Al Dea

The Edge of Work

The Edge of Work is a leadership and talent development consulting firm. We partner with organizations to develop their leaders and help employees gain the skills needed to drive performance in a changing world of work.

Offerings:
- Leadership Development (Managers, High-Potentials and aspiring leaders with a focus on the people side of management )
- Learning Programs (human skills, communication skills for all employees)
- Team and Culture Development (Team effectiveness and leading teams)

Founder

MBASchooled

First Round Fast Track

Mentor

The Muse

Leadership Coach

Salesforce

Product Marketing

Deloitte Digital

Management Consultant

MBA Product Marketing Intern

Deloitte

Undergraduate Government of Boston College

After serving for 3 consecutive years as an elected Senator I received 67% of the vote and was elected as our Student Body President; the first Asian-American Student Body President in the school's history. As Student Body President, I set the strategy for the 120-person student government and managed a $500,000 budget. I was a catalyst and facilitator of collaboration amongst students, administrators, and faculty members and led the  implementation of initiatives and programs in areas such as academic advising, student transportation, student athletic ticket policy, and student health and safety. 

I was recognized by Boston College Magazine as one of the 6 most impactful seniors in the class of 2010

Student Body President

Speaker, Facilitator, and Podcast Host - Helping Leaders and Employees Navigate the Future of Work

Talent, Leadership & Workplace Executive Coach, Speaker & Facilitator. Passionate about inspiring leaders to build organizations that develop and grow their people, and using new ways ways of working that bring employees together to achieve collective business outcomes.

I'm the Owner of The Edge of Work, a leadership development consulting firm, and partner with organizations to solve the following challenges:
- Designing and delivering leadership development programs to identify and build the next generation of leaders
- Training and equipping new managers on how to lead and develop their people in today's workplace
- Facilitating new ways of working and team effectiveness for leaders of cross-functional teams
- Supporting upskilling initiatives of key power skills for all employees (ex: influence, emotional intelligence, collaboration career management, communications)

My mission is to inspire leaders to build better and more human companies that unleash the potential and performance of their people. I do this by consulting leaders on workplace trends, and through leadership training, helping employees each day how to effectively navigate and thrive in today's workplace.

Previously, I worked at Salesforce and Deloitte Consulting helping Fortune 500 companies use digital technology to drive organizational transformation.

I'm interested in topics such as leadership, talent development, the future of work, & learning, culture, and people development. My work has been cited in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, MIT Sloan Management Review, Time, Fast Company, Inc Magazine, and The World Economic Forum.

Over the past few years, I’ve been exploring an important question: How do we find more and better ways to develop leaders with precision and scale?

As a result, I've been exploring new tools, experiences, and technologies that can help organizations accelerate leadership development, especially those that create  opportunities for practice, personalized feedback, and repetition.

That’s why I’m excited to share a piece  I recently collaborated with Dr. Lindsay Bernhagen on supported by Tenor and the Association for Talent Development (ATD):  Amplify Leadership Development with AI Coaching

In this point of view, we explore:

▶️ How AI coaching tools can reshape the way we approach developing leaders
▶️ Examples we have seen how orgs are already using AI-enabled coaching to enhance leadership capability
▶️ Why practiced-based personalized development matters
▶️ A practical guide for how you can evaluate AI coaching solutions if you're considering them for your organization

I hope this report (link in comments, and free for ATD Members) sparks new ideas about how to bring scalable, personalized development to leaders at all levels.

A  thank you to ATD and Tenor for their partnership and support in producing this piece!

PS - if you are rolling out AI coaching inside of your organization, I would love to chat with you to hear how its going and what you've learned!

Talent, Leadership Development, and Workplace Connection Speaker, Facilitator, and Consultant. Passionate about empower leaders to build organizations that develop and grow their people, and using innovative ways of working that bring employees together to achieve collective business outcomes.

At my best when I'm tackling challenging problems, learning and helping others learn, connecting disparate ideas, making the complex simple, and inspiring others to be the best version of themselves.

Previously, I worked at Salesforce and Deloitte Consulting helping Fortune 500 companies use digital technology to drive organizational and business transformation. 

