What do 8th graders, international trade shows, and HR feedback culture have in common? According to Patty Kallman—everything.
Recorded live at isolved Connect in Charlotte, William Tincup and Ryan Leary sit down with Patty Kallman, Director of Professional Development at Kallman Worldwide, to unpack the parallels between education and leadership development.
Patty brings a nontraditional HR lens to the table, drawing from her 16 years in the classroom and her PhD in education. The conversation digs into the real markers of disengagement, why pizza parties don’t solve burnout, and how to create safe, trust-driven work environments without hiding behind anonymous surveys.
They cover the reality of post-COVID growth, hybrid work patterns, the psychology of feedback, and the surprising similarities between a high school dropout and a disengaged employee.
Whether you're leading 50 people or 2,000, this episode drives home one point: trust isn't scalable without intention—and feedback without safety is noise.
Timestamps:
00:00 — Live from Charlotte: trade shows, podcast jokes, and teacher energy
00:54 — Patty's origin story: from high school classrooms to company leadership
02:55 — From 50 to 9 to 57: rebuilding a team post-COVID
03:45 — Disengagement red flags: the data behind absentee patterns
04:43 — Culture isn't bean bags: how post-COVID leadership must evolve
05:16 — The feedback gap: why most managers never ask the right questions
06:30 — Building feedback loops without fear or punishment
07:19 — Proactive vs reactive leadership in small orgs
08:10 — Anonymous feedback vs real conversations: what’s actually useful
08:52 — Trust is a two-way street: transparency, consistency, and intent
10:24 — Clear intent: what HR can learn from military command structures
12:17 — The power of storytelling to align managers and mission
14:14 — What being a “People Hero” actually looks like in practice
15:02 — Creating environments where people thrive, not just survive
This episode was recorded live at isolved Connect on the UNC Charlotte campus.
The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.
Learn more about isolved: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/
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William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
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Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/
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