Mental Health in the workplace is top of mind, especially these days. With all that’s going on in the world, Covid continuing to upend plans, and burnout running rampant through organizations, leaders need practical, tactical solutions to helping their people (and themselves!) deal with mental health challenges. So on this final day of Mental Health Awareness month, Erica moderates a mental health roundtable discussion featuring leading experts in the diversity, inclusion, and belonging space. O...
May 31, 2022•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 10
What does it take to scale a business from an idea to unicorn status? Suneera Madhani would say to look to family values—specifically the ones her Pakistani parents instilled in her. With her brother, Suneera co-founded Stax Payments, a fintech platform now processing $23 billion in payments, so it’s clear that these immigrant family values are working. Suneera speaks with Erica about her three-bucket principle to prioritizing what matters most, Stax’s rituals around shared meals, why they’ve ch...
May 10, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Contrary to popular belief, the highest performing teams are not necessarily conflict free. In fact, healthy disagreement—or creative friction—leads to more innovation, more trust, better ideas, and higher performance. Amy Gallo, author, podcast host, and contributing editor at Harvard Business Review , sits down with Erica on this week’s episode to discuss how to disagree in a human way. This conversation equips leaders and employees alike to build trust and psychological safety in relationship...
May 03, 2022•40 min•Season 4Ep. 8
When Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy pitched their second book, Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay , to their publisher in January 2020, the authors were met with questions about its relevance. Fast forward six months (and three months into a new and terrifying global pandemic), and the publisher recognized this was, in fact, a very relevant book to publish. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. In these turbulent times, with millions participating in The Gr...
Apr 26, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Gary Ware was working as a VP at a digital ad agency when he realized that being completely depleted, feeling broken, and having no drive to do anything was perhaps *not* normal. Gary was experiencing what many of us have faced, especially during the pandemic—burnout. So Gary took an improv class and realized play is what was missing in his life. On the podcast this week, Gary chats with Erica about his journey from burnout to breakthrough by incorporating play and games into the work day. He il...
Apr 19, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Few activities prepare a young person for the world of work better than participation in team sports. With skills like leadership, performance under pressure, work ethic, teamwork, problem solving, and the ability to strategize, athletes are naturally set up to be successful. And that’s just what this week’s guest, former Team USA Women’s Hockey team captain and three-time Olympic medalist, Meghan Duggan, has found. Meghan joined Erica on the podcast to discuss her transition from leading the Ol...
Apr 12, 2022•27 min•Season 4Ep. 5
From a one-man business consultant working out of a spare bedroom in 2007 to a team of 100 employees, 1 billion dollars secured in business financing, and a leading fintech marketplace for small businesses, Joe Camberato—or, Grow By Joe, as he’s known on the internet—knows a thing or two about growth. Which makes sense, because Joe’s mission is to help drive growth, both for clients and employees. So how does he do it? This week on the podcast, Joe Camberato, founder and CEO of National Business...
Apr 05, 2022•23 min•Season 4Ep. 4
How do we shift society as a whole towards more diversity and inclusion? It starts with the people and brands defining culture itself—“the icons, visionaries, renowned experts, award-winners, champions, leading brands and institutions.” And nowhere do they influence culture more than at Endeavor, a company that represents this top tier talent in sports, entertainment, fashion, live events, and media. On this episode, Erica spoke with Alicin Williamson, Chief Inclusion Officer, and Nicholas Grigg...
Mar 29, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Whether joining a meeting from Zoom, on a walk, or in-person, Jeannie Weaver knows that intentional connection is key to how she leads a team of 45+ in the retail marketing and special experiences space at AT&T. The pandemic disrupted so much, but it never changed—only reinforced—her approach to leadership: start with people. Her team has been able to thrive through these turbulent times by recognizing individual contribution, curating experiences together, and focusing on gratitude. In this epi...
Mar 21, 2022•26 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Food is a vessel for connecting people. It helps build community and break down barriers. That’s the vision behind Season Four’s first guest, James-Beard-award-winning chef, TV personality, and author, Chef JJ Johnson. Chef JJ’s most recent restaurant venture, FIELDTRIP, is a made-to-order dining experience based around rice, as it’s the universal ingredient that connects us all and can be found at the center of the table in almost every community. In this episode, Erica and Chef JJ discuss the ...
