Shows / The Science of Leading
The Science of Leading
Powered by the experts at OAD, The Science of Leading is your behind-the-scenes guide to smarter hiring, stronger teams, and workplace strategies that actually work. Whether you’re a busy HR leader, a founder scaling fast, or a manager navigating team dynamics, this podcast helps you cut through the noise with real, research-backed insights.
Episodes
- The Science of Leading
Alignment Gets Lost in Translation
Most leadership teams agree on the strategy. The trouble starts when that strategy has to become someone's actual job. Claire and Edwin trace where alignment…
- The Science of Leading
The Toxic Top Performer
The leader who drives good people out is often the one hitting every number, which is exactly why they got promoted. Claire and Edwin look at the research on…
- The Science of Leading
Intent Is Not a Defense
No one sets out to build a hiring tool that discriminates, and under U.S. employment law that doesn't matter. Claire and Edwin walk through disparate impact…
- The Science of Leading
The Empty Chair Isn't Free
When someone leaves and the role stays empty, the budget looks better and the cost moves somewhere you aren't measuring. Claire and Edwin separate turnover…
- The Science of Leading
Regression Is the Signal
Every leader knows forming, storming, norming, performing. Almost none of them expect the team to slide back the moment a new hire walks in. Claire and Edwin…
- The Science of Leading
The Algorithmic Monoculture
When a biased interviewer turns you down, you lose one job. When every company runs the same screening model, the same person gets rejected everywhere. Claire…
- The Science of Leading
Models Suggest, Humans Decide
Feeding people decisions into an algorithm feels efficient right up until it flattens something a spreadsheet can't see. Edwin and Claire on where data-driven…
- The Science of Leading
Six Steps to Building a Data-Driven People Strategy
Most companies try to get data driven by buying software. Edwin and Claire walk through the six-step roadmap that actually works, starting with defining…
- The Science of Leading
From Data Sprinkling to Data-Driven Decision-Making
Almost every executive says they want a data-driven culture. Barely a third of organizations actually pull it off. Edwin and Claire on the real difference…
- The Science of Leading
Measuring Team Blind Spots: Four Tools for Better Performance
Every team has a gap between how it thinks it operates and how it actually functions. Edwin and Claire compare four of the most rigorous team assessment tools…
- The Science of Leading
From Individual Profiles to Team Patterns
A single OAD profile tells you about one person. Stack profiles across a whole team, and Edwin and Claire show what surfaces instead, friction patterns…
- The Science of Leading
Why OAD Uses Word Selection Instead of Ratings
Rating scales invite people to answer the way they think an employer wants. Edwin and Claire dig into why OAD has people pick words instead, the decades of…
- The Science of Leading
The Gap Is the Signal
Most personality tests tell you who someone is. Edwin and Claire dig into why OAD asks the same question twice, once about who you naturally are and once about…
- The Science of Leading
The Reorg Broke in HR Systems
The chart gets redrawn, the announcement goes out, and then compensation, job descriptions, and compliance quietly don't move with it. Edwin and Claire on the…
- The Science of Leading
Operating Model vs. Org Chart: Why Reorgs Fail
Redrawing the org chart and keeping the same old way of making decisions is the most common reorg mistake there is. Edwin and Claire on the difference between…
- The Science of Leading
Choosing the Right Change Management Model
ADKAR, Kotter, Lewin, PDCA, none of them is universally right. Edwin and Claire on matching the model to the actual shape of the change, and the simple…
- The Science of Leading
The Question Nobody's Answering
Leadership explains the what and the why. Employees are quietly asking something else entirely. Edwin and Claire on stakeholder mapping, building a real…
- The Science of Leading
Defining Change: Goals, Metrics, and Pilot Structure
"Improve collaboration" and "drive transformation" sound fine in a kickoff deck and mean nothing by week six. Edwin and Claire on turning vague change goals…
- The Science of Leading
Why Transformations Fail: Sponsorship Isn't a Kickoff Email
Seventy percent of transformations fail, and it's rarely the strategy. Edwin and Claire dig into why weak sponsorship quietly kills change initiatives before…
- The Science of Leading
Beyond Training: Building a Real Team Growth Plan
Most employee development plans fail the same way: everyone gets the same template, the same "improve communication" note, and nothing changes. Edwin and…
