Future Of Work Podcast

Distributed Work: Insights for Success with Nadia Vatalidis, Tony Jamous, and Sophie Wade

About This Episode 

This episode of The Future of Work® Podcast brings together three leading voices shaping distributed work and global workforce strategy. Nadia Vatalidis, Head of People at Doist, shares how organizations can scale remote-first teams across dozens of countries while maintaining strong culture and operational efficiency. Tony Jamous, founder of Oyster, expands the conversation to the global economy, explaining how distributed hiring can unlock talent at scale and increase economic opportunity worldwide. Sophie Wade, workforce innovator and founder of Flexcel Network, grounds the discussion in the practical reality of work design, emphasizing the need to rethink workflows to effectively integrate AI. 

Together, their insights provide a forward-looking perspective on how organizations can compete globally, design better systems of work, and connect talent, technology, and opportunity across borders. 

 

Why the Future Office Must Earn the Commute in an AI-Driven World with Bob Cicero

About This Episode 

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle speaks with Bob Cicero, who leads Future Proofed Workplace for Real Estate at Cisco, about how AI is transforming the physical workplace. The conversation explores the rise of agentic AI, the growing role of digital workers, the move toward collaborative “we space,” and why companies must now “earn the commute” by making the office more valuable, frictionless, and human-centered. Bob brings a technology and real estate perspective to one of the biggest questions facing organizations today: how should workplaces evolve when humans, AI agents, physical space, and virtual collaboration all become part of the same operating system? 

Why Hope Is a Business Strategy for Leadership, Wellbeing, and the Future of Work with Jen Fisher

About this episode 

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Daniel Lamadrid speaks with Jen Fisher, a globally recognized workplace wellbeing expert, author of Hope Is The Strategy, founder and CEO of The Wellbeing Team, and Deloitte US’s first Chief Wellbeing Officer. Together, they explore why burnout is often a symptom of something deeper: hopelessness in the workplace. Jen shares why hope is not a vague emotion but a measurable, actionable strategy that helps people move through uncertainty, build momentum, and reconnect to meaningful work. 

The conversation covers what leaders still get wrong about wellbeing, why perks alone cannot solve burnout, how boundaries actually improve performance, and why vulnerability at work needs to be redefined. From leadership communication and trust to AI anxiety and the expectations of younger generations, this episode offers practical insight into how organizations can build cultures where people feel seen, supported, and able to thrive. It is a timely conversation about leadership, wellbeing, and what the future of work must become if it is going to sustain people rather than drain them. 

 

The Future of Work Requires a Fractional Talent Strategy with Lara Vandenberg

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle speaks with Lara Vandenberg, Founder and CEO of Assemble, about the structural changes redefining how modern teams are built. Drawing from her work with chief marketing officers and enterprise leaders, Lara explains why traditional headcount models are breaking down and why companies are moving toward capability-based ecosystems that combine full-time employees, freelance specialists, AI, and operational strategy. 

The conversation explores the future of work through one of its most urgent questions: how should companies design teams when speed, uncertainty, and technology are changing faster than org charts can keep up? Together, Frank and Lara unpack the rise of fractional talent, the growing importance of internal culture, the role of AI in reducing but not eliminating jobs, and why businesses must rethink talent systems from the customer backward. For leaders navigating workforce design, marketing operations, and long-term organizational resilience, this episode offers a sharp and practical look at where work is heading next. 

Why Burnout at Work Is Getting Worse in the Age of AI and Remote Work with Dr. Guy Winch

About This Episode 

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Daniel Lamadrid speaks with Dr. Guy Winch, internationally renowned psychologist, bestselling author, and leading voice on emotional health, about why burnout, stress, and overwork continue to intensify even as awareness around well-being has grown. Drawing from his latest book, Mind Over Grind: How to Break Free When Work Hijacks Your Life, Dr. Winch explores the paradox of modern work: companies talk more about emotional health than ever before, yet people remain overwhelmed, mentally depleted, and unable to disconnect. 

The conversation examines how burnout at work now extends far beyond office hours, especially in an era shaped by remote work, AI anxiety, blurred boundaries, hustle culture, and nonstop digital access. Dr. Winch explains the psychological patterns that keep people stuck in rumination, why overwork erodes productivity rather than improving it, and what leaders and employees can do to build healthier, more sustainable ways of working. This episode offers timely insight into the future of work by showing that emotional adaptability, psychological awareness, and intentional recovery are becoming essential human skills in a rapidly changing workplace. 

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.