HR Superstars (15Five)

If we choose to revert to a system of work that looks like 2019, we’re missing an opportunity of a lifetime. The role of HR is to enable the talent and culture in an organization, to equate business success with human success.

One of the best ways to do that is to carry forward the lessons we learned about flexible work and communication into the future of work.

In this episode, we interview Tracy Layney, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Levi Strauss & Co., about how the past 16+ months have transformed work as we know it.

In this episode we discuss:

-Hybrid work models finally creating real work/life integration

-HR’s role in creating a meaningful whole work experience

-Intentionality and motivation among managers and employees

-How the new work framework will stand on flexibility and connection

-Developing a more advanced manager skill set

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

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 of their parts.

Along the way, you’ll learn how culture is more like a living set of relationships moving together toward a goal rather than something that’s accidentally obtained.

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Does your company culture make every employee feel seen, heard, and appreciated?

Or is it deep-rooted in behaviors that cause someone to feel like a number?

In this episode, Watchen Nyanue Hampton, Founder and CEO of I Choose The Ladder, shares her unique perspectives on the need for more human-centric approaches in the workplace. She calls upon HR leaders to view employees as full individuals, highlighting that behaviors and actions should align with the company’s core values.

Watchen also relays her opinions about outsourcing employee surveys and exit interviews. She notes that outsourcing creates a sense of safety for employees to be candid with feedback.

During the conversation, Watchen taps into practical methods to counter generational clashes arising from differing workplace expectations. You’re sure to take away strategies for creating more relatable and less mechanical work environments.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here. 

Watchen Hampton's LinkedIn - click here! 

How many times have you taken a personality assessment only to forget all about it a few days later?

Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, Chair of the Board and Chief Thought Leader at Herrmann, believes it’s time to make assessments usable on a daily basis. Hermann uses a proprietary Whole Brain® Thinking approach (not a personality assessment) to make it easy to build alignment, engagement, and agility across your organization.  Ann’s on a mission to help leaders and teams change their thinking and leverage each others’ strengths.

She joins the show to discuss neurodiversity, retraining your brain, and becoming a human-centered leader. We dive into practical ways to take ownership of your mind and build a stronger team by understanding yourself and others more deeply.

Join us as we discuss:

[03:00] Defining cognitive diversity and neurodiversity
[05:30] How the brain develops over time
[09:00] How to change your brain
[12:30] Becoming a human-centered leader
[19:30] Beginning the journey of self-awareness
[26:15] Using assessments effectively
[35:30] The importance of recognizing our differences

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

The HR leaders who join our show share deep insights about keeping employees engaged and fostering high performance. 15Five’s Perform product gives people leaders the tools they need to help run strategic end-to-end performance management. It allows for unbiased performance measurement so you can make fair and accurate compensation decisions and ensure every employee is growing in their roles, their careers, and their lives. Head over to 15five.com/perform and try 15Five free for a couple of weeks or request a demo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

The HR journey is filled with lessons, inspirations, and growth. Katie Cox Branham, VP of People at Salesloft, shares her story to motivate others to elevate their game. Hers is a testament to the dedication and drive as the first HR hire at Salesloft, eventually becoming a strategic people leader.

In this episode, Katie talks about her early days doing tasks she loved, from reimagining the orientation program to transitioning off old systems and implementing new software. But as she rose in HR, she reflected on the struggle of letting go and transitioning into a management role.

There's much to learn from the conversation's takeaways, including how employee fulfillment and engagement make up the formula for effective work cultures.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on

LinkedIn

Download 15Five's Performance Review Playbook:

https://www.15five.com/ebook/hr-outcomes-playbook-unlocking-the-true-business-value-of-hr/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Q2_2023_Podcast_CTAs&utm_content=HR Outcomes Playbook

Have you ever felt guilty for not checking off “go to the gym” after work? You’re not the only one. But this doesn’t have to be a goal for everyone. What if you knew that small, consistent movements throughout the workday are just as impactful? It could be as simple as getting up and stretching your arms to clear brain fog.

In this episode, host Adam Weber sits down with movement expert Lara Heimann, founder and CEO of LYT Method, to explore the powerful connections between mind messaging and movement. It doesn’t take much for HR leaders to set employees on the right track toward productivity, happiness, and overall well-being.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

HR people are advocating for themselves more and more.

They want to have a seat at the table. But what’s the point of that seat at the table? Why do they want it in the first place? And how can they bring their skills to the table to create transformation inside their companies?

To learn more about how HR professionals can act as catalysts for transformational change, drive strategy forward, and help teams flourish, we talked with Mike Bokina, Vice President and Head of Human Resources at Siemens USA. 

What we talked about:

-Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for HR leaders.

-The role managers play in helping employees own their growth.

-A unique philosophy around rewards and recognition.

-Continuous growth management vs. annual performance reviews.

-How to facilitate more open and transparent dialogue around difficult topics.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.
 

Employers everywhere are struggling with hiring and retention. The list of reasons for talent scarcity is long, but what’s at the heart of the issue?

Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, and author of Talent Scarcity reveals the root problem: a lack of connection.

Through his research, he’s seen many job-hoppers end up unsatisfied no matter the pay increases or lofty titles they achieve. The common thread among them is that they’re seeking – and failing to find – deeper connection at work.

In this conversation, Ben shares actionable insights from his research to help people leaders create a culture that attracts and retains top talent.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

How do you care for others without losing yourself?

Tarveen Forrester, VP of People at Kickstarter, shares her experience with this challenge.

In this live webinar replay, Tarveen brings her decade-plus experience to discuss how setting boundaries impacts productivity and sustainable success.

Tarveen opens up about her career transition from Tastemade to Kickstarter, sharing how she knew it was time for a new adventure and what she’s learned from the experience. She discusses the transition to a four-day workweek and what it’s like to lead a unionized tech company.

Tarveen also shares her strategic approach to starting a new leadership role. She emphasizes the need for patience, avoiding the rush to achieve quick wins, and instead, documenting learnings, building trust, and adapting to your new environment.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Tarveen Forrester’s LinkedIn - click here!

Click here to listen to Tarveen’s first episode on HR Superstars!

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. She gives practical advice about ensuring everyone has the right context when decisions are made, investing in your people, and helping people love their jobs.

Join us as we discuss:

• [02:00] Developing a consistent employee experience
• [11:00] Managing the grief of layoffs
• [18:00] Making hard work generative rather than destructive
• [22:30] Creating a cohesive culture during growth
• [28:00] Investing in leadership development
• [36:00] Getting a little bit better every day
• [39:00] Shane’s fiction recommendations
• [45:00] Helping people love their jobs

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community! Interested in Leadership Development for your managers? Check out Transform Training & Coaching.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

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 Alliance, where she has championed the importance of mental health strategies in the workplace.

In her career, Holly discovered the importance of embracing the whole human after a difficult experience herself. Through her struggle, she realized the power of vulnerability and how it can transform relationships and improve performance. Now she embraces balance and prioritizes being a “whole human” at work.

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

It’s not enough to run through a regulatory checklist when you’re establishing or expanding your company’s diversity, equity, inclusivity and sense of belonging initiatives.

Diversity and inclusion is not about checking boxes on a list; it’s about creating a space of belonging through shared intent, individual empowerment, and proactive listening. Our leadership teams should continually be striving to create such space for a positive and equitable employee experience.

This episode is a feature from the HR Superstars Summit. In it, David Hassel, CEO of 15Five, Santi Jaramillo, CEO and Co-Founder of Emplify, and Milena Berry, CEO and Co-Founder of PowerToFly, discuss facilitating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in the workplace.

We also talked about:

-Emplify’s role in achieving a ‘true’ sense of community.

-Vulnerability and feedback as authentic signals of your employees’ experience of the company.

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

Emplify

PowerToFly

Agile Engagement (book by Santi)

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

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 Chief People Officer, we are excited to welcome Adam Weber as the new host of HR Superstars. Adam is an author, speaker, former Chief People Officer, and currently hosts the popular HR Superstars Community. So he’s kind of the perfect person for the role.

In his debut episode, he talks with Shane about legacy, building a culture that fosters growth, and unlocking human potential.

Join us as we discuss:

• [01:52] Transforming what it means to be an employee
• [10:09] Going beyond professional and social identities
• [16:58] Being the vehicle for the realization of people's dreams
• [31:39] Leaving a legacy that outlasts your tenure

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

HR is not just about processes and checking boxes.