- The Science of Leading
Culture Is a Symptom, Not a Strategy
Companies try to fix culture directly and wonder why it doesn't stick. Edwin makes the case that culture is what a structure produces, not something you…
- The Science of Leading
Assess First: A Practical Guide to Org Design
Most leaders jump straight to redrawing the org chart. Edwin walks Claire through the six-step process that starts with facts instead of guesses, and the…
- The Science of Leading
Coordination Isn't Heroics
A structure that only works because a few people run themselves ragged isn't a structure, it's a countdown. Edwin and Claire break down how to build…
- The Science of Leading
Talent Isn't the Bottleneck
Most companies blame a bad quarter on the people. Edwin and Claire make the case that it's almost always the structure around them, unclear accountability…
- The Science of Leading
Why External Benchmarking Fails HR Teams
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why comparing your people metrics to industry averages can lead to mediocrity, missed signals, and costly…
- The Science of Leading
Why Startups Fail at Scaling Too Soon
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington break down why high-growth startups often fail by scaling inputs before proving outputs, from premature hiring and…
- The Science of Leading
Beyond Trust Falls: Building High-Performance Teams with Data
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why trust falls and offsite games rarely create lasting change, arguing that the team itself—not just individuals—is…
- The Science of Leading
Stop the Side Quest Hiring Trap
Learn how small businesses can escape chaotic, gut-feel recruiting by choosing the right hiring tool for their volume and stage of growth. The episode also…
- The Science of Leading
From Pizza Parties to Behavioral Data
This episode challenges gut-feel management and explores how behavioral analytics can reveal what truly drives motivation, engagement, and retention. Learn how…
- The Science of Leading
Turning Team Friction Into Flow with OAD
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why most team conflict is really a predictability problem, not a personality problem, and why managers have such an…
- The Science of Leading
Quiet Compliance: Why Engagement Fails and How to Fix It
This episode explores the hidden cost of disengagement, why pizza parties and perks rarely move the needle, and how manager behavior shapes team motivation. It…
- The Science of Leading
Why Gut Hiring Fails, and What Predicts Performance
This episode breaks down why unstructured interviews and “hire by vibe” decisions so often mislead leaders, from first-impression lock-in to similarity bias…
- The Science of Leading
Why Smart Leaders Make Messy Decisions
Smart leaders often confuse speed with decisiveness, but rushed calls can hide weak assumptions and poor process. This episode breaks down decision-making…
- The Science of Leading
Why Bad Hiring Gets So Expensive
This episode breaks down the hidden ripple effects of a single bad hire and why reactive recruiting can quietly damage culture, morale, and performance. It…
- The Science of Leading
Why Brilliant Hires Still Become Bad Teams
Five standout hires can still underperform if roles are muddy, handoffs break down, and no one knows who gets to decide. This episode digs into the real…
- The Science of Leading
AI Sourcing: Promise, Bias, and the Human-in-the-Loop
This episode explores how AI sourcing can uncover passive candidates and expand talent pools beyond keyword searches. It also digs into the risks of automated…
- The Science of Leading
AI Hiring: Speed, Bias, and Who Gets Through the Door
This episode explores how AI is reshaping recruitment, from résumé screening and ranking to ad delivery and automated decision-making. It also examines the…
- The Science of Leading
AI in Hiring: Speed, Trust, and the Real Edge
We unpack how AI has become standard infrastructure in recruiting, reshaping the funnel from sourcing to scheduling to candidate communication. The…
- The Science of Leading
Why Résumés and Gut Feel Mislead Hiring
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why experience, pedigree, and instinct often predict performance far less than managers assume, and how newer…
- The Science of Leading
Hiring the Risk: How Toxic Culture Starts Before Day One
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack how hostile work environments can begin in the hiring process, from excusing abrasive behavior to confusing “fit”…
- The Science of Leading
The Interview Isn’t About Candidates—It’s About Your System
Most hiring teams focus on asking better questions. Fewer realize their answers are being evaluated just as closely. In this episode, Claire and Edwin break…
