Featuring scholarly and practitioner insights from HR and people leaders, industry experts, and researchers.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Milica McDowell about encouraging and incentivizing walking programs for employees. Dr. Milica McDowell is a dynamic healthcare leader and educator with over 20 years of clinical, entrepreneurial, and academic expertise in physical therapy and e-learning innovation. Currently serving as Associate Vice President of Education at U.S. Physical Therapy, she spearheads strategic partnerships with professional PT and OT schools and drives student engagement across the organization's national platforms while supporting over 140 partner brands. Previously, Dr. McDowell led Physitrack's global e-learning division, Physicourses, where she oversaw a multidisciplinary team and collaborated with prestigious institutions including Gray Institute, Evidence in Motion, and the Hospital for Special Surgery. In this capacity, she launched evidence-based professional education programs for medical and wellness practitioners worldwide. Her career spans diverse leadership roles across academia and entrepreneurship. As Adjunct Faculty at Montana State University, she mentored students in human performance. She has also held leadership positions in startups across orthopedics, fitness, biomechanics analytics, and medical equipment sectors. Her entrepreneurial success includes two M&A exits, with two additional exits in future planning. Dr. McDowell holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Idaho State University, where she researched risk factors for non-contact knee injuries in young athletes, and an MSPT from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She is scheduled to begin her MBA at USC's Marshall School of Business in fall 2025. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this HCI Webinar, I talk with Priya Nalkur about redefining leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Priya Nalkur, Ed.D. is the President of the RoundTable Institute where she leads a global group of coaches and facilitators to help companies build more inclusive leaders and workplaces. She is a professional speaker, coach and facilitator and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Heller School for Social Policy and has several courses on Udemy for Business. She is the author of the recent book (2024) Stumbling Towards Inclusion: Finding Grace in Imperfect Leadership.

In this HCI Webinar, I talk with Ryan C. Warner about how leaders can effectively develop and apply emotional intelligence to enhance their leadership skills and improve team performance. Ryan C. Warner, PhD is a globally-recognized speaker, award-winning psychologist, published author, and esteemed executive coach. As the Chief Executive Officer of RC Warner Consulting, he strengthens organizational performance by boosting inclusion and mental wellness in the workplace for high-performing organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and government entities. He is passionate about supporting high-performing leaders in reaching the top 1% of their industry through improved leadership development and emotional intelligence. Through his captivating speaking, coaching, and consulting solutions, Dr. Warner empowers workplaces to achieve success by cultivating a positive and fulfilling work culture where all employees thrive. Dr. Warner has been a featured guest on numerous podcasts, has spoken on various radio/TV shows, and has authored a wealth of scholarly research articles, reaching millions worldwide.

This researchoutlines a transition from viewing artificial intelligence as a mere utility to integrating it as a deliberate teammate within professional innovation. Effective human-AI collaboration requires moving beyond simple procurement toward a structured design approach that clearly defines the machine's role, initiation methods, and cognitive functions. Research indicates that while AI can significantly boost team productivity and creativity, poor implementation can lead to eroded judgment and performance regressions if trust and transparency are not carefully managed. To succeed, organizations must cultivate multidisciplinary development teams and adaptive governance models that prioritize mutual situation awareness and ethical stewardship. Ultimately, the research argue that the value of AI is not found in the technology alone but in the intentional architecture of the partnership between humans and machines.

This researchoutlines a transition from viewing artificial intelligence as a mere utility to integrating it as a deliberate teammate within professional innovation. Effective human-AI collaboration requires moving beyond simple procurement toward a structured design approach that clearly defines the machine's role, initiation methods, and cognitive functions. Research indicates that while AI can significantly boost team productivity and creativity, poor implementation can lead to eroded judgment and performance regressions if trust and transparency are not carefully managed. To succeed, organizations must cultivate multidisciplinary development teams and adaptive governance models that prioritize mutual situation awareness and ethical stewardship. Ultimately, the research argue that the value of AI is not found in the technology alone but in the intentional architecture of the partnership between humans and machines. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this podcast, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Priya Nalkur about redefining leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Priya Nalkur, Ed.D. is the President of the RoundTable Institute where she leads a global group of coaches and facilitators to help companies build more inclusive leaders and workplaces. She is a professional speaker, coach and facilitator and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Heller School for Social Policy and has several courses on Udemy for Business. She is the author of the recent book (2024) Stumbling Towards Inclusion: Finding Grace in Imperfect Leadership. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Abstract: Human-AI collaboration (HAIC) has moved from research curiosity to strategic priority for organizations pursuing faster, more inventive, and more reliable innovation outcomes. Many implementations underperform, however, because leaders treat artificial intelligence as a generic productivity tool rather than as a designed teammate whose role, capabilities, and trust requirements must match the task. This article synthesizes recent scholarship and practitioner experience into a structured playbook for executives, design leaders, and human resources partners. It argues that the value of HAIC depends on three deliberate design choices: who initiates the collaboration, how broad the AI's knowledge scope must be, and whether the cognitive mode is analytical or synthetic. Drawing on engineering design, aerospace, industrial product development, hospitality, and mental health contexts, the discussion translates research findings into operating practices, governance structures, and capability investments. The contribution is practical: a clearer way to decide what kind of AI teammate to build, deploy, and trust for any given problem. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This researchoutlines a transition from viewing artificial intelligence as a mere utility to integrating it as a deliberate teammate within professional innovation. Effective human-AI collaboration requires moving beyond simple procurement toward a structured design approach that clearly defines the machine's role, initiation methods, and cognitive functions. Research indicates that while AI can significantly boost team productivity and creativity, poor implementation can lead to eroded judgment and performance regressions if trust and transparency are not carefully managed. To succeed, organizations must cultivate multidisciplinary development teams and adaptive governance models that prioritize mutual situation awareness and ethical stewardship. Ultimately, the research argue that the value of AI is not found in the technology alone but in the intentional architecture of the partnership between humans and machines. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.