I'm interested in topics such as leadership & talent development, the future of work & learning, culture, and people development.

My work has been cited in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, MIT Sloan Management Review, Time, Fast Company, INC Magazine, and The World Economic Forum.

I advise organizations on their talent strategy, workplace culture and impact of technology innovation on their business, market, and industry.

Helping Organizations Develop Their Leaders - Leadership Facilitator, Keynote Speaker, Podcast Host

This week, I facilitated a manager development workshop on how to grow and develop people and teams.

One question sparked a great conversation:

“How do you develop your people outside of formal programs?”

It’s a great question. IMO, one of the highest leverage actions a leader can take is  small, but consistent actions to develop their people. 

While formal learning experiences can play a role, there are far more opportunities for development outside of structured settings from an hours in the day perspective. 

Helping leaders recognize and embrace this is a major opportunity.

I introduced the idea of Practices of Development (PODs) aka small, intentional activities integrated into everyday work that help employees build skills, flex new muscles, and increase their impact.

Here are a few examples we discussed:
🌟 Paired Programming: Borrowed from software engineering, this involves pairing an employee with a peer to take on a new task, helping them ramp up quickly, cross-train, or learn by doing.

🌟 Learning Logs: Have team members track what they’re working on, learning, and questioning to encourage reflection.

🌟 Bullpen Sessions: Bring similar roles together for feedback, idea sharing, and collaborative problem-solving, where everyone both A) shares a deliverable they are working on, and B) gets feedback and suggestions for improvement

🌟 Each 1 Teach 1: Give everyone a chance to teach one work-related skill or insight to the team.

🌟 I Do, We Do, You Do:Adapted from education, this scaffolding approach lets you model a task, then do it together, then hand it off. A simple and effective way to build confidence and skill.

🌟 Back Pocket Ideas: During strategy/scoping work sessions, ask employees to submit ideas for initiatives tied to a customer problem or personal interest. Select the strongest ones and incorporate them into their role.

These are a few examples that have worked well.

If you’ve found creative ways to build development opportunities into your employees day to day work, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

What does “future-ready talent” really look like in an AI world?

That’s the question I recently explored in my talk at LinkedIn Talent Connect Summit in San Diego back in October.

For my part, I shared this idea: If you want future-ready talent, start acting like a future-ready employer.

Future-ready employers understand they cannot attract, or develop what they don’t embody. 

They recognize if you want employees who are proactive, agile learners, and nimble in uncertain and changing times, they need to have values, processes, cultures, and leaders who reflect those same qualities.

In my talk, I shared four key principles talent leaders can take to work toward a future-ready organization:

1️⃣ Build a Career Development Philosophy – Define what growth truly means (and what it doesn’t) and make it relevant to the true realities of today’s workplace.

2️⃣ Bring Development Into the Workflow – Create conditions to bring learning into the workflow, and expand beyond the more/better program mindset.

3️⃣ Turn Leaders into Talent Developers – Equip leaders to grow by helping others grow. Create a virtuous cycle where leaders grow by helping others grow, making development both a leadership behavior and a cultural norm.
 
4️⃣ Create Resonance Between Words and Action – Follow through on your commitments from your Employer Value Proposition. Align words and actions, even if it means being clear on what you won’t commit to.

My question for you: What do you think is needed to attract and develop future-ready talent in your organization?

Four years ago, I started my Substack as a place to test ideas for my leadership programs, speaking, and consulting work. 

Over time, it’s become my lab for exploring leadership, navigating change, managing careers, and the impact of AI.

Since then, I’ve published 215 essays with a focus on practical, useful, and grounded in topics related to many aspects of navigating, leading and succeeding in the workplace today.

