Workday Playdate

Workday Playdate

TOP 1% GLOBAL PODCAST for People-First Leaders Formerly the "improve it! Podcast." #9 in BEST 100 SELF LEADERSHIP PODCASTS. I’m Erin Diehl, keynote speaker, business improv edutainer, and founder of improve it! (AKA your work bestie). Every Wednesday, Workday Playdate with improve it! helps HR professionals, people leaders, and culture-driven humans bring more laughter, levity, and purpose to their workdays. Because work is better when you play. This is not your average leadership podcast. You’ll get research-backed strategies, improv-inspired tools, and candid conversations with top leaders, speakers, improvisers and authors who are rethinking how we work and lead. Our promise is to give you tangible takeaways you can use immediately, plus a few laughs along the way. Interested in partnering with us? Workday Playdate reaches thousands of people-first leaders who care about workplace culture, leadership, and team development. Contact info@learntoimproveit.com to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. We promise laughs, impact, and zero awkward small talk. Think ROI with a side of LOL’s. Let’s make it happen!

Episodes

340: Stuck in Your Career? Let’s Get You What You Want

April 29, 2026 • 18 mins
In this Workday Playdate, Erin tackles one of the most searched topics at work: feeling stuck in your career.

If you’ve ever thought, “Is this it?” or felt trapped between comfort and craving something more, this episode gives you a simple, actionable framework to stop spiraling and start moving. Career growth is about small, intentional steps that change your trajectory.

Inside This Episode:
  • Feeling Stuck at Work? You’re Not Alon...
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339: Innovation Without the Corporate Headache with Rich Braden & Tessa Forshaw

April 22, 2026 • 51 mins
In this Workday Playdate, Erin brings together innovation experts Rich Braden and Tessa Forshaw to challenge everything you thought you knew about creativity at work. This episode proves that innovation is not reserved for a select few, but something everyone can access through mindset, play, and small, intentional actions.If you’ve ever thought “I’m not the creative type,” this conversation will expand your definition of innovatio...
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    338: Your Energy at Work > Your To-Do List

    April 15, 2026 • 20 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin flips the script on productivity culture and makes the case that your energy at work matters more than your to-do list. This episode is a wake-up call for high performers who’ve been measuring success in checkboxes instead of presence, connection, and impact.If you’ve been optimizing your calendar but still feeling off, this conversation will challenge how you define a “good day,” and give you a pract...
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    337: Overachievers, Pause! Process Before You Push

    April 8, 2026 • 41 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Jane Chen to challenge the “always-on” mindset and invite overachievers into something radically different: pause, process, and thrive. Jane is a best-selling author, leadership coach, and social entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Embrace Global.If you’ve been sprinting toward success at the cost of your well-being, this episode is your reminder that slowing down is exactly ho...
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    336: It’s Not That Serious: Play More

    April 1, 2026 • 22 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin flips the script on hustle culture with a bold reminder: it’s not that serious. If you’ve been stuck in overthinking, overworking, or over-perfecting, this episode is your permission slip to loosen your grip and lead with more play.
    Inside This Episode:
    • Play is Strategic: Why true play fuels creativity, innovation, and better problem-solving at work.
    • The Cost of Taking Work Too Seriously: How rigidit...
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    335: AI Tools: When HR Should Say Yes or Nope

    March 25, 2026 • 38 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with AI expert and trainer John Rood to tackle how to actually implement AI at work without breaking trust, compliance, or culture. If you’ve been overwhelmed by AI hype or unsure where to start, this episode gives you a clear, actionable path forward.
    Inside This Episode:
    • AI at Work, the Reality Check: What organizations are actually doing with AI today and where most are getting it wrong...
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    334: Human Skills > AI: The Joy Advantage

    March 18, 2026 • 19 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin dives into a timely leadership truth: in a world obsessed with AI, your real competitive edge is your humanity. This episode unpacks why joy at work is fuel and how leaders who prioritize human connection, energy, and play are the ones building cultures that actually perform.If you’ve been wondering how to lead in an AI-driven workplace without losing the human spark, this episode is your playbook.
    Ins...
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    333: Is Your Unconscious Making You Sick? Here’s How to Heal with Dr. Moshe

    March 11, 2026 • 44 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with psychologist and author Dr. Moshe Frenkel to unpack a powerful truth many high-achieving leaders quietly wrestle with: the belief that their worth is conditional. Together, they explore how the emotional stories we form in childhood shape the way we show up at work, in relationships, and in leadership.Dr. Moshe shares a refreshing perspective on self-worth and the courage it takes to de...
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    332: How to Build a Community that Builds You

    March 4, 2026 • 23 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin explores a leadership truth that’s impossible to ignore right now: leaders are more connected than ever and lonelier than ever. Erin shares practical frameworks and personal stories to help you cultivate authentic community that strengthens your leadership, boosts resilience, and fuels sustainable confidence.If leadership has felt isolating, this episode is your reminder: you were never meant to do th...
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    331: Stop Dodging Hard Talks with Henna Pryor

