Why do some employees embrace AI while others resist it, quietly avoid it, or deliberately use it poorly?

According to behavioral scientist Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, AI adoption is not primarily a technology challenge. It is a human challenge rooted in three powerful emotions: fear of job loss, threats to professional identity, and shame surrounding the use of AI-generated work.

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership, Dr. Pelè talks with Dr. Gleb about his new book, The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results. Together, they explore why traditional change-management approaches often fall short, how leaders unintentionally trigger resistance, and why simply purchasing AI tools and telling employees to use them rarely produces meaningful results.

Dr. Gleb also explains how organizations can discover where AI will genuinely help employees, design tools around real workplace frustrations, and move from scattered individual experimentation to productive team-wide adoption.

If leaders want AI to deliver results, they must first address the psychology of the people being asked to use it.

Dr. Gleb Tipursky on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gleb-tsipursky/

Artificial intelligence is transforming the workplace, but are organizations redesigning work before they truly understand it?

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership, Dr. Pelè sits down with workforce transformation executive, author, and LinkedIn Top Voice Kason Morris to explore his groundbreaking concept of Execution Visibility.

Together, they discuss why AI doesn't replace jobs, but the tasks within them, why human judgment may become the most valuable capability of the AI era, and why leaders must first understand how work creates value before they can successfully redesign it.

Kason shares practical guidance for executives, HR leaders, and learning professionals on balancing automation with human development, preserving critical thinking, and building organizations where technology strengthens rather than weakens capability.

If you're leading AI transformation, workforce strategy, leadership development, or organizational change, this conversation offers a thoughtful framework for designing the future of work without losing what makes people indispensable.

Connect with Kason Morris below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kason-morris/
Kason's book on Amazon: "Lifework Revolution" 

What transforms a workplace from a collection of employees into a culture of ownership?

In this episode, Dr. Pelè sits down with StoneAge CEO and bestselling author Kerry Siggins to explore the leadership behaviors that create trust, accountability, and genuine ownership. Drawing from her own remarkable journey—from overcoming addiction to leading a global, employee-owned company—Kerry shares why culture isn't built through slogans or values on the wall, but through the conversations leaders choose to have every day.

Together, they discuss the "Own It" mindset, why trust is the foundation of high-performing teams, how leaders can recognize accountability (and excuses), why difficult conversations are essential to healthy cultures, and how AI can become a powerful thought partner without replacing the human side of leadership.

Whether you lead a global organization, a small team, or simply want to become a better leader, this conversation offers practical wisdom for building cultures where people—and results—can thrive.

Connect with Kerry Siggins on LinkedIn: [ HERE ]
Visit her website: https://kerrysiggins.com
Get the Book "Talk With Trust" on Amazon [ HERE ] 

What if healthcare could identify disease before symptoms appear?

And what if artificial intelligence could help physicians think better, not simply move faster?

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership in Healthcare, Dr. Pelè sits down with Trevor Turner, MD, Co-Founder of Provida Health, to explore the future of predictive, personalized medicine.

Drawing from his experience caring for professional athletes, Special Operations personnel, and everyday patients, Trevor explains how genomics, wearables, imaging, and AI-powered clinical intelligence are transforming healthcare from a reactive system into a proactive one.

But this conversation goes far beyond technology.

Trevor shares his own journey through injury and recovery, explains why movement is foundational to long-term health, and reveals why the most important moments in medicine still require human connection, trust, and compassion.

Together, they explore:

•  Why healthcare remains largely reactive 
•  The difference between information and clinical intelligence 
•  How AI can support physician judgment without replacing it 
•  Why more data does not automatically create better outcomes 
•  The role of emotional intelligence in healthcare leadership 
•  What leaders can do today to move their organizations toward predictive care 

If you're interested in the future of healthcare, leadership, artificial intelligence, and the human experience of medicine, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Dr. Trevor Turner on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-turner-9778733/

What if burnout isn't simply a workload problem?

In this fascinating conversation, Dr. Pelè sits down with physician, chef, regenerative organic farmer, and two-time New York Times bestselling author Dr. John La Puma to explore a surprising idea: many of the health challenges we blame on stress, aging, and burnout may actually be linked to the fact that modern humans spend approximately 93% of their lives indoors.

Drawing from more than 2,000 scientific studies and the research behind his new book, Indoor Epidemic, Dr. La Puma explains how natural light, fresh air, distance, movement, and time in nature directly influence sleep, mood, memory, focus, cardiovascular health, and even leadership performance.

They discuss:

• Why "nature is not a luxury, it's a biological requirement"

• The concept of "digital obesity" and pixel overload

• How morning light impacts deep sleep and brain health

• What healthcare organizations can learn from hospital design research

• Why burnout may actually be a symptom of under-restoration

• The surprising minimum effective dose of nature for better performance

Whether you're a healthcare leader, executive, clinician, or simply someone who spends too much time in front of a screen, this conversation may change the way you think about productivity, wellness, and the environments we create for ourselves and others.

Healthcare professionals are some of the smartest people in the world. Yet burnout, frustration, and emotional exhaustion continue to drive talented clinicians away from the work they love.

In this episode, Dr. Mickey Lebowitz, physician, emotional intelligence expert, and author of The EQ Prescription, explains why the real challenge in healthcare is not a lack of knowledge. It is learning how to manage ourselves when the pressure is highest.

