Shows
97% EffectiveEP 134 – Devon McConnell, Executive Coach & Pyschotherapist: Who Has Your Back? How to Navigate Your Boss, Conflict, and Stress at WorkLearn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.comWho has your back at work? Do you feel like you’re constantly walking a tightrope – high up, with the spotlight on you, and no net? That’s how many people, including senior executives, describe their experience at work – and what led Devon McConnell, an executive coach and psychotherapist, to explore what drives that stress and burnout. In this episode of 97% Effective, host Michael Wenderoth speaks with Devon about her research and coaching work examining how key relationships at work – especially with our boss – shape stress, burnout, and performa...
2026-01-1447 min
My Robot BossEpisode 6: How AI Is Changing Our Career Choices, Motivation, and Identity with Dr. Alexis HannaIn this episode of My Robot Boss, I talk with Dr Alexis Hanna, a management professor at the University of Nevada Reno whose research explores how people find meaningful work and how AI is transforming that process. We dive into how AI is reshaping vocational interests, why some jobs are far more exposed than others, and how identity and motivation shift when technology starts doing the tasks we rely on to feel competent and fulfilled. We also talk about gender differences, student reactions to AI, and what leaders can do to support employees who feel anxious or unsure about...
2026-01-0226 minMy Robot BossEpisode 5: Dr. Katina Sawyer on Leading for Wellness in the Age of AIWhat does it take to build healthy workplaces?In this episode of My Robot Boss, Dr. Katina Sawyer joins Devon to explore how technology is reshaping leadership, trust, and well-being at work. Katina’s research reveals why “generator leaders” - those who actively create energy, trust, and connection - will become even more vital in an AI-driven future.Together, they discuss:Why wellness programs alone can’t fix burnout and how leadership behavior is the missing piece.What “person-centered planning,” adapted from Carl Rogers’ psychotherapy, teaches us about leading with curiosity and care.Why the best leaders listen to understand, not to fix.How to balance efficiency gains from AI with the ne...
2025-12-0528 minMy Robot BossEpisode 4: Dr. Anna Tavis on Performance Management in the Age of AIIn this episode of My Robot Boss, Dr. Anna Tavis joins Devon to discuss how AI is revolutionizing performance management and leadership. Anna’s groundbreaking Harvard Business Review articles on performance management were named HBR Must Reads and Her latest book, The Digital Coaching Revolution, explores how technology is scaling coaching and transforming how we grow, measure, and experience leadership itself.Together, Devon and Anna dive into:How performance management evolved from annual reviews to continuous feedback.Why AI offers both promise and peril — enabling real-time insights but risking surveillance.The central role of trust, transparency, and pr...
2025-11-0735 minMy Robot BossBonus Episode: A Hidden Cause of Burnout - and What Happens When AI Enters Leadership RolesFrom the stage of the 2025 Columbia University Coaching Conference, My Robot Boss host Devon McConnell shares her award-finalist talk. Drawing on four years of research at Oxford and her work with coaching and therapy clients, Devon discusses a hidden cause of workplace burnout: the absence of someone who truly has your back. She explores how attachment science reframes our understanding of leadership, trust, and emotional labor—and what changes when AI begins taking on those relational roles at work.
2025-10-1813 min
The Great Work PodcastSurviving Winter Working LifeSurviving Winter Working Life—and how to get through the cold, dark, wet months for those who, like me, become a grumpy git when the clocks go back.Also: a reader comment on my last article • a podcast on AI and work • and an update about my own work and the Great Work book I’m writing.Books I refer to in this episode: Kari Leibowitz, How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days*. New York: Penguin, 2024. David Robson, The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Chan...
2025-10-1711 minMy Robot BossEpisode 3: Dr. Adam Sandell on the Cost of Caring and the Future of WorkWhat happens when your work is a calling—but the job starts to grind you down?In this episode of My Robot Boss, Devon speaks with Dr. Adam Sandell—ER physician, writer, and former human rights lawyer—about the paradoxes of purpose-driven work. From his remote post on a First Nations reserve in British Columbia, Adam shares a deeply human view on what it means to help others, the cost of caring, and why burnout is often a byproduct of meaning.We explore:Why people in mission-driven roles struggle with boundariesWhat AI can and can’t r...
2025-10-0340 minMy Robot BossEpisode 2: Magda Du Preez, Ph.D. on AI tackling bias in decision-makingMagda Du Preez, PhD, is a leadership advisor, decision science expert, and founder of GetSense — an AI coaching platform built to reduce bias and improve human judgment. In this episode, we talk about how AI is changing leadership, decision-making, and emotional intelligence at work. Magda shares insights from her research and product development, including why decision intelligence is the leadership skill of the future, how emotion influences bias, and what happens when AI is used alone vs. alongside human coaching. She also shares her hopes — and fears — about what happens when AI surpasses human intelligence.Top 5 highlights:AI C...
2025-09-0538 minMy Robot BossEpisode 0: Welcome to My Robot BossWelcome to My Robot Boss, I'm your host Devon McConnell, and on this show, I'll interview experts on how AI is reshaping leadership, performance, and the human experience of work.
2025-08-0700 minMy Robot BossEpisode 1: Hamza Mudassir on AI outperforming CEOs and creating exec digital twinsWhat happens when AI makes better decisions than the C-suite? In this episode, I speak with Hamza Mudassir — co-founder of Strategize and lecturer at Cambridge Judge Business School — about his groundbreaking simulation that showed AI outperforming human CEOs on key business decisions and the benefits of having a digital twin at work.Top 5 Highlights:AI Outperformed Humans in Strategy Simulation: Hamza’s simulation showed that an AI model outperformed hundreds of MBA students and executives in business decision-making — except during unpredictable Black Swan events.Why AI Struggles with Uncertainty: Unlike humans who hedge against the unexpected, the AI g...
2025-08-0745 min