Mar 14, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Here we are, two years after March 2020, when everything changed. Things are FAR from back to normal. People are quitting their jobs in record numbers. Mental health challenges remain at an all-time high. And flexibility isn’t going anywhere. So how do leaders retain top talent and run their businesses during all this uncertainty? On Season 4 of Left to Our Own Devices, Erica is asking, “Now What?” And leaders from all walks of life will help her find the answer.
Mar 08, 2022•2 min
What’s a human leader to do as we all try to figure out how to navigate the future of work? There are so many variables right now around the return to the office, working from home, hybrid models, and everything in between, that it can be tough to make the smartest and safest decisions. And we can’t do this difficult work alone. That’s why for the finale of the Hybrid season of Left to Our Own Devices, we’re running a special episode: a live webinar (previously recorded) from keynote speaker, be...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 11
We’re half way through summer, which means the official “return to office” date, the day after Labor Day, is fast approaching. Many companies expect that their employees will be back in the office in some capacity. Which means NOW is the time to be thinking about how to navigate that transition. Enter executive start up coach Alisa Cohn and her client, co-founder and CEO of startup Common Paper, Jake Stein, to chat with Erica about how they’re both figuring out this transition time. In the episo...
Jul 13, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 10
For the July 4th holiday week, we’re replaying the Season Two finale, featuring Eve Rodsky. As the discussion around Hybrid work and equity around the Return (or not) to the Office continues to heat up, Eve’s perspective on how women are impacted is ever important. As one woman noted to me recently, “I want to take advantage of my company’s offer to work from home on Thursday, but the two men on my team aren’t going to do it.” Women especially want flex, but don’t want to be left behind if they’...
Jul 06, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 9
The pandemic accelerated several workplace trends, but none more rapidly than the conversation around holistic well-being. How do we think about wellness at work? How do we integrate work and life instead of trying to force an impossible balance? How has the pandemic changed our view of well-being in a way that’s holistic and gives mental health equal weight? At the end of the day, “We bring work to life by bringing life to work.” This week on the podcast, Erica chats with two women leading the ...
Jun 29, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 8
What’s important to you? What are your non-negotiables? What are your goals? When it comes to negotiating what’s best for each person in the hybrid workplace, answering those questions is a great place to start, says Mori Taheripour, this week’s guest on Left to Our Own Devices. Mori is a globally recognized negotiation and DEI expert, executive, Wharton professor, and author of Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connections to Negotiate Fearlessly. Erica and Mori discuss why it’s impor...
Jun 22, 2021•33 min•Season 3Ep. 7
How do the leaders of one of the biggest and most successful tech companies in the world lead in the Hybrid Revolution? With a figure-it-out mindset. Today on the podcast, Erica chats with Colette Stallbaumer, General Manager of Microsoft 365 and Future of Work at Microsoft. Colette explains Microsoft's approach to Hybrid work—it’s centered around a three-part framework: people, places, and processes. They’re using technology and research to implement best practices around empowering managers, h...
Jun 15, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 6
How do you develop great talent in turbulent times? What about for a future of work which has never yet existed? By being a people-first leader. This week on Left to Our Own Devices , Erica sits down with Susan Justus, VP of Talent Development at Betterment, a digital automated investment platform. Susan has spent many years in the talent development space and understands that building relationships with people “beyond the task” (part of The Betterment Way) is key. To develop employees with clar...
Jun 08, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 5
As we start thinking about the epic “Return to the Office,” many are thinking about space and how it can be used more intentionally for collaboration, creativity, and productivity. Peter Knutson, chief strategy officer at architecture firm A+I and Bastien Baumann, chief design officer at Publicis Groupe join Erica on the podcast this week to discuss this very topic. A+I and Publicis Groupe partnered together to form Le Truc, “a New York City-based center of creative excellence for clients, conve...
May 25, 2021•39 min•Season 3Ep. 4
When Covid hit, several industries were hit hard, but some thrived immensely. One such industry that’s seen a huge uptick in business this past year has been the pet industry, as 11 million households got a new pet in 2020. Wow! That’s a lot of new family members. But Banfield Pet Hospital is here to help new pet owners manage all that animal energy. On this week’s episode, Erica sits down with Banfield Pet Hospital president, Brian Garish, to talk all things cats, dogs, and leadership in the (h...
