Leveridge Group Founder Ashley Ridgeway-Washington on the Real Cost of Excellence

<p>Host Helen Jonsen welcomes Ashley Ridgeway Washington—</p><p>Bio: Ashley Ridgeway-Washington is a former Chief Human Resources Officer, licensed attorney, author, executive advisor, and MIT-trained AI strategy consultant whose career spans healthcare, Fortune 5 organizations, and executive leadership. She is the founder of Leveridge Group, where she advisesCEOs, CHROs, and senior leaders on workforce strategy, culture, leadership effectiveness, and human-centered AI transformation.</p><p>Ashley is the author of the forthcoming book, <em><strong>Culture Is aSystem, Not a Slogan</strong></em><strong>, </strong>which challenges leaders to stop treating culture as messaging and start designing the systems, behaviors, and decisions that shape how work actually gets done. Her work sits at the intersection of people,business, technology, and leadership, helping organizations turn ambitious strategy into sustainable results.</p><p>00:00Introducing Ashley</p><p>02:47CEO Life in Human-Centered AI</p><p>04:10Curiosity and Rural Roots</p><p>08:55Law School Reality Check</p><p>12:13Leap Into HR</p><p>15:17Building an HR Compliance Practice</p><p>16:43Working Mom Hustle and Credentials</p><p>20:10Choices and Costs</p><p>22:26Grace And Bias</p><p>24:34Raising Advocates</p><p>27:17Fun And Travel</p><p>28:36Pandemic Career Pivot</p><p>30:20Leading In Crisis</p><p>33:11Burnout And Therapy</p><p>38:03Elder Care Reality</p><p>39:59Rapid Fire Favorites</p><p>41:26Advice</p><p>42:39 Closing </p><p><strong>Resources:</strong></p><p>Ashley on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-ridgeway-washington/</p><p><strong>Ashley&#39;s book picks:</strong></p><p>Her forthcoming book: <em>Culture Is a System, Not a Slogan plus</em></p><ol><li><strong>The Four Agreements</strong>, Don Miguel Ruiz. She called it her favorite book of all time and said it changed her life.</li><li><strong>The Alchemist</strong>, Paulo Coelho.</li><li><strong>To Kill a Mockingbird</strong>, Harper Lee. It was the first book she fell in love with.</li><li><strong>No Ego</strong>, Cy Wakeman. </li><li><strong>Daring Greatly</strong>, Brené Brown. </li></ol><p><strong>About Helen &amp; This Kaleidoscope Career</strong><br>I&#39;m Helen Jonsen, the founder of <a href="https://www.helenjonsen.com/#this-kaleidoscope-career">helen jonsen media and This Kaleidoscope Career</a><br>I have lived a kaleidoscope career built on decades of experience as a multi-platform journalist in front of the camera and behind t