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Workday Playdate

Erin Diehl - Workday Playdate

TOP 1% GLOBAL PODCAST for People-First Leaders Formerly the "improve it! Podcast." #9 in BEST 100 SELF LEADERSHIP PODCASTS. I’m Erin Diehl, keynote speaker, business improv edutainer, and founder of improve it! (AKA your work bestie). Every Wednesday, Workday Playdate with improve it! helps HR professionals, people leaders, and culture-driven humans bring more laughter, levity, and purpose to their workdays. Because work is better when you play. This is not your average leadership podcast. You’ll get research-backed strategies, improv-inspired tools, and candid conversations with top leaders, speakers, improvisers and authors who are rethinking how we work and lead. Our promise is to give you tangible takeaways you can use immediately, plus a few laughs along the way. Interested in partnering with us? Workday Playdate reaches thousands of people-first leaders who care about workplace culture, leadership, and team development. Contact info@learntoimproveit.com to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. We promise laughs, impact, and zero awkward small talk. Think ROI with a side of LOL’s. Let’s make it happen!

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#373
Wednesday · 35 min
Episode 373: Take the Risk Before You Feel Ready with Erika Johnson
What if waiting to feel ready is actually holding your career back? For high achievers, it’s easy to think you need one more sign that you’re ready before making the big career move. But sometimes, the next step only becomes clear after you take it. In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Erika Johnson, Senior Vice President of Member Experience and Community at Chief, about taking career risks before you feel fully prepared. With 20+ years of experience across American Express, Capital One, Ernst & Young, Kantar, and Chief, Erika shares how transparency builds trust, how customer experience and leadership intersect, and why the smallest everyday behaviors can have a big impact on how people experience you as a leader. This conversation is a reminder that readiness is about being willing to bet on yourself. Inside This Episode: Stop Waiting to Feel Ready: Why high achievers can get stuck overthinking, overediting, and looking for external proof, and how taking action can create the confidence you’re waiting for. Bet on Yourself: What readiness really looks like, how to navigate imposter syndrome, and why bringing your unique perspective can be more valuable than having every answer. Build Trust Through Transparency: How being candid, steady, and clear can help you build credibility, even when you’re navigating unfamiliar work, difficult conversations, or unexpected career detours. Lead Through Everyday Experience: Why leadership and customer experience are deeply connected, and how the way you enter a room, hold silence, and push back can shape how people experience your leadership. Turn Big Moves Into Micro Steps: How to stop waiting for the perfect plan and start moving forward by breaking a career goal, idea, or conversation into one small action. What to Do Now: Ask “What Are You Waiting For?” Identify one career move, conversation, or idea you’ve been putting off because you don’t feel ready yet. Just Do It, But Smaller: Break that big scary thing into the smallest possible next step. Send the email. Write the draft. Schedule the meeting. Make the introduction. Practice Transparency: In your next high-stakes conversation, be a little more candid than usual. Say what you know, what you don’t know, or where you see an opportunity to push back, and notice what happens to the trust in the room. Your Freebie This is your plug-and-play guide to building an environment where your team feels safe to share bold ideas, take creative risks, and fully engage in the work that matters most. Download your Psychological Safety Playbook for Leaders here. About the Guest Erika Johnson is a dynamic executive leader with 20+ years of experience shaping customer and member experience at some of the world’s most recognized brands, including American Express, Capital One, Ernst & Young, Kantar, and Chief. As Senior Vice President of Member Experience and Community at Chief, Erika leads the strategy, operations, and experiences that shape how executive women grow and thrive. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and experience, helping leaders turn complexity into clarity, build stronger relationships, and move forward with confidence. She is passionate about redefining experience as a critical leadership skill, and using it to drive engagement, belonging, and results. Connect with Erika Johnson Erika’s LinkedIn Erika’s Instagram Erika’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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#372
October 7 · 38 min
Episode 372: How Great Leaders Build Their Inner Circle with Shona Kamath