It’s about building relationships and helping individuals on their own personal hero’s journey.

15Five wants to help HR leaders be able to do what matters most by developing their workforce and facilitating those heroes’ journeys.

To aid this goal, they started a podcast.

In this inaugural episode of HR Superstars, Rita Richa, a producer at Sweet Fish Media, talks with Shane Metcalf and David Hassell, CCO and CEO of 15Five, a leading continuous performance management and engagement solution, about what led them to start this podcast.

They also discussed:

-Shane and David’s professional backgrounds (everything from tech to kite surfing!)

-The heart and vision behind HR Superstars.

-How 15Five drives employee performance and engagement.

-What you can expect in future episodes (we’ll cover everything from meeting business performance needs to the science behind interpersonal relating!)

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.
 

The here-and-now of HR work is always on your mind. 

But do you anticipate what the future will look like? Have you considered what role AI will play and what’s in store for frontline workers?

In this episode, Neil Jensen, Future of Work Thought Leader and Strategist at Workday, explores these questions and more. 

Neil shares his insights on the evolving workforce and the hottest topic in HR right now: generative AI. Throughout the conversation, you’ll find how this technology ties in with the future of HR and can potentially accelerate your journey from administrative work to strategic leadership. You’ll also learn the importance of frontline workers and what their development could (and should) look like going forward.

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn. 

Download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook - Here

Race, gender, politics, religion, ageism, class — these don’t necessarily sound like fun conversations. But they can be, and you need to embrace them because your employees already are.

In this special edition episode from 15Five’s Empower Conference, we interview Carin Taylor, Chief Diversity Officer at Workday, about overcoming our fears to unpack the challenging conversations that our employees and communities want and need.

Join us as we discuss:

• Why we need to broaden our definition of inclusion, belonging, and equity
• Reframing the Great Resignation as the Great Attraction
• The role of the leadership team in creating DEI objectives
• Employees and other stakeholders are having difficult conversations that you need to join
• The future of DEI at work in the next five years

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Developing an intentional culture is a challenge for any team, but it’s especially daunting in the midst of intense growth.

Casey Bailey, Head of People at Deel, jumped in to build HR infrastructure soon after the company had grown from 50 to 550 employees in a single year.

In this episode, she shares how you can avoid some of the challenges she’s been facing, how she takes a high-trust approach to performance management, and how to build a strong global remote culture.

Join us as we discuss:
[07:00] Building culture through hypergrowth
[09:45] Developing compensation infrastructure for a globally distributed organization
[11:30] Navigating work arrangements post-pandemic
[15:00] Creating cohesion and bringing people together as a remote team
[18:00] The relational ROI of in-person events
[22:30] Performance management in a high-growth, global remote organization
[25:00] Giving feedback effectively across cultures and communication styles
[26:45] Casey’s top tips for building a healthy remote culture

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

This episode is brought to you by 15Five's Manager Accelerator™ Program, where certified in-house coaches teach skills like how to have more regular, effective conversations, how to leverage employee strengths, and how to motivate and inspire teams. Looking to reduce turnover, improve succession planning, and grow your top talent? Choose from online, live, and hybrid training options athttps://www.15five.com/products/manager-training.

Interested in learning more about The Meaningful Manager? You can find the link to purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/Meaningful-Manager-Manage-What-Matters/dp/1544529465

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

What if your work schedule was defined by trust and productivity, not the time you spend at your desk? Imagine how this could affect your search for true job satisfaction. 

We invited Strategic Talent Executive Cali Ressler to discuss the concept of a results-only work environment and the current distrust and misconception surrounding job crafting.

Cali shares insights on the post-pandemic workforce, highlighting the importance of adapting to employees’ changing needs and the challenges that HR leaders face. 

But she also touches upon her personal HR journey, calling it unexpected, fulfilling, and unending. Here, Cali opens up about her mental health journey and the significance of self-care. 

This episode serves as a reminder that everyone has hidden struggles, regardless of their external successes.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn. 

Click here to download 15Five’s Employee Engagement Playbook! 

Click here to buy Cali’s book, “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It”

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here. 

Cali Ressler's LinkedIn - click here!

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 thinks about the world of progressive HR, people operations, and doing business a little differently than ever been done before.

In this episode, Adam delves into the current hot topic of unlimited PTO, offering his unique and insightful perspective, while also offering ways to navigate the subject.

Have a question for Adam? Leave your own voicemail at speakpipe.com/hrsuperstarshotline

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

When you find the right candidate at the right time in your career for the right role, magic happens.

But aligning those stars is easier said than done.

That’s where AI is a game-changer.

In this episode, Khaled Hussein, Co-Founder and CEO of Betterleap, discusses how AI is transforming the talent acquisition space. He also discusses the innovative ways Betterleap is leveraging AI to accelerate recruiting processes, including a Google-like natural language sourcing tool.

Khaled emphasizes the importance of harnessing AI to find the right candidates. He also shares the potential for HR leaders to leverage technology to add significant strategic value to their organizations.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Khaled Hussein’s LinkedIn - click here!

In the era of AI and automation, how can HR leaders continue delivering meaningful outcomes when they have fewer resources?

George LaRocque, Founder and Principal Analyst of WorkTech, delves into AI use in HR, shedding light on optimizing your workforce and “doing more with less.” In this episode, he shares invaluable insights on data protection, aligning HR with business strategy, and relinquishing the status quo.

Drawing from his expertise as an HR industry tech executive, George also explores how to craft a compelling business case to win over leadership. You’ll learn that embracing the future of HR includes skills-based organizations and a fresh perspective on recruitment, retention, and resource allocation.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook - Here

The traditional approach to sales was all about hitting the number at all costs.

Not only is that unsustainable; it’s inefficient.

The key to high performance at any company is for managers to compassionately and empathetically engage and enable their people.

To find out how to do that, we talked with Sandi Kochhar, Chief People Officer at Gong.io, about living company values and manager enablement strategies.

We also talked about:

-How to keep values at the center of your culture.

-The role of the manager in culture.

-The hard and soft skills of management.

-How to help your people with emotional renewal.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

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 before.

In this episode, Shane shares why he’s taking a sabbatical and why 15Five created a sabbatical program in the first place.

You’ll learn:

• The power of making space to just be a human being
• How time off inspires innovation and creativity
• Why companies should think about giving employees time to be 

“As soon as the first bullet flew, the plan was out the window, and we started reacting,” General Schwarzkopf said about the Gulf War.

The same is true for workforce planning. We put plans in place, but then reality strikes. We need both clear plans and adaptability to adjust on the fly while keeping our strategic vision in place.

In this episode, Christopher Bjorling and Bill Banham, co-hosts of the People and Performance podcast, discuss mastering strategic workforce planning. They explain company culture's role in employee performance, how to balance short-term goals with long-term success, and how AI is shaping the future of HR.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Manager Enablement Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Christopher’s Bjorling’s LinkedIn - click here!

Bill Banham’s LinkedIn - click here!

Here is the link to register for the launch event! 

While HR leaders often juggle many challenges, Adam Weber, Host of HR Superstars, suggests that effective people management is one of the most critical issues they face. 

Adam shares that strategic HR is not about doing everything yourself but about leveraging the power of your managers. He introduces the fourth secret from the top 5% of HR leaders, highlighting the necessity of activating managers to drive organizational success.

Adam also shares compelling statistics that underscore the impact of managerial efficiency on employee engagement and performance while offering practical strategies to empower managers, such as creating clear expectations, providing ongoing support and resources, and implementing a system to assess managerial effectiveness.

Join us as we discuss:

(00:00) Introduction to the fourth secret of the top 5% of HR leaders  

(01:11) The superhero mindset in HR and its drawbacks  

(05:05) The importance of activating managers  

(05:12) One-third of HR time is spent on issues caused by poor managers  

(08:41) Practical steps to support and empower managers  

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Manager Enablement Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

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 employer/employee relationship

In this episode, Liesel shares practical ways to strengthen your empathy muscle as a manager, HR leader, and friend. She explains what is and isn't effective at helping someone through hardship and offers tangible tools to care for people well.

Resources from this episode:

• Balancing High Care and High Performance Panel Discussion
• Empathy Starters One-Page Guide
• For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Your culture has to connect to the solution(s) you offer, your compensation strategy has to connect to your culture, your planning process has to connect to your goals for your workforce…

All this stuff has to connect. Why?

People practices aren’t programmatic. They’re systematic.

