Episodes

Everybody says they're behind on AI. Behind what, exactly? That's the question at the center of our conversation with Susan Sanders, back on the podcast after her first visit during COVID. Susan has spent three years working almost exclusively on AI adoption inside organizations. What she sees is a lot of companies winning a race that looks like running on a treadmill. They're burning calories. They can see their pace. They're still standing in the same gym. She unpacks the difference between...

We sit down with Elycia Cook, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Colorado, to get real about what mentoring is and what it is not, from safety and matching to the slow work of earning trust. We also dig into “mentor life,” the ripple effect from one consistent relationship, and why showing up beats being perfect every time. • Elycia’s personal story of growing up with adversity and being shaped by mentors • Mentoring as igniting potential through access, opportunity, and social capital • What Bi...

In this episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore dive into the power of deep listening—the often-overlooked skill that transforms conversations, relationships, and leadership. Joined by Aaron Wilson, they explore why listening feels so difficult at work, how it’s commonly undervalued, and why it’s actually the key to trust, collaboration, and empowerment. Through humor, honesty, and examples from their coaching practice, they unpack their signature LAVA framework—Listen,...

Autopilot is sneaky. It sounds like "this is just who I am," feels like constant urgency, and keeps producing the same outcomes you keep promising yourself you'll change. We sit down with Aaron Wilson, leadership coach and founder of Your Coach Through Change, to name what's really happening underneath high performance, people-pleasing, and the pressure to always have the answer. We talk burnout, consulting culture, and what Aaron calls performative resilience: projecting confidence while run...

Joined again by communication expert Bailey Massey, we discuss the challenges of navigating a world where AI increasingly encroaches on human activities. What happens when writing starts to sound a little too perfect? What happens when AI results do not meet expectations? How do we foster critical thinking skills when easy answers abound? Luckily, this human conversation is here to deliver new takes on em-dashes, authenticity, and lists of three. Cristina, Alex, and Bailey explore how we can ...

Burnout isn't just a personal problem — it's a systemic one, and right now it's affecting nearly everyone, everywhere, all at once. In this host episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore dig into why burnout has gone from an occupational hazard in high-pressure industries to a near-universal experience. They trace the roots of this moment — stagnating wages, constant organizational churn, a loss of community — and make the case that AI adoption, handled recklessly, is ...

We are living in a loneliness epidemic — and the evidence is showing up in unexpected places. People are skipping self-checkout just to exchange a few words with a cashier. Malls and bookstores are making a comeback. In this episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina and Alex explore what's driving this collective hunger for connection, why our tools and workplaces have quietly eroded the communities we depend on, and what it really costs us when we optimize for convenience and productivity at the e...

There's a difference between performing leadership and actually practicing it. In this episode of Uncover the Human, we sat down with executive leadership coach Renee Stewart to explore what that distinction really looks like in practice — and why the cost of performative leadership doesn't show up immediately, but always shows up eventually. Renee shares four intentional shifts leaders can make right now: moving from control to connection, from image to impact, from having all the answers to...

What if the problems plaguing your organization — low engagement, poor collaboration, stalled projects — aren't people problems at all? In this host episode, Cristina and Alex unpack one of the most misunderstood truths in leadership: the outcomes you're seeing are a direct result of the system you've built, not the humans inside it. Drawing on Stafford Beer's principle that "the purpose of a system is what it does," they challenge leaders to stop blaming people and start examining the structure...

AI is everywhere — but are we actually using it well? In this episode, Cristina and Alex welcome back return guest Joe Messina, an enterprise technology leader with 20+ years of experience navigating complex transformations. Together, they unpack why so many organizations are rushing into AI adoption without asking the most important questions first: What problem are we actually solving? And are we making things better for our people, or just moving faster toward a cliff? Drawing sharp parallels...

What's actually draining your bottom line? In this host episode, Cristina and Alex take a hard look at what happens when businesses forget the humans behind the numbers. From layoffs that quietly destroy institutional knowledge, to spreadsheets designed to tell whatever story someone needs them to tell, to AI-generated data points that are simply made up — the episode makes a compelling case that the leaks most organizations ignore are the ones costing them the most. The conversation moves fr...

What does a peer-reviewed study on aging have to do with your workplace culture — and what does any of it have to do with a dog coding a video game? In this episode of Uncover the Human, hosts Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore are joined by returning guest Chuck DeVries, a self-described "explorer in the land of whimsy," for a wide-ranging conversation that connects cutting-edge science to everyday leadership. They dive into new research showing that toxic relationships don't just feel bad — t...