What actually makes a people strategy work? It’s not just having the right talent in the right seats. It’s building a workplace where people feel trusted, included, challenged, and connected to something bigger than their job description. For HR and people leaders, that can feel HUGE. You’re balancing employee engagement, leadership development, retention, performance, culture, and business results...all while trying to make work feel a little more human. In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Shona Kamath, Head of Human Capital and Human Resources at MegaMex Foods, about what it really takes to build a strong people strategy and a culture where talent can thrive. They dig into trust, belonging, empathy, high-potential talent, leadership development, and why employees are more likely to stay when they can see how their work connects to the bigger picture. Inside This Episode: Invest in People, Not Just Output: What a successful people strategy really requires—from the right talent and capabilities to strong leadership, a supportive environment, and a clear connection between individual work and business impact. Build a Culture of Trust, Accountability & Inclusion: How belonging influences employee engagement, retention, and culture, and why real-time feedback and meaningful workplace relationships matter just as much as survey scores. Develop the Leaders of Tomorrow: The leadership qualities that matter most in high-potential talent, including emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, business acumen, strategic thinking, and integrity. Build a Talent Pipeline Before You Need One: How to identify potential early, create stretch opportunities, build supportive networks, and help employees reflect on what they’re learning so they’re less likely to disengage and leave. Take Creative Risks With Your Career & Your Team: Why raising your hand, creating “heat,” and embracing experiences like improv can help people learn faster, take ownership, and make work more playful and memorable. What to Do Now: Connect the Dots: Help someone on your team see how their day-to-day work connects to the bigger picture. Clear line of sight can turn a task into a purpose. Create Some Career Heat: Raise your hand for an opportunity that stretches you, or someone on your team. Growth usually starts right outside the comfort zone. Invest in the Human: Ask what someone actually needs to feel supported, challenged, and included at work. Then make space for trust, feedback, relationships, and a little more play. Your Freebie This is your plug-and-play guide to building an environment where your team feels safe to share bold ideas, take creative risks, and fully engage in the work that matters most. Download your Psychological Safety Playbook for Leaders here. About the Guest Shona Kamath is a highly experienced human capital and HR leader with expertise across organizational development, talent management, leadership development, performance management, culture, employee engagement, HR systems, and organizational effectiveness. As Head of Human Capital and Human Resources at MegaMex Foods, Shona advises senior leaders on strategic talent and organizational priorities and has presented to C-level executives and boards across financial services and consumer packaged goods organizations. A recognized high-potential leader herself, Shona is passionate about developing talent, building high-trust cultures, and helping people take ownership of their careers. Connect with Shona Kamath Shona’s LinkedIn 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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#371
September 30 · 23 min
Episode 371: Should I Quit My 9-to-5?
Should you quit your 9-to-5 and start a business or build your idea while you’re still employed? For aspiring entrepreneurs, that question can feel HUGE. You’re craving more freedom, creativity, or control, but leaving a stable paycheck can feel like jumping off a financial cliff. But what if you don’t have to choose between playing it safe and burning it all down? In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin shares a five-step approach for quitting your 9-to-5, starting a business, and making the leap into entrepreneurship with more clarity. Drawing from her own experience building improve it! while working a full-time recruiting job, Erin breaks down how to test your idea, understand your finances, involve your support system, and create a gradual path toward self-employment. Instead of asking, “Should I quit my job?” Erin invites you to ask a better question: What can I build before I leave? Inside This Episode: The “Stay or Go” Gut Check: Use a simple gut check to understand whether you’re ready to leave your job or just ready for something to change. Build Before You Bail: Why you don’t need to quit your 9-to-5 before you start building your business. Erin shares how she built improve it! while working full time. Know Your Numbers: Get clear on your monthly expenses, income needs, and financial runway before making a career transition. Bring Your People In: Why talking openly with