In this episode, we interview Denise Thomas , VP, Operations (COO) at Cisco Meraki , about why people practitioners need to build systems, not programs:

Denise talks with us about:

• Architecting for human experience and high performance
• Reverse engineering your company culture to support people and business need
• The power of the cultural environment to influence business outcomes
• Why career ladders need to topple
• Taking a systematic perspective on the cultural environment

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or Stitcher . Or tune in on our website .

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

LaToya Lyn, Chief People Officer at Help Scout, is more than a people leader. She’s a business and product leader.

In this episode, LaToya shares what this dichotomy looks like for her, how HR drives business growth, and the importance of finding both mental and emotional renewal. She also explains how to find a seat at the table for strategic business conversations while prioritizing both personal and organizational sustainability.

Listen in for LaToya’s advice on how to grow the HR “products” you provide to your organization.

Join us as we discuss:
[04:00] The importance of an abundance mindset
[08:30] Identifying as a business leader and HR leader
[12:30] KPIs for HR
[20:00] The future of the talent market
[25:30] Sustainability and B Corps
[30:00] Focusing your energy and action
[40:00] The psychological contract between employees and employers
[47:45] Advice for up-and-coming people leaders

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, orStitcher. Or tune in at 15Five.com/podcast. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

This episode is brought to you by 15Five's Manager Accelerator Program™, where certified in-house coaches teach skills like how to have more regular, effective conversations, how to leverage employee strengths, and how to motivate and inspire teams. Looking to reduce turnover, improve succession planning, and grow your top talent? Choose from online, live, and hybrid training options at https://www.15five.com/products/manager-training.

Interested in learning more about The Meaningful Manager? You can find the link to purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/Meaningful-Manager-Manage-What-Matters/dp/1544529465

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community at community.15five.com!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

What does it really mean to be strategic in HR?

In 2022, only 46% of HR leaders were viewed as contributing strategic value to the business by their peers in the C-suite, according to Sapient Insights Group’s 2023-2024 Annual HR Systems White Paper report.

This week’s episode centers on the state of strategic HR today and as we approach 2024.

Join the conversation recorded live from our recent THRIVE conference in Denver, Colorado, with Cliff Stevenson, Director of Research at Sapient Insights Group, and Jamy Conrad, VP of People at TrustRadius.

Hot topics include the impact of AI on HR, the need for change management, and a remarkable decrease in regrettable turnover from 40% to 3%!

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on

LinkedIn.

Click here for Adam’s webinar on gratitude and centeredness practices!

How do top HR leaders successfully pitch new ideas and gain executive buy-in? 

In this episode, Adam Weber reveals why the key lies in speaking the language of the business.

Drawing from his experience with many HR leaders, Adam shares insights on tailoring HR strategies to align with overarching business goals. He explains the importance of understanding company priorities, incorporating business jargon, and building HR initiatives that executives view as logical extensions of the company strategy.

Tune in for actionable steps and a practical role-playing scenario to illustrate how you can present your ideas effectively. 

Join us as we discuss:

[00:00] An introduction to the episode

[01:34] Why top HR leaders must speak the language of business

[02:49] Think like a business leader, not just an HR professional

[07:15] How to put secret#1 into practice

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Click here to hear the introduction to the 5 Secrets series! 

The old models of leadership no longer serve organizations well.

Those models expected leaders to be superhuman. But that kind of strength entirely misses the mark; it doesn’t serve the needs of those we lead.

Today, we need a leadership model that embraces vulnerability, along with service, humility, kindness, and love.

We talked with Laila Tarraf, Chief People Officer at Allbirds, about her new book on leading with love in business and in life.

We also talked about:

-The old view of HR vs the new view of HR.

-The difference between enabling and protecting your people.

-How to help leaders find a deeper level of empathy.

-Why love is a strength, not a weakness.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Get Laila’s book, Strong Like Water.

In today’s cultural climate, leaders need to consider the enormous complexity we’re all facing in the middle of a pandemic and how they can care for their employees as human beings.

A lot of companies tend to move to one end of the empathy/results spectrum. But if focusing about both results and empathy in equal parts is critical to organizational health, what does a good balance look like?

To find the answer, we talked with Josh Bersin, founder of the Josh Bersin Academy, the world's professional development academy for HR, about corporate citizenship.

What we talked about:

-Josh’s background in HR and business leadership and how he became THE Josh Bersin.

-The HR industry’s move from an administrative compliance function to a strategic function.

-How leaders can participate in creating more economic opportunity.

-What leaders can do to create security within their own companies.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

A people-first approach to work sounds great, but is it really a winning strategy?

Diane Adams, Chief Culture and Talent Officer at Sprinklr, is here to say it is, and she has the numbers to prove it.

In just over a year, her team reduced attrition by 44%, even in the midst of a hot labor market.

She joins the show to share her perspective on work-life integration, the power of believing in people, and balancing authenticity with performance.

Join us as we discuss:

[02:00] The value of work-life flexibility
[07:45] Why people-first work is a winning strategy
[12:00] The power of believing in your people
[17:30] Showing up authentically through loss
[26:15] Balancing authenticity with achieving results
[30:15] Managing performance and employee delight
[40:30] Supporting your people’s dreams and strengths

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

The HR leaders who join our show share deep insights about keeping employees engaged and fostering high performance. 15Five’s Perform product gives people leaders the tools they need to help run strategic end-to-end performance management. It allows for unbiased performance measurement so you can make fair and accurate compensation decisions and ensure every employee is growing in their roles, their careers, and their lives. Head over to 15five.com/perform and try 15Five free for a couple of weeks or request a demo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Core values are even more important than your strategic plan, according to Christine Kaszubski, Chief People Officer at Pindrop.

She explains that core values provide a shared vocabulary, vision, and understanding. These elements establish a level of trust that companies lacking a strong set of core values struggle to develop.

In this conversation, Christine shares her insights on building a strong organizational culture through actionable core values and culture champions. She also provides guidance for adapting those core values as your business evolves, setting yourself up for success at a new organization, and planning ahead for future needs.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Creating a thriving culture requires both empathy and data.

Sarah Lovelace, VP of People at Airbase, mixes these two ingredients perfectly. By blending data with human-centered initiatives, she’s built vibrant, successful cultures at several incredible organizations.

In this conversation, Sarah shares her insights and her journey in building and implementing effective people practices. She dives into several key areas: connecting a global organization, using data to align leadership on initiatives, and collaborating with finance to plan effectively.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

HR leaders always think of new and better ways to onboard employees, but they rarely think about onboarding themselves.

In this episode replay, Hebba Youssef, an HR leader with a mission to build strong connections with employees, joined 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 always looking to set her people up for success. What’s her secret? Onboarding people with equal empathy and expectations. She found that developing good feedback habits and teaching her team how to do things was essential for success, but listen in to learn more about why they have to go together.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Hebba Youssef’s LinkedIn - click here!

There’s an exciting movement happening right now in HR where HR and people ops professionals are seeing an elevation of the strategic importance they play in an organization. 

Part of what’s driving that trend is empowering HR leaders with data around performance and engagement. One of the best opportunities for HR executives and people ops professionals to continue elevating their voice and strategic contribution to the company is helping the organization build a capability of manager enablement and then offering evidence to the leadership team for the importance of a business partnership with HR.

To ensure we’re at the front end of this revolution, 15five recently acquired Emplify, a company that is so deeply aligned to the same vision and will help us go further, faster.  

In this episode of HR Superstars, we talked with Emplify co-founders, Santi Jaramillo and Adam Weber (now on the 15Five leadership team), about how Emplify and 15Five successfully joined two founding teams, two complimentary products, and two cultures to create more engaged and higher performing workplaces and help elevate the HR function. 

We also talked about:

-The demand for a single, streamlined software over metrics across multiple platforms.

-The advantages of combining data, education, and coaching.

-How to create a work environment where people take ownership.

-Why community is an essential pillar for supporting strategic HR initiatives.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

Join the movement to elevate HR to a strategic business function by joining our community.

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 always looking to set her people up for success. What’s her secret? Onboarding people with equal empathy and expectations. She found that developing good feedback habits and teaching her team how to do things was essential for success, but listen in to learn more about why they have to go together.

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Share your impact to instill belief across the company. 

As an HR leader, you can inspire your team and create a culture of trust by consistently showcasing the meaningful work you're doing. 

In this episode, Adam Weber, host of HR Superstars, explores how the best HR leaders build company-wide confidence through transparency and storytelling.

