Workday Playdate

You've had a book idea in your notes app for years. In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin explains how she wrote her Amazon bestseller I See You: A Leader’s Guide to Energizing Your Team through Radical Empathy, shares what she learned going hybrid publishing, and what she's learning now as she pursues a traditional deal for book number two.
She breaks down how to write and publish your first book & how self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and traditional publishing compare on cost, timeline and control.
Inside the Episode:
Learn the game first. Understand the publishing landscape and how to write a book proposal before you write a word.
Every route costs money. Self-publishing is cheapest upfront (about 6–8 months). Hybrid is roughly $15–20K and 11–14 months. Traditional offers an advance but takes a year or more, and you still fund most of the marketing.
Build your platform now. Agents and publishers look at your audience, newsletter and podcast.
Choose your team like a scene partner. Hire a real editor and designer, and pick an agent who believes in your work.
A book is a portal, not a product. Its value is the stages, credibility and legacy it opens.
The DRAFT framework: Develop your knowledge, Route your path, Assemble your team, Fund the mission, Take it to the world.
Links Mentioned in the Episode
Gabby Bernstein’s Bestseller Masterclass
Greenleaf Publishing
Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
For workshops and keynotes: improve it!’s website
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s Instagram

Connect with Erin Diehl
🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page
🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker
📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training
💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin
📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com.
Loved this episode?
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.

What if slowing down is actually the fastest way to get better work done?
In a work culture obsessed with speed, pausing can sound a little counterintuitive. But for leaders, a deliberate pause is about creating enough space to think clearly, focus on what matters, and make better decisions.
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Shawn Vanderhoven, author of Pause: How to Lead Brilliant Work in a Busy World, about why the best leaders shift from a bias toward action to a bias toward impact. They dig into focus, productivity, workflow, delegation, AI, discernment, and the small pauses that can help teams move faster in the right direction.
Inside This Episode:
Pause to Create Focus: Why deliberate pauses can help leaders reduce distraction, clear emotional noise, and create the conditions for better work.
Trade Busyness for Brilliant Work: Why the best leaders prioritize impact over activity, and why clarity about what matters is more valuable than simply doing more.
Fix the Workflow, Not Just the Motivation: How chaotic workflows can undermine even the most motivated teams, and why the way work gets structured can have a bigger impact than asking people to “try harder.”
Build Human Discernment Alongside AI: Why faster answers don’t necessarily mean better answers, and how leaders can use human judgment to evaluate quality, relevance, and what great work actually looks like.
Tune In Before You Jump In: Shawn’s simple approach to delegation: understand someone’s workload and priorities before adding another task to their plate. Because “quick ask” has entered the chat.
What to Do Now:
Run a Distraction Inventory: Ask your team: What’s stealing your attention right now? Identify the meetings, messages, priorities, or processes getting in the way of focused work.
Choose Impact Over Action: Before adding another task to the list, ask: What does success actually look like? Clarity first. Busyness second.
Tune In Before You Delegate: Before dropping a new priority on someone’s plate, ask what they’re currently working on, what might need to move, and what support they need to make the new priority successful.
Your Freebie
Not sure which learning experience your team needs most right now?
Answer 5 quick questions about your team, their current challenges, and what you want to strengthen. We’ll recommend the learning track that best fits your team’s needs.
Take the Learning Track Quiz here.
About the Guest
Shawn Vanderhoven works with companies and leaders around the world to scale impact through talent, focus, and speed. He is the author of Pause: How to Lead Brilliant Work in a Busy World, based on original research with leaders at more than 150 companies, including Amazon, Google, and LinkedIn. Shawn is also a collaborator on the second edition of the New York Times bestseller, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter and has co-designed leadership development strategies with executives at Capital One, Deloitte, Google, Intel, LinkedIn, and Salesforce.
Connect with Shawn Vanderhoven
Shawn’s LinkedIn
Shawn’s book, Pause: How to Lead Brilliant Work in a Busy World
Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
For workshops and keynotes: improve it!’s website
Leadership Playground online membership community
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s Instagram

Connect with Erin Diehl
🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page
🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker
📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training
💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin
📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com.
Loved this episode?
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.

