The Talent Development Hot Seat

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Al Dea to the show. Al Dea is the founder of Betterwork Labs, a talent advisory firm focused on helping companies create cultures where their people can thrive. He is a speaker, advisor, and researcher on talent development, corporate learning, and career and workplace trends. Al is passionate about helping individuals and organizations create diverse, inclusive,  and growth-oriented cultures that unlock individual purpose and potential to achieve high performance.Al Dea is the host of the MBA Insider podcast. He researches, writes, and speaks on corporate learning, workplace trends, and talent strategy. His thinking and insights have been published in outlets like Business Insider, Training Magazine, The World Economic Forum, Inc., and Time Magazine. Al previously worked at Salesforce.com as a product marketer, helping launch products that touch thousands of customers. He was also a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting, advising F

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Al Dea to the show. Al Dea is the founder of Betterwork Labs, a talent advisory firm focused on helping companies create cultures where their people can thrive. He is a speaker, advisor, and researcher on talent development, corporate learning, and career and workplace trends. Al is passionate about helping individuals and organizations create diverse, inclusive,  and growth-oriented cultures that unlock individual purpose and potential to achieve high performance.Al Dea is the host of the MBA Insider podcast. He researches, writes, and speaks on corporate learning, workplace trends, and talent strategy. His thinking and insights have been published in outlets like Business Insider, Training Magazine, The World Economic Forum, Inc., and Time Magazine. Al previously worked at Salesforce.com as a product marketer, helping launch products that touch thousands of customers. He was also a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting, advising F

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy is joined by Karina Napuri, a strategic talent development leader with over 15 years of experience across diverse industries within Fortune 100 and 500 organizations. She has direct experience with revamping performance management in multiple organizations. Combining deep functional HR expertise with specializations in talent development, learning, and organizational effectiveness, Karina Napuri has spearheaded large initiatives that advance the talent strategy for organizations seeking growth and change.Karina Napuri authored and architected high-impact programs that accelerated development. She’s passionate about translating learning and OD solutions into practical, relevant, and compelling programs that stick.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:7. Karina Napuri’s biggest career success and why she’s so proud of that accomplishment.8. The mistake she’s learned the most from and how it’s changed her approach.9. One of the biggest challenges she sees in

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy is joined by Karina Napuri, a strategic talent development leader with over 15 years of experience across diverse industries within Fortune 100 and 500 organizations. She has direct experience with revamping performance management in multiple organizations. Combining deep functional HR expertise with specializations in talent development, learning, and organizational effectiveness, Karina Napuri has spearheaded large initiatives that advance the talent strategy for organizations seeking growth and change.Karina Napuri authored and architected high-impact programs that accelerated development. She’s passionate about translating learning and OD solutions into practical, relevant, and compelling programs that stick.In this episode, you’ll hear:Karina Napuri’s career background and how she shifted her career into the realm of talent development.Some reasons you may want to consider revamping performance reviews in your organization and how that can affect h

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Dean Geoffrey Garrett from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. Dean Garrett joined the Marshall School of Business in the summer of 2020 after six years as dean of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the board of directors of Park Hotels and Resorts. He’s also a distinguished international political economist and has held academic appointments at Oxford, Stanford, and Yale Universities.Dean Garrett is a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a winner of the Foreign Policy Association Medal, and the Advanced Global Australian award. Dean Garrett is a LinkedIn influencer whose blog is widely followed by academic, business, and thought leaders, and his expertise on world politics, business, and the global economy as well as on the U.S.-China relations is sought after by major media organizations around the world.Dean

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy’s guest is Shana Sharan. She is a multi-faceted talent development professional with experience across multiple SaaS companies. She is currently the Head of Talent Management at New Relic, a software company based in San Francisco. Before she took over her position at New Relic, Shana had multiple roles at SalesForce and is experienced in directing large, complex global programs across HR, including leadership development, employee engagement, and performance management.Shana Sharan holds an M.A. from Columbia University, is a DISC facilitator, and recently earned a certification in corporate mindfulness facilitation.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:7. Shana Sharan’s biggest career success and how that has helped her continue to grow her career.8. What she’s learned in her field that she thinks people need to know.9. The tool that’s always in her toolbox no matter what project she’s working on.10. The biggest challenge she believes talent development

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy’s guest is Shana Sharan. She is a multi-faceted talent development professional with experience across multiple SaaS companies. She is currently the Head of Talent Management at New Relic, a software company based in San Francisco. Before she took over her position at New Relic, Shana had multiple roles at SalesForce and is experienced in directing large, complex global programs across HR, including leadership development, employee engagement, and performance management.Shana Sharan holds an M.A. from Columbia University, is a DISC facilitator, and recently earned a certification in corporate mindfulness facilitation.In this episode, you’ll hear:How Shana Sharan’s career began in consulting and transitioned into her role in talent development today.What she’s doing to create an environment where people can do their best work and the main components required to do so.The pros and cons from a wellness perspective she witnessed as the workforce reemerged f

