Inspiring the next generation of HR Leaders

How can the power of the pause make you an even more effective HR leader? Why do HR leaders need to have a point of view and the courage to share it? My guest on this episode is Michael Fraccaro, Former CPO at Mastercard, Senior Advisor at Egon Zehnder During our conversation Michael and I discuss the following: Why your credibility as a CHRO is built on your understanding of the business, not HR How the power of the pause transforms decision quality Why culture is a leadership behavior, not a program How courage, not technical knowledge is the real differentiator for HR leaders who want to move from good to great Why the CHRO pipeline challenge is less about technical skills and more about mindset, grit, and learning agility

How can you build an AI-Ready workforce? Why is AI a leadership issue and not a technology issue? My guest on this episode is Charlene Li, author of “Winning with AI,” speaker, and disruptive leadership expert During our conversation Charlene and I discuss the following: Why AI-first is the wrong frame for most organizations, and how AI-ready puts your people and strategy back at the center How AI fluency differs from AI literacy Why tools, training, and time are the three T's every leader needs to invest in How to think about agentic AI through four practical questions Why automating existing processes is not enough and we use AI to rethink the work itself

How can HR leaders learn to sell without selling? Why should every HR leader think of themselves as a salesperson? My guest on this episode is Brendan McAdams, B2B Sales Coach & Consultant and author of ‘Sales Craft’ During our conversation Brendan and I discuss the following: Why every HR leader is already in sales, whether they call it that or not How sales is really the work of helping someone make a better decision that is right for them Why status quo is often the strongest competitor to any HR initiative, and what to do about it. How surfacing objections out loud ("killing the deal") builds trust and accelerates real buy-in Why "if we do this, who loses?" is one of the most useful questions an HR leader can ask

How can organizations use executive assessments to make better decisions? Why do you need to build your Executive Assessment fluency to have more impact as an HR leader? My guest on this episode is Mina Morris, Managing Director and Head of Assessments at Accenture During our conversation Mina and I discuss the following: Why executive assessment should start with business strategy, not tools, models, or methodologies. How using multiple data sources creates a more complete and accurate view of executive talent. Why executive assessment should be the start of the development conversation, not the end. How executive assessment helps organizations identify “diamonds in the rough” within their leadership pipeline. Why executive assessment without development is just measurement.

How can your culture become a competitive advantage? Why is engagement not just an HR metric, but a driver of business performance? My guest on this episode is Bala Sathyanarayanan, EVP and CHRO, Greif Inc. During our conversation Bala and I discuss the following: Why culture is the operating system that determines whether strategy succeeds or fails. Why engagement is not just an HR metric, but a leading indicator of customer and business performance. How organizations that focus on systems outperform those that focus only on outcomes. Why HR’s credibility depends on its ability to create measurable business value. Why great organizations are never “great,” they are always chasing it.

How can we reclaim control when it feels like work has hijacked our lives? Why is managing stress becoming more important than reducing it? My guest on this episode is Guy Winch, psychologist, TED speaker, and author of the new book “Mind Over Grind: How to Break Free When Work Hijacks Your Life” During our conversation Guy and I discuss the following: Why burnout continues to rise despite increased investment in wellbeing programs. How work is increasingly “hijacking” people’s time, attention, and relationships. Why high performers are often the most vulnerable to burnout. How a simple end-of-day ritual can train your brain to shift from work mode to personal life. How more open conversations about stress can prevent burnout before it becomes a crisis.

How can leaders make work both fun and drive high-performance? Why do the high performers find joy in intense work? My guests on this episode are Bree Groff, workplace expert and author of “Today was Fun,” and Mary Kate Stimmler, Practitioner Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford During our conversation, Bree, Mary Kate, and I discuss the following: Why the belief that high performance requires pressure and sacrifice is flawed How leaders can design work that creates energy, not burnout Why “fun” at work is about experience, not perks Why stress undermines creativity and long-term performance How small, everyday moments shape culture more than large-scale initiatives

This is Part 2 of our live at the CHRO Association's annual CHRO Summit in Orlando, Florida. I was honored to be invited to the CHRO Association's annual CHRO Summit that brought together more than 300 CHROs and senior HR leaders for strategic conversations truly shaping the future of work. With 25 presenters and panelists on the agenda, I was able to sit down and interview seven of those amazing speakers and bring their insights directly to you across these two episodes (EP 186 & EP 187). In this episode, Part 2 - we’re going to hear from three more incredible leaders: Darrell Ford, Vice Chair of the CHRO Association and Executive Vice President and CHRO at UPS Rebecca Hinds, PhD, Head of the Work AI Institute and Thought Leadership at Glean, and author of Your Best Meeting Ever Kevin Cox, Former CHRO at General Electric and President of LKC Advisory LLC

This is a very special episode recorded live at the CHRO Association's annual CHRO Summit in Orlando, Florida. Over two days, more than 300 CHROs and senior HR leaders came together for strategic conversations truly shaping the future of work. With 25 presenters and panelists on the agenda, I was fortunate enough to sit down and interview seven of those amazing speakers and bring their insights directly to you. The conversations were so good and in-depth that we're making this a two-part series to ensure we do each conversation justice. This is Part 1. In this episode, you'll hear from: Tim Bartl, CEO of the CHRO Association Tim Richmond, Chair of the CHRO Association and former EVP and CHRO at AbbVie Kristi Hummel, Chief People Officer at Optum Ethan Mollick, Innovation Expert, AI Thought Leader, and Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of Business

How can HR Rethink Performance Management? Why is Performance Management broken and what can HR do about it? My guests on this episode are Edie Goldberg & Alan Colquitt, co-authors of “Performance Enablement: A New Model for Driving Organizational Performance.” During our conversation, Edie, Alan, and I discuss the following: Why traditional performance management systems were built for a different era of work. How performance management became more about compensation than improving performance. Why shifting from performance management to performance enablement changes the leadership mindset. How continuous coaching and feedback outperform annual reviews and performance ratings. Why team-based goals better reflect how work actually gets done in modern organizations.