The Mirror in the Machine: What AI Use Reveals About the Modern Empathy Gap
A year ago, a Reddit post went viral with the blunt headline: “PSA: CHAT GPT IS A TOOL. NOT YOUR FRIEND.” Its author aimed to warn people about the risks of relying on AI for emotional support, pointing to tragic real-world consequences and the fact that AI is not a licensed therapist.
But the delivery was telling…
From the Line to the Lead: How a Professional Kitchen Taught Me the Truth About Culture
We’ve all heard the phrase: "If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
It’s usually said as a badge of honour; a warning that high-performance environments are intense, demanding, and not for the faint-hearted.
But here’s what working in a professional kitchen taught me: Heat doesn’t create dysfunction.
It reveals it…
Finding Your Voice: Anthems for Workplace Transformation (A 5-Song Roadmap to Heart-Centered Leadership)
Music serves as both a mirror for society and our emotions, while also acting as a catalyst for change. It captures cultural, social, and personal struggles, and can inspire listeners to consider their role in shaping the world: encouraging empathy, courage, and collective action.
The following five songs take us on a journey from 2019 back to 1983…
Trust and Psychological Safety: The 3 Values Every Leader Needs
Psychological safety has exploded in the leadership conversation. Google searches for the term have increased dramatically since 2016, with a sharp spike in recent years. Google's Project Aristotle brought it to the spotlight. Amy Edmondson's decades of research built the foundation. It's becoming an essential part of the conversation about high-performing teams, and for good reason. Teams with psychological safety perform better, innovate faster, and retain talent longer…
Good Fortune (2025): Reflections on Workplace Culture, Collective Power, and Why This Film Matters
Contains spoilers for Good Fortune (2025).
I walked out of Aziz Ansari's Good Fortune in tears, which completely surprised me for a comedy. I was expecting a lighthearted story about a life swap between a struggling gig worker and a wealthy venture capitalist, but what I found was a sophisticated exploration of collective power, workplace inequality, and the slow, exhausting work of creating systemic change.
What struck me immediately was the extraordinary representation - Aziz Ansari himself, Keanu Reeves, Sandra Oh, Keke Palmer, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Wil Sylvince, Felipe Garcia Martinez, Blanca Araceli, Sherry Cola, Seth Rogen, Joe Mande... and the list goes on. The casting felt authentically inclusive of real world diversity.
As someone who's spent the past four years doing private advocacy work around workplace culture, this film hit me in ways I wasn't prepared for…