your boss, partner, friends, or trusted supporters can make a big career decision feel less scary and more strategic. Make the Leap Less Leap-y: Explore part-time work, freelancing, side hustles, and small business pilots as ways to test entrepreneurship before going all in. Start Small, Learn Fast: You don’t need the perfect business plan. Build the smallest viable version, get feedback, and let the real-world data guide your next move. What to Do Now: Ask “What Can I Build Before I Leave?” Identify one small piece of your business or idea you can test while you still have the stability of your current job. Do the Math: Calculate your monthly expenses, income target, and financial runway. A dream gets a lot less scary when you know your numbers. Run a Tiny Experiment: Test your idea with a small offer, pilot, freelance project, or first customer. You don’t need to quit to find out if there’s demand. Talk to Your People: Bring a trusted person into the conversation. You don’t have to make a major career decision alone or in secret! Build Before You Bail: Remember: quitting your 9-to-5 isn’t the first step. Sometimes, it’s the next step after you’ve built enough evidence to make the leap. Your Freebie Take the quiz: What’s Your Leadership Style and Your Next Business Move? Find out how your leadership style drives motivation, and walk away with 3 specific ideas you can start building into your business right away. Workshop mentioned in the episode: Taking Initiative & Creative Risks 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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#370
September 23 · 47 min
370: When High-Achieving Women Carry Too Much Alone with Meghan French Dunbar
For high-achieving women, that belief can run deep. We’re taught to be capable, composed, productive, and independent, and to keep going no matter what. But what happens when “I can handle it” becomes burnout? In this episode of Workday Playdate, Meghan French Dunbar joins Erin for a candid conversation about burnout, leadership, vulnerability, women at work, and what it really takes to build humane workplaces. Drawing from her experience as a founder, CEO, and mother, Meghan shares the personal wake-up calls that forced her to rethink what success and leadership actually mean. Together, Erin and Meghan unpack chronic busyness, workplace vulnerability, trust, overwork, and the pressure to be an unbreakable leader. They explore how small shifts in the way we lead can create more sustainable work rhythms and teams. Inside This Episode: When Work Becomes Your Identity: Meghan shares the airplane story, miscarriage, and burnout experiences that forced her to confront the personal cost of being an “unbreakable” leader. The Myth of the Busy Season: What happens when “I’m just in a busy season” becomes your permanent state? Meghan explains how chronic busyness can become a system—not just a season. Vulnerability Builds Trust: Discover why being honest about struggles can actually make leaders more trustworthy and help teams feel safer opening up. Women Don’t Have to Do It All: Erin and Meghan unpack the pressure high-achieving women face to be endlessly capable—and why asking for help doesn’t make you a burden. Rethinking Leadership: Move beyond the superhero leader. Meghan explores a healthier blend of decisiveness, empathy, compassion, listening, and vulnerability. What to Do Now: Question Your “Busy Season”: Is this actually a season—or has chronic busyness become your normal? Identify one expectation or habit that’s keeping you stuck in overload. Let Someone In: Share one honest thing with your team that you might normally keep hidden. Vulnerability doesn’t mean oversharing—it means letting people see the human behind the role. Ask for Help: Identify one thing you’re carrying alone and invite someone in. Strong leadership isn’t about proving you can do everything yourself. It’s about creating a culture where no one has to. About the Guest Meghan French Dunbar is a purpose-driven business leader, author, speaker, and former co-founder and CEO of Conscious Company Media, the first nationally distributed print magazine focused on purpose-driven business in the U.S. Over the course of her career, she has interviewed more than 1,000 leaders about what it takes to build businesses that create meaningful impact. Her book, This Isn’t Working, explores why traditional approaches to work are failing people—and what it looks like to build careers, companies, and lives that actually lift people up. Today, Meghan helps exceptional organizations develop narrative strategies that stand out, and she hosts Unbehaved, a podcast featuring leaders who are challenging the old rules of work and business. Your Freebie Confidence at work doesn’t mean pretending to have it all figured out. Download our Confident Leader’s Toolkit for a practical, four-step guide to crafting an intentional professional persona so you can lead with more clarity and confidence. Whether you’re stepping into a new leadership role, navigating a high-stakes conversation, or simply looking to show up more intentionally, this toolkit will help you build a leadership presence that feels sustainable. Connect with Meghan French Dunbar Meghan’s LinkedIn Meghan’s website Meghan’s book, This Isn’t Working ZingTrain academy ZingTrain books 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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#369
