The Hidden Variable in Workplace Culture: How Energy Shapes Engagement, Leadership, and Results

What if the "vibe" in your workplace isn’t just a feeling—it’s a measurable force impacting employee engagement, team cohesion, and productivity? And what if your leaders could learn to shift it?

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, host Mickey Fitch-Collins sits down with Lindsay Brecht, a longtime HR leader and passionate student of energy and leadership, to explore the surprising ways quantum physics intersects with workplace culture. Lindsay brings nearly two decades of HR experience and a deep curiosity for how unseen forces shape human behavior to this wide-ranging, thought-provoking conversation. From the physics behind emotional energy to the leadership practices that truly uplift teams, this episode offers HR and learning professionals a compelling new framework for thinking about engagement, wellbeing, and organizational effectiveness.

This Episode Covers:

• How the “holograph effect” explains that weird vibe you sometimes feel in meetings (yes, even on Zoom).
• The one leadership lesson Lindsay learned from her most difficult boss—and how it changed everything.
• Why your VP and your brand-new manager need the same training—and what HR should do about it.
• What energy-aware hiring might look like in the future—and how to start asking better questions today.
• A practical morning ritual Lindsay uses to stay centered and lead with clarity and intent.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Kicking off the episode: Lindsay Brecht joins to discuss how energy shapes employee engagement and culture

02:22 – Lindsay’s background: HR, biotech, and a passion for quantum physics, meditation, and the unseen

05:10 – The "vibe" in the room: How energetic imprints linger in physical spaces

07:29 – Words as energy: How language, stories, and micro-expressions imprint on others

11:02 – Why we can’t separate “home self” and “work self” anymore

12:23 – Energy drains in the workplace—and what leaders can do about them

16:05 – The hidden cost of alcohol on workplace energy and coherence

17:20 – Can leaders shift energy fields? Yes—if they hold a high-frequency presence

18:49 – Mirroring energy: Why team vibes often match the leader’s unspoken signals

20:08 – Training managers in energy awareness: A major L&D opportunity

24:00 – Energy literacy in interviews: How to trust your intuition when joining a new team

26:06 – Future of HR tech: Biofeedback tools, frequency measurement, and intuitive hiring

32:25 – Biggest leadership lesson: Conflict is a mirror—use it for growth

34:57 – Uncomfortable truth: Senior leaders need the same training as new managers

36:21 – Final advice: Learn basic quantum physics and examine whether your external world reflects your inner intentions

38:41 – How to connect with Lindsay and keep the conversation going

About Lindsay

Lindsay Brecht has worked in HR for nearly 20 years across higher education, healthcare, and biotech, bringing strategic, high-spirited, people-centered energy to every team she supports. She currently leads HR at Arcus Biosciences and is known for...

The ROI of Curiosity: How Learning as a Daily Habit Pays Off

Are your employees learning because they have to or because it’s who they are?

If you’re in HR or L&D, you already know learning can’t just live in the LMS. But how do you build a culture where it isn’t a line item or an afterthought but a daily reflex?

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, Mickey Fitch-Collins sits down with Roxy Reynolds, talent development specialist at Hunt Oil, to explore what learning really looks like in practice—and how you can help your people make it a habit, not a chore.

In their energizing and insightful conversation, Mickey and Roxy unpack what it means to create a culture of learning not just with strategies and programs, but through small, intentional daily behaviors. HR and L&D professionals will come away with actionable ideas for turning learning from a “nice-to-have” into a daily, people-powered engine for engagement, growth, and retention.

This Episode Covers:

• What a learning culture looks and sounds like in a workplace
• The mindset shift that makes learning feel less like a burden and more like a benefit
• How to respond when employees say, “I don’t have time to learn”
• What it takes to get senior leadership bought into learning as a business driver—not just a perk
• A simple way to start building a daily learning habit today (no new tools required)

Timestamped Highlights

00:00 – Welcome to the lounge: Mickey introduces Roxy and frames the conversation around “learning as a daily habit”

02:41 – Roxy joins the conversation and shares excitement for the topic

03:39 – What a learning-rich workplace looks and sounds like: questions on whiteboards, bookshelves, conversations