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Dr. Marsha Parker to the show. Dr. Parker is a learning and development leader at Ford Motor Company with responsibility for the transformation and integration of learning technology platforms and services. She’s an experienced human performance strategist, designer, and coach with over 10 years in the field of instructional design and talent analytics. Dr. Parker is a thought leader in creating data-driven organizations, analyzing learning trends, and building people capability.Dr. Marsha Parker received her Ph.D. from Wayne State University, and she is a recognized speaker within the performance improvement industry and serves as a data and analytics adjunct professor at La Salle University and consultant to Becker Educational Services. In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:7. Dr. Marsha Parker’s proudest career accomplishment and why it stands out for her.8. Her biggest career misstep and what she would change about that experience.9. Why

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Dr. Marsha Parker to the show. Dr. Parker is a learning and development leader at Ford Motor Company with responsibility for the transformation and integration of learning technology platforms and services. She’s an experienced human performance strategist, designer, and coach with over 10 years in the field of instructional design and talent analytics. Dr. Parker is a thought leader in creating data-driven organizations, analyzing learning trends, and building people capability.Dr. Marsha Parker received her Ph.D. from Wayne State University, and she is a recognized speaker within the performance improvement industry and serves as a data and analytics adjunct professor at La Salle University and consultant to Becker Educational Services. In this episode, you’ll hear:Her career background, how she pivoted into consulting and education work, and her philosophy on learning and technology today.How Dr. Parker defines the learner experience an

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Andrew Barry. Andrew Barry is the founder of Curious Lion, a training design firm reimagining the way companies like PagerDuty, Pinterest, and KPMG cultivate learning cultures. He is the creator of Course of Action, a self-paced program and community for aspiring course creators--and working towards making Andrew’s vision that everyone has an online course in them a reality.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:6. Andrew Barry’s proudest career moment and why he learned so much from it.7. His biggest failure in business, the lessons he learned from that, and how he’s applied that knowledge to Curious Lion.8. The trends he’s following in the LXP space surrounding consolidations and decentralized strategic partnerships.9. Why he’s read The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge multiple times and highly recommends it.10. Andrew Barry’s advice for people looking to further their careers.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talen

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Andrew Barry. Andrew Barry is the founder of Curious Lion, a training design firm reimagining the way companies like PagerDuty, Pinterest, and KPMG cultivate learning cultures. He is the creator of Course of Action, a self-paced program and community for aspiring course creators--and working towards making Andrew’s vision that everyone has an online course in them a reality.In this episode, you’ll hear:Why Andrew Barry pivoted away from the corporate world to start his own company and pursue entrepreneurship.What some of the best companies are doing to cultivate a learning culture, some of the mistakes he’s seen, and the three key components you can apply to your organization.How cohort learning is defined and what makes it such a beneficial way to learn.Andrew Barry’s tips for assessing how engaging your content is.How you can sign up for his cohort learning five-week program and what you’ll experience as a part of the course.Connect wit

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy is speaking with Dr. Esther Jackson. She is a people potential celebrator. She’s worked in a variety of roles in the public and private sectors--HR training manager, HR training specialist, organizational employee development specialist, project manager, instructional designer, change management lead. Dr. Jackson has foundational experience in designing and facilitating soft skills and hard skills training.Dr. Esther Jackson’s project management work has been geared toward learning and HR and talent development projects, addressing the needs of various levels in organizations and workforce, and the work with change management allowed Dr. Jackson to recognize the importance of developing that genre of skills, which is often confused with adaptability skills. These skills are a key topic in her new book, Adaptability in Talent Development.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:6. Dr. Esther Jackson’s proudest career moment and why it meant so much to her.7. T

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy is speaking with Dr. Esther Jackson. She is a people potential celebrator. She’s worked in a variety of roles in the public and private sectors--HR training manager, HR training specialist, organizational employee development specialist, project manager, instructional designer, change management lead. Dr. Jackson has foundational experience in designing and facilitating soft skills and hard skills training.Dr. Esther Jackson’s project management work has been geared toward learning and HR and talent development projects, addressing the needs of various levels in organizations and workforce, and the work with change management allowed Dr. Jackson to recognize the importance of developing that genre of skills, which is often confused with adaptability skills. These skills are a key topic in her new book, Adaptability in Talent Development.In this episode, you’ll hear:What adaptability is and why Dr. Esther Jackson wrote her book about adaptability in tale

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Tracie Cantu. She is a forward-thinking, digital-first learning tech and talent development leader with a bias for operational impact. The majority of her career has been spent at the intersection of employee performance, operational impact, and technology where she is seen as a trusted advisor and peer to business leaders, directly contributing to the achievement of business outcomes.Tracie Cantu has 15+ years of experience leading learning and learning technology teams in various industries, including aviation, insurance, government, retail, big tech, and finance. She is currently the Head of Learning Ecosystems for a large tech company based in Silicon Valley.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:Bonus Content6. Tracie Cantu’s proudest career accomplishment and why she considers herself a “we” player rather than a “me” player.7. Her biggest career failure and what she would change about that mistake.8. One of the biggest challenges she se

