HR Superstars

You can't change culture behind a desk. Tyneeha Rivers, Chief People Officer at Curaleaf, has been transforming cultures for 25 years. She knows that if you want to see a shift in your organization, you have to roll up your sleeves. In this conversation, Tyneeha breaks down the process of creating lasting cultural change to create spaces where people can be their authentic selves. As you listen, y...

Have a burning HR or people ops question and don't know who to turn to? Adam Weber and the HR Superstars Hotline is here to help. On this show, you get to hear from truly stellar people leaders and how they think about running extraordinary companies and cultures. While Adam occasionally shares some of his ideas alongside them, we thought we'd switch things up and give you a glimpse into how he th...

From tuition reimbursement to creating training programs, investing in your employees' growth can get expensive. How do you know if it's worth it? In this conversation, David Pearson, SVP of People and Culture at Extensis HR, shares how to make a data-driven case for employee development. He shares how his organization develops its employees to ensure they are equipped to succeed at their current...

Empathy isn't a personality trait. According to Liesel Mertes, Founder of Handle with Care Consulting, it's an essential workplace skill we need to hone. And at the same time, people who go through disruptions and hard times have to eventually return to the office and add value to the organization. There's a balance to having empathetic conversations and being honest about the nature of the employ...

Carrying the weight of others' trauma is one of the heaviest people leader responsibilities. If we don't manage our own health well, we'll burn ourselves out to the detriment of those around us. In this conversation, Tarveen Forrester, Head of People Operations and Diversity at Tastemade, shares her advice for navigating hard situations and leading others through them. After a tumultuous few years...

HR leaders always think of new and better ways to onboard employees, but they rarely think about onboarding themselves. Hebba Youssef, an HR leader with a mission to build strong connections with employees, joins the podcast to share what people leaders should focus on during their first 90 days. As the Chief People Officer of Workweek and creator of the popular "I Hate It Here" newsletter, she's...

The world of modern HR has changed over the years, but what's something that should always be true? Jill Lehman, the CEO of Evolve HR Services, believes that strategy should be a core focus no matter what year it is. As a former VP of HR for over 20 years, Jill spent her career learning about the importance of a people strategy and how it can positively affect an organization's culture and environ...

Secrets can be heavy, especially when you're carrying others' secrets as well as your own. The unwritten job description of a people leader is the need to listen and safeguard everyone's worries and struggles, but it can be a really lonely place. Jen Paxton is very familiar with the feeling. As a people leader, entrepreneur, and mother of two, she's had to find ways to cope and stay motivated. In...

What responsibility do leaders have in the mental health of their employees? Opinions vary, but one thing is certain—authenticity and vulnerability play an important role. Holly May is a seasoned HR professional with a background in total rewards and business partnering in diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has held CHRO roles at Starbucks, Abercrombie and Fitch, and now at Walgreens Boots Alli...

Culture isn't magic. When you analyze organizations with great cultures, they all have similar structures to achieve success. Daniel Coyle is a renowned author and performance expert who has studied the behavior of successful groups for over a decade. His book, The Culture Code, explores the three pillars of safety, vulnerability, and direction that all successful teams use to be more than the sum...

How do you leave a legacy that outlasts your tenure? There's no magic formula, but Shane has certainly left his mark on 15Five in his decade with the company. From "Question Fridays" to offering ketamine-assisted therapy as a benefit to employees, he's built a culture that fosters not only the growth of the organization but also of our people themselves. As Shane transitions out of his role as Chi...

In recent years, talk therapy has become a more normalized benefit for many employees. But what about psychedelic-assisted therapy? Mindbloom is a mental health treatment company that provides at-home Ketamine therapy with a mission to make the treatment more approachable and affordable. In this episode, Kristin Arden, lead clinician, shares how Mindbloom is reducing barriers to accessing care and...