Below, I’ve curated some of my favorite pieces I believe will help you lead and navigate more effectively in a changing workplace.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 1: 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 
🖊 How to Run Career Experiments → http://bit.ly/4fxOerT
🖊 Growing Your Career in a world of AI → https://bit.ly/45D90lI
🖊 How to Manage Your Career in a Changing Workplace → https://bit.ly/3Jd3qic
🖊 My Favorite Career Development Resources → https://bit.ly/47oo3ls
🖊 How To Build Relationships at Work → https://bit.ly/3J94EuZ
🖊 How to Standout in the Workplace → https://bit.ly/4mHGINQ
🖊8 Ideas for How to Manage Your Career → https://bit.ly/3V0u2W8
🖊 What’s Wrong With Most Career Advice → https://bit.ly/40ZBYKV

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 2: 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲

🖊 How to Lead Change → https://bit.ly/4ovZbOZ
🖊 Navigating Change and Uncertainty → https://bit.ly/45Lpucr
🖊 How to Cultivate Influence → https://bit.ly/4fxv7hV
🖊 How to Build Trust with Stakeholders → https://bit.ly/4mbO9Nb
🖊 How to Lead in a Hybrid and Distributed Workplace → https://bit.ly/3Jas6rE
🖊 How Leaders Can Build Connection → https://bit.ly/3HaflNf
🖊 The Role of The Manager → https://bit.ly/4fwIgaV

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 3: 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤
🖊 Thinking and Working Differently with Artificial Intelligence → https://bit.ly/4lrENvN
🖊 How to Respond and Adapt in A world of AI → https://bit.ly/47wfiWu
🖊 Thinking Differently About Work → https://bit.ly/45l0580 
🖊 The Perils Of Yesterday’s Map → https://bit.ly/46XuMCZ

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 4: 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬
🖊 How to Turn Leaders into Developers of Talent → https://bit.ly/46SoIvo
🖊 How Organizations Can Develop Their People → https://bit.ly/4oLxIZQ
🖊 Social Capital and Career Development → https://bit.ly/4mEFIdb
🖊 Great Leaders Connect People to People → https://bit.ly/45cWl9X
🖊 How Organizations Can Foster Career Development → https://bit.ly/47oFD8T

If something resonates, I'd appreciate if you would share it with a peer, leave a comment, or re-share this post with your network. 

And if your organization needs a partner to design or deliver leadership programs on these topics, I’d love to talk!

We’ll do it live (virtually!)

To close out this year, I’m hosting and recording a final episode of The Edge of Work on Friday December 19th at 9AM PT and I’d love for you to join us.

We’ll have a number of our past guests from this year (announcements coming soon, but they are all awesome)

During our time together, we’ll unpack what they learned about thin 2025, what they are thinking about for 2026, and we’ll answer your questions about AI and the workplace.

We’re going for interactive and informative, and hopefully a nice way to close out before the holidays. 

So  if you’d like to join us on Friday the 19th at 9AM Pacific Time leave a comment or send me a DM, and we’ll make sure you get the invite!

Part of the goal of The Edge of Work is to uncover what’s new and happening on the ground by learning from the strategies and work of global talent and learning leaders.

This year, I’ve spoken with more than 75 leaders across industries about critical priorities and initiatives shaping the talent lifecycle. Here are just a few of the conversations which are featured on the podcast:

🔈 Stephanie Kramer (CHRO, L'Oreal, North America): On human-first leadership, and empowering People Managers at L'Oreal

🔈 Jayney Howson (SVP, Head of Global Learning, ServiceNow): On ServiceNow University, its impact, and how AI is reshaping learning at ServiceNow and beyond.

🔈 Ruth Hickin (VP, Workforce Innovation, Salesforce): On workforce innovation and how Salesforce is preparing employees for the age of AI and enabling talent mobility.

🔈 Maya Razon (Leadership Development, Google): On designing learning that sticks and the mission behind The Google School for Leaders.

🔈 Caleb Gatlin & Becca Anzalone (The Google School for Leaders) on data-driven strategies for supporting managers and leaders.

🔈 Tina Gupta(SVP, Talent Management, New York Life): On driving talent transformation at a 180-year-old company.

🔈 Carole N. Bennett, PhD (VP, Talent Management & Development, Sutter Health): On building talent strategy across a healthcare ecosystem and creating a true “career home” for employees.

You can find the links to these episodes in the comments (or tune in on your favorite podcast app).

If you give any of them a listen, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

What does it mean to grow a "career of impact?"

