『Workplace Stories by RedThread Research』のカバーアート

Workplace Stories by RedThread Research

Workplace Stories by RedThread Research

著者： Stacia Garr & Dani Johnson
無料で聴く

概要
 Workplace Stories is a podcast for HR and people leaders who are tired of noise and need clarity that actually holds up. It is hosted by Stacia Garr and Dani Johnson of RedThread Research.

Each episode features candid conversations with practitioners, thinkers, and executives who are navigating real decisions inside complex organizations. Not hypotheticals. Not vendor promises. Real tradeoffs, real experiments, and real lessons learned along the way.

You’ll hear how leaders are making sense of skills, AI, organizational design, and culture when there’s no clear playbook and pressure to show progress is high. The focus is always the same: what’s actually working, what isn’t, and what leaders are doing next.

Workplace Stories helps you make sense of complexity, build credibility with evidence, and move from ideas to action with more confidence.

Want to be part of the conversation? Join our community for free and connect with others shaping the future of work.

Learn more about RedThread Research here: https://redthreadresearch.com/homeRedThread Research 2026 マネジメント マネジメント・リーダーシップ 経済学
エピソード
  • The Key Ingredients for Leadership in L&D’s Next Chapter: Jackie Barefield

    The Key Ingredients for Leadership in L&D’s Next Chapter: Jackie Barefield
    2026/10/28
    Jackie Barefield, Head of Future Capabilities and Operations at BAT, joins us to discuss how L&D is shifting from a traditional cost center to a value-adding, future-focused driver of change, requiring leaders and teams to unlearn outdated habits and embrace data-driven, innovative approaches. She also shares more about the central role of skills measurement, the real-world application of learning, and how organizations can prioritize human connection in an increasingly digital, AI-enabled environment. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...[06:35] AI's Impact on learning and development[08:42] Learning beyond the L&D bubble[12:56] Emergence of DIY tech solutions[17:46] Changing approach to AI learning[26:52] Realizing the need for further education[29:41] Embracing constant unlearning[35:17] Developing necessary training programs[38:18] Impact of AI on expertise developmentL&D in the Age of AIMost people recognize that AI will fundamentally reshape not only what L&D delivers but how it operates at its core. This isn't just about digital tools or online learning methods—it’s about radically rethinking how learning creates business value and drives organizational change.Leaders in the field are no longer simply tasked with supporting business transformation; they are expected to act as agents and accelerators of change themselves. L&D professionals increasingly build their own solutions, experiment with new technologies, and challenge the conventional boundaries of their roles. This newfound freedom and responsibility are fueled by greater access to tools and a recognition that traditional incremental improvements are no longer enough.Leadership Humility and the Power of UnlearningWe also discuss humility in leadership and focus on three core principles: acknowledging that no one has all the answers, intentionally seeking out and listening to others’ needs, and always questioning the status quo. These mindsets are especially important as AI introduces ambiguity and complexity that even seasoned experts cannot master alone.We explore how leaders must continually let go of outdated assumptions and be open to reinventing their roles and methods. The discussion identified being comfortable with letting go—of old metrics, legacy processes, and even personal expertise—as a pivotal leadership skill. Jackie believes comfort with unlearning grows with experience and that real change often happens when leaders invite open debate and are transparent about their own learning journeys.The Enduring Value of RelationshipsAs L&D moves towards digitalization and AI-powered individualization, one concept discussed was the risk of losing vital human connections. In-person gatherings offer irreplaceable value for building networks and relationships, something online learning can’t replicate. Skills like judgment, pattern recognition, and tacit knowledge, built through social interaction and shared experience, may become an even greater focus for L&D in the coming years. Resources & People MentionedThe Learning Awards Fuel50 Workera TechWolf GitHub UC Berkeley Haas School of Business British American Tobacco Connect with Jackie BarefieldJackie Barefield on LinkedInConnect With RedThread ResearchWebsite: RedThread ResearchOn LinkedInSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES
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    44 分
  • Cisco’s Cross-Functional Approach to Learning and AI: Marci Paino & Lawrence Stevens

