FORWARD Development partner Sally McNamara in conversation with Renee Barnes, Founder of “The People Paradox”, advising companies on how to grow productive and engaged work cultures and importantly for this conversation – a mum of two.

At FORWARD, we are interested in exploring skills through many different lenses – and this is one of those more creative conversations. Because sometimes being future focussed can mean reframing how we currently see things, rather than creating something new. 

In this conversation, we talk about how there is huge learning and growth in the transition to motherhood and many transferable skills that could be more visible and valued upon returning to paid work. Instead of “time out” of the workforce, we want to reframe pregnancy and parental leave for what it is: a period of rapid upskilling.

We see this could boost women’s confidence and encourage more women to go for leadership roles post children – bringing many other benefits for workplace culture and well-being in particular. 

Learn more about Renee’s work here https://www.peopleparadoxhr.com/

Transcript at:
https://otter.ai/u/Ra0g9XFj7N91p1TbZh-DpSc05WQ?utm_source=copy_url

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Renee Barnes

In this episode of Hot Takes, Peter Thomas talks to RMIT's Professor Chris Speed about regenerative futures. 

Moving beyond traditional sustainability, regenerative futures focuses on not just minimizing harm but actively repairing and strengthening systems. 

Chris talks about careers, organizations, and economies that leave positive impacts on people, communities, and ecosystems, how to teach and implement regenerative principles, the importance of collaboration, the paradigm shift from isolated value chains to interconnected value constellations, and educational models that foster interdisciplinary collaboration and life-wide learning.

To learn more about RMIT FORWARD, and our 50+ global ecosystem of world-class Industry Fellows who we assemble into fluid teams to work as strategic partners with organisations to ensure they have the right help when they need it, head to https://rmit-forward.org



Hot Takes: Beyond Sustainability – What Does a Regenerative Future Look Like?

In this episode of RMIT University FORWARD Hot Takes, Peter Thomas talks to RMIT Industry Fellows Serafina Maiorano, global leadership strategist and founder of Our Global Table, and Stowe Boyd, work ecologist and founder of Work Futures, about what happens when the centre of opportunity for skilled work shifts—not just away from traditional industries, but away from the West entirely. 

For decades, high-value jobs in sectors like engineering, tech, and finance were concentrated in cities like Sydney, Boston, and London. But that’s changing. Companies aren’t just outsourcing anymore: they’re building their workforces where the talent already is - in  places like India, where over a million engineers graduate each year.

In the last few years, tech giants have expanded their presence in Indian cities because of access to skilled talent at scale, which many Western countries are struggling to provide. Meanwhile, immigration policies have tightened, making it increasingly difficult for foreign professionals to relocate to the West. Are we witnessing a global inversion of opportunity? Could it soon make more sense for young professionals to study and work in Bangalore, not Boston?

To learn more about RMIT FORWARD, and our 50+ global ecosystem of world-class Industry Fellows who we assemble into fluid teams to work as strategic partners with organisations to ensure they have the right help when they need it, head to https://rmit-forward.org

Hot Takes: The Future of Global Talent and The Shifting Geography of Work

In this episode of Hot Takes, host Peter Thomas, director of RMIT FORWARD, is joined by digital sociologist and ethicist Lisa Talia Moretti and Andrew Spence, author of the Work 3 Substack newsletter, to talk about the integration of AI into daily workflows and the implications for work culture and productivity.  The conversation delves into whether AI is supporting or reshaping the workforce,  the relevance of traditional notions of productivity and qualifications, accountability in a human-AI hybrid workforce, the need for the intentional redesign of workplaces to adapt to AI. 

Hot Takes: Meet your AI Co-worker

Design fiction invites us to prototype the future - not through predictions, but through artefacts and provocations. It helps organisations rehearse what could be, challenge their assumptions, and expand the boundaries of what they think is possible. And it’s showing up in real places: in policy labs, boardrooms, learning environments, and innovation teams.