He shares practical steps for communicating successes in a way that resonates with every level of the organization. From crafting compelling narratives to using every available medium, this episode will guide you on making your initiatives not just seen but truly believed in.

Join us as we discuss:

(00:00) An introduction to the fifth secret  

(01:33) An overview of the Five Secrets

(03:01) The fifth and final secret that differentiates top HR leaders

(03:50) Balancing optimism with transparency  

(04:39) The power of repetition in communication  

(06:42) Three steps to inspire company-wide change

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

We’re about to launch our new season of HR Superstars in September, so we wanted to give you a sneak peek at which amazing guests you can expect to hear from.

First, we kick off with brain science. Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, shares how Herrmann’s HBDI Brain Dominance Instrument assessment differs from personality assessments, using a proprietary Whole Brain Thinking approach to make it easy to build alignment, engagement, and agility across your organization.

Next, Kathleen Ragelis, Head of People at Komodo Health, shares her experience with the power of vulnerable conversations and storytelling and how they translate to business results.

And we’re really excited to share the interview with advisor and Chief People Officer, Julie Rogers. People leaders have a lot on their plate, and Julie and Shane talk about how unfortunate it is that despite all they do, people leaders are often set up for failure.

Shane also catches up with Jon Greenawalt, who leads Transform, 15Five’s coaching and manager training solution. And finally, we wrap the season by talking to Christine Maxwell, Chief People Officer at Rippling, one of the most innovative HRIS companies around.

You won’t want to miss this season of HR Superstars.

For the entire episode, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Historically, organizations have operated with an overly simplistic view of what motivates people.

They had little understanding of how important belonging is, how to build esteem, or how important it is to be sensitive to individual needs.

But if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we must be human first.

We talked with Gianna Driver, Chief People Officer at BlueVine, about leading with compassion, empathy, and understanding.

We also talked about:

- What 2020 taught us about empathy and how to lean in to those lessons.

- How to keep human first values top of mind as we go back to “the new normal.”

- How to operationalize individual needs at scale.

- What ingredients a culture needs to help its employees realize their potential.

- How to train and practice core competencies like resilience.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

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 thinks about the world of progressive HR, people operations, and doing business a little differently than ever been done before.

In this episode, Adam shares best practices on conflict management strategies.

In this episode, Adam shares best practices on conflict management strategies.

Have a question for Adam? Leave your own voicemail at speakpipe.com/hrsuperstarshotline

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

What does it take to be a great People Partner?

Susanna Fisch, Lead of Stripe’s People Partners, is here to tell us.

We dive into the best tactics for enabling teams, measuring your impact, and why managers are the linchpin of your organization.

Join us as we discuss:

[01:00] The role of People Partners

[08:30] Leveraging leaders within your organization

[15:00] What great People Partners and managers look like

[21:00] Areas of people development managers should own

[25:30] Measuring the impact of People Partners

[28:30] The next evolution of People Partners

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

HR Superstars is presented by 15Five, holistic performance and engagement solutions for today's HR leaders. To learn more, visit 15Five.com.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

If you’re feeling stagnant in your growth as a leader, the missing piece of the puzzle may be self-awareness and stillness.

In this conversation, Gretchen Schott, Chief Learning Officer at Threefold, emphasizes the need to slow down and quiet the noise to enable personal and organizational growth. She explains how making time to reflect and cultivating a practice of stillness allows you to create a culture of growth, empowerment, and fulfillment for yourself and your employees.

Gretchen also explores the difference between employee loyalty and satisfaction, the reason our culture lacks quality leadership, and the importance of empowering employees to develop a growth mindset.

As you listen, you’ll learn how to nurture your own growth, foster employee engagement, and recognize the potential for growth in challenging circumstances.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

We’re getting spicy in this episode – literally!

Hollie Castro, CPO at Miro, Amy Campbell, CPO at Overhaul, and host Adam Weber dig into HR hot takes over hot wings in front of a live audience in Austin, Texas. Hot topics include the value of employee engagement surveys, who HR should report to, and knowledge decay from L&D efforts.

Amy and Hollie also share their unfiltered insights on how to thrive as people leaders, from setting priorities to managing stress. Amy discusses fighting comparison and learning to say no, while Hollie reflects on her personal growth journey and the value of vulnerability.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn. 

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

Are you still looking for your “new normal”?

It’s not coming anytime soon, explains Brian Elliott, Executive Leader of Future Forum, SVP at Slack, and author of How the Future Works.

The good news? We’re going to keep getting better – constantly evolving, rather than settling into the status quo.

In this episode, Brian shares research-backed insights from how to most effectively change company practices to build relationships in a digital-first environment. He leaves you with ideas to ponder and practices to try with your own teams.

Join us as we discuss:
[03:00] Leading flexible teams and building in-person connections
[11:30] Managing change collaboratively
[17:30] Effective ways to build trust
[23:30] Innovations that improve the way we work
[28:00] Taking an apolitical stance as a company
[33:00] Driving initiatives as a team
[36:30] Best practices for leading distributed teams
[45:30] Tactics for creating margins for your team

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in at 15Five.com/podcast. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

This episode is brought to you by 15Five's Manager Accelerator Program™, where certified in-house coaches teach skills like how to have more regular, effective conversations, how to leverage employee strengths, and how to motivate and inspire teams. Looking to reduce turnover, improve succession planning, and grow your top talent? Choose from online, live, and hybrid training options at https://www.15five.com/products/manager-training.

Unlock the power of flexible work with Brian's practical “how-to” guide: How The Future Works. 

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community at community.15five.com!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

What is the first step on the path to high results?

Answer: when leaders care about their employees as whole beings.

Employees do their best work when their deepest needs are met. How can we work toward an environment that is compassionate, fulfilling, and safe?

We talked with repeat guest David Hanrahan, Chief Human Resources Officer at Eventbrite, about the state of mental health post-2020 and the CHRO’s role in addressing mental health in the workplace.

What we talked about:

-Depression, anxiety, and social comparison in the workplace

-The balance between caring for people and pushing results

-Questions to ask your people to check in on them

-How to uncover your people’s motivators

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

Becoming a teammate with the rest of the leadership team is critical to building a successful HR function.

Kate McKinnon, Head of HR at Playfly Sports, knows this firsthand and has developed strategies that allow her to serve her form a partnership with the C-Suite from day one at an organization.

In this episode, Kate and Shane discuss what it looks like to partner with your people, find creativity in HR, and unify around a shared mission.

Join us as we discuss:
[02:00] Forming a partnership with your C-Suite
[03:50] Making room for gray areas and creativity in HR
[07:15] Balancing boundaries with servant leadership
[12:30] Finding your dream job
[20:00] Rallying around a shared mission
[25:00] Uncovering organizational needs
[29:00] The importance of C-level buy-in
[31:30] Bringing connectivity to HR
[34:00] The future of work culture

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

The HR leaders who join our show share deep insights about keeping employees engaged and fostering high performance. 15Five’s Perform product gives people leaders the tools they need to help run strategic end-to-end performance management. It allows for unbiased performance measurement so you can make fair and accurate compensation decisions and ensure every employee is growing in their roles, their careers, and their lives. Head over to 15five.com/perform and try 15Five free for a couple of weeks or request a demo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Can a strong HR-COO partnership transform employee engagement and company culture?

Jon Rosenson and Molly Perenic believe it absolutely can.

As leaders at Expedient, Jon and Molly share how their close collaboration has led to a thriving work environment where employees are engaged and aligned with the company’s goals. They discuss the power of clear communication, the impact of small but meaningful changes, and the importance of meeting employees where they are—whether in the office or remotely.

Jon and Molly also provide insights into scaling tribal knowledge and fostering a culture of continuous feedback, demonstrating how a united leadership team can drive significant positive change across an organization.

Join us as we discuss:

(00:00) Introduction to the episode with Jon Rosenson and Molly Perenic

(03:52) Defining employee engagement and its impact on organizational success

(06:14) Encouraging feedback and creating a culture of psychological safety

(07:25) The impact of small changes

(09:50) Scaling tribal knowledge across a growing organization

(13:01) Adapting engagement strategies for different worker types

(19:54) Flexibility in a 24-hour work environment

(23:47) Leadership reflections and the importance of cross-team collaboration

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Employee Engagement Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Molly Perenic LinkedIn - click here!

Jon Rosenson LinkedIn - click here!

