WaveMakers

Why Technical Expertise Isn’t Enough in Workday Careers | Dr. Mickey Parsons

Castos — Tue, 05 May 2026 07:10:51 +0000

Most people do not stall because they lack technical skill. They stall because they never build what comes next. This episode breaks down why strong performers plateau, why great ICs often fail as managers, and why leadership starts long before the title.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - What are the Hard Skills needed to move your career?
(00:01:09) - The Power of the Workplace Coach
(00:02:05) - What Keeps Mickey Parsons Passionous?
(00:05:34) - Independent Contractors: Building Trust with Executives
(00:09:38) - The Workplace Coach
(00:11:58) - Have You Transitioned From Being a Manager to a Vice President?
(00:14:19) - assess yourself
(00:17:41) - Have You Got What it Takes to Win at the Top?
(00:19:25) - When Someone Promotes, Do You Have To Be Nice?
(00:21:01) - What to Do When Your Manager Is Having a Change of Behavior
(00:24:37) - Does Executive Coaching Help Managers?
(00:28:13) - Top Executives: High Potential People
(00:30:54) - What to Do About Struggles in the C-Suite?
(00:33:01) - How to Keep Your Career on a Roll
(00:37:38) - What Makes a Rate Leader So Special?
(00:38:20) - What's the One Piece of Leadership Advice You've Got That's
(00:40:13) - What's the Biggest Habit of Your Career?
(00:42:20) - Mickey's One Song to Get You Fired Up
(00:44:01) - Mickey Parsons on Working With Micro Businesses
(00:45:24) - A Day in the Life of Leadership

What “Techno-Functional” Really Means in Workday Careers | Shannon Whitley

Castos — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 04:53:25 +0000

There’s a growing expectation in the Workday ecosystem that one person can do everything; functional, technical, and everything in between. In this episode, Shannon Whitley breaks down what “techno-functional” actually means and why it’s not about doing more, but understanding more. From inflated job descriptions to burnout and the pressure to “do more with less,” this conversation challenges what people think matters in Workday careers and what actually does. Follow ⁠Shannon Whitley on LinkedIn⁠, where he shares insights on all things Workday. Explore ⁠WD Sidekick⁠, his free tool for organizing Workday resources and bookmarks. Read ⁠his perspective⁠ […]

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Is the ecosystem expecting techno functional to go do three people's roles
(00:00:33) - The Need for a 'Unicorn'
(00:01:17) - Workday Knowledge Expert Shannon Whitley on WD Beacon
(00:02:55) - The Need for Multiple Roles
(00:11:30) - Are We Expecting Tech Pros to Do Three Jobs?
(00:12:18) - Hiring Manager: Why Are Job Posts Full?
(00:14:14) - The Growing Pressure to Do More With Less
(00:21:11) - Will Companies Take Advantage of AI in Their Processes?
(00:22:35) - Developing project management skills
(00:27:13) - A message about sharing your knowledge
(00:28:41) - Wonders of Chrome: WT Sidekick
(00:33:25) - Is Orchestrate Replace Workday Studio?
(00:36:25) - Getting In The Wave
(00:36:42) - What's the One Thing That You're Most Excited About in
(00:37:31) - Working at a consultancy company
(00:39:09) - WSJD Live: The Need to Stay Current
(00:42:26) - Shannon on Her Go-To Song
(00:43:36) - Shannon on Workday Functional Development

The Workday Reckoning: What Comes Next with Melissa Chonka

Castos — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:56:36 +0000

Workday is in a different phase. It’s no longer just refining modules. It’s building a platform. It’s acquiring. It’s expanding partnerships. It’s leaning hard into AI. What does that mean for all of us in the ecosystem?

Chapters

(00:00:00) - In the Elevator With Workday's Melissa Chanka
(00:00:55) - Ways of Working in the Workday Ecosystem: Melissa Ch
(00:03:36) - In the Elevator With Workday's Melissa
(00:05:40) - How to Get Out of Workday Burnout
(00:08:23) - Workday's Future: A Period of Reckoning
(00:13:05) - How to Talk About AI at Work
(00:16:33) - Will AI Affect Your Jigsaw Puzzles?
(00:20:21) - Working Day: Moving to the Public Cloud
(00:22:55) - How Much Can You Entrust Your People?
(00:28:47) - Oh, I. That Would Be Awesome
(00:28:56) - Bored with your job?
(00:34:42) - How to Live a More Productive Life
(00:36:13) - Melissa on her 'Substack' Post
(00:39:32) - Nick Rubin on His Creativity
(00:44:38) - Nick Spotify: Barack Obama's Playlist
(00:45:25) - Q&A
(00:45:44) - In the Elevator With An Economist
(00:46:36) - Best Book You Read in 2017
(00:48:00) - If You Could Only Keep One, Would It Be a Puzzle,
(00:48:25) - Slick Nick on The Wavemakers Podcast

