HR Superstars

Many people leaders today are dealing with burnout, stress, and mental health issues, but people of color are disproportionately affected. Zee Clark, author of Black People Breathe, experienced this firsthand as a young professional in Silicon Valley. Eventually, she burned out and took a sabbatical to India to heal. Along the way, she learned the life-changing mindfulness skills that she teaches today. In this episode, Zee shares her powerful story of overcoming the concrete ceiling, a phrase reserved for women of color specifically, because while glass can be broken, concrete is much harder to break. She explains how she used her own experience to help others, and practical breathing techniques for stress relief.   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 leaders play a pivotal role in guiding their organizations towards strategic growth. This is particularly true when it comes to navigating the complexities of rapid growth and M&A integration where prioritizing culture and people can be the difference between success and failure. Sarika Lamont, Vice President of People & Culture at Vidyard, shares the crucial steps HR leaders can take to ensure seamless integration and drive results. She explains how she takes a proactive approach to people leadership, breaks down silos, and challenges herself to think differently to enable a new vision for the future.   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 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.*

You can’t change culture behind a desk. Tyneeha Rivers, Chief People Officer at Curaleaf, has been transforming cultures for 25 years. She knows that if you want to see a shift in your organization, you have to roll up your sleeves. In this conversation, Tyneeha breaks down the process of creating lasting cultural change to create spaces where people can be their authentic selves. As you listen, you’ll hear strategies for equipping leaders to empathetically connect with employees and techniques for using data to measure and improve employee engagement.   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.*

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.*

From tuition reimbursement to creating training programs, investing in your employees’ growth can get expensive. How do you know if it’s worth it? In this conversation, David Pearson, SVP of People and Culture at Extensis HR, shares how to make a data-driven case for employee development. He shares how his organization develops its employees to ensure they are equipped to succeed at their current job and beyond. David also discusses the calm and steady presence an HR leader needs to bring to stabilize a team, how to balance composure with authenticity, and how to offboard with care to maintain long-lasting relationships.

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.*

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.*  

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.*

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.*