Tech companies are in a big transition right now. They're moving from a "growth at all costs" mentality to a focus on profitability. Part of this shift means HR teams need to think differently about headcount. We can't hire our problems away. Instead, we need to think about new forms of leverage. How do you lead your teams to be thinking in a new way despite the whiplash speed of change? Jim Barto...

What's the secret to venture capital (VC) success? People. Brianna Rizzo, Talent Partner at VMG Partners, joins the show to share the power of the people who fuel startups. For Brianna, it all comes down to building rapport before it's needed, developing a strong talent network, and routing the right people to the right places. This requires getting curious, investing in relationships, and strateg...

On this show you get to hear from truly stellar people leaders and how they think about running extraordinary companies and cultures. While Shane occasionally shares some of his ideas alongside them, we thought we'd switch things up a bit and give you a glimpse into how he thinks about the world of progressive HR, people operations, and doing business a little differently than it's ever been done...

If you've spent time with kids, you know "because I said so," is rarely a satisfactory answer. The same is true with our teams. We're independent people who question top-down mandates. We want to understand the logic behind a request. This simple truth has been a guiding principle for Barb Bidan, Chief People Officer at Crunchyroll. When she jumped into her role, she knew she wanted to lead with c...

Rapid growth can kill company culture and employee experience. But it doesn't have to be that way. Kirsti Grant, VP of People Experience at Auror, decided to intentionally make her team better with scale. It's taken hard work, but it's absolutely paid off. Kirsti joins the show to share the guiding principles that have allowed her team to create a cohesive and high-performing culture they love. Sh...

What are your people passionate about? Are they engaging those passions in their jobs today? Unfortunately, most managers don't know because they don't have regular 1-on-1s with their people. But Bonnie Curtis is here to change that. She recently completed research on frontline managers and their relationships with their bosses. The findings are painfully obvious: as leaders, we need to ensure the...

Whether we're being picky eaters as kids refusing to eat our broccoli, or as grown-up employees pushing back on back-to-office rules, as humans, we resist mandates. That's why, rather than taking a top-down authoritarian approach, Karen Mangia, VP of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce and author of Success From Anywhere, encourages us to lead by finding shared values. Karen joined Shane fo...

Christine Maxwell, VP of People at Rippling, knows a thing or two about growth, as her organization has grown from 200 to 1600 in less than two years. She joins the show to share how she helps set her people up for success when they first join the team and beyond. She emphasizes the importance of intentional onboarding, using cultural rituals to reinforce company values, and humanizing executive l...

Being a manager today is like taking a master class in self-development. More than any external practice, your own self-awareness and emotional intelligence are key to both your individual success and your organization's success. When we intentionally grow in these areas, work can be a win-win paradigm where we bring our best selves to work and invite others to do the same. This all sounds great,...

On this show you get to hear from truly stellar people leaders and how they think about running extraordinary companies and cultures. While Shane occasionally shares some of his ideas alongside them, we thought we'd switch things up a bit and give you a glimpse into how he thinks about the world of progressive HR, people operations, and doing business a little differently than it's ever been done...

What's the People Leadership paradox? HR, the people tasked with driving outcomes via all the other individuals at the company, are often set up for failure. Employees are an organization's largest expense and also the most important driver for achieving your goals. Shouldn't companies be empowering HR to succeed? Helping employees thrive within the confines of a budget, performance standards, and...

On this show you get to hear from truly stellar people leaders and how they think about running extraordinary companies and cultures. While Shane occasionally shares some of his ideas alongside them, we thought we'd switch things up a bit and give you a glimpse into how he thinks about the world of progressive HR, people operations, and doing business a little differently than it's ever been done...

There are a lot of taboo topics these days. But some of the most moving experiences happen when we muster up the courage to talk about the things we aren't supposed to talk about. Kathleen Ragelis, Head of People at Komodo Health, joins the show to share her experience with the power of vulnerable conversations and how they translate to business results. She also walks us through how to build an e...