September 16 · 40 min
369: The Leadership Skill Nobody Teaches: Stopping Before Burnout Hits with Brent Freeman
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with entrepreneur, speaker, and author Brent Freeman to unpack what happens when external success stops feeling like success. After building billion-dollar growth machines, Brent found himself burned out, disconnected, and asking a much bigger question: What if the life I’m building isn’t actually the life I want? Brent shares how a “one-degree drift” away from yourself can quietly turn into burnout and how he began rebuilding his life around joy, presence, and intentionality. From canceling every meeting to watch a sunset to creating a daily “list of joy,” Brent explains the neuroscience, nervous system practices, and emotional alchemy tools behind his new book, The Alchemy of Joy. Whether you’re navigating burnout, chasing your next achievement, or simply want to feel more present in your own life, this conversation is a reminder that joy is something you can invest in right now. Inside This Episode: When Success Stops Feeling Successful: Brent opens up about the hollow feeling that came after building massive businesses and achieving the external markers of success he once thought would create fulfillment. The One-Degree Drift: Learn how tiny, seemingly harmless choices can gradually move you away from your values, your joy, and yourself—and why noticing the drift early matters. Burnout Beyond Hustle Culture: Brent explores how burnout can hide behind ambition, impact, productivity, and achievement, and why it’s not simply a matter of “working too hard.” The Return on Joy (ROJ): Discover Brent’s framework for treating joy as an intentional investment with a compounding payoff in energy, fulfillment, presence, and quality of life. The One-Minute Window: Learn a simple 60-second practice for interrupting autopilot, regulating your nervous system, and coming back to the present moment. What to Do Now: Make Your List of Joy: Write down 5–10 things that genuinely make you feel alive, energized, connected, or playful. Then ask yourself: When was the last time I made time for these? Try the One-Minute Window: The next time you feel overwhelmed or triggered, stop for 60 seconds. Breathe. Notice what’s happening in your body. Let yourself come back to the present before deciding what to do next. Invest in Your ROJ: Choose one small thing that brings you joy and intentionally put it on your calendar this week. Don’t wait until everything else is done. Consider it a daily investment in your return on joy. About the Guest Brent Freeman is a visionary entrepreneur, speaker, and author of The Alchemy of Joy. He founded Roozt.com, Stealth Venture Labs, NonnaLive, and Stealth Impact Lab, building businesses and social-impact initiatives that have generated billions in revenue and reached hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. After years of pursuing growth, impact, and achievement, Brent walked away from the hustle and grind to dedicate his work to helping people rediscover joy through neuroscience, inspiration, meditation, and subconscious training. Today, he speaks, teaches, and coaches around his philosophy of the “Return on Joy,” the idea that intentionally investing in joy can create a compounding return across every area of life. Leadership Playground Info Session on September 29th Learn more about Leadership Playground, our interactive cohort for high-potential managers, during our free info session on September 29, 2026. Register here! Connect with Brent Freeman Brent’s LinkedIn Brent’s website Brent’s book, The Alchemy of Joy Brent’s meditations 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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#368
September 9 · 33 min
368: Are We All Having an AI Identity Crisis? With Cassandra Worthy
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Cassandra Worthy—founder and CEO of Change Enthusiasm Global — about the emotional side of AI-driven change, and why “just adapt” isn’t exactly a strategy. As AI reshapes jobs, workflows, teams, and professional identities, Cassandra explains why people are experiencing a very real sense of loss, or what she calls “AI grief.” Cassandra breaks down her Change Enthusiasm® framework (Signal, Opportunity, Choice) and explains how emotional awareness can help us navigate uncertainty with more agency. Whether you’re navigating AI at work, leading a team through transformation, or trying to make your next move with more clarity, this episode will help you start treating emotions as data. Inside This Episode: AI Grief Is Real: Discover why