What if the conflict you've been avoiding is costing you more than the conversation itself? In this episode of Uncover the Human, hosts Alex Cullimore and Cristina Amigoni dig into why conflict feels so loaded — and why that fear is often worse than the conflict itself. From the tendency to weight negative experiences more heavily than positive ones, to the hidden costs of saying "yes" when you mean "no," they unpack the psychology behind avoidance and challenge listeners to flip the script: ...

In this episode of Uncover the Human, hosts Alex Cullimore and Cristina Amigoni sit down with Peter Georgariou, CEO of Karmadharma — a B-corp agency in Canada blending strategy, marketing, and people and culture work. Peter shares the winding path that led him to build a company grounded in his core belief that putting good into the world and helping people find their own path are the highest callings in business. From weekly gratitude check-ins with his team to resisting the pressure of vanity ...

What separates a true leader from someone who simply holds a title? According to Cristina and Alex, it often comes down to one underrated skill: listening. In this episode, they unpack why listening is the foundation of effective leadership — from building psychological safety to making better decisions — and introduce their LAVA framework (Listen, Acknowledge, Validate, Ask open-ended questions) as a practical tool for creating space where people can actually show up and contribute their best. ...

In this lively and insightful episode of Uncover the Human, Lyn Wineman brings her signature energy, humor, and wisdom to a conversation about branding, joy, and what it really means to connect with people. From playful props and unicorn headbands to deep reflections on business growth, Lyn shares how KidGlov’s own rebrand mirrors the evolution many leaders and organizations face: growing from founder-driven identity into something bigger, clearer, and more intentional. Along the way, the conver...

In this energizing episode of Uncover the Human, Sharon Holmes shares practical, heartfelt wisdom for anyone navigating leadership, career growth, or change. From stepping into management for the first time to finding your voice in rooms where you feel overlooked, Sharon offers actionable advice on building trust, leading former peers, creating meaningful one-on-ones, and taking ownership of your own development. Her perspective is both deeply human and immediately useful, blending real-world le...

In this raw and unfiltered host episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina and Alex tackle a topic that feels impossible to ignore right now: accountability. From corporations to governments to everyday workplaces, they explore the growing sense that power often goes unchecked—and that the people paying the price are the ones with the least of it. With their signature blend of candor, frustration, and humor, they question why we continue to accept systems where loyalty is demanded but rarely recipro...

In this episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina and Alex sit down with Matt Poepsel (former Marine turned leadership researcher) to unpack why so many teams feel more fragmented, exhausted, and disconnected than they should. Matt introduces a powerful lens—cultural entropy—the natural drift of any system toward disorder, especially as organizations grow, move faster, and stop reinforcing purpose. When leaders don’t connect people to a clear “why,” even meaningful work turns transactional, and tea...

In this special episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina and Alex pull back the curtain on Siamo—who they are, what they stand for, and why their work centers so deeply on the human experience at work. From the meaning behind their name (“we are” in Italian) to the evolution of their leadership programs, book (The Authenticity Upgrade), podcast, coaching, and consulting, this conversation reconnects everything to one core belief: organizations don’t change—people do. If you’ve ever been through...

In this candid and surprisingly funny host episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina and Alex tackle a big question hiding inside a very real 2026 reality: what is leadership actually for? As AI hype grows and organizations rush to replace people with bots, they challenge the assumption that strategy decks, frameworks, and PowerPoints are the real job of leaders. If AI can create the plan faster and better, what’s left? The answer: the human work. Leadership isn’t announcing decisions or reorganizi...

In this host-led episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore unpack a quiet but costly contradiction in modern work: we expect teams to perform flawlessly without ever giving them time to practice being a team. Drawing parallels to sports teams, musicians, and even improv groups, they explore why collaboration, trust, and communication don’t magically happen just because people share an org chart—or a spreadsheet. Teams are dynamic, constantly shifting with restructures, va...

In this host-only episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore name what so many people are quietly feeling: collective burnout. As organizations race from one transformation to the next—AI, restructures, new priorities—teams feel stuck on a runaway bus with no stop cord. Change keeps coming, but there’s no time to let anything land, no space to choose, and no chance to recover. The result? Disenfranchisement, exhaustion, and a growing sense that work is happening to people ...

AI is everywhere right now—but are humans actually ready for it? In this hosts-only episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore cut through the hype to explore AI adoption through a human-readiness lens. They unpack why so many AI initiatives fail—not because the technology is broken, but because leaders rush ahead without considering trust, morale, identity, and the real day-to-day impact on people. From high-profile layoffs to shallow “AI usage” metrics, they call out wha...