Getting promoted at work is not always straightforward. In this 28-minute episode, Alisa Patel, a VP of HR, talks candidly about what you need to do in order to be promotable, to learn about opportunities inside your company, and to effectively communicate your interest in the right way to the right people.

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About Alisa:

Alisa Patel is a strategic, people-focused HR executive with more than 20 years of experience leading human resources initiatives that drive both business performance and employee engagement. She currently serves as Vice President of Human Resources at Aalberts Surface Technologies, where she partners closely with senior leadership to shape workforce strategy, strengthen organizational development, and align HR practices with broader business goals.

Alisa is a certified SHRM-CP and a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Executive Program in Strategic HR Planning. She’s deeply committed to continuous learning and advancing excellence in the HR field.
Her experience spans employee relations, workforce planning, talent development, internal communications, and benefits strategy — all with a focus on building strong, inclusive, and high-performing workplace cultures.
At the core of her work, Alisa is passionate about empowering teams and creating people-first solutions that support long-term growth, productivity, and organizational success.

Aalberts is a global Dutch industrial technology company that designs and
manufactures specialized engineering systems and components used in
buildings, manufacturing, transportation, and semiconductor production.
Aalberts HQ is in Utrecht, Netherlands and the company was founded in 1975. Today the company employs over 13,000 people across multiple continents.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

>Connect with Alisa on LinkedIn
>Aalberts Surface Technologies

Thanks to Michael Gordon for editing this episode.

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

The Effective Workplace Feedback episode of Brain Chatter explores the role of effective feedback in building strong workplace cultures and improving leadership. Organizational psychologist Dr. Ken Chapman, founder of Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. and author of The Leader’s Code discusses why traditional annual performance reviews often fail and what leaders should do instead. Drawing on decades of experience advising organizations around the world, Dr. Chapman explains why timely, specific, and goodwill-driven feedback is far more valuable than infrequent evaluations. The conversation begins by examining what meaningful feedback looks like in practice and why leaders should actively encourage feedback from employees, customers, and colleagues alike.

Throughout the episode, Dr. Chapman highlights the elements that make feedback constructive—clear specifics, appropriate timing, mutual respect, and a shared interest in improvement. He contrasts this with feedback that becomes destructive or unhelpful and explains why the absence of constructive feedback is one of the most common causes of employee dissatisfaction with leadership. The discussion also explores the importance of trust, listening, willingness to cooperate, and empathy when giving or receiving feedback, as well as strategies for normalizing regular feedback in workplace environments where it may initially feel uncomfortable.

The conversation concludes by addressing common challenges leaders and employees face around feedback, including defensiveness, resistance, or the misuse of feedback. Dr. Chapman shares practical strategies for soliciting useful feedback, responding to unfair or petty criticism disguised as feedback, and holding people accountable for growth and improvement. Ultimately, the episode emphasizes that feedback is a cultural practice—one that, when handled thoughtfully and consistently, strengthens relationships, improves performance, and helps organizations thrive.

This forty minute episode answers many other questions related to this topic, as well.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

>Bio of Ken Chapman, Ph.D.
>Follow Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. on LINKEDIN
>Follow Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. on FACEBOOK
>Books Authored or Co-Authored by Dr. Ken Chapman

Thanks to Michael Gordon for editing this episode.

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Having challenges and lack of understanding or lack trust between different generations inside your company? This 22-minute episode explores why that may be and what can be done to close the potential gap of trust. Organizational development and HR expert Ryan McShane offers practical insights and strategies for accomplishing this, for the benefit of all concerned.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

>Connect with Ryan McShane on LinkedIn
>Ryan's bio

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.