After ten years and over a thousand conversations with HR leaders, Adam Weber is sharing five insights you can apply to your work right now.

Before we get there, we need to address the challenge HR leaders face today. Despite reduced budgets and flat staff sizes, HR's role is more important than ever. Yet only 50% of executive teams view HR as the strategic partner they are. It’s no wonder 98% of HR leaders are dealing with burnout.

But the good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. Stay tuned for future episodes where you’ll learn how to unlock your HR career, become a more strategic leader, and do the work of your dreams.

If this episode sparks a story, inspiration, or idea, let Adam know on LinkedIn!

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Nearly 1,300 employees at an all-remote and always remote org pose a considerable culture challenge. Tune in to learn about remote culture done well.

In this episode, we interview Lori McLeese, Global Head of HR at Automattic, about strategies for celebrating culture at your remote org.

What we talked about:

-Total freedom to live and work in the way that suits your lifestyle

-Data and what to track

-The need for transparency in remote orgs

-Why management isn’t a promotion at Automattic

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Strategies never fail—people do.

As an authority on the relationship between strategy and human behavior, David Ducheyne engages in a powerful conversation about the negative behaviors that undermine collaboration and strategic progress within companies.

David is the founder of Otolith out of Belgium, and we invited him to discuss what makes a meaningful strategy resonate deeper and last longer with employees. His insights resonate with anyone invested in nurturing a workplace culture primed for innovation and strategic triumph.

In this episode, David reflects on how tolerating, hiring, and stimulating bad behaviors lead to failures in reinforcing strategies. He also addresses the emotional nuances of customer-oriented strategy detachment and the power of feedback to spark innovation.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Employee Engagement Playbook!

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, right? But how do we actually make it happen?

Jon Greenawalt, SVP of Customer Transformation at 15Five, shares how tech is making coaching more accessible, and how it can bring about lasting change.

In this episode, Jon dives into the core competencies of a modern leader, how to create learning programs that work, and how to show the return on your investment in personal development.

Join us as we discuss:

• [08:00] Continuous education and training
• [10:00] Integrating learning and development with HR
• [14:30] Translating ideas to action through software
• [16:30] Turning survey data into an actionable strategy
• [23:00] Where the ed tech industry is going
• [27:00] Measuring learning outcomes
• [30:00] What healthy psychological safety looks like
• [36:00] Why strengths-based development works
• [38:30] The importance of self-awareness as a leader

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Join us at Thrive 2022 with your fellow HR leaders and their teams for an unforgettable experience of community-building, learning, and inspiration! We’ll have some fascinating panels and key notes where you’ll learn how to drive action that fuels higher performance, create more engaged humans, and how to build an HR team that unlocks the potential of managers and is in alignment with executives. We’ll also be recording a special episode of the HR Superstars podcast, live at the event. Go to 15Five.com/Thrive to register and get special early bird pricing until September 23rd.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

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 Bartolomea joins the show to share the steps he’s taking to shift his focus to profitability as a people leader at ClickUp.

Join us as we discuss:

• [04:30] The role of HR in company culture
• [06:45] Strategically managing headcount
• [10:30] Investing in talent development
• [15:00] Balancing high performance and high care
• [18:30] Why benefits and flexibility attract and retain talent
• [22:45] Holding a compassionate perspective even in a tight market

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

The guest audio in this recording is slightly muffled and does not reflect how the guest sounds normally. 

Creating an extraordinary employee experience is the never-ending quest of people leaders.

Thankfully, we don’t have to leave it up to luck or trial and error. In this conversation, Dr. Paul Zak, Professor, Speaker, and Co-Founder of Immersion Neuroscience, reveals the science behind exceptional employee experiences.

Dr. Zak explains how to use his Immersion Framework to engage employees, increase productivity, and improve happiness. He shares his formula for creating top-notch experiences and crafting training that sticks.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Employee experience is an all-encompassing concept. It’s not limited to what happens to an employee, but includes everyone and everything that touches their day-to-day.

Mary Slaughter, author and Distinguished Principal Research Fellow at The Conference Board, brings her decades of C-suite to discuss comprehensive employee experience, including the emotions of your employees, employee trust in the midst of layoffs, and the importance of prioritizing leadership development.

Mary combines her deep wisdom with forward thinking to equip leaders and improve the employee experience.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

What does it mean to bring your whole self to work? And is that actually what we want from our people?

Jen Fox, Director of People Experience and Culture at Justworks, joins the show to share how her team meets the needs of employees and stays authentic in messy conversations—all while setting healthy boundaries. We discuss the importance of curiosity, intentionality, and calling others in rather than calling them out.

Listen in for Jen’s advice on balancing the tension we encounter in healthy work environments, bringing your authentic self to work, and how to navigate controversial conversations with your teammates.

Join us as we discuss:

[06:00] What it means to bring your whole self to work
[10:00] How to be authentic in the midst of controversial issues
[14:30] Aligning individual and organizational values
[19:45] Meeting the needs of employees
[26:00] Surfacing and learning from your shadow side
[32:00] Setting boundaries as an HR practitioner
[38:00] Clarifying and narrowing in on your mission

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in at 15Five.com/podcast. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

HR Superstars is presented by 15Five, holistic performance and engagement solutions for today's HR leaders. To win a pair of Sony noise-canceling headphones in June 2022 and access an extended 4-week trial of 15Five, visit 15five.com/trial-podcast. Signups for a trial must be completed by June 30th, and existing customers or those already in a buying cycle are not eligible.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community at community.15five.com!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

A truly grehttps://www.15five.com/resources/podcast/at company culture doesn’t typically develop on its own.

It is often necessary to undergo change that will allow you to grow as an organization and build the culture you desire.

In this episode of HR Superstars, we talked with Sarah Chavarria, Chief People Officer at Delta Dental, about organizational transformation.

What we talked about:

-How culture shapes your organization’s personality.

-HR’s role in empowering employees.

-Where mindset and habits come into play.

-How to handle employee fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

As automated and self-guided careers become the norm, what will the future hold for HR managers? 

Melanie Lougee, Head of Future HR Products at ServiceNow, focuses her work on what will be expected from the HR manager of tomorrow. In this episode, she explores the role managers will play in the evolving workforce, which includes generational differences and post-COVID environments.

The future of HR isn’t only limited to changes in work management. It’s also about how managers must adapt their skills to create “thriving teams”—a concept that will replace traditional success metrics. 

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five's Manager Enablement playbook! 

As an HR leader, how do you balance a work culture of strong, visionary, and confident employees with discussions about their challenges, failures, and struggles?

You start by normalizing the idea of vulnerability at work.

A trained futurist and an authority on workplace leadership, Jacob Morgan delves into his thoughts and concepts from his latest book, “Leading with Vulnerability” where he interviewed over 100 CEOs and 14,000 employees. In this episode, he discusses the important challenge of introducing vulnerability in a work setting.

Jacob shares his own personal journey, starting out as a skeptic and ending as a believer. He also hones in on a crucial takeaway: vulnerability is only effective when combined with competence and leadership.

With actionable tips and strategies, you’ll learn how you can integrate vulnerability into your own leadership style.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Jacob Morgan’s book, “Leading with Vulnerability,” is available on October 3, 2023. For more information about Jacob’s previous books, speaking engagements, course enrollments, and more, visit thefutureorganization.com. You can reach out directly to Jacob for any further questions by emailing him at jacob@thefutureorganization.com.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Sayle Hutchison, CFO of 15Five, is one of the most accomplished CFOs in the software industry, but it took a journey of personal growth to get where she is today.

She shares how she’s overcome negative self-talk and shame, developed confidence as a female leader in tech, and committed to creating a life worth living.

In this conversation, Sayle unpacks the common obstacles she's seen other high-performing women face on their journey to becoming executives. She explains a concept called the Defeat Triangle and provides tangible steps to overcome it and unlock growth.

Resources for this episode:

Webinar with Sayle and Adam: Getting a Yes from Your CFO: How to Drive Change and Push People Initiatives in 2023

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

How would your HR journey change if you knew that “up” wasn’t the only direction for your career? 

It’s certainly OK to work toward promotions, but don’t forget to explore the other moves in mobile career development.

This concept of “career leverage” holds value today as much as it did forty years ago. 

As one of the most recognized thought-leaders in HR, Dr. Beverly Kaye shares her deep wisdom, practical insights, and timeless truths developed over six decades of experience in career advancement and employee engagement. 