Rewrites, Rebuilds, and Reality Checks: Greg Laney on Workday Implementations, Better Data, and Smarter Decisions

Castos — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:27:13 +0000

Workday pros know this truth better than anyone: the system is never just the system. It’s the people, the processes, the structure underneath it… and the decisions that either make it sing or make it break. In this episode of WaveMakers, we sit down with someone who’s lived every side of that equation. Greg Laney has one of the most multidimensional careers in our ecosystem — recruiting, compensation, HRIS, analytics, teaching, global leadership, and now author of a storytelling-driven book about HRIS implementation. He’s also one of the earliest Workday adopters, back when documentation was thin and “best practices” mostly […]

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Is AI a Threat to Your Job?
(00:00:37) - A Day in the Life of Greg Laney
(00:02:01) - Keynote With Greg Laney
(00:02:33) - How Workday Went From Recruitment to Systems
(00:05:12) - ADP Network: The Experience of Working With Workday
(00:07:24) - In the Elevator With Workday's Systems
(00:13:20) - Does Workday Need a Data-centric Tool?
(00:14:24) - Compensation in the Workday
(00:16:27) - WD Beacon: AI and Compensation
(00:22:20) - The One Minute Solution: Teaching and Learning
(00:28:20) - Why Storytelling Is So Important in Data & Analytics
(00:30:04) - Writing The Book: A Lifelong Experience
(00:34:27) - What Makes a HRS Leader So Special?
(00:35:43) - Employee Retention: More Compensation vs. Purpose
(00:36:50) - Reveal: Lost in Space
(00:41:39) - WD Beacon Compensation Dashboard

The Real Work After Go-Live: Roadmaps, Relationships, and Results with Tara Rucker

Castos — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 21:32:43 +0000

Most Workday programs don’t fail because of configuration, they fail because they lose direction after go-live. In this episode of WaveMakers, we sit down with Tara Rucker, a Workday leader with more than 13 years of experience across customers, partners, and global HR teams. Tara has built her career helping organizations move from reactive to strategic; transforming “stuck and stale” systems into scalable, people-driven programs. She shares what she’s learned about: Building real governance and steering committees that actually work Leading with servant leadership instead of hierarchy Bringing “fresh eyes” to stabilize and optimize Workday platforms Re-engaging employees and leaders […]

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Tara Rucker: Elevating the Workday
(00:01:31) - What Got You in the Workday Ecosystem?
(00:06:34) - On the Need for a Workday Steering Committee
(00:14:39) - Working with the Workday Community at Rising 2019
(00:19:51) - Employee Engagement Is Stuck
(00:27:42) - Bringing in external consultants
(00:33:54) - What's a Leader's Role in the Workplace?
(00:36:02) - What Would Give a Contractor the Trust Factor?
(00:38:26) - What is it that leaders need to do to have build a successful
(00:41:24) - What Workday Pro Would You Upgrade?
(00:43:46) - "Listening Before Responding"
(00:44:35) - Destiny's Child
(00:46:08) - A Day in the Workday With Tara Rucker

