Return to People

About Return to People

Great employee experiences don’t happen because of location - they're shaped by empathetic leaders. Join us to hear real-world stories from executives, founders, and people operations professionals who've successfully created thriving employee experiences within remote and hybrid teams. Each episode highlights real-world experiences, insights, and lessons learned from sustaining culture at scale to fostering meaningful social connections beyond the office, providing listeners with actionable insights for building better workplaces. Hosted by remote work expert and keynote speaker Kaleem Clarkson, whose passion for work-life integration and improving remote employee experiences has earned recognition as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Remote Work and featured in Harvard Business Review.

Publisher

Kaleem Clarkson

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

11 Jul 2025

Latest episode

4 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

37 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Nov 2026

   Beyond the Desk: Building Truly Equitable Remote & Hybrid Workplaces - ep. #036

   Can an organization offer flexible work arrangements without creating a multi-tiered culture where remote employees are left behind? In this episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Amy Diehl, Chief Information Officer at Wilson College and renowned gender equity researcher, to explore how leaders can build equitable workplaces where growth and opportunity are not determined by physical presence. Drawing from her executive IT leadership and research published in Harvard Business Review, Amy breaks down how Wilson College transitioned away from rigid return-to-campus mandates in favor of a flexible, position-based workplace model. Together, they dive into why flexibility alone does not guarantee equity, examining how return-to-office mandates and subtle proximity biases disproportionately impact women and caregivers. From shifting leadership metrics away from desk time to establishing equal access for promotions, professional development, and mentorship, she delivers a clear blueprint for turning flexible work into a strategic competitive advantage. The conversation explores the key breakthroughs and ongoing challenges of modern distributed leadership: The Core Challenges: She addresses the hurdles of maintaining equitable professional development and onboarding in hybrid settings, detailing how informal workplace networks and proximity bias can quietly exclude remote staff from career advancement. The Core Successes: You'll learn how Wilson College expanded its talent reach, built deep institutional trust, and leveraged flexible work options to attract and retain high-performing technical talent in a competitive market. 👉 Tune in now to learn how intentional leadership and goal-based management can transform your flexible workplace model into an engine for genuine equity. Learn more about Amy: Wilson College´s Website: https://www.linkedin.com/school/wilson-college/ Amy´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-diehl/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. 

   21 Oct 2026

   No Lease Needed: How Clear Expectations Scale Professional Services - ep. #035

   What does it take to move past rigid oversight and scale a specialized professional services firm entirely on trust? In this episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Jonathan Hood, Founder of Hood Venture Counsel, to explore how he built a fully remote, boutique law firm back in 2014; well before distributed teams were standard practice. From handing out flyers in NYC for $50 out of law school to becoming general counsel for an edtech startup, Jonathan shares how necessity sparked a distributed firm that today handles complex M&A deals and fractional legal support for companies scaling up to $50 million in revenue. Together, they dive deep into the operational shifts required to manage high-performing professional talent without physical proximity. Jonathan breaks down why remote environments immediately strip away informal micro-signals, illustrating why early friction is rarely about skill alone, but almost always points to unaligned schedules, missing communication playbooks, and uncalibrated expectations. By sharing how Hood Venture Counsel built a trust-based partnership model spanning New York, Tampa, Phoenix, and Chicago, how his firm transitioned to predictable subscription pricing to align client incentives, and why focusing on core strengths enables sustainable growth, Jonathan delivers practical insights for modern People Operations. Crucially, he reframes distributed leadership around operational clarity and mutual responsibility. As he notes: "What are you best at? Focus on that and then outsource the rest." The conversation maps out the core friction points and operational breakthroughs every remote leadership team faces: -The Core Challenges: Jonathan addresses the realities of remote hiring and onboarding hurdles, detailing how early contractor misalignments highlighted the need for clear schedule expectations, and why mentoring less experienced professionals requires far more intentional structure without hallway conversations. -The Core Successes: You'll learn how Hood Venture Counsel built a trust-first partner network that enables attorneys to execute complex M&A deals, expanded specialized legal coverage across multiple time zones, and aligned client incentives through predictable fractional pricing. 👉 Stream the full episode now to discover how operational clarity, aligned expectations, and trust build high-performing remote teams: Learn more about Jonathan - Hood Venture Counsel´s Website: https://jonhoodesq.com/ - Jonathan´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonhood/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. 

   7 Oct 2026

   The Trust Advantage: Why Intentional Connection Beats Office Proximity - ep. #033

   How do you build deep executive trust and intentional culture across a fully distributed workforce without ever stepping foot in an office? In this episode of the Return to People Podcast, host Kaleem Clarkson sits down with Marta McAllister, VP of People & Culture at Measurabl, to explore how modern HR leaders turn remote flexibility into an engine for connection, retention, and organizational trust. Drawing from two decades of culture-building experience across pharma, tech, and gaming, plus her unique background as a Las Vegas-based Wheel of Fortune finalist. Marta details how she rebuilt an entire HR function from scratch while treating remote work as a non-negotiable lifestyle design tool. Together, they dive into the operational mechanisms required to replace physical proximity with deliberate human connection. Marta breaks down how removing an office requires leaders to actively design access to executive leadership, creating structured feedback loops that move employee trust metrics out of the red and into the green. By sharing how Measurabl expanded its talent network across 22 states and international borders, how her team implemented "Human to Human Hello" check-ins, and why establishing baseline trust enables companies to navigate high-stakes AI transformation, Marta delivers a masterclass in people-first leadership. Crucially, she reframes virtual engagement as an active daily commitment. As she notes; "Coming to work daily is a choice. Why show up here when you can show up anywhere? The more you get to know someone on a human level, the more that trust is built." The conversation explores the core friction points and breakthroughs every remote leadership team faces: -The Core Challenges: Marta addresses the reality of remote isolation and engagement decay, detailing how the loss of spontaneous office interactions requires organizations to explicitly engineer micro-moments of peer-to-peer connection and peer mentorship. -The Core Successes: You'll learn how Measurabl transformed executive leadership trust through monthly "Just Ask Me Anything" open sessions, dramatically widened their hiring pool beyond San Diego, and built a sustainable culture where personal autonomy directly powers organizational performance. 👉 Tune in now and discover how to align distributed work with intentional human connection Learn more about Marta: Measurabl´s Website: http://www.measurabl.com/ Marta´s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marta-mcallister-777b3155 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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