AI can trigger feelings of loss, mourning, fear, and identity disruption + why leaders shouldn’t rush people past those emotions. Emotion Is Data, Not Weakness: Cassandra explains why difficult emotions are signals that can help us understand what’s happening beneath the surface during organizational change. Build Your Signal Literacy: Learn how to recognize the physical and emotional cues that show up during change, and why getting better at reading those signals can help you move through uncertainty faster. Turn Signals Into Opportunities: Cassandra walks through the second step of Change Enthusiasm® and shows how curiosity can help you move from “What is happening to me?” to “What are my options?” Choose Your Response: Explore the final step (Choice) and how making an intentional decision can turn anxiety into anticipation and help you navigate change with greater agency. What to Do Now: Name the Signal: The next time you feel anxious, frustrated, angry, or discouraged at work, pause before trying to fix it. Ask: What is this emotion trying to tell me? Get Curious About the Opportunity: Once you’ve identified the signal, brainstorm your options. What could you do, learn, ask, change, or try? Make a Choice: Pick the response that feels most aligned with your values—not necessarily the one that eliminates all uncertainty. And if you’re stuck, talk it through with a trusted mentor, colleague, or friend. About the Guest Cassandra Worthy is the founder and CEO of Change Enthusiasm Global, a consulting and leadership development firm helping organizations build the emotional resilience to thrive through change. A former Fortune 100 innovation leader and chemical engineer, Cassandra spent years leading global teams through major corporate transformations before turning her own experiences with change into the Change Enthusiasm® framework. She is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and trusted advisor to CEOs, HR leaders, and culture-shapers at organizations including Google, Microsoft, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, and Kellogg. Through her work, she helps people move from simply going through change to growing through it. Leadership Playground Free Info Session on 9/29 Looking for a scalable, engaging way to support your HiPo talent with leadership development? Join improve it! for a 25-minute information session to explore Leadership Playground, our experiential leadership development membership designed to extend learning beyond one-time workshops. Discover how organizations are using live, improv-based learning to help HiPo managers strengthen communication, adaptability, confidence, and other essential skills. We'll walk through how the program works, what's included, and how it can complement your existing leadership development strategy. Register here! Connect with Cassandra Worthy Cassandra’s LinkedIn Cassandra’s personal website Cassandra’s company website, Change Enthusiasm Global 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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#367
September 2 · 23 min
367: Five Curiosity Practices that Took My Leadership to the Next Level
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin shares the story of how one question—“How do people actually do this?”—helped her go from improv workshop facilitator with zero keynote bookings to speaking on stages at Amazon, LinkedIn, and major association conferences. Along the way, she discovered that curiosity is a career-building practice. Erin breaks down the five curiosity practices she used to build her speaking career from scratch and how she applied those same practices to help team member Cristy von create her first keynote. Whether you’re navigating a career pivot, developing your leadership skills, or wondering what your next move should be, this episode will help you stop waiting for the perfect plan and start pulling the thread. Inside This Episode: Curiosity Is a Practice, Not a Personality Trait: Discover why curiosity can be intentionally practiced and how asking better questions can fuel career growth, leadership, adaptability, and collaboration. Study People Who’ve Already Done It: Erin shares why researching people who are already where you want to go can reveal the path, shortcuts, and questions you didn’t know to ask. Learn Before You Hire: Before investing in a coach, mentor, or course, Erin explains how free content can help you do your homework, find the right fit, and make smarter career development decisions. Borrow the Room Before You Build Your Own: From free speaking gigs to the “rubber chicken circuit,” Erin shares why small stages can become your curiosity lab for practicing, gathering feedback, and refining your skills. Get Curious About the Community: You don’t have to figure everything out alone. Learn how finding the right professional community can expand your perspective, strengthen your network, and help you understand where you fit. What to Do Now: Name Your Next Move: Identify one career move, skill, opportunity, or