What if waiting to feel ready is actually holding your career back?
For high achievers, it’s easy to think you need one more sign that you’re ready before making the big career move. But sometimes, the next step only becomes clear after you take it.
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Erika Johnson, Senior Vice President of Member Experience and Community at Chief, about taking career risks before you feel fully prepared. With 20+ years of experience across American Express, Capital One, Ernst & Young, Kantar, and Chief, Erika shares how transparency builds trust, how customer experience and leadership intersect, and why the smallest everyday behaviors can have a big impact on how people experience you as a leader.
This conversation is a reminder that readiness is about being willing to bet on yourself.
Inside This Episode:
Stop Waiting to Feel Ready: Why high achievers can get stuck overthinking, overediting, and looking for external proof, and how taking action can create the confidence you’re waiting for.
Bet on Yourself: What readiness really looks like, how to navigate imposter syndrome, and why bringing your unique perspective can be more valuable than having every answer.
Build Trust Through Transparency: How being candid, steady, and clear can help you build credibility, even when you’re navigating unfamiliar work, difficult conversations, or unexpected career detours.
Lead Through Everyday Experience: Why leadership and customer experience are deeply connected, and how the way you enter a room, hold silence, and push back can shape how people experience your leadership.
Turn Big Moves Into Micro Steps: How to stop waiting for the perfect plan and start moving forward by breaking a career goal, idea, or conversation into one small action.
What to Do Now:
Ask “What Are You Waiting For?” Identify one career move, conversation, or idea you’ve been putting off because you don’t feel ready yet.
Just Do It, But Smaller: Break that big scary thing into the smallest possible next step. Send the email. Write the draft. Schedule the meeting. Make the introduction.
Practice Transparency: In your next high-stakes conversation, be a little more candid than usual. Say what you know, what you don’t know, or where you see an opportunity to push back, and notice what happens to the trust in the room.
Your Freebie
This is your plug-and-play guide to building an environment where your team feels safe to share bold ideas, take creative risks, and fully engage in the work that matters most.
Download your Psychological Safety Playbook for Leaders here.
About the Guest
Erika Johnson is a dynamic executive leader with 20+ years of experience shaping customer and member experience at some of the world’s most recognized brands, including American Express, Capital One, Ernst & Young, Kantar, and Chief. As Senior Vice President of Member Experience and Community at Chief, Erika leads the strategy, operations, and experiences that shape how executive women grow and thrive. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and experience, helping leaders turn complexity into clarity, build stronger relationships, and move forward with confidence. She is passionate about redefining experience as a critical leadership skill, and using it to drive engagement, belonging, and results.
Connect with Erika Johnson
Erika’s LinkedIn
Erika’s Instagram
Erika’s website
Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
Leadership Playground online membership community
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s website
improve it!’s Instagram

Connect with Erin Diehl
🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page
🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker
📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training
💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin
📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com.
Loved this episode?
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.

What actually makes a people strategy work?
It’s not just having the right talent in the right seats. It’s building a workplace where people feel trusted, included, challenged, and connected to something bigger than their job description.
For HR and people leaders, that can feel HUGE. You’re balancing employee engagement, leadership development, retention, performance, culture, and business results...all while trying to make work feel a little more human.
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Shona Kamath, Head of Human Capital and Human Resources at MegaMex Foods, about what it really takes to build a strong people strategy and a culture where talent can thrive. They dig into trust, belonging, empathy, high-potential talent, leadership development, and why employees are more likely to stay when they can see how their work connects to the bigger picture.
Inside This Episode:
Invest in People, Not Just Output: What a successful people strategy really requires—from the right talent and capabilities to strong leadership, a supportive environment, and a clear connection between individual work and business impact.
Build a Culture of Trust, Accountability & Inclusion: How belonging influences employee engagement, retention, and culture, and why real-time feedback and meaningful workplace relationships matter just as much as survey scores.
Develop the Leaders of Tomorrow: The leadership qualities that matter most in high-potential talent, including emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, business acumen, strategic thinking, and integrity.
Build a Talent Pipeline Before You Need One: How to identify potential early, create stretch opportunities, build supportive networks, and help employees reflect on what they’re learning so they’re less likely to disengage and leave.
Take Creative Risks With Your Career & Your Team: Why raising your hand, creating “heat,” and embracing experiences like improv can help people learn faster, take ownership, and make work more playful and memorable.
What to Do Now:
Connect the Dots: Help someone on your team see how their day-to-day work connects to the bigger picture. Clear line of sight can turn a task into a purpose.
Create Some Career Heat: Raise your hand for an opportunity that stretches you, or someone on your team. Growth usually starts right outside the comfort zone.
Invest in the Human: Ask what someone actually needs to feel supported, challenged, and included at work. Then make space for trust, feedback, relationships, and a little more play.
Your Freebie
This is your plug-and-play guide to building an environment where your team feels safe to share bold ideas, take creative risks, and fully engage in the work that matters most.
Download your Psychological Safety Playbook for Leaders here.
About the Guest
Shona Kamath is a highly experienced human capital and HR leader with expertise across organizational development, talent management, leadership development, performance management, culture, employee engagement, HR systems, and organizational effectiveness. As Head of Human Capital and Human Resources at MegaMex Foods, Shona advises senior leaders on strategic talent and organizational priorities and has presented to C-level executives and boards across financial services and consumer packaged goods organizations. A recognized high-potential leader herself, Shona is passionate about developing talent, building high-trust cultures, and helping people take ownership of their careers.
Connect with Shona Kamath
Shona’s LinkedIn
Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
Leadership Playground online membership community
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s website
improve it!’s Instagram

