Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan CHRO Rob Kowalski On How Novartis Is Reimagining HR With Human-Centered Experiences
Oct 27, 2025
Rob Kowalski, the Chief People and Organization Officer at Novartis, shares insights on reshaping HR with a focus on human-centered experiences. He discusses the Inspired, Curious, and Unbossed cultural framework and its impact on employee engagement. Kowalski delves into innovative programs like Future Me, which emphasize lateral career development. He highlights the importance of storytelling to connect employees to patient outcomes and explains what 'unbossed' leadership truly entails—empowerment balanced with accountability.
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Human-Centered Experience Defined
- Human-centered experience means designing work so people feel seen, heard, and valued every day.
- It covers why people come to work, daily interactions, and the touchpoints that shape their experience.
Bottom-Up Culture Movement
- Novartis began a bottom-up culture movement by gathering company-wide feedback and rethinking performance, leadership, and benefits.
- That multi-year effort evolved into a focused culture program now framed as Inspired, Curious, and Unbossed.
Make Culture Discussable
- Define a simple culture framework and make it discussable across regions and roles.
- Use leader expectations and 'behaviors in action' to translate values into daily conversations.