In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Ashlie Marshall about the importance of empathetic leadership in the modern world of work. Ashlie Marshall is a results-driven Chief Strategy Officer at Tier Level who transforms digital marketing challenges into growth opportunities. Since joining the company in 2018, she rapidly advanced from Account Manager to CSO through her exceptional ability to build client relationships and deliver measurable business outcomes. In her current role, Ashlie collaborates with business owners to develop customized digital marketing strategies that align with their organizational culture while driving revenue growth. She simultaneously leads Tier Level's strategic initiatives, establishing infrastructure that positions the company as an industry leader. Ashlie's professional journey reflects her determination to overcome obstacles and help others succeed. Her balanced perspective as a strategist, marketing professional, team leader, wife, and mother informs her holistic approach to business challenges. Through authentic partnerships and forward-thinking leadership, Ashlie continues to create meaningful impact for clients and colleagues alike. Check out all of the podcasts in the HCI Podcast Network (https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/HCI) !

This research highlights the persistent gap between leadership training and actual workplace application, noting that organizational culture often hinders the use of new skills. To overcome this, the research proposes evidence-based strategies that involve preparation before training, active managerial support, and the creation of psychologically safe environments for experimentation. Successful learning transfer requires aligning performance systems so that newly taught behaviors are incentivized rather than discouraged. The research emphasizes that improving leadership capability is an organizational responsibility involving shared ownership among executives, managers, and participants. Ultimately, shifting from isolated training events to a continuous learning culture is essential for securing a return on development investments.

Many organizations invest heavily in leadership training, yet often fail to see meaningful changes in workplace behavior after the training ends. This widespread issue, known as the transfer problem, occurs when skills learned in training sessions do not translate into practical application on the job. Despite the optimism surrounding leadership development programs, employees frequently revert to old habits due to a lack of ongoing support, organizational alignment, and real-world practice opportunities. The video highlights six key reasons why learning transfer fails: lack of contextual relevance, insufficient managerial support, misaligned organizational systems, inadequate opportunities for safe practice, fear of failure, and low learner motivation. To overcome these challenges, organizations must shift from viewing training as a one-time event to designing a comprehensive learning journey that integrates preparation before training, active involvement of managers, safe practice environments, and alignment of performance and reward systems with desired behaviors. By fostering a supportive ecosystem and embedding leadership development into daily work life, organizations can enhance the impact of training investments and cultivate a sustainable learning culture. The video concludes with practical steps organizations can implement immediately to improve training outcomes, emphasizing that transformation starts with small, manageable actions. Highlights 🌱 Leadership training often fails to produce lasting behavioral change due to lack of real-world application. 🛠️ Six key barriers to learning transfer include context disconnect, manager support gaps, and misaligned systems. 🤝 Manager involvement before, during, and after training is critical to reinforce new skills. 🎯 Learning must be tied to real work challenges to boost relevance and motivation. 🛡️ Psychological safety and safe practice environments enable skill development and risk-taking. 🔄 Organizational performance and reward systems must align with the leadership behaviors being taught. 🚀 Small, focused actions can kickstart broader cultural change and improve training ROI. Key Insights 🌍 Contextual Relevance is Crucial: Training disconnected from day-to-day realities becomes abstract and difficult to apply. When learners practice skills using scenarios directly related to their own work challenges, the learning becomes meaningful and actionable. This insight emphasizes the importance of customizing training content to reflect real organizational problems, which enhances engagement and the likelihood of behavior change. 👩‍💼 Managerial Support Drives Transfer: Managers play a pivotal role in reinforcing learning. Without their support, enthusiasm for new behaviors wanes quickly. By preparing managers with knowledge of the training content and equipping them with coaching tools, organizations create a continuous feedback loop that sustains motivation and guides learners in applying new skills. This highlights the often overlooked but critical role of line managers as learning enablers. ⚖️ Alignment of Systems Ensures Consistency: Performance reviews, promotion criteria, and reward mechanisms must reflect the leadership behaviors promoted in training. When organizational incentives contradict the desired behaviors, employees naturally prioritize actions that benefit their career progression. Aligning systems sends a clear message about what is valued, making it easier for learners to integrate new skills without conflicting pressures. 🎭 Safe Practice Spaces Foster Competence: Leadership skills are practical and behavioral, requiring repeated, low-risk practice to build confidence. Structured role plays, peer coaching, and action learning sets provide psychologically safe environments where learners can experiment, make mistakes, and refine their approach before applying skills in critical situations. This insight underscores that one-off training events are insufficient; skill mastery demands ongoing practice. 😨 Psychological Safety Mitigates Fear of Failure: Fear of making mistakes inhibits innovation and application of new approaches. A culture that punishes errors drives people toward the safety of familiar routines. Leaders must model and encourage a growth mindset where trying and failing is accepted as part of learning. Cultivating psychological safety is essential for fostering creativity and genuine behavioral change. If this helped, please like and share to spread these evidence-based leadership development insights. #LeadershipDevelopment #LearningTransfer #HR #LD OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Why New Skills Don't Stick 00:01:16 - The Reality Of Application 00:02:51 - The Six Culprits Of Failed Learning Transfer 00:04:23 - Practice, Safety, And Motivation 00:05:49 - Practical Steps For Making Training Work 00:07:13 - From Classroom To Culture 00:08:41 - Making Transfer Happen Today 00:10:13 - Five Actions To Start This Week

This episode breaks down why most leadership programs stop short of real workplace change and shows evidence-based ways to close the gap. Learn practical, research-backed strategies—pre-training motivation, manager-led support, psychological safety, aligned performance systems, and integrated learning architectures—that help leaders apply and sustain new behaviors.