    February 25, 2026 • 47 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin dives into the discomfort of “good awkward” with Henna Pryor. Henna is a workplace performance expert, keynote speaker, and author who helps teams build social fitness in a world that’s forgotten how to human. Together, they unpack why our social muscles have atrophied (thanks, tech + pandemic isolation) and how leaning into micro-discomfort can radically improve leadership, communication, and team co...
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    330: How to Not Suck at Being a Boss

    February 18, 2026 • 29 mins
    In this Workday Playdate episode, Erin delivers a no-fluff leadership reset in How to Not Suck at Being a Boss. Erin breaks down how reactive habits quietly erode trust (hello burnout and disengagement) and replaces them with a five-step framework rooted in emotional awareness and clear communication.Inside This Episode:
    • Autopilot Leadership: Why reactionary management drains morale and how to interrupt it
    • Energy Sets the Tone: H...
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    329: The Power of Being Yourself at Work with Claude Silver

    February 11, 2026 • 46 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin welcomes leadership trailblazer Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX, for a conversation about authenticity, empathy, and emotional fluency at work. This episode is a heart-forward guide to showing up as your full self so you can build trust, spark creativity, and lead with courage in today’s complex workplace.Erin and Claude explore how emotional safety, vulnerability, and presence directly ...
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    328: Showing Up as a Leader When the World Feels Heavy

    February 4, 2026 • 25 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin tackles a leadership reality many people leaders are quietly carrying: when the world feels heavy, your team feels it too. This episode is a grounded guide for showing up with intention, presence, and care without pretending you have all the answers.Erin explores how global events, constant information overload, and emotional fatigue are showing up inside our workplaces, whether we acknowledge them or...
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    327: Emotional Intelligence for the Overwhelmed with Lori Woodley-Langendorff

    January 28, 2026 • 43 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Lori Woodley-Langendorff to unpack a leadership truth we don’t practice enough: emotional intelligence isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s essential. Lori is an acclaimed author, educator, and expert in social-emotional literacy (SEL) who co-founded the non-profit "All It Takes" with her daughter, actress Shailene Woodley. Drawing from Lori’s 30-year career as a school counselor (and her live...
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    326: Teams Don’t Quit Leaders… They Quit This Mindset

    January 21, 2026 • 15 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin breaks down a truth some leaders don’t want to hear: teams don’t leave because of the work, they leave because of how they’re led. Erin introduces 5D leadership, a more human, intuitive, and emotionally intelligent approach that goes beyond deliverables.She contrasts traditional 3D leadership—where output rules and humans come second—with 5D leadership, where intention, energy, and connection drive tr...
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    325: Rewire for High Performance: Science-Based Self-Healing with Carrie Drinkwine

    January 14, 2026 • 54 mins
    In this Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Carrie Drinkwine to explore a radical (and deeply human) truth: real healing starts with feeling.Carrie shares her powerful journey through chronic illness, emotional reckoning, and life-threatening health challenges. She explains how regenerative practices helped her reconnect to her body, her intuition, and her vitality. Together, Erin and Carrie unpack the emotional–physical connecti...
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    324: Stop Setting Goals. Do This Instead.

    January 7, 2026 • 21 mins
    In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin explores a freeing idea that might just change how you approach your life and work: stop setting goals for the sake of setting goals and start setting intentions instead.Erin unpacks why traditional goal-setting often creates pressure, panic, and perpetual dissatisfaction. She shows how intention-setting brings us back to alignment, and introduces a simple five-step framework to help you sh...
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    323: Why Imperfect Leaders Make the Biggest Difference with Neil Ghosh

    December 31, 2025 • 44 mins
    In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin welcomes Neil Ghosh—purpose-driven leader, social impact advocate, and author of Do More Good—to explore a relieving idea: you don’t need to be perfect to make a meaningful difference.Together, Erin and Neil unpack what purpose-driven leadership actually looks like in real life. They dig into why empathy is a practice, how imperfection builds trust and innovation, and why lasting change alm...
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    322: Words Are Wands: Why Your Inner Dialogue Shapes What's About to Happen

    December 24, 2025 • 22 mins
    In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin unpacks a simple idea: your words are wands. AKA, the way you talk to yourself is actively shaping what happens next.Erin introduces the concept of “Words Are Wands,” exploring how inner dialogue influences confidence, creativity, opportunity, and action. Drawing from improv, neuroscience, and real-life moments, she breaks down why most of us are stuck in negative, repetitive thought loops,...
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    321: Why Everyone’s Obsessed With Harvard’s #1 Leadership Class - And What You’ll Steal From It with Margaret Andrews

    December 17, 2025 • 38 mins
    In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin welcomes Margaret Andrews—Harvard professor, leadership expert, and architect behind Harvard’s #1 leadership course—to unpack why this class has everyone talking.Together, Erin and Margaret explore why the most effective leaders manage themselves first; how vision setting starts with exploring possibilities rather than forcing answers; and why play, creativity, and emotional awareness are n...
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