Workday Playdate

In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Jane Chen to challenge the “always-on” mindset and invite overachievers into something radically different: pause, process, and thrive. Jane is a best-selling author, leadership coach, and social entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Embrace Global.
If you’ve been sprinting toward success at the cost of your well-being, this episode is your reminder that slowing down is exactly how you move forward with intention.

Inside This Episode:
Pause Before You Push: Why high achievers need to interrupt the cycle of constant doing to reconnect with themselves and avoid burnout.
The Hidden Cost of Achievement: How chasing impact, success, and validation can quietly deplete your energy, identity, and joy.
From Impact to Inner Work: Jane’s journey from building a global health company to finding healing through surfing, stillness, and self-reflection.
Compassion Over Grit: Why resilience isn’t about pushing harder—it’s about practicing self-compassion and emotional awareness.
Healing Is a Strategy: Exploring powerful modalities like internal family systems (IFS), therapy, and slowing down as tools for sustainable leadership.
Letting Go of External Validation: Why chasing approval is a losing game—and how anchoring in your values creates lasting fulfillment.
Ride the Wave: The ocean as a metaphor for life, timing, surrender, and trusting what you can’t control.
Vulnerability = Strength: How embracing imperfection, fear, and faith can unlock confidence in leadership and public speaking.
From Burnout to Breakthrough: Why moments of crisis or failure might actually be invitations to realign with your purpose.
Joy Is Not Optional: How play, nature, and small daily moments of joy are essential for thriving at work and in life.

Who This Episode Is For:
Overachievers who are tired of running on empty
Leaders ready to trade burnout for sustainable success
HR and people leaders focused on well-being and human-centered performance
High-performing parents and professionals seeking balance without guilt
Anyone navigating burnout, identity shifts, or a season of rebuilding
Humans who want to achieve and feel whole while doing it

Your Freebie
You already have strengths that make you a powerful leader. But chances are, one of them is doing more heavy lifting than you realize.
Enter your free resource: The Human Leadership Edge Quiz. In just 10 quick questions, you’ll discover the leadership strength that sets you apart in the age of AI and how to use it more intentionally with your team.
Take the Human Leadership Edge Quiz here.

Connect with Jane Chen
Jane’s LinkedIn
Jane’s website
Jane’s book, Like a Wave We Break: A Memoir of Falling Apart and Finding Myself

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In this Workday Playdate, Erin flips the script on hustle culture with a bold reminder: it’s not that serious. If you’ve been stuck in overthinking, overworking, or over-perfecting, this episode is your permission slip to loosen your grip and lead with more play.

Inside This Episode:
Play is Strategic: Why true play fuels creativity, innovation, and better problem-solving at work.
The Cost of Taking Work Too Seriously: How rigidity kills connection, limits ideas, and keeps teams stuck.
Loosen Up to Level Up: Practical ways to bring more lightness, curiosity, and flexibility into your leadership style.
Celebrate the Ridiculous: How “bad” or wild ideas often lead to breakthrough innovation.
From Perfection to Experimentation: Letting go of fear and embracing messy, imperfect starts.
The Daily Fun Check: One simple question—“Did I have fun today?”—that can transform your energy and performance.
5 Ways to Play More (Starting Today): Notice, say yes, lower the stakes, invite others, celebrate ridiculousness.

Who This Episode Is For:
Leaders who want to boost creativity, engagement, and innovation
HR and people leaders focused on human-centered workplaces
High achievers ready to ditch perfectionism and unlock more joy
Teams craving stronger connection and collaboration
Anyone feeling stuck, burned out, or taking work way too seriously
Humans who want to work better by playing more

Your Playdate Practice
Schedule 10 minutes of intentional play and watch what shifts in your mindset, creativity, and connection.

Your Freebie
You already have strengths that make you a powerful leader. But chances are, one of them is doing more heavy lifting than you realize.
Enter your free resource: The Human Leadership Edge Quiz. In just 10 quick questions, you’ll discover the leadership strength that sets you apart in the age of AI and how to use it more intentionally with your team.
Take the Human Leadership Edge Quiz here.

Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
Leadership Playground online membership community
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s website
improve it!’s Instagram
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with AI expert and trainer John Rood to tackle how to actually implement AI at work without breaking trust, compliance, or culture. If you’ve been overwhelmed by AI hype or unsure where to start, this episode gives you a clear, actionable path forward.

Inside This Episode:
AI at Work, the Reality Check: What organizations are actually doing with AI today and where most are getting it wrong.
HR as AI Gatekeeper: How HR can lead the charge in building smart, scalable AI policies that fit your organization.
Adopt Too Fast or Too Slow: The hidden risks on both ends of AI adoption and how to find the sweet spot.
AI Literacy for Everyone: Why AI skills aren’t optional anymore and how to train teams from beginner to advanced.
From Prompts to Productivity: How structured prompting unlocks real business value even for non-technical teams.
Everyday AI Use Cases: From building PowerPoints to automating onboarding and internal research – what AI can actually offer you.
Culture > Tools: Why experimentation, collaboration, and psychological safety determine whether AI succeeds or fails.
The 3 AI Archetypes: How to engage early adopters, skeptics, and everyone in between.
Red Flags to Watch: Shadow AI, data security risks, and governance gaps that can derail your strategy fast.
Your First Steps: How to assess current AI usage, gather insights, and build a baseline policy that actually works.