Peter Thomas talks to Patrick Pittman, writer, editor, and researcher with deep experience crafting speculative narratives, cultural strategy, and tactical media for brands, cities and creative organisations; and Su Lim, global managing director and master planner of experience-led transformation with a focus on shaping future-ready environments, to talk about how design fiction goes beyond traditional scenario planning by using artifacts to prototype plausible futures and how it can aid in complex decision-making processes. 

Hot Takes: How design Fiction is Shaping Strategy Today

In this episode of Hot Takes, Peter Thomas discusses AI assistants and their impact on human attention with RMIT FORWARD Industry Fellows Sam Spurlin, an organization design strategist from The Ready, and Aaron McEwan, a workplace futurist at Gartner. We tak about the benefits and potential pitfalls of AI assistants, from enhancing focus during meetings to the risk of increased cognitive overload from poorly implemented tools. We discuss why Bring Your Own AI (BYOAI) might change the adoption and value of AI  in the workplace.

To learn more about RMIT University FORWARD, and our 50+ global ecosystem of world-class Industry Fellows who we assemble into fluid teams to work as strategic partners with organisations to ensure they have the right help when they need it, head to https://rmit-forward.org

Hot Takes: Zoom Fatigue Was Just the Start – What’s the Long-Term Impact of AI Assistants?

In this episode of Hot Takes, Peter Thomas from RMIT Forward, discusses the intricacies of trust in distributed work. The conversation features insights from FORWARD Fellows Jerry Michalski, founder of Open Global Mind, and Matt Collier, an innovation leader in leadership strategy and transformation. 

They explore how trust, traditionally built through proximity and visibility in the workplace, needs to be re-envisioned in distributed teams. The discussion covers the role of leadership, the inadequacies of current collaboration tools, the nuances of designing for trust, and the importance of small daily actions and authentic interactions in building a trust-based work environment.

To learn more about RMIT University FORWARD, and our 50+ global ecosystem of world-class Industry Fellows who we assemble into fluid teams to work as strategic partners with organisations to ensure they have the right help when they need it, head to https://rmit-forward.org

Hot Takes: The Future of Trust in Distributed Work

In this episode of Hot Takes, Peter Thomas from RMIT Forward leads a discussion on the challenges and solutions in scaling reskilling programs. He is joined by experts Josie Gibson, founder of Catalyst; Alex Young, Head of Innovation at Lifeblood; and Mish Eastman, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Vocational Education at RMIT University.  They explore earn and learn models, the necessity for policy and funding changes, and the role of ethical considerations in adapting to new technologies like AI.  The conversation also emphasizes the need for a collaborative approach involving government, industry, and educational institutions to create effective and sustainable reskilling environments.

To learn more about RMIT FORWARD, and our 50+ global ecosystem of world-class Industry Fellows who we assemble into fluid teams to work as strategic partners with organisations to ensure they have the right help when they need it, head to 

https://rmit-forward.org



Hot Takes: Reskilling at Scale

We’re in a world where five-year plans don’t last five months, market dynamics shift overnight and AI rewrites the rules weekly. 

Traditional strategy-making is cracking under pressure. The question isn’t whether we need strategy, but how to make it resilient, dynamic, and alive. What if strategy wasn’t a static document, but an ongoing practice of adaptation, sensemaking, and navigation?

I’m joined by RMIT FORWARD Fellows Marc Chataigner,  strategist and service designer with 20 years of international experience, and Peter Creeden , global supply chain leader maritime logistics specialist, to talk about what nimble, flexible strategy might look like, why it’s important to align strategy, what happens when there are human and non-human actors working together - and what sailing can teach us about strategy.

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00:58 Navigating Complexity in Global Supply Chains
02:31 The Evolving Definition of Strategy
04:20 Adapting Corporate Strategy to Modern Challenges
07:35 Strategic Failures 


For the full video and show notes, head here: https://vimeo.com/1105696515


To learn more about RMIT University FORWARD, and our 50+ global ecosystem of world-class Industry Fellows who we assemble into fluid teams to work as strategic partners with organisations to ensure they have the right help when they need it, head to https://rmit-forward.org

Hot Takes - is strategy dead?

FORWARD is RMIT University's Centre for Future Skills and Workforce Transformation.