Be Seen. Be Real. Building a Workday Career That Gets You Noticed

Castos — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 21:09:16 +0000

We talk about why visibility matters for Workday professionals, how to show up online without forcing it, and why your personal brand is now just as important as your Workday certifications. You’ll hear practical tips for building credibility on LinkedIn, creating content that actually connects, and finding confidence in how you present your career.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - In the Elevator With Rachel Moore
(00:01:20) - Rachel Moore on Wave Makers
(00:02:09) - How Starting Your Marketing Career Was Inspired by Air Life
(00:03:50) - How to start a Facebook page or blog
(00:07:21) - Facebook Live: Can a Podcast Live Stream?
(00:08:52) - The Evolution Of Podcasting
(00:11:59) - Marissa Mayer on Being Authentic with AI
(00:16:18) - How to Use ChatGPT in a Creative Way
(00:21:11) - Don't just post on Reddit: Own Your Website
(00:26:07) - 3 Rules for Starting a Social Media Channel
(00:30:41) - Is Your Network Necessary on LinkedIn?
(00:35:17) - Facebook Influencers: Authenticity
(00:39:19) - How to get your first LinkedIn post
(00:40:34) - Kevin Bacon Has Six Degrees From Gary Vee
(00:41:20) - Rachel and Nikki Get Blue Hair
(00:41:54) - 8 Marketing Trend You Wish Would Die
(00:42:40) - The One Thing You Need to Do on Your LinkedIn Profile
(00:43:22) - Can' Hold Us From Avatar The Last Airbender
(00:44:50) - A Taste of Podcasts
(00:46:13) - A Moment With Rachel Moore

From Burnout to Breakthrough: Betting on Yourself with Rebecca Brown

Castos — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 00:43:19 +0000

What really happens when you bet on yourself and leave the corporate grind behind? In this episode of WaveMakers: Transforming Workday® Careers, we sit down with Rebecca Brown to unpack her first year of independence after a long career inside the Workday ecosystem. From the fear of walking away from “stability” to the freedom of creating her own path, Rebecca shares the honest highs, lows, and surprises of betting on yourself. We talk about: How Workday professionals like Rebecca are navigating career pivots and independence The real risks and rewards of consulting vs. corporate roles What fear, grit, and freedom […]

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Why You Should Take a Leap of Independence
(00:01:14) - Rebecca Brown on The Scroll Stopping Post
(00:06:54) - A Few Thoughts on Starting Your Own Company
(00:11:59) - Starting Your Own Company...
(00:19:04) - Women in the AI Community
(00:21:52) - Will 40% of AI Projects Get Cancelled?
(00:23:15) - The Need for Continuous Improvement in HR Technology
(00:26:40) - How to Prepare for MVP Changes?
(00:33:15) - Rebecca on Career Stability
(00:37:54) - What's the Most Underrated Feature in HR Ops?
(00:40:25) - How AI Will Transform the Way You Lead Your Company
(00:41:15) - Stay grounded: How to survive a slump
(00:42:29) - Favorite Songs From The 90s
(00:45:05) - A message for LinkedIn's Love/Hate Relationship

Beyond Stuck – Finding New Options: Part 2 of Navigating Workday Career Changes with Keith Bitikofer

Castos — Sat, 06 Sep 2025 14:03:12 +0000

In part two of our conversation with author and coach Keith Bitikofer, we get practical about what it really takes to build a career in the Workday ecosystem. Keith shares how he turned layoffs into new opportunities, why he started writing books, and how simple steps can open doors you didn’t know were there. Along the way, we also uncover a few things about Keith you probably wouldn’t expect.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

Opening up new career options in Workday when paths feel closed
Lessons from Keith’s upcoming book Navigating Your Career
How to approach transitions, challenges, and tough decisions with confidence
The importance of community and connection in long-term success
And in our Barrel Rush round, find out fun facts and unexpected insights that reveal a different side of Keith

Whether you’re a Workday professional, contractor, or executive, this episode gives you real stories and practical insight to help you move forward in your career.

Listen in for perspective, encouragement, and fresh ideas to keep your Workday career moving in the right direction.

You Get to Choose: Navigating Workday Career Changes with Keith Bitikofer

Castos — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 00:58:39 +0000

In this episode of WaveMakers, hosts Carla Corley and Nicki Uchin welcome Keith Bitikofer, a seasoned Workday consultant, leader, and certified life coach, to discuss career transformation within the Workday ecosystem. Keith shares his journey from technology and operations roles to becoming an independent contractor and coach, emphasizing the importance of personal development and continuous learning. The conversation covers career identity coaching, navigating career pivots, and effectively leveraging AI and technological advancements to stay ahead of the curve. Connect with Keith on Linkedin.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Keynote: Career Identity and Reinvention
(00:01:23) - Keith Bitkofa
(00:03:09) - EMD Enterprise Market Desk Lead the Workday Journey
(00:06:59) - Pivoting from Work to Coach
(00:11:07) - Coaching and the Workday
(00:12:11) - No one person knows all of workday
(00:18:04) - Exploring the support model
(00:21:00) - WDAY. Innovation in the Ecosystem
(00:26:47) - How Is Workday Affecting Your Career?
(00:33:48) - Wavemakers