You’ll learn how Bev’s philosophy challenges traditional career paths and offers new ways for individuals to find satisfaction within their careers beyond the typical managerial trajectory.

The conversation expands on groundbreaking yet practical strategies to empower two sets of relationships: HR leaders to managers and managers to their employees. 

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn. 

Click here to download 15Five’s Manager Enablement Playbook!

The journey from administrative to strategic HR is full of lessons to learn and skills to gain. But what additional insights and guidance can you glean from seasoned CPOs?

As a previously experienced CPO, Arjen Mackaaij now serves as Chief People Officer at Front. In this episode, he shares his real-time journey and strategic approach to people operations.  

Learn how Arjen uses the Strength Finders framework to support unique individual skills within his team, promote effective collaboration, and sustain conflict resolution. He also highlights four important criteria, such as executive value fit, that every aspiring or established CPO should consider when deciding which organization to work with next. 

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five's HR Outcomes Playbook:

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 managing the pandemic and the death of an employee, she’s developed strong coping skills and boundaries to support her own mental and physical health so she can lead her team well. 

Tarveen also discusses how to equip managers to lead a diverse workforce, leverage your team members’ strengths, and create a cohesive culture when spread across the globe. 

Join us as we discuss:

• [02:00] Managing self-care as a people leader

• [09:30] Leading others through trauma

• [13:00] Collaborating with a diverse workforce

• [19:00] Equipping managers to communicate effectively

• [22:30] Creating a cohesive culture as a global organization

Resources for this episode:

HR Superstars Summit landing page

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

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 compensation parameters is a paradox many people leaders face, and Julie Rogers joins the show to discuss performance in the context of the evolving employee engagement landscape.

She also dives into challenges people leaders face, how to build trust between your people and organization, and best practices for developing lasting engagement.

Join us as we discuss:

• [05:00] The evolution of employee engagement
• [08:00] Understanding the value of people data
• [10:30] Defining employee engagement
• [13:00] The paradox of people leadership
• [17:30] Acknowledging the two-way business relationship
• [21:00] Building employer-employee trust
• [28:00] Leading with clarity and kindness
• [32:00] Iterating on your people lifecycle
• [37:30] Why semantics matter
• [42:00] Setting expectations and communicating about perks

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Join us at Thrive 2022 with your fellow HR leaders and their teams for an unforgettable experience of community-building, learning, and inspiration! We’ll have some fascinating panels and key notes where you’ll learn how to drive action that fuels higher performance, create more engaged humans, and how to build an HR team that unlocks the potential of managers and is in alignment with executives. We’ll also be recording a special episode of the HR Superstars podcast, live at the event. Go to 15Five.com/Thrive to register and get special early bird pricing until September 23rd.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

We're all figuring out what we want to be when we “grow up”. Katie Burke, HubSpot’s Chief People Officer, shares that sometimes in order for us to create a different future, we have to be willing to recreate what will get us there.

In this episode, we discuss creating a culture that normalizes growth and development, and why listening is one of our greatest superpowers. Katie shares how to think about listening at scale and holding firm to core values in a large and diverse organization.

Listen in for Katie’s hard-won wisdom from her tenure at Hubspot, a consistent Best Places to Work award winner.

Join us as we discuss:

[03:00] Embracing your failures

[05:00] Handling feedback and staying current

[11:00] Becoming a good listener

[19:00] Balancing saying “no” with fostering a positive culture

[24:00] Approaching conflict with empathy

[29:30] Connecting with purpose at work

[36:00] The future of HR

[40:30] Navigating change over time

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in at 15Five.com/podcast. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

HR Superstars is presented by 15Five, holistic performance and engagement solutions for today's HR leaders. To win a pair of Sony noise-canceling headphones in June 2022 and access an extended 4-week trial of 15Five, visit 15five.com/trial-podcast. Signups for a trial must be completed by June 30th, and existing customers or those already in a buying cycle are not eligible.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community at community.15five.com!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Core values can drive more cynicism than connection. But done right, they can provide a bedrock for fast-growing hybrid teams.

Rad Power Bikes is a great example. Pam Keenan Fritz shares how they have pulled values off the proverbial wall and into every stage of the employee life cycle. The result? A highly engaged culture.

Pam further digs into her experience building a thriving hybrid work environment sharing how incorporating remote work actually levels the playing field.

Join us as we discuss:
[08:00] Practical strategies to make every voice heard
[11:00] Best practices for hybrid work
[17:00] Practical application for implementing core values
[25:00] Reconfiguring for remote work

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

The way we work has changed dramatically. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the importance of putting people first. Abby Hamilton, Chief People Officer at LiveIntent, has compelling advice for doing just that, even when it’s hard. This value permeates all areas of her team, from conversations about compensation to managing employee performance.

A people-first perspective also calls for reframing some aspects of work. Abby explains how turnover can be good for individuals and your organization, why work-life balance is a myth, and what it looks like to live out your values.

Join as we discuss:
[08:00] Work-life integration
[15:30] Reframing turnover
[25:30] Handling compensation conversations
[35:30]

Living out your values For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Are your managers equipped to lead with both heart and strategy? 

Dr. Jeff Smith, Chief Product Officer at 15Five and author of "The Meaningful Manager,"  argues that bridging this gap is key to organizational success.

In this episode, Jeff discusses the critical need for managerial skill development and the importance of managers to talk with their employees about their career paths. 

Adam and Jeff discuss how several strategies and 15Five’s innovations are reshaping HR leadership, emphasizing the importance of prioritization, accountability, and data-informed decisions to drive meaningful progress in organizations.

These conversations help high performers understand their future opportunities and growth within the company.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Jeff Smith’s LinkedIn - click here!

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 basics are happening in our companies but we’re dropping the ball far too often. From career conversations to translating company goals into clear plans for teams, people on the frontlines aren’t getting the support they need to succeed.

Bonnie joins the show to remind us of the basics we’re neglecting, share how we can support frontline managers, and encourage self-leadership.

Join us as we discuss:

• [02:00] Supporting frontline managers
• [07:00] Creating opportunities for engagement
• [11:00] Operationalizing role clarity
• [15:00] Developing self-leadership
• [21:30] Becoming a transformational manager
• [26:00] Practicing empathy as a leader
• [30:45] Forging a win-win dynamic
• [33:30] Partnering with frontline managers

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

What do you think about the meaning of HR work at its core? How do HR leaders bring humanity back to work cultures and meet changing workforce needs?

The future of HR sees a call to action for leaders and organizations to redefine their work cultures. In this episode, Anessa Fike, Founder of Fike & Co. and author of “The Revolution of Work,” challenges the traditional work structure framework and advocates for a more humane approach to productivity—one that honors diverse life demands.

Anessa highlights the realities of an ever-changing workforce and the imperative for choice and adaptability in work arrangements.

But the conversation is more than just a dialogue about work structure. From psychological safety to a culture celebrating vulnerability, the revolution of work should promote places of balance, respect, and emotional intelligence.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s HR Outcomes Playbook!

In this episode of HR Superstars, we talked with Elisa Garn, VP Digital Brand at GBS Benefits, Inc., who shared several personal stories explaining how she became more empathic and learned firsthand the sting of pity and sympathy in a vulnerable and painful situation.

With great humor and candor, she offered unique perspectives around the difference between tactical and strategic HR. She also provided a fascinating framework for the evolution of roles and responsibilities in one’s HR career. She uses the metaphor of a city to refer to your business and the three HR archetypes are: The City Planner, The Traffic Cop, and the Mayor.

You can read more about “The Governance of your HR Career” in Elisa’s Forbes article.

We also talked about:

-How HR can reshape society by improving the employee experience

-Understanding strategic objectives, not getting bogged down in admin

-How Elisa increased her empathy after experiencing discrimination at work

-It’s not your job to engage employees, it’s your job to empower them


For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

A critical responsibility of CEOs is creating the space for people to be their greatest selves.

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that companies and the people who make decisions in them have a long way to go in understanding and growing diversity and inclusion.

How can CEOs create an environment where everybody has equal opportunity to become their best selves if they don’t really understand the underlying dynamics that different types of people face?

To find the answer, we talked with Amber Cabral, Inclusion and Diversity Strategist, Executive Coach, and Author of “Allies and Advocates” about how to identify privilege in our own personal lives and how leaders can develop diversity and inclusion strategies at their companies.

What we talked about:

-What led Amber to become a D&I strategist and author.

-The difference between an ally and an advocate, and how to be both.