That’s a question I explored at the Guild Opportunity Summit during a fireside chat featuring Rebecca Biestman and Marissa Andrada.

Together, we reflected on what it truly means to lead in today’s world, how to make an impact not only in our own careers, but also in the lives of the people and organizations we serve.

Throughout the discussion, Marissa and Rebecca brought their unique C-suite perspectives to life, Marissa as a multi-time CHRO with deep expertise in people, culture and transformation, and Rebecca as a CMO with a keen understanding of personal brand, storytelling, and influencing diverse groups of people.

During the conversation, someone asked me to share what I’ve observed from the HR and talent leaders I work with and talk to through The Edge of Work: specifically, what differentiates those who are able to make an outsized impact. 

I shared three key traits that consistently stand out.

➡️ They speak at all (and the right) altitude level - For anything they are doing, they know how to talk to the individual person right in front of them regardless of level. They can talk about the transformation they are leading, from a Board Member to an entry level employee, and anything in between, and personalize the language at the right altitude level.

➡️ They Look East And West - Most leaders focus north and south, up to their leader or down to their teams. The ones who stand out also look east and west. They intentionally scan across the organization, listening to peers, observing patterns, and understanding how their work connects with others. They see the system, not just their function, and lead with that broader awareness in mind.

➡️ They Can See From Others' Seat - One of my favorite leaders said to me “Most people can only see from their seat. If you can’t see from someone else’s, how can you expect them to see from yours?” They practice what I call “context mapping” or the ability to step into someone else’s perspective before pushing forward with their own agenda. It’s a skill that builds empathy, trust, and alignment across boundaries.


For those of you who are looking to grow a career of impact, I’d love to know from you: what does it take, to scale the efforts of your work, beyond just yourself?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several conversations with talent and learning leaders to better understand their priorities and perspective on the future. 

A recurring theme has been the work of those leading enterprise-wide transformation. 

These aren’t small, isolated projects, but  efforts to  reshape how their organizations operate.

Whether it’s rethinking company culture, driving skills-based initiatives, expanding career mobility, adopting AI, managing large-scale transformation, or implementing new leadership frameworks. 

These leaders are operating at the intersection of strategy, people development, and organizational change.

A question I often hear is:
 “What separates the most successful efforts from the rest?”

After these conversations and dozens of guests on The Edge of Work, a few powerful patterns have emerged. Here are four that consistently show up:

🔶 Systems Thinking: They don’t approach these initiatives as standalone projects. Instead, they embed them into the full talent system, connecting culture, skills, mobility, leadership, and strategy into one cohesive ecosystem. Silos are broken. Work aligns to enterprise goals.

🔶 Coalition Building: While they’re accountable for outcomes, they don’t go it alone. These leaders act less like the “sage on the stage” and more like the “guide on the side,” bringing others along, building ownership across functions, and fostering collective success.

🔶 Change as a Practice: Change isn’t a task list; it’s a muscle. These leaders treat change management as an ongoing practice, embedding it into daily work, meeting people where they are (not just what the spreadsheet says) and continually reinforcing new behaviors to sustain momentum.

🔶 Business First Orientation: They lead as business strategists first. While deeply skilled in talent, they speak first in the native language of their business stakeholders, (then their own) connect initiatives to enterprise outcomes, and position people strategies as drivers of organizational performance.

These are just a few of the key ones I’ve observed.
 

If you're leading enterprise-wide talent, skills, career, or AI initiatives, what resonates? What would you add? I’d love to hear your perspective.

I’m hosting and recording a final live (virtual) episode of The Edge of Work on Friday December 19th at 9AM PT and I’d love for you to join us.

To sweeten the deal, I've invited 3 past guests Kyle Forrest, Brian Elliott, and Ana Maria Sencovici for a thoughtful conversation.

During our time together, we’ll unpack what they learned about in 2025, what they are thinking about for 2026, and we’ll answer your questions at the intersection of AI, talent, and leadership.

If this sounds like your jam and you want to spend an hour with us virtually on the 19th, join us by registering today!

Link Here: https://lnkd.in/es9fDBb5

Every week, I talk to leaders who are trying to make sense of work.