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Tracie Cantu. She is a forward-thinking, digital-first learning tech and talent development leader with a bias for operational impact. The majority of her career has been spent at the intersection of employee performance, operational impact, and technology where she is seen as a trusted advisor and peer to business leaders, directly contributing to the achievement of business outcomes.Tracie Cantu has 15+ years of experience leading learning and learning technology teams in various industries, including aviation, insurance, government, retail, big tech, and finance. She is currently the Head of Learning Ecosystems for a large tech company based in Silicon Valley.In this episode, you’ll hear:Tracie Cantu’s career background in secondary school education, how she pivoted into corporate education, and some of the roles she’s held over the years.Why human resources has such career appeal right now and who might be looking to move into HR.Wher

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Lotus Buckner is Andy’s guest. Lotus is the Vice President and Head of People and Culture at Chowbus, a tech startup and food delivery platform. She is also the founder and CEO of LB Talent Solutions, where she offers customized career coaching services and speaking engagements.With endless curiosity and a desire for continuous learning, Lotus Buckner has led a variety of people and culture teams for large organizations in healthcare and higher education to small startups in the tech space. As a self-proclaimed foodie, when she’s not fulfilling her professional passions, she loves trying new foods and then making them at home from scratch.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:6. Lotus Buckner’s biggest career accomplishment and why that experience stands out.7. The career failure that stands out the most and what she learned from it.8. One of the biggest challenges she sees in learning and development today.9. Why she finds the push toward diversity, equity, an

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Lotus Buckner is Andy’s guest. Lotus is the Vice President and Head of People and Culture at Chowbus, a tech startup and food delivery platform. She is also the founder and CEO of LB Talent Solutions, where she offers customized career coaching services and speaking engagements.With endless curiosity and a desire for continuous learning, Lotus Buckner has led a variety of people and culture teams for large organizations in healthcare and higher education to small startups in the tech space. As a self-proclaimed foodie, when she’s not fulfilling her professional passions, she loves trying new foods and then making them at home from scratch.In this episode, you’ll hear:How Lotus Buckner ended up in a human resources career after changing her major six times in college and why she loves it so much.What it’s been like to start a human resources department from scratch and how they’ve approached the challenge of investing in their people with L&D.How she hand

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Jeff Hatchell from American Express. This episode is all about learning and development for sales. Jeff Hatchell is the Vice President of Global Enablement with American Express. His job focuses on providing leadership development to the sales organization globally. He is also an executive coach, inspirational speaker and facilitator, and the author of The Inspired Career: Breathe New Life Into Your Job and Get Equipped, Empowered and Engaged! In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:6. Jeff Hatchell’s experience as a Black man in L&D and how he’s able to connect to almost anyone he meets.7. His thoughts on diversity, equity, and inclusion since the death of George Floyd and how it’s affected corporate culture.8. Why he wrote his book and what he hoped to accomplish with it.9. Jeff Hatchell’s most significant career accomplishment and why he’s so proud of it.10. His biggest career failure and what he learned from that experience.11. Th

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Jeff Hatchell from American Express. This episode is all about learning and development for sales. Jeff Hatchell is the Vice President of Global Enablement with American Express. His job focuses on providing leadership development to the sales organization globally. He is also an executive coach, inspirational speaker and facilitator, and the author of The Inspired Career: Breathe New Life Into Your Job and Get Equipped, Empowered and Engaged! In this episode, you’ll hear:How Jeff Hatchell discovered his love of sales and eventually landed in sales enablement.What sales enablement is, why a company would want to invest in its sales organization, and the unique challenges surrounding creating and executing learning and development programs for sales.What you can do to shift the sales mindset into a growth mindset to continue to be successful.Jeff Hatchell’s advice for speaking to salespeople when the speaker doesn’t have personal expe

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Alyssa Dver returns to speak to Andy about leveraging confidence for more career success and retention. She is a confidence crusader, neuro-nerd, and success equalizer and received a 2021 Stevie Award for Achievement in Thought Leadership. She’s also a two-time TEDx and Boston Best Speaker, seven-time award-winning author, Real Competence podcast host, and Thrive Global contributor.Leading the American Competence Institute, Alyssa Dver has directly empowered over 350,000 people through ICF and SHRM-accredited keynotes, self-coaching workshops, e-classes, and coaching certification programs. She is committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion a reality and founded and chairs the ERG Leadership Alliance, the largest association of employee group leaders.In this episode, you’ll hear:Alyssa Dver’s definition of confidence and its relationship to certainty.Why a lack of communication and confidence may be part of the driving force behind The Great Resigna