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PODCAST

At Work with The Ready

Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin

Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin have helped teams around the world adopt more modern ways of working and on At Work with The Ready they’re sharing the inside scoop with you, too. Whether you’re struggling with a carousel of ineffective meetings, annual strategy sessions that go nowhere, or decision-making churn that never ceases, they’ve seen it all and are here to help. In each episode, they"ll break down common workplace challenges and show you the moves—both big and small—to start making real,

business management

All Episodes

23:38

40. Our 2026 Predictions: Expect the Unexpected

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/12/29

As 2025 comes to a close, AI hype is still everywhere, workers are feeling the strain of constant change, and organizations are quietly reorganizing who (or what) does the work. We’re ending the year with some big questions: What happens to the “middle” of organizations? How do humans fit into increasingly AI-driven systems? And where does real value—human and otherwise—get created?With only a few days left until the new year, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin look ahead to how AI, jobs, and

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7:47

AUA: Can Internal Transformation Teams Really Drive...

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/12/22

Many people who want to work in organizational change hit the same question: is it better to do this work from inside an organization, or from the outside as a consultant?In this AUA mini episode, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin respond to a listener who’s considering a career shift into org change and wrestling with whether internal transformation teams can really drive meaningful change—or whether outside consultants have more leverage. They unpack why internal org design teams are often

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52:17

39. Performance Management "Needs Improvement"

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/12/15

Everyone knows performance management is broken—but we keep doing it anyway. Why?For decades, organizations have poured time, money, and emotional energy into performance management—even though almost everyone agrees it’s broken. Annual reviews take hundreds of hours, distort real feedback, collapse development into compensation, and leave both managers and employees frustrated. Worse, they often lower performance rather than improve it. And yet most companies keep doubling down on a system that

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11:17

AUA: How Do You Balance Autonomy With Alignment In IT...

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/12/08

Every organization eventually hits the same wall: central teams aren’t responsive enough, federated teams reinvent everything, and the result is a messy tug-of-war between alignment and autonomy. IT organizations feel this pain especially acutely.In this mini Ask Us Anything episode, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin unpack why centralized vs. decentralized is a false binary, why organizations swing endlessly between the two, and what it actually takes to design a federated model that works in the

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50:48

38. Running Better Experiments at Work

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/12/01

Get the Experiment Proposal Template mentioned in this episode.Everyone says they want to “experiment” at work—especially now that AI is reshaping how teams operate—but most organizations still treat change like a project plan: analyze, design, roll out, hope for the best. The result? Fake experiments that are over-controlled and over-planned, or chaotic side projects that burn people out and quietly die. In systems this complex, you can’t think your way to the right answer, but you can test and

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7:48

AUA: Your Team Isn't Ready For Your Future

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/11/24

How do you bring people along when you’re already living in the future? In this mini episode of At Work with The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin tackle a listener question about how to lead from the future without alienating your coworkers in the present. They explore what happens when you see change coming before others do—and how to turn that foresight into small, credible experiments that earn trust and build momentum. They discuss: — Why being “a few years ahead” can feel lonely and

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56:50

37. Leadership Across Generations with Raven Solomon

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/11/17

It’s easy to blame “kids these days” when generational tension flares up at work. But beneath the eye rolls and stereotypes are deeper forces (economic shifts, social movements, and broken workplace systems) that shape how each generation sees loyalty, ambition, and success. From Boomers to Gen Z, we’ve all inherited stories about what work should look like and they don’t always fit the world we’re in now.In this episode, Rodney Evans sits down with Raven Solomon—author, keynote speaker, and CEO

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7:44

AUA: Surviving the Culture Shock of an International...

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/11/10

What happens when your small European company gets acquired by a massive American one?In this mini Ask Us Anything episode of At Work with The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin dig into what really happens when mergers cross not just company lines—but cultures. They unpack the hidden dynamics behind clashing values, communication styles, and leadership expectations that make cross-border integrations so difficult. They discuss: — Why culture work is always the hardest (and most ignored) part

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49:07

36. What AI Is Teaching Us About Ourselves

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/11/03

Get the AI Coffee Club toolkit to start one at your own organization: Download here! AI isn’t coming—it’s here. Every organization is already feeling its impact, whether through new tools, shifting expectations, or the quiet panic of not knowing where to start. But most companies are doing what they always do: treating transformation like a plan instead of an experiment. And as AI reshapes how work gets done, the biggest risk isn’t falling behind—it’s automating the dysfunctions you already

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7:31

AUA: How to Change When People Are Loyal To The Past

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/10/27

How do you change the way work happens when everyone agrees on what to do—but no one wants to change how it’s done?In this mini episode of At Work with The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin tackle a listener question about navigating change inside legacy systems where authority, tradition, and “the way we’ve always done it” still rule. They explore why emotional loyalty to old processes can stall transformation, and how small experiments and “pair coding for organizational change” can help