04:30 – Evidence of curiosity and problem-solving as signs of embedded learning culture

06:25 – Learning through hallway conversations, shared reading, and class participation

08:03 – The role of comfort and environment in encouraging vulnerability and learning

12:24 – Microlearning through intentional interactions (even at the coffee machine)

13:48 – Reflection as a powerful tool for making learning stick

18:00 – Shifting mindset makes habit-building easier and more authentic

19:14 – Getting senior leaders to buy in: Learning is not a nicety—it’s a business necessity

23:29 – Learning from mistakes is just as important as learning from successes

24:44 – The “spider web” analogy: making connections across levels to embed learning

27:13 – What to say to someone who says they “don’t have time to learn”

31:25 – Learning isn’t about two-hour sessions—it’s micro shifts and intentional behaviors

33:09 – What changes first when learning becomes a habit? The mindset—then the people

35:00 – Process change without mindset change won’t stick

36:35 – Roxy’s biggest leadership lesson: know your “why” and share it

39:29 – Another big lesson: it’s okay to change your mind

41:47 – The uncomfortable truth: people still think learning must be a big formal event

43:30 – The myth of learning as a “tomorrow problem” and how to counter...

In a world eager to digitize, many organizations have leaned hard into virtual training—but what’s getting lost along the way? In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, host Mickey Fitch-Collins sits down with Barbara Trumbly, Senior Vice President of Operations and Events at the Surplus Line Association of California, to unpack what it really takes to create impactful, people-centered blended learning. From peer-to-peer programs to structured onboarding and reverse mentoring, Barbara shares honest insights into what’s working, what’s not, and how HR and L&D leaders can meet employees where they are—without sacrificing effectiveness or engagement.

This Episode Covers:

• Why treating all employees the same in training is a costly mistake
• How to balance virtual, in-person, and on-the-job training—without overcomplicating it
• What it means to “train to strengths” and why it boosts morale
• Why some employees don’t want to grow—and why that’s OK
• The key question Barbara asks her staff to drive career ownership
• What HR leaders must define before they can measure training impact

Timestamped Highlights

00:00 – Intro: Meet Barbara Trumbly, SVP of Operations & Events at Surplus Line Association

01:35 – What blended learning really means—and the biggest misconception about it

02:56 – Why face-to-face interaction still matters in a digital-first world

03:43 – A controversial opinion: why tech can’t replace relationship-driven learning

05:07 – The mistake companies make: assuming everyone learns the same way

06:30 – Tactile learning, note-taking, and the power of doing vs. listening

07:37 – What ideal blended learning looks like in practice—Barbara’s real-world example

09:30 – The power of breaking bread: why lunch matters in learning

10:26 – How to structure on-the-job training without micromanaging

11:30 – Peer-to-peer learning: how teaching others reinforces learning

12:57 – Reverse mentoring: why newer employees can make great trainers

13:57 – The tough question: how do you measure training impact?

14:35 – Start with a clear definition of employee success—then build training around it

16:27 – Biggest leadership lesson: manage to strengths, not weaknesses

18:15 – Why feedback should focus on what people do right

19:15 – Uncomfortable truth: not everyone wants to grow their career (and that’s okay)

22:10 – Final takeaway: personalize development and let employees chart their path

23:34 – Barbara’s favorite question to ask her team: “What do you want to achieve, and how do you plan to get there?”

24:15 – How to connect with Barbara + outro and listener call to action

About Barbara

Barbara Trumbly is the Senior Vice President of Operations and Events at the Surplus Line Association of California where she oversees operations, HR, administration, and learning and development. Barbara leads the charge in building training programs that actually fit her people—balancing structured onboarding, budget management, and the human element of learning. She believes in strengths-based leadership, the power of...

Are you spending your L&D budget in the right places—or just checking a box?

Whether you’re working with a lean team or juggling a fluctuating budget, every HR and L&D professional faces the same question: What should we build in-house, and what should we bring in from outside experts? In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, host Mickey Fitch-Collins chats with Randi Perry, Learning and Development Manager for the City of San Jose, about how she balances outsourced, in-house, and hybrid learning programs for a 7,000-person workforce. Randi shares her strategy-rich insights on what works, what’s worth the effort, and what HR teams need to be thinking about long before a single training is booked.

