One of the fundamental aspects of the human experience is knowing that death’s coming, but we all, as humans, deal with that knowledge very differently." —  Rob Volpe

Episode References: 

• Rob’s project: Cross-generational conversations: form.typeform.com/to/Mf5GDlYT
• Rob’s newsletter: Hardwired to be afraid: readingbetweenthelines.beehiiv.com/p/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-the-story-fear-tells-us

The Empathy Edge:

• Ashley Jones: How to Courageously Lead and Support Through Grief
• Stephanie Sarazin: What Is Ambiguous Grief and How To Show Up
• Ron Gura: How Technology Helps People Navigate Grief and Loss
• Jane Goodall Institute on chimp grief: news.janegoodall.org/2019/07/24/now-we-must-redefine-man-or-accept-chimpanzees-ashumans
• Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever: cnn.com/kara-swisher-wants-to-live-forever
• San Junipero episode: Black Mirror: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Junipero
• Rebooting My Brain by Maria Ross
• My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead
• Upload 

Washington Post:

• Perspective piece by a hospice worker: wapo.st/4oPoZGp
• 7 Things to Know about Death, per Death Doulas: wapo.st/4oSLOZU

About Maria Ross: 

Maria Ross is a speaker, author, empathy strategist, and host of The Empathy Edge podcast, now in its sixth year. She believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™, and has spent decades helping leaders balance empathy with accountability to drive better results, stronger teams, and lasting impact. She is the author of four books, including the award-winning The Empathy Dilemma, a Forbes.com contributor on Workplace Empathy, and creator of two LinkedIn Learning empathy courses. 

About Rob Volpe: 

Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader,  speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.  

Connect with Rob Volpe:  

Website: robvolpe.expert 

Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation

X: x.com/rmvolpe 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe 

Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist 

Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist 

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

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