- The Science of Leading
Interview Questions That Reveal Real Fit
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington break down how smart interview questions do more than gather information—they expose role clarity, team dynamics, and the…
- The Science of Leading
Why Polished Answers Fail Communication Tests
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington break down why many communication assessments measure polish instead of performance, and how that leads hiring teams to miss…
- The Science of Leading
Why Great Communicators Are a Hiring Myth
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why interviews often confuse charisma with real communication ability, and why that can lead hiring teams astray…
- The Science of Leading
The Manager Interview Question That Exposes Real Leadership
This episode breaks down the interview questions that reveal whether a manager can actually lead under pressure, from handling underperformance and conflict to…
- The Science of Leading
Why “Not a Fit” Decides Hiring—and How to Fix It
This episode breaks down why vague “fit” judgments often mask familiarity, bias, and charisma, and why they can outweigh real evidence. It also lays out a…
- The Science of Leading
Why Structured Interviews Beat Gut Feel
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington break down why most interviews reward confidence, charisma, and bias instead of real hiring signal. They explain how…
- The Science of Leading
9/80 Schedules: The Real Test Is Trust
A flexible 9/80 schedule can boost retention and improve work-life balance, but only when leaders focus on outcomes, fairness, and clear coverage rules. This…
- The Science of Leading
Stop Guessing in Interviews: Structured Hiring That Works
This episode unpacks why polished interviews so often miss the mark and how unstructured hiring can reward charm over actual job behavior. It also explores how…
- The Science of Leading
Personality Assessments in Hiring: What Works and What Fails
Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack how personality assessments can improve hiring when they’re used as decision support—not as a shortcut or verdict…
- The Science of Leading
Google’s Team Secret: Why Interactions Beat Talent
This episode breaks down Google’s Project Aristotle and the surprising finding that team performance depends less on star talent than on how people interact…
- The Science of Leading
From Dashboard Dreams to Daily Habits: A 90-Day Plan to Measure Teamwork Without Killing Trust
In this episode of The Science of Leading, Claire and Edwin move from theory to execution with a clear 90-day roadmap for measuring teamwork without turning…
- The Science of Leading
When ‘Strong Culture’ Hides Weak Teams: A Practical System to Really Measure Teamwork
This episode of The Science of Leading tackles a blind spot many HR leaders and executives share: we celebrate "strong culture" and "great teams," but rarely…
- The Science of Leading
Beyond Personality Tests: Using the OAD Survey to Fix Hiring and Team Fit
Most leaders have tried a personality test at some point. But when it comes to real decisions—who to hire, how to coach, why a team keeps clashing—those…
- The Science of Leading
From Vague to Valuable: A Plug-and-Play Leadership Review Template
In this episode of The Science of Leading, Claire and Edwin dive into why so many leadership performance reviews feel like vague narratives—and how HR and…
- The Science of Leading
From Gut Feel to Real Data: A Practical Playbook for High-Performing Teams
In this episode of The Science of Leading, Claire and Edwin walk through a practical, research-backed journey for boosting team performance that starts with…
- The Science of Leading
Why Performance Reviews Fail (And How to Actually Make Them Fair)
In this episode of The Science of Leading, Claire and Edwin unpack why so many performance reviews feel unfair, political, or just plain useless—and what…
- The Science of Leading
Beyond Gut Feel: Building Fair, Defensible Leadership Evaluation Systems
In this episode of The Science of Leading, Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington break down how HR and People leaders can move beyond political, vibes-based…
- The Science of Leading
Build a Scalable Job Fit Engine: From Gut Feel to Predictive Hiring
In this episode of The Science of Leading, Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington break down how to turn job fit from a fuzzy, gut-driven concept into a scalable…
- The Science of Leading
From Gut Feel to Data: Using Teamwork Self‑Assessments to Build Stronger Teams
In this episode of The Science of Leading, Claire and Edwin unpack how team managers can use a simple, well-designed teamwork self‑assessment questionnaire to…