This conversation explores the persistent transfer gap in leadership development, where expensive training often fails to translate into actual workplace performance. The author argues that successful learning application is an organizational system challenge rather than just an instructional design issue. To bridge this gap, they recommend integrated strategies such as fostering managerial support, ensuring psychological safety, and aligning performance management systems with new behaviors. Evidence suggests that individual motivation and a supportive organizational culture are more critical to success than the training content itself. Ultimately, they provide a framework for transforming leadership programs from isolated events into sustainable drivers of competitive advantage. 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 Kathryn Landis about effectively leading diverse teams. Kathryn Landis helps organizations accelerate success by empowering growth-minded leaders and their teams with executive coaching, team coaching, offsites, and leadership development training in today's dynamic business environment. Kathryn's insights and strategies have gained recognition in prestigious publications like Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes, further establishing her reputation as a sought-after expert in the field. She holds an MBA from Northwestern University, Certificate in Executive and Organizational Coaching from Columbia University, Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and BS from Indiana University. Moreover, Kathryn is a National Diversity Council Certified Diversity Professional (NDCCDP), Associate Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation (ACC) and Professor of C-Suite Leadership New York University.

This research explores the critical intersection of artificial intelligence and human autonomy within the modern workplace. It argues that while AI can significantly boost productivity, it risks undermining individual agency if workers lose the ability to understand, challenge, or control algorithmic outputs. To prevent skill degradation and professional alienation, the research suggests implementing transparency architectures and involving employees directly in the design of AI workflows. Organizations must move beyond mere technical deployment to cultivate hybrid expertise, ensuring that human judgment remains the primary driver of decision-making. Ultimately, the research advocates for a values-centered approach where technology serves to enhance human flourishing rather than simply automating tasks for efficiency.

This video explores the profound impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the modern workplace, emphasizing the tension between increasing automation and preserving human agency. It opens by illustrating a dystopian scenario where AI acts as a rigid, unfeeling manager, issuing instructions without room for human judgment or interaction. Though AI offers undeniable benefits—such as processing vast amounts of data quickly and handling repetitive tasks—it also poses risks by potentially undermining human skills, judgment, and decision-making power. The core concept introduced is human agency, defined as the individual’s ability to actively shape their work, understand AI-driven advice, and continue to develop professionally. Human agency consists of three dimensions: operational control (hands-on decision-making), epistemic control (understanding and questioning knowledge), and developmental control (opportunities for growth and learning). The video stresses that AI should serve as a partner that enhances, rather than replaces, human expertise. Examples such as doctors using AI to detect diseases or teachers employing AI for grading assistance illustrate how AI can free professionals to focus on complex, human-centered tasks. However, poorly designed AI—characterized by opaque decision-making and lack of transparency—can erode trust and reduce workers to passive executors of machine commands. To harness AI responsibly, organizations must prioritize transparency, involve workers early in design and deployment, provide adequate training, and establish governance frameworks. These steps ensure AI tools empower rather than disempower, maintaining meaningful human control in a rapidly evolving work environment. Highlights 🤖 AI is transforming workplaces by automating data-heavy and repetitive tasks. 🧠 Human agency is critical to maintaining control and meaning at work amid AI integration. ⚙️ Human agency includes operational control, epistemic control, and developmental control. 🩺 AI can assist professionals like doctors and teachers, enhancing decision-making and reducing burnout. 🚫 Poorly designed AI systems can strip workers of understanding and autonomy. 🔍 Transparency in AI systems fosters trust and informed decision-making. 👥 Involving workers in AI design and deployment ensures better adoption and preserves human control. Key Insights 🤖 AI as a double-edged sword: efficiency vs. autonomy AI significantly increases efficiency by automating tedious tasks, but this efficiency can come at the cost of reducing human autonomy. When AI dictates decisions without human input or explanation, workers risk becoming mere executors of machine commands, which diminishes job satisfaction and professional growth. Balancing AI’s speed and accuracy with human judgment is essential to avoid dehumanizing workplaces. 🧠 Human agency: the cornerstone of meaningful work Human agency is not just about having a job but about being an active participant in it. It empowers individuals to make decisions, understand the basis for those decisions, and continue developing skills. Without agency, work becomes monotonous and demoralizing. Recognizing and preserving agency helps sustain motivation, creativity, and ethical responsibility in the workplace. ⚙️ Three dimensions of human agency provide a useful framework Operational control allows workers to shape how tasks are done, ensuring flexibility and customization. Epistemic control empowers workers to question AI outputs critically, preventing blind reliance on algorithms and encouraging informed skepticism. Developmental control ensures workers continue to grow professionally, avoiding skill atrophy as AI takes over routine functions. This tripartite model can guide AI integration strategies. 🩺 AI as an augmentation tool, not a replacement Well-designed AI acts like a brilliant assistant, handling repetitive tasks and augmenting human expertise rather than replacing it. For instance, in medicine, AI can rapidly analyze scans to flag concerns but cannot replace a doctor’s judgment that incorporates patient history and ethical considerations. Similarly, AI can handle grammar checks for teachers but cannot replace personalized feedback. This synergy enhances productivity and job satisfaction. 🚫 Opaque AI systems undermine trust and efficacy Black-box AI systems that provide no explanation for their decisions erode epistemic control, leaving workers frustrated and powerless. This opacity can lead to mistakes going undetected if the AI’s hidden logic is flawed. Transparency is crucial to build trust and allow workers to validate or challenge AI outputs, which is vital for safety-critical fields and complex decision-making. #HumanAgency #ExplainableAI #AIGovernance OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - The New Boss Is A Bot? + Defining Agency 00:02:31 - Agency Dimensions + AI’s Two Faces 00:05:12 - Guardrails, Governance, and a Human-Centered Future