This Episode Covers:

• When external facilitators help you get more honest feedback from employees
• How Randi’s team transitioned a program from external to internal facilitation—with better-than-expected results
• Why credibility is the true currency of any L&D initiative
• The myth that training can fix everything—and what to focus on instead
• A simple but powerful action step every L&D team should take before outsourcing or insourcing any program

Timestamped Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction to Randi Perry and today’s topic: outsourcing vs. insourcing L&D

01:30 – Strategic upsides of outsourcing: flexibility and access to specialized talent

04:10 – Why San Jose started its L&D program with outsourcing, and how they’re shifting

05:10 – Risks of in-house L&D: resource rigidity and employee job rights in government

06:30 – When in-house L&D becomes a liability in public sector organizations

08:15 – Why Randi believes in a hybrid L&D model—and how San Jose implements it

09:45 – How strategy, scale, and impact guide decisions on outsourcing vs. in-house

10:50 – Government-specific considerations: credibility, permanence, and long-term hires

12:20 – Why employees may be more candid with third-party facilitators

13:30 – The underrated importance of facilitator credibility and rapport

15:00 – L&D as a talent retention strategy when compensation isn’t flexible

17:05 – Which is worse? Bad outsourcing vs. bad internal training (spoiler: internal)

21:30 – What city employees care about most: relevance and quality of facilitation

22:30 – A success story: transitioning a leadership program from external to internal facilitation

24:20 – Surprising upside: employees preferred learning from in-house leaders who “get it”

26:10 – Hidden costs of outsourcing: time, vetting, context alignment, and procurement

28:30 – The importance of customizing content to the public sector environment

31:10 – Long-term relationships with vendors reduce cost and friction

33:10 – Randi’s biggest leadership lesson: credibility is everything

35:30 – The uncomfortable truth: training can’t fix everything—and not everyone wants to be there

37:45 – Final takeaway: Ask your people what they need. Don’t assume—assess.

39:20 – Where to find and connect with Randi Perry on

What If Your Most Valuable Employee Knowledge Is About to Walk Out the Door?

For HR and learning professionals facing an aging workforce, shifting generations, and mounting pressure to future-proof their organizations, knowledge transfer isn't a nice-to-have—it's a necessity. Unfortunately, it too often gets stuck in formal SOPs or forgotten when key people leave. In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, host Mickey Fitch-Collins talks with Stephen Dixon, VP of HR and Administration at CAMICO, about how to make sure the wisdom that keeps your organization running doesn’t retire before it’s passed on.

Drawing from over 40 years in HR—and 24 at CAMICO—Stephen shares how his organization is tackling knowledge transfer in a practical, people-centered way. This isn’t about building perfect documentation. It’s about building relationships, creating safe conversations, and understanding that mentorship doesn’t always look like a formal program.

This Episode Covers:

• A layered approach to identifying critical knowledge—from executives to frontline people leaders
• How to engage seasoned employees who say, “I’m not a trainer”
• How Cameco uses behavioral-style questions to draw out tacit, experience-based knowledge
• The risk of “need-to-know” leadership and the costly organizational gaps it can create
• The uncomfortable truth: people absorb knowledge at different speeds—and that’s okay

Timestamps:

00:00 – Stephen’s HR career in a nutshell: 40+ years of insight and 24 years at CAMICO

01:57 – What counts as “crucial knowledge” for employee survival?

02:21 – Why manuals don’t cut it—and how CAMICO is tackling tacit knowledge

04:16 – Bridging the gap between executive assumptions and frontline reality

06:19 – How frontline leaders refine what counts as critical knowledge

08:17 – Breaking down knowledge hoarding: “I’m not a trainer” isn’t an excuse

10:20 – Coffee chats as knowledge transfer: making it conversational, not formal

12:45 – A mentorship program—just don’t call it that

13:05 – Capturing nuance: storytelling as the real engine of knowledge sharing

16:51 – Why stories aren’t just data—they’re trust-building moments

18:40 – Reverse mentoring: what seasoned pros can learn from fresh eyes

20:53 – A leadership failure: how hoarding information derailed a department

25:30 – Succession planning at every level—not just for the C-suite

27:27 – If Stephen could pass on 3 lessons: emotional intelligence, collaboration, growth mindset

