67: Stop Squeezing the Lemon: L&D's Role in Ending Toxic Performance Culture | Michele Lau Torres

If your engagement, wellness, and workplace culture programs feel a bit stale, this episode is your wake-up call.

Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins sits down with Michele Lau Torres, Chief Learning Officer for the City of Austin, for a candid, energetic conversation on how learning and development can go from “order-taker” to strategic engine, fueling not just performance, but authentic well-being, retention, and cultural transformation.

From wellness “multipliers” to courageous truth-telling in leadership, Michele Lau Torres breaks down how true L&D leaders drive not just skill-building, but culture shifts, equipping managers to be architects of capability (and empathy), not just compliance. Get ready for actionable insights, refreshing honesty, and a few hard truths about what it really takes to nurture, retain, and grow great people in today’s world.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why today’s best L&D teams are becoming “capability architects”, and what that mindset shift means for organizations
• How linking performance and well-being unlocks innovation, belonging, and discretionary effort
• Why leaders are “wellness multipliers”, and how toxic managers affect physical and emotional health far more than we admit
• Practical ways learning leaders can begin changing toxic or fearful cultures (without waiting for overnight transformation)
• The critical role of internal mobility, career pathing, and honest “stay interviews” for retention and engagement
• Why courage, transparency, and vulnerability are non-negotiable for transforming workplaces, plus the biggest myth about leadership development nobody wants to admit

In This Episode:

• 00:01 – Welcome to The Learnit Lounge and topic overview
• 01:42 – Michele Lau Torres’s background and impact
• 03:16 – How L&D went from order-taker to strategic driver
• 05:50 – The concept of “capability architect” and new roles in L&D
• 06:51 – Well-being and performance: why they’re inseparable
• 07:20 – How leadership directly impacts wellness (the “wellness multiplier” effect)
• 09:41 – Why cultures often abdicate responsibility for well-being
• 11:45 – How L&D can help transform toxic cultures
• 14:52 – The underappreciated power of organization-wide learning strategies
• 17:36 – Internal mobility and career paths: key to retention
• 20:20 – The problem with fear-based leadership and avoiding “stay interviews”
• 23:04 – Courage, transparency, and calling out issues in leadership
• 28:22 – Why treating people well delivers discretionary effort
• 29:36 – AI, role overload, and the risk of new workplace burnout
• 32:07 – Michele Lau Torres’s biggest leadership lesson
• 34:12 – The myth: Leadership development programs alone don’t create leaders

About Michele Lau Torres:

Michele Lau Torres is the Chief Learning Officer for the City of Austin, Texas, where she crafts citywide strategies for talent development, employee engagement, and inclusive workplace cultures. With over 18 years of public sector leadership, including pivotal roles at Austin Water, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and the Austin Police Department, Michele Lau Torres is a champion of equity-centered leadership and organizational learning. Her work centers on amplifying the voices and growth of public employees in complex, mission-driven spaces, and she is a frequent speaker on topics like leadership, workplace wellness, and people-centered performance.

Resources & Mentions:

• Michele Lau Torres on LinkedIn
• Point Taken: Brilliant Business Advice from Women at the Top
• Liz Wiseman’s book, Multipliers
• Keith Keating – Order Taker No More: referenced leadership frameworks

Podcast Contact Information:

Website: www.learnit.com

Email: podcast@learnit.com

Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram for more updates.