More specifically, how AI is changing the way we work, and how to lead through it. As a result. I spend a lot of time scanning for trends and new ideas to help leaders and organizations stay ahead.

One of my favorite ways to do this is through audio, I’m a big podcast listener (and host of The Edge of Work where we talk about these topics) But I’ve often found it hard to keep track of the great episodes I come across, they’re scattered across platforms, shows, and topics. So I finally decided to do something about it.

So I created a Spotify playlist featuring some of the most insightful conversations I’ve found on AI, talent, and the future of work. 

This is a playlist that is continuously updated and features some of the best conversations on these topics I've found.

If you’re curious about how AI is shaping leadership, talent, and the implications for the workplace , leave a comment or send me a DM, and I'd be happy to share the playlist.

Earlier week, I facilitated a leadership program with a group of leaders all the weeds of leading and navigating change.

One area we spent a ton of time on was the tension between two competing priorities:

➡️The micro change - The specific change, initiative or plan they were leading in the moment

➡️ The macro change - The broader transformation, or in some cases, multiple transformations that were happening across the organization they were also leading, or a part of in some way.

Most of the leaders  didn't have the luxury of choosing between one or they other. It's a "both and" guiding there teams through immeidate shifts while still also pushing the rock up the proverbial hill for the longer transformations.

And with that, comes a lot of complexity in navigating urgency vs patience, and quick wins versus long term vision.

So my question is: How do you lead change while holding the tension between the micro change (here and now) and macro change (longer-term transformation) at the same time?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

What’s next for the talent and learning profession?

This fall, I asked that question to 40 talent and learning leaders from Fortune 1000 companies.

Their insights shaped The Edge of Work Fall 2025 Priorities, Perspectives, and Possibilities Report: a look at what matters most right now, what’s emerging next, and possibilities for shaping the direction of the field 


Here are a couple of my favorite takeaways from these conversations:

➡️ The Two Timelines - Talent and learning leaders today are being pulled in two timelines at once. On one timeline, they’re focused on the here and now, delivering foundational (and often mundane) talent and learning impact work that keeps organizations running. On the other, they’re asked to prepare for a radically different future shaped by AI, agents, task/work reinvention, and human machine collaboration. The paradox isn’t just managing the scope, it's figuring out how to balance time, energy, and resources across them without losing sight of either. (IT went through something similar, a decade ago)

➡️ The Complexity of Change - Change is no longer really an event, it’s the context. Leaders highlighted 5 types of change they were facing, but my favorite was distinguishing between acute change (disruptions that demand immediate action) and chronic change (the ongoing, structural shifts shaping the workplace). Navigating both requires a new kind of operating: one that helps organizations respond with agility in the moment while also building the resilience to weather long-term transformations.

➡️ Barbell For the Future of The Profession - When asked about the roles that will be most critical for the future of talent and learning, leaders consistently pointed to a dual focus. On one side, professionals will need technology fluency skills in AI, data, and digital platforms to design scalable and adaptive solutions that drive a lot of how work gets done and how work evolves. On the other hand, they’ll need human-centered expertise, the ability to facilitate connection, design immersive experiences (not just learning experiences) and facilitate lasting behavior change. 

I’d love to hear your perspective: Do these resonate with what you’re seeing? What roles will be impactful or relevant in talent and learning in 5 years?

PS - If this posts resonates check out the highlights in the report that's attached. If this sounds interesting, let me know in the comments or leave me a message and we'll share a copy with you!

The Edge of Work Summary

I’m hosting and recording a final live (virtual) episode of The Edge of Work on Friday December 19th at 9AM-10AM PT and I’d love for you to join us.

To make the episode even more special, I’m bringing back three  past guests, Kyle Forrest, Brian Elliott, and Ana Maria Sencovici for a reflective and forward-looking conversation.

Together, we’ll explore the biggest lessons from 2025, perspectics shaping 2026, and your questions about where AI, talent, and leadership are heading next.

If you’re looking for a meaningful way to reflect, learn, and look ahead, I’d love for you to join us.

You can register via the link in the comments!

🎙️ Check out The Development Gap: How to Grow Your Team and Drive Better Performance

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