31:10 – Biggest leadership lesson? Culture, listening, and humility

34:20 – The hard truth: people learn at different speeds—leaders must adjust

36:45 – Two concrete takeaways: listen with intention and practice patient leadership

39:13 – Where to find Stephen: LinkedIn is now part of his routine

39:40 – Final sign-off: brew, banter, and keeping your cup full

About Stephen

Stephen Dixon is the Vice President of Human Resources and Administration at CAMICO, where he’s spent the last 24 of his 40+ years in HR leadership. He holds a master’s degree in human resource management from Golden Gate University and is known...

Are your leadership programs creating better leaders or just checking boxes?

In this illuminating episode of The Learnit Lounge podcast, host Mickey Fitch-Collins sits down with Wes Anderson from Ball Horticultural to tackle the uncomfortable truth about why many leadership development initiatives fail to deliver real results. Discover how to move beyond rigid frameworks and create space for leaders to experiment, make mistakes, and truly grow in the flow of their daily work.

This Learnit Lounge conversation explores why traditional training approaches often miss the mark when applied to leadership development and offers practical insights on crafting programs that create meaningful transformation rather than just ticking administrative boxes. Wes shares his philosophy of "shaking the box" to create productive discomfort that enables real learning and challenges L&D professionals to focus less on metrics and more on creating the conditions where leadership can naturally emerge.

This Episode Covers:

• Why leadership development differs fundamentally from skills training and requires space for experimentation
• How focusing too much on frameworks and models can overshadow the actual leadership growth
• The danger of leadership programs becoming self-sustaining administrative processes rather than tools for transformation
• How to avoid the trap of giving answers instead of empowering leaders to find their own solutions
• The myth that we fully understand leadership development despite centuries of human leadership experience

Timestamped Highlights:

00:00 – Welcome to the Lounge: Mickey introduces Wes Anderson and tees up the conversation on building leadership programs that actually work

01:57 – “Shaking the box”: Why discomfort is a prerequisite for real learning

03:54 – Is leadership development a myth?

06:30 – The ROI trap: Why measurable outcomes don’t always mean meaningful impact

08:00 – Conferences vs. real life: Learning in context vs. learning in isolation

09:30 – Tolerance, deviation, and jammed gears

11:00 – Why real leadership development requires room for mistakes

13:00 – Budgeting for leadership: Defects, downtime, and uncomfortable learning curves

14:30 – Human margin of error

15:30 – Models are tools, not destinations: The danger of falling in love with frameworks

17:00 – People vs. process: Why all leadership is ultimately human

18:00 – Four cardinal truths of good leadership development

22:45 – “Check the box” syndrome: How structure can undermine substance

24:15 – When programs run on autopilot: Are you leading—or just administering?

26:50 – Pressure reveals leadership

27:30 – Most significant leadership lesson: Don’t give answers—give breadcrumbs

30:25 – The uncomfortable truth: We still don’t really know how to “develop” leaders

31:45 – Final takeaway #1: Create space for failure—because that’s where leaders grow

32:10 – Final takeaway #2: Embrace new ideas as tools—not solutions

33:15 – How to connect with Wes: Continue the conversation on LinkedIn

About...

Are your leaders helping you retain top talent—or accidentally driving them away?

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, HR leader Courtney Stevens and host Mickey Fitch-Collins explore how intentional leadership development fuels stronger culture, deeper engagement, and better retention. If you're an HR or L&D professional looking to boost impact without burning out your budget, this conversation will give you real-world insight into what works—and what undermines your efforts. From inclusive onboarding to pre-leadership pipelines, Courtney shares candid stories, concrete actions, and one vital truth: your leaders shape the employee experience more than any slogan or poster ever could.