Connect with Erin Diehl
🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page
🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker
📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training
💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin
📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com.
Loved this episode?
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.

Should you quit your 9-to-5 and start a business or build your idea while you’re still employed?
For aspiring entrepreneurs, that question can feel HUGE. You’re craving more freedom, creativity, or control, but leaving a stable paycheck can feel like jumping off a financial cliff.
But what if you don’t have to choose between playing it safe and burning it all down?
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin shares a five-step approach for quitting your 9-to-5, starting a business, and making the leap into entrepreneurship with more clarity. Drawing from her own experience building improve it! while working a full-time recruiting job, Erin breaks down how to test your idea, understand your finances, involve your support system, and create a gradual path toward self-employment.
Instead of asking, “Should I quit my job?” Erin invites you to ask a better question: What can I build before I leave?
Inside This Episode:
The “Stay or Go” Gut Check: Use a simple gut check to understand whether you’re ready to leave your job or just ready for something to change.
Build Before You Bail: Why you don’t need to quit your 9-to-5 before you start building your business. Erin shares how she built improve it! while working full time.
Know Your Numbers: Get clear on your monthly expenses, income needs, and financial runway before making a career transition.
Bring Your People In: Why talking openly with your boss, partner, friends, or trusted supporters can make a big career decision feel less scary and more strategic.
Make the Leap Less Leap-y: Explore part-time work, freelancing, side hustles, and small business pilots as ways to test entrepreneurship before going all in.
Start Small, Learn Fast: You don’t need the perfect business plan. Build the smallest viable version, get feedback, and let the real-world data guide your next move.
What to Do Now:
Ask “What Can I Build Before I Leave?” Identify one small piece of your business or idea you can test while you still have the stability of your current job.
Do the Math: Calculate your monthly expenses, income target, and financial runway. A dream gets a lot less scary when you know your numbers.
Run a Tiny Experiment: Test your idea with a small offer, pilot, freelance project, or first customer. You don’t need to quit to find out if there’s demand.
Talk to Your People: Bring a trusted person into the conversation. You don’t have to make a major career decision alone or in secret!
Build Before You Bail: Remember: quitting your 9-to-5 isn’t the first step. Sometimes, it’s the next step after you’ve built enough evidence to make the leap.
Your Freebie
Take the quiz: What’s Your Leadership Style and Your Next Business Move?
Find out how your leadership style drives motivation, and walk away with 3 specific ideas you can start building into your business right away.
Workshop mentioned in the episode: Taking Initiative & Creative Risks
Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!
Leadership Playground online membership community
Erin’s website
Erin’s Instagram
Erin’s TikTok
Erin’s LinkedIn
improve it!’s website
improve it!’s Instagram

Connect with Erin Diehl
🌟 Learn more about Workday Playdate: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/podcast-page
🎤 Book Erin to speak: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/keynote-speaker
📚 Workshops & Team Experiences: https://www.learntoimproveit.com/experiential-training
💌 Learn more about Erin: https://www.itserindiehl.com/meet-erin
📱 For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com.
Loved this episode?
If this conversation made you think differently about work, leadership, or building joyful teams, please follow Workday Playdate on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use more play in their workday.