-How to become aware of privilege and extend privilege to others.

-Tangible steps for moving from awareness to action.

-Tips for intelligently and compassionately engaging in conversations on diversity.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.
 

Have you ever wondered if CEO favoritism can shape the culture of an entire organization? 

According to Alex Seiler, it definitely can. 

Alex, a seasoned Chief People Officer with over 15 years of global experience, shares the often-overlooked impacts of CEO favoritism on organizational culture and how it manifests in promotions, decision-making, and social dynamics.

Drawing from his experience, Alex discusses practical strategies for tackling these challenges and fostering a fairer, more inclusive workplace. He shares how intentionality, communication, and strategic thinking are the tools to transform your leadership approach.

Join us as we discuss:

(00:00) An introduction to the episode with Alex Seiler

(02:17) How CEO favoritism impacts company culture

(07:12) Strategies for addressing CEO favoritism and fostering intentional leadership

(15:42) How to find quick wins to impact the culture as a new Chief People Officer

(21:10) How Alex transformed an entire HR department in 18 months

(31:48) Alex’s visions of the future of HR with accountability, Four-Day Workweeks, and DEI

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Performance Review Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Alex Seiler LinkedIn - click here!

How do you navigate shifting priorities during life’s big moments while maintaining team chemistry and a strong company culture? Lee Rubin, founder and CEO at Confetti, shares her insights as she prepares for maternity leave.

In this episode, Adam and Lee discuss the balancing act leaders face during significant life changes. From reorienting priorities to combating burnout, their conversation is rich and insightful.

Learn about prioritizing employee well-being, the evolving role of HR, and practical strategies for maintaining team chemistry in a fully remote setup.

Join us as we discuss:

• [00:00] Introduction to the episode
• [05:07] Understanding shared goals and accountability for success
• [09:44] Maintaining communication and alignment during company growth
• [13:27] How testimonials fuel company mission for remote workplaces
• [17:26] How HR was transformed during the pandemic
• [23:29] Promote a healthy and happy work-life balance
• [26:07] Prioritize tasks, be mindful of urgency
• [29:20] Crush goals, streamline team, focus strategically
• [32:58] Family or work: priorities shape your actions

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Manager Enablement Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Lee Rubin’s LinkedIn - click here!

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 thinks about the world of progressive HR, people operations, and doing business a little differently than ever been done before.

In this episode, Adam shares what separates the best HR leaders from everyone else.

Have a question for Adam? Leave your own voicemail at speakpipe.com/hrsuperstarshotline

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

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 environment. 

Listen in to learn more about how to delegate so you have time to think, what it looks like to invest in outside partners, and how to get the most out of your people function. 

Join us as we discuss:

[05:42] Cultivating culture for the future you want

[11:01] Getting out from behind your desk to learn how to serve your employees 

[23:08] Why HR needs to think like a profit center

[32:23] The benefits of incorporating intentional art in offices 

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo. 

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community! 

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Why do some HR leaders struggle with courage and confidence in advocating for themselves or others in the workplace? 

Michelle Gladieux, founder of Gladieux Consulting and author of “Communicate with Courage,” answers this question. As it turns out, the strengths that make you a good HR leader may prevent you from effectively communicating when it matters the most. 

But it doesn’t have to remain that way.

In this episode, Michelle shares the four challenges that hinder people from taking risks and showing courage to communicate effectively in the workplace. You’ll learn more about the factors in overcoming those challenges: the impacts of biases, the value of diverse perspectives, and the importance of understanding the operations in your organization.

It takes practice and guts. But every day, you have the opportunity to do the work and get a little closer to reaching your potential as a communicator with courage. 

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

For more insights and resources, sign up for Michelle’s free quarterly newsletter, “Breakdown.”  

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

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 for this live podcast recording at Thrive, our annual gathering of HR leaders that recently took place in Austin, Texas. Listen to hear them discuss leading by values, creating meaning at work, and how to make your company a community where people find belonging.

Join us as we discuss:

• [02:00] Gathering with a purpose
• [06:15] Aligning organizational and personal values
• [09:00] Learning what matters to your people
• [14:00] Differentiating between authentic needs and entitlement
• [19:00] Getting unstuck and discovering possibilities
• [22:00] Coaching vs. managing
• [24:30] Finding more ways to win
• [28:00] Allowing people to be honest about what they want and need
• [32:30] Moving from tolerance to consciousness
• [34:45] Developing companies into communities

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

How do leaders create a sense of belonging and camaraderie with their still shell-shocked remote team?

They start with clear communication, vulnerability and inclusivity, and a safe space to share ideas.

This episode was taken from a segment of the HR Superstars Summit. In it, Santi Jaramillo, CEO and Co-Founder of Emplify, and Milena Berry, CEO and Co-Founder of PowerToFly, discuss ways to lead with empathy and increase remote staff engagement.

We also talked about:

-The importance of authentic leadership and clear communication.

-How CEOs can practice transparency and cultivate compassionate leadership.

-Ways to foster recognition and a sense of achievement to increase team engagement.

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

Emplify 

PowerToFly 

Agile Engagement (book by Santi)
 

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

As remote work has become the new norm, the role of managers in shaping the employee experience has never been more critical.

Carmen Amara, Chief People Officer at Yelp, delves into the importance of empathy in management, especially amid the challenges introduced by the pandemic.

With work and life increasingly intertwined, Carmen shares practical measures Yelp has implemented, like setting core hours and managing meetings more effectively, to support their remote workforce.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Manager Enablement Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Carmen Amara’s LinkedIn - click here!

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 strategically balancing priorities. When done well, this talent strategy supercharges new companies and enables them to scale successfully.

Listen to hear Brianna correct misconceptions about talent in VC ecosystems, reveal the secret to building a strong startup team, and share how to fuel your success with a talent strategy.

Join us as we discuss:

• [03:30] The critical role of talent partners in VC
• [09:45] What founders don’t understand about talent
• [14:30] Balancing priorities
• [17:00] Building trust with entrepreneurs
• [22:00] Why diverse teams create new opportunities
• [25:00] Collecting a library of resources
• [28:00] Pursuing a career as a talent partner
• [33:00] The power of coaching
• [43:00] How to learn more about VC talent partners

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in

on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Creating an inclusive culture involves much more than trite phrases and modernizing policies.

Cara Pelletier, Sr. Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at 15Five, shares how building an inclusive culture takes multiple building blocks. Some of those blocks are cultivating traits like humility, curiosity, and vulnerability. Others are very tactical, like using intentional language, incorporating neurodiversity, and embracing healthy conflict.

Cara also explains how inclusive companies experience more than just safe working environments; they also see measurable returns on the investment they make in their people.

We finish our conversation with a teaser for a DEIB course Cara created, which is part of 15Five's Transform offering. Part of that course, which deals with neurodiversity is detailed in this blog post.

Join us as we discuss:

• [01:00] Embracing multiple perspectives
• [08:00] The business value of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• [09:30] Using inclusive language
• [12:00] Navigating the professional world as a woman with autism
• [25:00] Developing disability inclusion
• [38:00] Becoming a great leader and follower

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

HR Superstars is presented by 15Five, holistic performance and engagement solutions for today's HR leaders. To win a pair of Sony noise cancelling headphones in June 2022 and access an extended 4-week trial of 15Five, visit 15five.com/trial-podcast. Signups for a trial must be completed by June 30th, and existing customers or those already in a buying cycle are not eligible.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, Join the HR Superstars Community! Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

In HR, cultivating a marathon mindset isn’t just a choice; it’s a necessity. 

It’s about pacing yourself for the long run, emphasizing strategic growth and intentional planning with each stride, and not just speeding through daily tasks.

In this episode, we dive deep with Marissa Morrison, the VP of People at ZipRecruiter, as she discusses her impressive career and personal journey of balance, self-awareness, and intentional living.

Throughout the conversation, the central theme revolves around understanding and acting upon your personal and professional aspirations. 

Marissa poses two powerful questions for self-reflection: “What do I want?” and “How do I want to show up?” Genuine answers to these questions will lead to finding activities that recharge your batteries while being conscious of those that drain you.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn. 

Click here to download 15Five’s Manager Enablement Playbook! 

Join the HR Superstars Summit on Feb 22nd at 12 ET. This free, virtual event is packed full of actionable insights by strategic HR professionals. Register here!

Developing a compensation philosophy is no simple task, but it’s critical to your success.