goal you want to pursue next. Don’t worry about the whole plan yet. Start with the question: How do people actually do this? Find the People Who Know: Identify two or three people who have already done the thing you want to do. Study their paths, content, and choices—and ask what you can learn from them. Learn Before You Invest: If you’re considering a coach, mentor, course, or program, start with their free content. Get curious before you get out your credit card. Your Freebie The Confident Leader’s Toolkit: Want to show up as a more confident, authentic leader without feeling like you have to perform? Download this practical 4-step guide to craft an intentional professional persona, so you can lead with clarity, confidence, and presence without burning yourself out. 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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#366
August 26 · 47 min
366: The Real Reason High Performers Burn Out Fast with Yana Carstens
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Yana Carstens, an integrative executive coach, to explore why high performers often burn out faster than anyone else—and why the solution isn’t always to simply lighten the workload. Yana makes the case that burnout is often a reflection of our internal operating system: the beliefs, identities, and patterns that shape how we respond to pressure, achievement, and success. If you've ever wondered why you can know you need better boundaries and still struggle to set them, this conversation is for you. Yana shares how somatic awareness, mindset recalibration, honest communication, and authentic connection can help you recognize the patterns driving exhaustion and create a more sustainable way to succeed. Inside This Episode: Burnout Is More Than a Workload Problem: Yana explains why burnout isn't always about having too much on your plate. For high performers, the deeper issue can be the internal wiring that tells us we need to be responsible, perfect, useful, or constantly achieving in order to feel worthy. Your Body Is Giving You Data: Physical signals like neck tension, shoulder aches, and anxiety aren't just inconveniences to push through. Yana shares how these signals can act like a dashboard, revealing when we're operating from old patterns or beliefs that no longer serve us. Your Strengths Can Become Your Blind Spots: Traits like responsibility, high standards, and a strong drive to help others can be powerful strengths—but they can also become “anchors” that keep us stuck. Yana explores how hyper-responsibility, perfectionism, and people-pleasing can quietly fuel burnout. Recalibrate Your Internal Operating System: Instead of automatically reacting to stress, Yana offers practical ways to pause, notice what's happening internally, and question the beliefs driving our responses. She shares tools for shifting from autopilot into more intentional, values-aligned action. Use Your Values as Your Wind: Yana uses the metaphor of a boat, anchors, and wind to explain the difference between disempowering beliefs that hold us back and core values that help us move forward. The goal isn't to eliminate stress, but to make sure we're navigating it in a direction that actually matters to us. What to Do Now: Notice Your Signals: The next time you feel tension, anxiety, irritation, or exhaustion, pause and ask what your body might be trying to tell you before you automatically push through. Question the Belief: When you notice yourself overworking, people-pleasing, or striving for perfection, ask: “What am I believing I have to do or prove right now?” Find Your North Star: Identify one core value that matters most to you right now, then consider whether your current habits, boundaries, and decisions are moving you toward it—or keeping you anchored. About the Guest Yana Carstens is an integrative executive coach who helps high-performing leaders understand the internal patterns that influence how they work, lead, and respond to stress. Through a combination of mindset work, somatic awareness, and practical coaching tools, Yana helps people recalibrate their internal operating systems so they can pursue meaningful success without sacrificing their well-being. Her work centers on helping leaders build greater self-awareness, healthier boundaries, authentic connection, and a more sustainable relationship with achievement. Your Freebie Networking doesn’t have to feel performative, transactional, or awkward. Download our Networking Without Feeling Weird toolkit for practical strategies to help you build genuine connections while staying confident, clear, and grounded. Whether you’re walking into a conference, meeting new colleagues, or simply trying to expand your circle, this two-part resource will help you network in a way that actually feels like you. Connect with Yana Carstens Yana’s LinkedIn Yana’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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#365
August 19 · 46 min
365: 74% of Working Moms Are Running on Empty. Now What?