    Cisco’s Cross-Functional Approach to Learning and AI: Marci Paino & Lawrence Stevens
    2026/10/14
    Building a skills-focused organization isn’t just about creating learning content or adopting the latest technology. As Cisco has shown, the journey to a skills-first culture is as much about cross-functional collaboration, purposeful data use, and intentional alignment with business strategy as it is about implementing new platforms. In this episode of Workplace Stories, Lawrence Stevens, Director of Cisco Skills Strategy and AI-Powered Learning Ecosystem, and Marci Paino, VP of Enterprise Learning and Growth, share how Cisco transformed its approach to learning and skill development to prepare its workforce for the future.You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...[08:14] Focusing on skills-first learning strategy[14:17] Reimagining company culture and learning[16:18] Analyzing current state for vision[29:38] Building a universal profile[32:48] The HR knowledge graph[41:44] Creating a Minimum Lovable Product [46:05] Discussing data privacy challenges[57:11] Prioritizing continuous learning[59:12] Scaling solutions for growthBreaking Down SilosUnlike many skills initiatives that begin in a single HR function and slowly attempt to wrangle other departments down the line, Cisco’s approach was intentionally cross-functional from day one. Many organizations start skills work in isolation—often in learning or HR—and invite others along later. But at Cisco, collaboration among learning, talent acquisition, workforce planning, and IT was built into the initiative's DNA.This deliberate design enabled the team to craft a skills strategy rooted in both business needs and employee realities. IT’s involvement was critical, as they owned the product build while learning held the vision and strategy. The resulting triangle—business as product owner, IT as builder, and vendor partners as enablers—helped accelerate innovation and ensure alignment.Leading with Culture and Business AlignmentCisco’s journey began with culture, not technology. Marci Paino first sat down with every member of the executive leadership team to understand business direction and set guiding principles before building out the learning and skills strategy. This top-down alignment was a deliberate move away from fragmented, optional learning ecosystems with little accountability.By rooting skills development in company-wide guiding principles and leadership behavior statements, the team ensured that new ways of working and the future of talent were not HR projects, but business imperatives. This approach fostered executive buy-in and role-modeled cross-functional partnership from the outset.Data as the Universal CurrencyLaurence describes skills data as the universal currency that created common value for talent acquisition, workforce planning, learning, and the business. But getting there was no small feat: the team inherited a tangled landscape of 17 separate learning platforms and over 220,000 learning activities—each with its own taxonomy and data standards.The solution was a ground-up rethink of data governance and taxonomies, with an eventual move toward a universal knowledge graph. This clean, connected data infrastructure enabled personalized, AI-powered learning and more effectively measured both skill proficiency and business impact.The Power (and Challenge) of PartnershipsWhether negotiating the complex relationship with IT, co-innovating with vendors like Cornerstone, or role-modeling collaboration across HR, the Cisco team showed that no single function can go it alone.Crucial to this was ruthless prioritization and maintaining clarity on the “minimal lovable product.” The ability to listen, compromise, and focus on delivering a core outcome—rather than perfection—allowed the team to build credibility by shipping iterative wins, even as they worked on long-term transformation behind the scenes.Practical Lessons for Skills TransformationCisco’s story offers practical takeaways for any organization hoping to make the leap to a skills-first strategy:Start with culture and executive alignment: Secure top-level buy-in and root skills programs in business strategy and guiding principles.Design cross-functionally: Involve learning, IT, talent, and workforce planning partners from the start.Clean and connect your data: Streamline platforms and taxonomies to build a universal profile that supports analytics, personalization, and business reporting.Role-model partnership: Set the expectation for collaboration at every level, not just among leaders.Prioritize and iterate: Ship progress, gather feedback, and demonstrate early wins—even as you build for the future.Cisco’s experience reinforces that building a skills-first culture isn’t a tech challenge—it’s a people and partnership evolution. Resources & People MentionedCornerstone Technology Partners SkyHive The AI Workforce Consortium - Cisco Udemy LinkedIn Learning Solutions Connect with Marci Paino & Lawrence StevensMarci Paino ...
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    1 時間 4 分
  • ServiceNow's Approach to Skills and Workforce Readiness: Jayney Howson