This Episode Covers:

• The “wheel” model for ongoing leadership growth (and how it prevents one-and-done learning)
• How pre-leadership programming helps avoid promoting someone who’s great at tasks but not ready for people leadership
• The biggest mistakes organizations make in leadership development—and how to avoid them
• Why authenticity is a leadership superpower—and how Courtney learned this the hard way
• One question you can ask your team today to immediately deepen engagement

Timestamped Highlights

00:00 – Welcome & intro: Why leadership development is key to culture and retention

01:50 – Courtney’s leadership background: from education to HR

02:15 – The impact of revamping leadership development five years ago

03:30 – Creating a shared language across all leadership levels

05:00 – “The smartest person in the room is the room”: Learning from each other

06:40 – Ego-free leadership: leading with humility and curiosity

07:30 – Connecting leadership training to organizational values and goals

09:10 – “Values aren’t words, they’re actions”: Bringing company values to life

10:25 – Why bad leadership—not bad companies—drives turnover

12:30 – The employee experience lives in the leader-employee relationship

13:50 – Leadership programs as visible proof of internal investment and growth

15:00 – Including executive career journeys in new hire orientation

16:30 – Making learning continuous: The “leadership development wheel”

18:00 – Keeping training relevant with blog posts, pulse checks, and peer cohorts

19:55 – Designing inclusive, personalized leadership experiences

21:50 – The dangers of one-and-done training and inauthentic leadership

23:40 – Misalignment between stated values and lived experiences

25:00 – When a performance issue needs a conversation, not a class

26:40 – Launching a “pre-leadership” track to prepare future leaders

28:00 – Pre-leadership as a testing ground: “Is this path right for you?”

30:40 – Courtney’s biggest leadership lesson: authenticity beats imitation

33:30 – Why trying to be someone else as a leader never works

35:00 – “These are the hours I have on this earth—I’m going to enjoy them.”

36:45 – Uncomfortable truth: Not everyone who’s good at their job should be a leader

38:30 –...

Are your training programs falling flat—or worse, failing to stick? If you're struggling to decide whether to build learning programs internally or bring in a third-party partner, this episode is for you. HR and L&D professionals will walk away with a clear decision-making framework and two essential action steps to choose partners that drive real change.

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, host Mickey Fitch-Collins sits down with Kayla Wilson, a seasoned organizational development professional from Horizon Farm Credit, to unpack the real decision-making process behind choosing a learning partner. From cost-effectiveness to culture fit, Kayla shares the exact criteria she uses to evaluate training providers—along with hard-won lessons on what makes partnerships truly effective. Whether you’re considering outsourcing for the first time or looking to refresh your approach, this episode offers thoughtful, practical guidance on how to select the right learning partners and get real impact from your L&D investment.

This Episode Covers:

• Six must-have criteria to evaluate external training providers
• Why customization isn’t just “nice to have”—and how to ask for it effectively
• Why internal teams sometimes lack the innovation spark—and how outside experts can help
• When outsourcing makes sense (and when it doesn’t)
• The biggest misconceptions about training ROI—and what to track instead

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro: Why choosing the right learning partner is more important than ever

03:10 – Six criteria for evaluating external training partners

04:50 – Why cost-effectiveness isn’t just about the invoice

06:20 – The “naughty word” of L&D: what customization really means (and why it matters)

08:00 – Real-life example: how Learnit adapted a session mid-week to address organizational change

09:45 – Co-creating training: the power of collaborative design and feedback loops

12:50 – Trust as the foundation of effective learning partnerships

14:15 – The real pros and cons of outsourcing vs. building programs in-house

17:25 – Why “you’re never an expert in your own territory”—and how outside voices can help

18:15 – Assessing a learning partner’s ability to scale and evolve with you

21:20 – How to evaluate cultural fit with an external learning partner

25:00 – Questions you should be asking potential partners—but probably aren’t

27:35 – Common challenges with insourcing vs outsourcing (and how to mitigate them)

32:10 – Leadership lesson: You own your experience (and how to help others own theirs)

35:15 – Uncomfortable truth: Not all training leads to real behavior change

36:00 – How to design for engagement when the average attention span is 20 minutes

37:40 – Measuring impact, aligning with business goals, and involving leadership

38:30 – Action Step 1: Know your culture and choose partners who align with it

39:45 – Action Step 2: Don’t just look at cost—evaluate the full value of training

41:10 – Where to find Kayla and how to keep the conversation going

41:45 – Outro: Subscribe,...