Ask Ashley
Niki Madison-Woodburn: A Like Is Not the Same as a Hug
Episode detailsHideDiversity headline numbers get people in the door, but they say nothing about who gets developed, who gets useful feedback, and who moves up. Niki Madison-Woodburn, Senior Talent Management & Inclusion Program Manager at Lattice, works on the systems behind that gap, looking at the whole employee lifecycle so growth is clear and measurable. She talks with Ashley Russo about the people plus AI Show more
Released 30 October 2026
Diversity headline numbers get people in the door, but they say nothing about who gets developed, who gets useful feedback, and who moves up. Niki Madison-Woodburn, Senior Talent Management & Inclusion Program Manager at Lattice, works on the systems behind that gap, looking at the whole employee lifecycle so growth is clear and measurable. She talks with Ashley Russo about the people plus AI approach at Lattice, a quarterly storytelling activation that builds common ground across teams, managing anxiety by silencing the noise, and the company kickoff moment when a colleague told her she saw Niki light up like never before.
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to Ask Ashley
00:43 Meet Niki Madison-Woodburn
01:40 Where owning your uniqueness took root
03:05 Curiosity and the move from customer success
04:12 Priorities across your 20s, 30s and now
06:36 When the work got hard and finding the spark again
08:07 Past headline numbers to equitable systems
09:34 Looking at the whole employee lifecycle
10:12 People plus AI and solving the real problem
12:11 Building common ground through storytelling
14:17 Grounding yourself, anxiety and silencing the noise
16:04 The company kickoff moment she lit up
19:07 Helping others past their hesitation
21:22 What she would pause and what she would accelerate
23:17 Advice to her younger self
You can follow Niki Madison-Woodburn here:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/niki-madison/
Learn more about Lattice:
Website - https://lattice.com