“There is enough for everyone. Enough time, enough opportunity, enough resources, enough love, enough patience.” -Tiffany Sauder In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Tiffany Sauder, founder of Life of And, for a conversation about working motherhood, burnout, ambition, and building a life that actually feels sustainable. Tiffany challenges the idea that women simply need to “do more” or “manage their time better” and offers a more practical approach: build better systems, make intentional tradeoffs, and stop treating every season like it has to hold everything. Through her Life of And framework, Tiffany helps ambitious women navigate the tension between meaningful work and meaningful presence. From her “not now” list to her “size of your yes” method, she shares tools for making decisions that honor both your current season and the life you’re still building. Inside This Episode: Abundance Over Scarcity: Tiffany shares why her guiding word is abundance and how believing there is enough time, opportunity, energy, and love can change the way we approach career and family. Burnout Is a Systems Problem: Discover why burnout isn’t simply about being busy. Tiffany explains how putting in significant effort without feeling meaningful progress can leave high-achieving women depleted—and what to change instead. Every Yes Has a Hidden Cost: A “yes” doesn’t just take the time listed on the calendar. Learn how to account for prep, cleanup, transitions, logistics, and emotional energy before committing. From “I Can’t” to “I Don’t Know How Yet”: Tiffany explains how changing the language we use with ourselves can shift us from limitation and guilt toward ownership, creativity, and problem-solving. The Power of the “Not Now” List: You don’t have to abandon a dream just because it doesn’t fit your current season. Tiffany shares how parking an idea for later can create peace without closing the door on what matters to you. What to Do Now: Calculate the Real Size of One Yes: Pick one commitment on your calendar and calculate its true time cost, including preparation, transitions, cleanup, and emotional energy. Then ask: Is this still a yes? Create a “Not Now” List: Identify one goal, dream, or interest you’ve been feeling guilty about not pursuing. Instead of abandoning it, give yourself permission to say, “Not now.” Decide when you’ll revisit it. Find One Micro-Solution: Look at one recurring source of stress and ask: Can I outsource it, automate it, eliminate it, or approach it differently? You don’t have to redesign your whole life to create more margin. About the Guest Tiffany Sauder is the founder of Life of And, a platform dedicated to helping ambitious women navigate the intersection of career, leadership, motherhood, and caregiving without sacrificing their well-being. A wife and mom of four daughters, Tiffany brings both professional experience and lived experience to conversations about working motherhood. Through the Life of And Podcast, Life of And Program, and live events, Tiffany gives women practical frameworks for making confident choices in demanding seasons of life. Her work helps ambitious women move beyond guilt and perfectionism and build lives where career and family, leadership and presence, and achievement and well-being can coexist. Your Freebie Networking doesn’t have to feel performative, transactional, or awkward. Download our Networking Without Feeling Weird toolkit for practical strategies to help you build genuine connections while staying confident, clear, and grounded. Whether you’re walking into a conference, meeting new colleagues, or simply trying to expand your circle, this two-part resource will help you network in a way that actually feels like you. Connect with Tiffany Sauder Tiffany’s LinkedIn The Life of And program 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 Connect with Erin Diehl 🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page 🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker 📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training 💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin 📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Loved this episode? If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.