We explore Dr. Mickey's powerful concept of the Emotional Intelligence Zone, why leaders often struggle under stress, and practical techniques for staying grounded when the heat is on.

If you've ever wondered why knowing better doesn't always lead to doing better, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Dr. Mickey Lebowitz on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickey-lebowitz-2550b2156/

When patients leave the hospital, the healthcare journey is far from over.

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership in Healthcare, Dr. Pelè sits down with caregiver advocate and educator Lynnel Townsend to explore one of healthcare's most overlooked challenges: the invisible work of family caregiving.

Drawing from years of professional caregiving experience and deeply personal stories, Lynnel explains how family caregivers often become an unseen extension of the healthcare system, providing around-the-clock care with little training, support, or preparation. She shares her concept of Caregiver Robotic Syndrome and highlights the emotional, physical, and psychological toll that caregiving can take when families are left to navigate complex healthcare needs on their own. 

Together, they discuss:

• Why family caregivers are often the hidden patient in the healthcare continuum
 • The warning signs of caregiver burnout
 • What happens after a patient is discharged home
 • Why education and preparation are critical for caregiver success
 • The communication gap between healthcare systems and family caregivers
 • How families can share responsibility more effectively
 • The role of personalized care plans and support systems in preventing burnout
 • Why supporting caregivers ultimately improves patient outcomes and reduces readmissions 

This conversation is a powerful reminder that healthcare does not end at discharge. Behind every patient receiving care at home is often a caregiver carrying an invisible burden that deserves recognition, support, and compassion.

Lynnel Townsend is on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnel-townsend-73b07828b/

After 40 years as a pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Alan Cohen has seen some of medicine’s most extraordinary miracles and most heartbreaking moments.

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership in Healthcare, Dr. Pelè sits down with Dr. Cohen, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins and author of Comfort Always: Healing in the Age of Technology, to explore a question healthcare must continue asking:

As medicine advances, what must we never lose sight of about the human side of healing?

Dr. Cohen shares gripping stories from a lifetime of caring for children and families facing the crisis of their lives, and reflects on the emotional realities of medicine that technology can never replace.

In this conversation:

• Why healing and treatment are not the same thing
 • What patients remember long after the technology is forgotten
 • How compassion shapes trust under pressure
 • The emotional weight physicians carry in high-stakes medicine
 • Why AI must never replace the patient-doctor relationship
 • The simple human behaviors that patients remember forever

One of the most memorable lines from this episode:

“Technology treats the disease. Humanity heals the patient.”

A powerful conversation about medicine, leadership, compassion, and the forgotten art of healing.

Connect with Dr. Alan Cohen on LinkedIn: [ HERE ]

Get his book, Comfort Always, on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4fDhUpJ

Healthcare leadership often struggles when executives and clinicians operate in silos, each seeing the world through different pressures, priorities, and assumptions.

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership in Healthcare, Dr. Pelè sits down with Jill Bowen and Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine, co-founders of Let’s Lead LLC, to explore what it really takes to build trust, emotional intelligence, and alignment across healthcare teams.

Drawing from their lived experience as a hospital CEO and physician leader, Jill and Elisabeth unpack why fear, hierarchy, silence, and “staying in your lane” often weaken collaboration, and how team coaching can create the psychological safety, vulnerability, and shared purpose needed for better outcomes.

They also discuss emotional intelligence under pressure, why “soft skills” are often the missing infrastructure beneath performance, and how healthcare teams can move beyond chaos to become more human-centered, connected, and effective.

In this episode:

• why executive-clinician tension often starts long before conflict appears
 • the hidden role of fear in healthcare team dynamics
 • why vulnerability may be the key to stronger leadership teams
 • emotional intelligence as a practical leadership tool, not just theory
 • how team coaching helps organizations break silos and improve collaboration
 • what patient-centered leadership looks like in a chaotic healthcare system
 • real examples of trust, teamwork, and performance improvement in practice

Connect with Let's Lead LLC on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/letsleadllc/

What if healthcare systems have been optimizing the wrong thing?

In this episode of The Human Side of Leadership in Healthcare, Dr. Pelè sits down with internationally recognized transplant surgeon, healthcare executive, and author Douglas Slakey to explore why great healthcare outcomes require more than clinical excellence and standardized systems.

Drawing from more than 30 years in transplant surgery and healthcare leadership, Dr. Slakey explains why overly rigid processes often fail real people, and why healthcare leaders must begin designing systems that adapt to the realities of individual patients rather than forcing patients to adapt to the system.

Together, they discuss:

• why healthcare breaks down under pressure despite intelligent leadership
 • the hidden limitations of standardization and process rigidity
 • how social, economic, spiritual, and environmental realities shape patient outcomes
 • why healthcare systems struggle with fragmentation and incentives misalignment
 • the role of leadership flexibility in high-reliability organizations
 • how AI and technology could enable truly personalized healthcare experiences
 • the future of patient-centered healthcare through Dr. Slakey’s new venture, LifePath
 • why the ultimate measure of success is not operational efficiency, but whether people can truly live better lives

The episode closes with a powerful story from a transplant patient whose life was transformed 25 years after surgery, reminding us that the human side of healthcare leadership is ultimately about helping people live fully beyond the walls of the hospital.

Connect with Dr. Douglas Slakey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-slakey-md/