Future of HR

How can “managing up” help you to have more impact and influence? Why is managing up a critical leadership skill for all HR leaders? My guest on this episode is Melody Wilding, author of “Managing Up”, keynote speaker, and executive coach. During our conversation, Melody and I discuss the following: The biggest misconceptions about managing up and why they are wrong Why managing up is a core leade...

The "Best of 2025" episode features fourteen don't miss moments from HR executives and thought leaders who… So, who can you expect to learn from on this episode? Monique Herena, Chief Colleague Experience Officer, American Express Wanda Wallace, Managing Partner, Leadership Forum & Darren Overfield, EVP, Coaching & Consulting at Kaiser Leadership Solutions Riina Hellström, Founder, Agile H...

My guests on this special holiday episode are Ian Ziskin, Lori Heffelfinger, Bill Baker, lead author and co-contributors to “Lives Lost and Leadership Found.” During our conversation, Ian, Lori, Bill and I discuss the following: The inspiration behind the book "Lives Lost and Leadership Found" and how personal loss can serve as a foundation for personal growth. The neuroscience behind grief: how l...

What differentiates the best HR leaders from the rest? Why isn’t enough to “know the business, you must love the business My guest on this episode is Marc Effron, President, Talent Strategy Group. During our conversation, Marc and I discuss the following: Marc’s career journey and what led him to co-author One Page Talent Management The unforgettable advice that Marshall Goldsmith gave to Marc The...

How can leaders redesign work to boost both engagement and well-being? Why is “fit for purpose” more important than “best practice” when it comes to designing work? My guest in this episode is Rachel Cooke, Founder of Lead Above Noise & Host of the Modern Mentor podcast. During our conversation Rachel and I discuss: Why today’s leaders are under greater pressure than ever before, especially wi...

How does executive compensation shape company culture, performance and deliver shareholder value? Why should CHROs think of executive compensation as a communication tool? My guests in this episode are Ani Huang, President of Policy and Practice at the CHRO Association and Charlie Tharp, Senior Advisor for Research & Practice at the CHRO Association and the Center On Executive Compensation Dur...

How can you build learning into how work gets done? Why should organizations think of learning as a system, not as a function? My guest in this episode are Kati Clement-Frazier, Director, School of Leadership at DaVita and Michele Graham, President of Intel and Learn at Amplity During our conversation Kati, Michele, and I discuss: Why learning must be treated as an organizational capability, not a...

How can organizations balance people, profit, and purpose? Why do the most effective HR leaders focus on both intention and impact? My guest in this episode is Michelle Nettles, Global Chief People and Legal Officer at ManpowerGroup During our conversation Michelle and I discuss: How HR leaders can balance people, profit, and purpose to drive performance and impact. What it means to be a values-dr...

How are CEO expectations for CHROs changing? Why are more CEOs looking for CHROs with non-HR backgrounds? My guests on this episode are Jennifer Wilson and Brad Warga, Partners and Global Co-Heads of the Human Resources Officers Practice at Heidrick & Struggles During our conversation Jennifer, Brad and I discuss: Why CEOs are rethinking what great HR leadership looks like. Why CEOs are priori...

How can belonging unlock performance? Why should we focus on activation, not empowerment to drive innovation? My guest on this episode is with Brian Miller, Chief Talent and D&I Officer at Levi Strauss & Co During our conversation Brian and I discuss: How belonging drives performance by creating cultures where people feel valued, heard, and stretched. Why he believes activation is more imp...

How can you identify and reframe your limiting beliefs? Why is awareness not enough to get unblocked? My guest on this episode is with Muriel Wilkins, Founder & CEO of Paravis Partners and author of “Leadership Unblocked.” During our conversation Muriel and I discuss: Why leaders are often their own biggest obstacle How limiting beliefs quietly undermine our leadership and how to spot them The...

How can culture become an operating system that drives business performance? Why does leadership behavior matter more than systems in driving culture? My guest on this episode is Paulo Pisano, CHRO, Booking Holdings & Chief People Officer, Booking.com During our conversation Paulo and I discuss: Why culture is an operating system and how it connects directly to business performance. The three...