Who This Episode Is For:
HR leaders navigating AI policy, compliance, and culture
Small business owners ready to implement AI without the chaos
People leaders balancing innovation with responsibility
Teams looking to boost productivity with practical AI use
Organizations that want to adopt AI without losing trust
Humans who know AI is here and want to use it wisely

Your Freebie
You already have strengths that make you a powerful leader. But chances are, one of them is doing more heavy lifting than you realize.
Enter your free resource: The Human Leadership Edge Quiz. In just 10 quick questions, you’ll discover the leadership strength that sets you apart in the age of AI and how to use it more intentionally with your team.
Take the Human Leadership Edge Quiz here.

Connect with John Rood
John’s LinkedIn
John’s website

Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
Leadership Playground online membership community
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s website
improve it!’s Instagram
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Workday Playdate, Erin dives into a timely leadership truth: in a world obsessed with AI, your real competitive edge is your humanity. This episode unpacks why joy at work is fuel and how leaders who prioritize human connection, energy, and play are the ones building cultures that actually perform.
If you’ve been wondering how to lead in an AI-driven workplace without losing the human spark, this episode is your playbook.

Inside This Episode:
Joy as a Performance Strategy: Why joy is a catalyst for productivity, creativity, and team engagement.
Psychological Safety = Innovation: How feeling safe, seen, and energized unlocks experimentation, speaking up, and bold thinking.
AI’s Role (and Limits): Where AI enhances efficiency and why it will never replace culture, connection, or leadership presence.
The Joy Advantage: A fresh leadership framework for building high-performing, human-centered workplaces.
Human Skills > AI Skills: Why communication, empathy, adaptability, and presence are becoming the ultimate power skills.
Leadership Playground: The value of practicing leadership in real time through community, feedback, and play.
Irreplaceably Human: How to stand out in a tech-saturated world by doubling down on what machines can’t replicate.

Who This Episode Is For:
Leaders navigating the rise of AI while protecting team culture
High performers who want to lead with energy
People leaders focused on engagement, innovation, and retention
Coaches, facilitators, and culture builders shaping human-first workplaces
Humans who want to future-proof their careers by becoming more human

Your Playdate Practice
Bring one moment of intentional joy into your work. Whether that means celebrating someone publicly, asking one curious question, or pausing before you react, choose joyful presence over speed.

Your Freebie
You already have strengths that make you a powerful leader. But chances are, one of them is doing more heavy lifting than you realize.
Enter your free resource: The Human Leadership Edge Quiz. In just 10 quick questions, you’ll discover the leadership strength that sets you apart in the age of AI and how to use it more intentionally with your team.
Take the Human Leadership Edge Quiz here.

Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
Leadership Playground online membership community
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s website
improve it!’s Instagram
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with psychologist and author Dr. Moshe Frenkel to unpack a powerful truth many high-achieving leaders quietly wrestle with: the belief that their worth is conditional. Together, they explore how the emotional stories we form in childhood shape the way we show up at work, in relationships, and in leadership.
Dr. Moshe shares a refreshing perspective on self-worth and the courage it takes to detach from limiting beliefs that no longer serve us. If you’ve ever felt like you needed to earn your value, this episode offers a liberating reframe.
Because here’s the truth: who you are is already enough.

Inside This Episode:
Unconditional Self-Worth: Why your value is something you recognize rather than achieve. Dr. Moshe reframes the idea that we must prove our worth to feel loved, respected, or successful.
The Childhood Blueprint: How early experiences of feeling unheard, unseen, or not fully loved shape the beliefs we carry into adulthood, leadership, and relationships.
Conditional Love vs. Real Acceptance: The illusion many of us internalize—that love, approval, or belonging must be earned through performance.
Limiting Beliefs in Leadership: How subconscious childhood narratives show up in the workplace as perfectionism, people-pleasing, imposter syndrome, and overachievement.
Detach From Old Stories: Practical ways to identify and separate from the beliefs you absorbed growing up so they stop driving your adult decisions.
Inner Healing as Leadership Work: Why self-awareness and emotional healing aren’t “soft skills”—they’re foundational leadership capabilities.
Rewriting the Narrative: How recognizing your inherent worth can transform confidence, relationships, and the way you lead.
From Proving to Being: What changes when leaders stop striving for validation and start operating from a place of internal security.

Who This Episode Is For:
Leaders working to untangle their relationship with self-worth
High achievers who feel the pressure to constantly prove themselves
People navigating perfectionism, people-pleasing, or imposter syndrome
Coaches, facilitators, and consultants who guide others through personal growth
Humans ready to lead from authenticity rather than approval

Your Freebie
You already have strengths that make you a powerful leader. But chances are, one of them is doing more heavy lifting than you realize.
Enter your free resource: The Human Leadership Edge Quiz. In just 10 quick questions, you’ll discover the leadership strength that sets you apart in the age of AI and how to use it more intentionally with your team.
Take the Human Leadership Edge Quiz here.

Connect with Dr. Moshe
Dr. Moshe’s LinkedIn
Dr. Moshe’s website
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer

Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s website
improve it!’s Instagram
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.