Future Of Work Podcast

Future of Work Leadership Is Changing: From Burnout to Trust, Purpose, and Performance with Kurtis Lee Thomas, Stephanie Chung and Jasmine Escalera

About This Episode 

The future of work is no longer defined by productivity alone—it is being reformed by how organizations prioritize people, leadership, and purpose. In this Expert Compilation episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, three leading voices explore the fundamental changes transforming how we work, lead, and build sustainable organizations. 

Kurtis Lee Thomas, founder of Breathwork Detox, shares how workplace well-being is evolving from a perk into a measurable, strategic business priority—impacting performance, retention, and long-term resilience. Stephanie Chung, former Chief Growth Officer at Wheels Up, brings over 30 years of leadership experience to redefine what it takes to build high-performing teams, emphasizing trust, vulnerability, and the neuroscience of winning. Finally, Jasmine Escalera, PhD, a career expert and LinkedIn Top Voice, explores how Gen Z is shaping expectations around work, identity, and success—challenging organizations to adapt or risk losing emerging talent. 

Together, these perspectives reveal a clear truth: the organizations that will thrive in the future of work are those that prioritize human experience as much as performance. 

The Future of Work Demands Fewer, Smarter Meetings with Rebecca Hinds

About This Episode 

Meeting culture is one of the most overlooked yet costly dysfunctions in modern organizations. In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Daniel Lamadrid was joined by Rebecca Hinds, PhD—organizational behavior expert and author of Your Best Meeting Ever—to speak about why meetings persist despite being widely disliked, and how leaders can transform them into powerful tools for progress. 

Drawing on research from Stanford, Worklytics, and her experience founding the Work Innovation Lab at Asana and the Work AI Institute at Glean, Rebecca explains how visibility bias, meeting debt, and hybrid dysfunction are driving calendar overload and burnout. She introduces practical frameworks like the 4D Test (Decide, Debate, Discuss, Develop), Meeting Doomsday, and Return on Time Investment (ROTI) to help leaders and teams reset their collaboration systems. 

As AI alters how we work, Rebecca challenges organizations to use technology intentionally—freeing meetings for the deeply human work of creativity, trust-building, and decision-making. This episode is a masterclass in designing meeting culture that truly advances business outcomes in the future of work. 

Quantum Cities And The Real Estate Experience: Workplace Strategy As An Economic Engine With Chase Garbarino

About this episode 

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle is joined by Chase Garbarino, Co-Founder and CEO of HqO, to explore how cities evolve when we treat them like outcomes-driven systems rather than tech experiments. Chase introduces the framework behind “Quantum Cities,” arguing that technology must serve measurable results—starting with GDP—while balancing essential principles like privacy, liberty, and economic dynamism. Together, they connect the dots between city revitalization, the changing demands of the workforce, and the growing need for better feedback loops on what people actually value. 

The conversation then moves into the practical reality of commercial real estate and workplace experience—from the limitations of legacy landlord thinking to the rise of “experience” as the new differentiator. Chase explains why the industry must become more customer-oriented and data-driven, including concepts like tenant health scores and better success signals tied to renewal and expansion. Frank expands the lens with a “food chain” view: if the employee experience breaks, every layer above it—tenants, buildings, cities, capital—eventually feels the impact. 

 

Workplace Strategy Is Becoming A Consumer Experience, Not A Real Estate Decision with Sue Asprey Price

About this episode 

Workplace strategy is being rewritten in real time—and this conversation makes the shift unmistakable. Frank Cottle sits down with Sue Asprey Price, a workplace and real estate strategist at JLL, to unpack how organizations are moving beyond “office vs. remote” and into a more precise question: how do we design an experience that improves talent outcomes and business outcomes at the same time? From space utilization and the ROI logic leaders demand, to amenitization (including why food and proximity matter), to neurodiversity in workplace design, Sue shares what’s changing—and why it’s becoming more strategic, more data-driven, and more personalized. They also explore how AI is shifting planning from guesswork to real-time insight, helping companies justify every dollar while keeping the office relevant as a hub for connection, culture, and brand. 