How can you develop leaders that have future-ready skills? Why is HR critical to rethinking leadership in the age of AI? My guest on this episode is Brian Glaser, VP & Chief Learning Officer at Google During our conversation Brian and I discuss: Why leadership today requires curiosity, courage, and the willingness to be wrong. How Google uses next practices to develop leaders who can navigate...

How can leaders build an AI-first mindset that drives real culture change? Why is AI adoption more about people than technology? My guest on this episode is Tina Gupta, SVP, Talent Management for New York Life Insurance. During our conversation Tina and I discuss: Why AI adoption is more about people than technology How New York Life is scaling AI across 12,000 team members What happens when emplo...

How can you bring your best self to work while being strategically authentic? Why can being your authentic self backfire at work and in life? My guest on this episode is Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, International authority on talent and leadership and author of “Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated and What to Do Instead.” During our conversation Tomas and I discuss: Why being authenti...

How can organizations increase connection, collaboration, and performance while offering the flexibility employees desire? Why do leaders hold the key to making hybrid work more effective and impactful? My guests on this episode are Peter Cappelli and Ranya Nehmeh, co-authors of "In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work" During our conversation Peter, Ranya, and I discuss: Why...

How can you spot a bad boss before it’s too late? What can good leaders learn from bad bosses? My guest on this episode is Mita Mallick, WSJ and USA Today bestselling author of “Reimagine Inclusion and now “The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses” During our conversation Mita and I discuss: What inspired Mita to write “The Devil Emails at Midnight,” and why bad bo...

How can HR leaders embrace disruption to drive innovation? Why should your organization disrupt itself? My guest on this episode is Scott Anthony, Professor at Tuck, Senior Advisor at Innosight and author of “Epic Disruptions - 11 Innovations that Shaped the Modern World” During our conversation Scott and I discuss: The four critical questions every leader must answer about disruption: Why disrupt...

How can you increase your self-awareness and improve your ability to lead and manage others? Why does emotional intelligence matter more than technical skills for a leader's long-term success? My guest on this episode is Margaret Andrews, author of “Manage Yourself to Lead Others,” Harvard Instructor, and Founder of The MYLO Center. During our conversation Margaret and I discuss: Why understanding...

How can HR teams embrace AI to improve both productivity and quality? Why is building AI fluency critical for your career and organization? My guest on this episode is Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer at Zapier During our conversation Brandon and I discuss: The AI fluency framework Zapier uses to evaluate both job candidates and team members. Why every role on Brandon’s People team and across...

How can People Analytics shift from being a cost center to being a profit center? Why is it critical for HR leaders to transform workforce insights into concrete strategic initiatives? My guest on this episode is Cole Napper, VP Research, Innovation, & Talent Insights at Lightcast and author of People Analytics: Using Data-Driven HR and Gen AI as a Business Asset” During our conversation Cole...

How can employees and bosses have honest conversations about what they want and need in their relationship? Why do employees have less than 30 days to build trust in the boss-employee relationship? My guests on this episode are with “Your Work Friends,” Francesca Ranieri, Founder & Head of Strategy, Frank & Mel Plett, Founder Cordelia Consulting. During our conversation Mel, Francesca, and...

How does trust affect the CEO succession process? Why are CHROs often more critical than CEOs in shaping succession outcomes? My guests on this episode are Ani Huang, Senior Executive Vice President of the HR Policy Association and Anthony Nyberg, Director, Center for Executive Succession at University of South Carolina During our conversation Ani, Anthony, and I discuss: What first-time CHROs mus...

How can a four day week increase productivity while reducing burnout? Why is a four day week working so well for over 300 companies and thousands of employees? My guest on this episode is Juliet Schor, Professor at Boston College and author of “Four Days a Week.” During our conversation Juliet and I discuss: Why, despite decades of labor-saving technology, Americans are working longer hours than e...

How do you unlock the power of employee experience? Why is a people-first mindset so critical in modernizing HR? My guest on this episode is Assil Omar, VP, People Experience, AbbVie. During our conversation Assil and I discuss: Why we should embrace new opportunities as a way to reinvent ourselves and our careers. How AbbVie maintains a unique culture of purpose, performance, and care Why HR prac...