    ServiceNow's Approach to Skills and Workforce Readiness: Jayney Howson
    2026/09/30
    The rapid transformation of work, driven by technological acceleration and evolving business needs, is leaving organizations scrambling to keep their employees future ready. ServiceNow’s Chief Learning Officer Jayney joins me to share her thoughts on how organizations can move beyond traditional skilling to focus on comprehensive readiness, including the unique human abilities that set people apart from machines. Jayney discusses ServiceNow’s model of a "talent signature"—a multidimensional skill profile that brings together AI fluency, functional expertise, and the elusive but critical human advantage. You'll hear how ServiceNow is transforming learning into a personalized, playful, and data-driven experience, why curiosity can’t be taught but can be learned, and how measuring what makes us uniquely human is key. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...03:46 Measuring uniquely human skills13:08 Assessing employee skill readiness15:03 Emerging AI skills and demand18:56 Creating conditions for curiosity27:26 Workforce readiness and skills gap32:32 Focus on customer-centric strategy35:43 Debating centralized vs. federated learning37:33 Introducing SimStudio for training47:04 Creating a unique learning environment48:12 Solving the learning experience puzzle56:09 How the Lead Boldly model worksThe Shift from Skilling to Workforce ReadinessWorkforce readiness has become the new clarion call for organizations. Between 30 and 100% of skills are going to change in the workforce over the next 3 years. This volatility demands a seismic shift in how we think about people development: not as one-off, reactive upskilling, but as continuous preparation for evolving roles and technologies.At ServiceNow, readiness means aligning workforce capabilities with both current role requirements and the unpredictable demands of tomorrow’s jobs. Readiness isn’t about checking boxes on completed learning modules—it’s about ensuring employees can confidently perform in their roles now and adapt to what’s next.Rethinking Skills: The Talent Signature ModelCentral to ServiceNow’s approach is the concept of the “talent signature”—a model that assesses employees across three dimensions:AI Fluency: The understanding and leverage of AI, scaled according to job requirements.Functional Skills: Core competencies needed for specific roles (e.g., technical, sales, marketing).Human Skills: The human advantage—skills that remain when AI takes over routine work, such as critical thinking, judgment, curiosity, courage, and interpersonal connection.This framework recognizes that the interplay between these domains is dynamic and context-dependent. An AI skill alone, without a human skill, is actually a skill that AI could do on its own. The difference is the foundational human layer. The model leverages nearly 200 signals—from learning completions and assessments to project work and interpersonal feedback—to generate a unique skill profile for each employee. This data-rich fingerprint enables more precise, personalized development paths and better workforce planning.Can Curiosity Be Learned?We discuss whether qualities like curiosity and courage are innate or can be developed. While training modules for curiosity might fall short, Jayney’s perspective is that these attributes can’t be taught, but they can be learned. The distinction matters: it's about creating the right conditions for growth rather than direct instruction. By fostering environments where it’s safe to experiment and fail, organizations can unlock these human traits. The Power of Safe ExperimentationTo build a culture of learning, ServiceNow draws on the “science of play.” Drawing inspiration from educational theorists like Johan Huizinga, Jayney advocates for “magic circles”—playgrounds within the organization where different rules apply, and the risk of failure is reduced. In these environments, employees are more willing to try, iterate, and improve.The shift from passive consumption (read-and-test courses) to hands-on, playful approaches is evidenced in their adoption of AI-driven roleplay. Strikingly, 93% of participants returned to repeat these immersive simulations, a testament to the draw and efficacy of playful, experiential learning.Leading Boldly in Times of UncertaintyIn a climate of rampant change and declining organizational trust, leadership takes center stage. ServiceNow’s “Lead Boldly” model encourages leaders to trust boldly, communicate clearly (even without certainty), and champion change—a people-centered approach that recognizes leaders as the primary catalysts for psychological safety, resilience, and adaptive learning. Resources & People MentionedBill McDermott CEO of ServiceNowRachel Botsman on LinkedInHomo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in CultureLOL- Learning out Loud!Jayney Howson on Substack Connect with Guest NameJayney Howson - Chief Learning Officer @ ...
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    1 時間 1 分
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