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47:54

35. Fighting Burnout At Work

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/10/20

Burnout has become the quiet epidemic of modern work. We tell people to “set better boundaries” or “take more time off,” but the real problem isn’t a lack of self-care—it’s that most organizations are designed to exhaust their people. Fear-based cultures, unclear priorities, and performative busyness have turned overwork into a badge of honor, leaving even the most capable teams running on fumes. In this episode, Rodney and Sam unpack the systemic roots of burnout and why it thrives inside

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8:19

AUA: Promotion Problems - Managing Former Bosses

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/10/13

What happens when your promotion puts you in charge of your former boss? In this mini Ask Us Anything episode of At Work with The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin answer a listener’s question about one of the trickiest transitions a leader can face—managing the people who used to manage you. They explore how to navigate power shifts, handle ego and shame dynamics, and reset team expectations without alienating anyone. Along the way, they share practical advice for rebuilding trust, holding

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27:28

34. Even More Bad Bosses and How to Defeat Them, P2

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/10/06

Every worker has a bad boss story—but why are they so common? In this two-part series, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin dig into the archetypes of dysfunctional leaders and the systems that keep them in power. Because bad bosses aren’t accidents—they’re often a predictable response to organizational pressures.In Part 2, they take on the Ghost—the slippery, conflict-avoiding boss who’s always hard to find when decisions need to be made—and the Self-Promoter, the credit-stealing leader who thrives on

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8:54

AUA: Why 360 Feedback Breaks Down in Leadership Teams

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/09/29

We’re trying something new: mini Ask Us Anything episodes! Instead of waiting for our quarterly Q&A roundups, we’ll drop shorter conversations into your feed every other week where Rodney and Sam tackle one great listener question at a time. This week’s question: How should OD and change consultants handle unfavorable peer feedback in 360 reviews—especially when it’s happening among the leaders just under the CEO? They explore why peer feedback so often turns into power struggles, how

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37:53

34. Bad Bosses and How to Defeat Them, Part 1

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/09/22

Every worker has a bad boss story—but why are they so common? In this two-parter, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin dig into the archetypes of dysfunctional leaders and the systems that keep them in power. Because bad bosses aren’t accidents—they’re often a predictable response to organizational pressures.In Part 1, they take on the Micromanager, the Rager, and the Martyr. From obsessive control and volcanic tempers to bosses who never log off, these archetypes reveal the deeper fears and systemic

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46:54

From Our Friends | The Rewards of Healthy Conflict...

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/09/08

Producer Note: Hey there! We’re on vacation this week, but we didn’t want to leave your feed empty. Some of our most popular conversations this past year have been about the Midnight Zone and that’s why we’re sharing this fantastic episode from our friends over at Fixable. We hope it gives you some fresh strategies for navigating (and even embracing!) conflict in your organization, and we’ll see you next time.------------------------- Most of us try to avoid conflict, particularly at work. But

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54:57

33. What’s Your Type? The Enneagram at Work with Liz Orr

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/08/25

Most of us think we know ourselves (and the people we work with) pretty well. But when tensions rise, deadlines loom, or feedback lands wrong, the truth comes out: we’re all running on a set of deep, often invisible patterns. What if we could see those patterns clearly, and choose something better? Enter the Enneagram: a framework that maps nine core motivations, survival strategies, and ways of seeing the world.This week, Rodney sits down with Liz Orr, author of The Unfiltered Enneagram and the

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49:15

32. Why Mergers and Acquisitions Fail (Almost Every...

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/08/11

In most companies, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is treated like a finish line. But the truth is, signing the deal is just the start—and if you haven’t thought deeply about how two operating systems, cultures, and teams will actually work together, you’re already behind. The vast majority of M&A efforts fail to deliver long-term value, not because the deal was bad, but because the integration never really happened.This week, Rodney and Sam unpack why M&A is so alluring, so broken, and so often

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49:45

31. Why Reorgs Don't Work

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/07/28

It’s reorg season…again. And for many companies, it always is. Every 12 to 18 months, another wave of layoffs, leadership swaps, and org chart redraws rolls through the system. And yet, little changes. Strategy stalls. Trust erodes. Work doesn’t get better, just messier. So why do so many organizations keep reaching for the reorg lever first? This week, Rodney and Sam unpack the seductive logic (and systemic failure) of reorgs as a change strategy. They dig into why structure work always feels like

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40:18

30. Extended Leadership Teams: Set Up to Fail Yet...

At Work with The Ready ·

2025/07/14

The extended leadership team (those just below the C-suite) often finds itself stuck between translating strategy and triaging dysfunction. They’re tasked with cross-functional execution, but are rarely equipped, empowered, or aligned to pull it off. And in most organizations, this group is caught in a cycle of managing up, managing down, and managing chaos all around—with very little time or clarity left to lead.This week, Rodney and Sam take a closer look at what’s really going on with extended

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