We’ve all seen the 'Brilliant Jerk'—the executive who delivers high-impact results but leaves a trail of cultural destruction and turnover in their wake.In today’s episode, I tackled emotional intelligence (EQ) in organizational behaviour. My guest, Jen Shirkani, has spent 25 years coaching the C-suite on how to bridge the gap between technical brilliance and relational leadership. She breaks EQ down into a high-performance framework: Recognize, Read, and Respond.We dive deep into the specific competencies that will contribute to HR performance, drive workplace trust, and help us improve leadership effectiveness, including: - Cognitive empathy vs. affective empathy: Why you don't need to feel an employee's pain to effectively validate their experience—a crucial skill for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). - The optimism trap: How to balance visionary leadership with reality testing to avoid strategic blind spots. This is one I fall into. - A crisis of emotional expression: Why people are biting their tongues and saying less, eroding psychological safety and killing organizational trust.For HR professionals managing the high emotional demands of the modern workplace, this discussion is invaluable. **About Jen Shirkani** LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenshirkani/Jen's Website: https://penumbra.com/Jen's Podcast: Ego vs EQ & You**About Andrea**LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/My website: https://thehrhub.ca/

~ 30% of your new hires will leave before the 90-day mark.Unless you onboard properly.

You’ve already done a lot: you spent thousands on recruitment, vetting, and interviewing. You will pay for them and their training. But without a solid onboarding process, there is a high chance that your investment will walk out the door.

Onboarding is quite possibly the easiest and most cost-effective retention activity you can do, yet so many businesses treat it as an afterthought. Or a tedious activity they avoid.

So watch the video and make sure you do it! Onboarding isn't just a "nice-to-have" - it's a key bottom-line retention strategy.

I'm an HR Consultant to SMBs. Find me at:

https://thehrhub.ca

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

The lack of connection within workplaces is more than a sad fact —it’s a serious business issue impacting performance. It's dollars left on the table.

In this episode, Ryan Jenkins (WSJ Bestselling Author of Connectable) explains why workplace loneliness is increasing and how HR leaders can build a culture of belonging to combat employee isolation.

Loneliness was a recurring theme on this channel throughout 2025. And Gallup has reinforced over and over that it's a critical piece of engagement. That question: "Do you have a best friend at work?" is important.

But what do you do? This episode has tips.

What You’ll Learn:-

• The Rise of Isolation: Why loneliness is increasing across all demographics in the modern workplace.
• The Science of Connection: How the brain reacts to exclusion and its impact on cognitive performance.
• Critical Stats: Why 8 out of 10 global workers feel disconnected at least once a month.
• HR Strategy: Practical ways to address loneliness

It came up throughout the year in conversations on burnout, engagement, remote and hybrid work, culture... it's something we need to pay attention to.

**Find Ryan Jenkins**

https://www.ryanjenkins.com/https://connectionvault.com/

His book is called: Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams from Isolated to All In

**Find Andrea Adams**

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

https://thehrhub.ca/