How to Learn From Bad Bosses Without Becoming One with Mita Mallick

About this episode 

Bad bosses aren’t just a workplace problem—they’re a leadership pattern that can spread, normalize, and quietly erode culture. In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, host Daniel Lamadrid talks with Mita Mallick, a bestselling author and seasoned marketing and HR executive, about her book The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses. Together, they explore why bad boss behavior happens, how marketplace pressure and personal “earthquakes” shape leadership, and why hustle culture can reward the very behaviors that burn teams out. The conversation gets practical: how to give feedback when psychological safety exists, how leaders can run a weekly self-awareness check, why gratitude builds trust and retention, and how boundaries protect top talent—especially as work evolves with AI, hybrid models, and rising uncertainty. 

How AI Transforms Coworking: From Operations to Experience with Carlos Almansa

About This Episode 

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, host Frank Cottle speaks with Carlos Almansa, co-founder of Nexudus—the leading white-label software platform powering thousands of coworking spaces across 90+ countries. From automating operations to scaling global teams, Carlos shares insights on how data, AI, and flexibility are shaping the coworking world. The conversation explores Nexudus' approach to using AI for predictive analytics, customer support, and dynamic pricing, while maintaining human-centric values like community and collaboration. Whether you're a workspace operator, HR leader, or tech innovator, this episode offers a roadmap to the digitally enhanced, distributed future of work. 

The Real Impact of Distributed Workforces with Tony Jamous

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle sits down with Tony Jamous, founder and Executive Chairman of Oyster, a B Corp-certified global employment platform. With a visionary take on the post-pandemic workplace, Tony explores how distributed workforces, AI, and conscious leadership are transforming not just how we work—but why we work. From removing geographic hiring constraints to rethinking the very purpose of companies, this conversation unveils the profound economic, environmental, and human impact of global employment models. Whether you're a startup leader, HR exec, or policy maker, this episode offers future-forward insights on capital, workforce access, and business sustainability. 

Why Flexible Workspace Strategy Is the Future of Commercial Real Estate with Mark Dixon, Cali Williams Yost and Andrea Pirrotti-Dranchack

In this forward‑thinking episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, we explore one of the most critical shifts in today’s work ecosystem — the transformation of flexible workspaces and commercial real estate. Joined by three world‑class experts, we unpack how hybrid work patterns, decentralization, and employee choice are reshaping physical workspace design, real estate strategy, and organizational performance. Together, they reveal how flexibility isn’t a fleeting trend — it’s a structural shift affecting people, productivity, cities, and companies worldwide. 

How Empathy and AI Together Will Redefine the Future of Work with Sophie Wade

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, we sit down with Sophie Wade, a renowned workforce innovator, author of Empathy Works, and founder of Flexcel Network, whose courses on future‑of‑work skills have reached over 650,000 professionals worldwide. Sophie brings a deeply human‑centered lens to major workplace changes — from AI integration to upskilling strategies and generational dynamics. Together we explore why companies must design work thoughtfully, invest in people alongside technology, build trust between executives and teams, and prioritize empathy to navigate the ongoing future‑of‑work transitions. If you’re curious how AI will truly impact jobs, why generational viewpoints matter now more than ever, and what leaders must do to meaningfully prepare for tomorrow’s workforce realities, this episode delivers pragmatic insight with a visionary perspective.

Future of Work Expert Insights | Workplace Wellbeing Success with Bree Groff, Priya Rathod & Selena Rezvani

About This Episode 

In this powerful episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, three leaders in workplace design and people strategy — Bree Groff, Priya Rathod, and Selena Rezvani — unpack what truly makes work meaningful today. From the myth that work must be drudgery to the practical systems companies can adopt for wellbeing, belonging, trust, inclusion, and confidence — this conversation reframes workplace culture as a strategic advantage. Drawing on decades of experience working with C‑suite leaders and global teams, our guests provide tangible ways leaders and employees alike can build environments where people show up energized, feel like they belong, and are empowered to bring their full selves to work. For anyone shaping the future of work — whether you lead teams, rethink culture, or build inclusive systems — this conversation is a roadmap to better days at work.