First Person’s CEO & Founder, Bryan Brenner, and SVP & Consultant, Paul Ashley, reveal the strategic power of getting compensation right and share their tips to help you get started.

We also dive into HR trends Bryan and Paul have noticed, where total rewards fit in the HR hierarchy of needs, and how focus on mental health leads to a thriving organization.

Join us as we discuss:

- [01:00] Getting started with your compensation philosophy

- [07:30] The HR hierarchy of needs and evolution of total rewards

- [17:00] Prioritizing mental health

- [30:00] Why a Chief People Officer should be your next hyper-growth hire

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

It’s easy to come up with the idea of a corporate value.

But coming up with convergence where people align their bodies, hearts, minds, and spirits with that value and actually living it…that’s tough.

How do we get people to buy in to corporate values and live out a collective mission?

To find out, we talked with David Hanrahan, Chief Human Resources Officer at Eventbrite, about working towards convergence and maintaining strong company culture in the face of crises.

What we talked about:

-How to take care of your people when your industry is hit hard.

-How to encourage buy in from your leadership team around empathetic leadership.

-What convergence means and how that builds great culture.

-How to empower employees to live out corporate values.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.

Burnout and inefficiency are some of the biggest challenges people leaders face today.

Jennifer Christie, Chief People Officer at Bolt, shares how her team’s transition to four-day workweeks has unlocked efficiency and provides space for employees to pursue their passions outside of work.

Join us as we discuss:

[01:00] What inspired Bolt’s four-day workweek

[06:30] Cultural changes as a result of the shift

[14:00] Adjusting to a four-day workweek

[28:00] Conscious.org, a movement by Bolt

[36:30] The importance of trust in company culture

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

HR Superstars is presented by 15Five, holistic performance and engagement solutions for today's HR leaders. To learn more, visit 15Five.com.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

The future of HR sees recruitment evolving faster than ever. Is your talent acquisition strategy ready for tomorrow's challenges?

In this episode, Adam Gordon, co-founder of Poetry, dives deep into the “humble, hungry, and smart” hiring philosophy. He brings a progressive twist, focusing on potential and cultural fit over traditional experience metrics.

Talent acquisition is no place for the status quo. With this in mind, Adam emphasizes the crucial role of HR in strategic workforce planning, noting how generative AI and automation are game-changers in the hiring process.

In discussing recruitment malpractices and technological advancements, Adam also spotlights the human element needed to give candidates a more informed and engaging application process.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five's HR Outcomes Playbook! 

HR Superstars is coming back for a second season! In these new episodes, we're going to be hosting new HR leaders who are innovating high-performance cultures at some of the fastest-growing and most successful companies in the world. We're also adding some subject matter experts, academics, coaches, and other business leaders who work beside and inspire HR leaders. You don't want to miss it.

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 before.

So here it is. Your first sneak peek into Shane's brain and his take on the power of believing.

You’ll learn:

• How we shape other people at the same time they shape us
• The value of external championing, especially in the form of mentorship
• Why recognition gives you the push to give your gifts 

Can gut instinct alone guide strategic HR decisions effectively? 

Adam Weber doesn’t think so. 

In this episode, he discusses the second secret of the top 5% of HR leaders: the pivotal role of data and metrics in advancing bold initiatives.

Adam highlights the transformation HR is undergoing, drawing parallels to the marketing industry's shift from intuition to data-driven strategies. He shares insights on how data empowers HR leaders to move from a reactive to a proactive stance, prioritizing work that aligns with critical business outcomes: maximizing employee performance, increasing engagement, and reducing regrettable turnover.

Join us as we discuss:

[00:00] An introduction to the episode

[01:00] Why your gut instinct isn’t enough

[03:47] How to use data to focus on what’s important

[08:16] Real-world example: implementing a four-day work week

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Employee Engagement Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here.

Amidst a backdrop of burnout, layoffs, and loneliness, belonging at work has never been more important.

In this episode, keynote speaker Smiley Poswolsky unpacks the power of belonging in the workplace. He shares how the current loneliness epidemic and his experience at Camp Grounded, an adult summer camp focused on digital detox and authentic connection, solidified his passion for fostering belonging.

Smiley explains how to create cultures of belonging and why it’s so important in the era of AI. He shares how to overcome common barriers to belonging and leaves us with easy ways to build opportunities for authentic connection into everyday rhythms at work.

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn.

Click here to download 15Five’s Performance Review Playbook!

For more on maximizing employee performance, engagement, and retention, click here. 

Smiley Poswolsky's LinkedIn - click here! 

Analysis paralysis gets the best of us all, especially when it comes to hiring decisions.

Gabby Popowitz, Senior Director of Talent & Culture at Boardable, shares her advice for crafting a consistent, empowering talent acquisition program that enables clear decision-making. She explains the importance of combining deep research with structure and simplicity in the hiring process.

Gabby also shares what she’s learned about compassion as an HR leader after losing her mom. She emphasizes the importance of reacting with care and serving as a supportive ambassador for the company when employees face difficult situations.

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo. 

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

The modern workplace is evolving to embrace the personal within the professional sphere. 

Think of it as “bringing your whole self to work.”

In this episode, Katya Laviolette, CPO at 1Password, candidly discusses integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices within remote environments. She celebrates the blended approach of profit, people, and culture as a means for both individual and company-wide prosperity.

Katya offers her insights on conflict management, the necessity of intentional communication, and the valuable impact that occasional in-person meetings can have on the work culture—including conflict resolution. 

The conversation also details the tricky topic of managing performance and behavior, advocating for simplicity and clarity in conveying company values. 

Resources:

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you? Join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.

Hear Adam’s thoughts on elevating your HR career by following him on LinkedIn. 

Click here to download 15Five’s Performance Review Playbook!

Want to know the secrets to a successful off-site program? 

Nadia Alaee, Senior Director, HRBP at Deel, has all the answers. She works diligently to build and execute an effective offsite program that brings people together for in-person collaboration.

In this conversation, Nadia shares her insights and journey in building and implementing successful off-site events. She dives into several key areas: how to build a foolproof agenda, involve key stakeholders, leverage technology and offline interactions, all while fostering relationships and strengthening team dynamics. 

*For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo. 

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Just as we want to create a transformational outcome for our customers with our products and services, we want to create a transformational employee experience. In fact, the two are inextricably linked.

As we’ve crafted our culture, one of the foundational aspects that we know is critical to creating transformation and improving people’s lives is our relationships.

How do we build a transformational culture where people feel valued?

In this episode of HR Superstars, hosts David Hassell and Shane Metcalf dive into the topic of relational mastery.

What they talked about:

• How creating space for hard conversations leads to healthier culture.
• How to communicate clearly and compassionately.
• Practices that are key to conflict resolution.
  

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website.

Sarah Walker, Head of People at LTSE, has always been a few years ahead of the trends in the HR world.

Years before they became macro trends, she dove into innovative strategies like putting an operational lens on HR, prioritizing wellness at work, and leveraging HR as a strategic function.

Now, Sarah is focused on equipping business leaders to do things they’ve typically relied on HR to do, such as handling tough conversations with employees and noticing problems as they arise. She believes empowerment is the future of HR.

In this conversation, Sarah shares advice for enabling business leaders and taking a strategic, operational approach to HR. You'll hear how her experience in operations and entrepreneurship have translated into powerful insights for her role today.

For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

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 environment that balances high-performance with high-care. She shares three practices her team uses to stay in touch with the rest of their company, and the role of managers in cultivating healthy culture.

Join us as we discuss:

[13:00] The power of storytelling in navigating tough topics
[20:30] How intentional conversations translate to business results
[25:00] The role of managers in cultivating a high-performance and high-care culture
[27:30] The importance of the ability to coach as a people partner
[33:00] Helping people partners understand business context
[38:00] Showing the outcomes your people team brings to the business
[40:00] Staying curious and open to feedback
[43:30] Fighting imposter syndrome

For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or tune in on our website. Original podcast track produced by Entheo.

Join us at Thrive 2022 with your fellow HR leaders and their teams for an unforgettable experience of community-building, learning, and inspiration! We’ll have some fascinating panels and key notes where you’ll learn how to drive action that fuels higher performance, create more engaged humans, and how to build an HR team that unlocks the potential of managers and is in alignment with executives. We’ll also be recording a special episode of the HR Superstars podcast, live at the event. Go to 15Five.com/Thrive to register and get special early bird pricing until September 23rd.

Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community!

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*