#364
August 12 · 26 min
364: How One Conversation Changed My Career
"Your next opportunity probably won't come from your resume. It'll come from a conversation." – Erin Diehl In this solo episode of Workday Playdate, Erin shares the true story of how one cold email, one coffee meeting, and one unexpected dinner led to improve it!'s very first paying client. If networking has ever felt awkward, transactional, or downright exhausting, this episode will completely reframe the way you build professional relationships. Erin introduces her BREW IT networking framewo
#363
August 5 · 46 min
363: Why Your Nervous System Runs the Meeting with Lani Gonzales
"The goal isn't to collect more gold stars. It's to create a life that's achingly beautiful." – Lani Gonzales In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Lani Gonzales to explore why so many high achievers end up feeling exhausted, disconnected, and stuck chasing the next accomplishment. After leaving a successful legal career and walking more than 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago, Lani discovered that sustainable success is fueled by play. If you've ever felt like your product
#362
July 29 · 40 min
362: ADA at Work: What to Say in the Moment with Rachel Shaw
“The real failure of inclusion happens in the moments when someone hesitates.” – Rachel Shaw In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Rachel Shaw to explore what it really takes to build inclusive workplaces that work in real time. In a world full of well-intentioned initiatives, Rachel makes the case that true inclusion is ultimately a human skill. If you've ever wondered how leaders can create cultures where people feel genuinely seen, supported, and empowered, this conversat
#361
July 28 · 31 min
361: The Unexpected Career Power of Improv with Nnamdi Ngwe
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Emmy Award-winning writer, actor, comedian, facilitator, and longtime improve it! family member Nnamdi Ngwe to explore why the most valuable career skills often come from the places you least expect. From playing college soccer to performing with The Second City, creating viral content, facilitating workshops for global organizations, and winning an Emmy, Nnamdi's career is proof that following your curiosity can lead to opportunities you
#360
July 22 · 22 min
360: Confidence Hacks for Speaking Up at Work
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin explores why speaking up at work has far less to do with competence and far more to do with confidence. If you've ever left a meeting thinking, "I should have said something," you're not alone—and you're probably more prepared than you think. If you've ever had the perfect idea thirty seconds too late, watched someone else say what you were thinking, or struggled to find your voice in meetings, this conversation is for you. Using improv principles and p
#359
July 21 · 24 min
359: The 5 Lessons: What a Month in Asia Taught Me About Thinking on Your Feet
“Sometimes you have to leave home to see home.” In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin takes listeners on a journey through Shanghai, Singapore, and Bali to unpack what a month abroad taught her about thinking on her feet and appreciating the life waiting back home. What starts as an international travel adventure quickly becomes a masterclass in working parenthood, and the improv mindset required when every plan goes sideways. If you've ever had to pivot quickly, parent imperfectly, navig
#358
July 15 · 38 min
358: How Quick Coffee Chats Can Transform Work Culture with Rosalind Cohen
“Connection is the foundation of effective leadership.” -Dr. Rosalind Cohen In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Dr. Rosalind Cohen to explore why authentic human connection is the foundation of effective leadership. In a world filled with engagement surveys, Dr. Roz makes the case that what people truly want at work is something much simpler: to feel seen, valued, and like they belong. If you've ever wondered why some workplace cultures thrive while others struggle, this c
#357
July 14 · 31 min
357: Tarot Cards and Hard Work Decisions with Phylicia McLeod
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Phylicia McLeod to explore why thinking on your feet has less to do with having the right answer and more to do with trusting yourself. As an improviser, facilitator, teacher, and performer with the The Second City National Touring Company, Phylicia has built a career around navigating uncertainty in real time. If you've ever found yourself overthinking a decision, freezing under pressure, or wishing you trusted your instincts more, this
#356
July 8 · 21 min
356: Your Intuition Is Your Career Superpower
In this solo episode of Workday Playdate, Erin explores why your intuition might be the most underutilized leadership skill you have. In a world obsessed with data and overthinking, Erin makes the case for trusting the wisdom you've already earned through experience. If you've ever ignored a gut feeling only to say, "I knew it," two weeks later, this episode is for you. Using cognitive science to practical exercises for better decision-making, Erin shares how to stop outsourcing your knowing an
#355
July 7 · 28 min
355: Think Fast Without Panicking at Work
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with John Ulrich and Olga Flores to explore how improvisation can help teams think faster without panicking. As leaders at Antunes, John and Olga have spent the last three years partnering with improve it! to build a culture of adaptability, communication, and creativity across their organization. If you've ever wondered how to help your team respond instead of react under pressure, this conversation is packed with practical insights and one u
#354
July 1 · 53 min
354: The Improv Advantage in Leadership with Anne Libera
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Anne Libera to explore how improvisation can unlock stronger leadership. From flow states and vulnerability to humor and human behavior, Anne shares why improv is about discovering what's possible. If you've ever wanted to lead with more creativity, communicate with more confidence, or simply become more yourself at work, this episode is for you.Inside This Episode:Discovery Is the Real Superpower: Anne unpacks why the heart of improv—and

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