May 18, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 3
This week on Left to Our Own Devices, Erica sits down with Denielle Pemberton-Heard, Chief Legal Officer and managing director at Diversified Search Group, a woman-founded search firm that recruits leadership through a DE&I lens. Denielle is the perfect person to chat with about leading in this moment. As part of an organization that prioritizes giving underrepresented people a seat at the table, Denielle shares that now more than ever, it’s important to prioritize this framework of recruiting, ...
May 11, 2021•30 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On the first episode of Season Three of Left to Our Own Devices , Erica welcomes Beto Guajardo, President of Atlanta-based Focus Brands International, a leading developer of some of the most iconic and beloved brands in the foodservice industry—including Schlotzky’s, Cinnabon, Carvel, and Auntie Anne’s, among others. Long time friends from Kellogg Business School, Erica and Beto discuss what it was like for Beto to move into a new role in the middle of a pandemic, the long game to building up em...
May 04, 2021•34 min•Season 3Ep. 1
We’re over a year into a global pandemic, and the world of work has changed in countless ways. As vaccines continue to roll out and restrictions start to lift, we’re seeing companies and leaders from every industry try to navigate how, when, and why they’ll return (if at all!) to the office. The Hybrid Revolution is here. On Season 3 of Left to Our Own Devices, Erica Keswin sits down with the leaders and executives facing this challenge head on.
Apr 27, 2021•2 min
On the season finale of Season Two: The Rituals Edition, Erica has an incredible guest—keynote speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and equality evangelist, Eve Rodsky. Shaped by a difficult upbringing with a single mother in New York City, Eve learned important lessons early on around resilience, responsibility, and care. In this episode, you’ll hear about her first ritual—going to a march related to social justice every year on her birthday with her mother, as well as her current ritual...
Feb 02, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 15
On this episode of Left to Our Own Devices , the tables have been turned! In honor of the launch of Erica’s new book, Rituals Roadmap , Erica sits down on the other side of the interview hot seat with author and multigenerational workplace expert, Lindsey Pollak. On this episode, Erica and Lindsey discuss Erica’s career journey, the moment Erica decided to write the second book (at an Italian restaurant over a glass of red wine), as well as how we can tell what a ritual is, how rituals have anch...
Jan 26, 2021•33 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Something as simple as asking, “How was your day?” can make a huge impact. That’s what the people at GoHealth Urgent Care learned when they began a simple but powerful ritual: an End Of Day report from each of their healthcare clinics summarizing the day. This brief email summary has kept everyone at GoHealth connected and energized, especially during the relentless slog of the pandemic. On this week’s episode Erica sits down with Andy Biga, GoHealth’s Chief People Officer, to chat about the EOD...
Jan 19, 2021•30 min•Season 2Ep. 13
When Covid hit, many businesses struggled. Some even closed. But for Chipotle, business has been booming. And it’s no surprise as to why (besides the delicious food, of course) when you ask their Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer, Marissa Andrada. Which is exactly what Erica did for this week’s episode. Andrada shares how everything Chipotle does is based on their values, which reinforce their purpose to cultivate a better world. And these values have led the charge in Covid times wh...
Jan 12, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 12
For a company whose whole technology platform was dedicated to getting people OFF technology, the pandemic forced Meetup to stop and reframe their purpose as facilitating connection in meaningful and safe ways. CEO David Siegel chats with Erica on this week’s episode about how they managed this pivot, how virtual events have opened up global access, the four components of a great Meetup, their future plans to go back to the office by building an immersive community experience, and expanding thei...
Jan 05, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 11
If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that a lot of the changes that were on the way have been accelerated into fruition. Take fitness—there had already been a trend toward connected fitness (boutique and home fitness merged) and then the pandemic hit, sending this change into overdrive. Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, the former Head of Marketing of Peloton and the rest of the team over at Peloton have seen this acceleration happen in real time. On this week’s episode of Left to Our Own Devices, ...
Dec 22, 2020•38 min•Season 2Ep. 10
On this week’s episode of Left to Our Own Devices, Erica sits down with an old friend and the woman who inspired it all. Ashley Peterson, originally Erica’s Starbucks barista on the Upper West Side and now managing her own Starbucks in Midtown, was the catalyst for Erica’s first book, Bring Your Human to Work, after the two shared a very intentional, “human” moment one morning. Ashley just gets it. From getting to know her patrons, their kids, their orders, and even their nannies, to empowering ...
Dec 15, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 9
