Robert H. Johnson Jr., author of Safe, Seen, Heard, and Valued and TEDx speaker, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We explored the power of "little L" leadership and how organizations can harness the potential of unsung heroes within their teams. ----  Timestamps: (09:24) Robert’s origin story and early leadership journey (15:00) The concept of psychological safety and Robert’s book Safe, Seen, Heard, and Valued (17:37) Robert’s TEDx talk: The Power of the Little L (18:55) Differentiating between big L and little L leadership (24:14) Stories of little L leaders making an impact (27:10) Why companies should invest in little L leaders (30:44) Three E’s framework: Education, Experience, and Exposure (38:03) Building cultural giants vs. empowering everyday leaders (43:07) Characteristics of a little L leader and their impact (49:47) Living in a big L world and the shift needed (52:55) Lessons from the pandemic and employee engagement whiplash (56:52) Words of encouragement for little L leaders (59:46) The Three C’s of Community: Curiosity, Commonality, Connection (01:06:44) Rapid fire questions ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn

This episode was originally released on 1/22/2024. Annie Dean, VP of Team Anywhere at Atlassian, joined us on The Modern People Leader.  She shared Atlassian’s learnings after 1,000 days of distributed work: their calendar redesign experiment, the impact of in-person gatherings on team connection levels, and the ROI of real estate at Atlassian.

Michelle Kay, VP of Learning & Development at Albertsons Companies, joined us on The Modern People Leader.  We discussed the need to rethink our approach to work, whether generational gaps are real or simply a sign of being out of touch, and two major shifts on the horizon for L&D. ----  Grab your ticket for MPL Live Miami on December 10th. ⁠Buy Tickets Here⁠. ----  Timestamps: (8:01) Michelle’s transition from teaching to corporate America, and her journey in L&D. (14:10) Discussion on the need for rapid adaptation in workplace policies and practices. (17:20) Exploring the potential shift towards a four-day work week and its implications. (27:06) Delving into generational impacts on the workplace from Millennials to Gen Z. (33:34) The challenges and transformations in learning and development in today's corporate environment. (42:10) The role of generational differences in evolving workplace dynamics. (51:37) Rapid fire questions ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn

Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer at Zapier, and Gianna Driver, Chief People Officer at Lattice, joined us for an emergency pod following last week’s presidential election.  We discussed how the election results might impact the workplace over the coming months, the importance of having a sociopolitical response approach, and why we should all be microdosing on hope. ----  Use code MPL-LIVE-50 to get 50% off your ticket for MPL Live Miami on December 10th. ⁠Buy Tickets Here⁠. ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn

Frank Congui, EVP at Randstad Enterprise, joined us on The Modern People Leader.  We talked about the magic of intentional gatherings, leading with generosity, and why we should be doing less chest-pumping in the HR space. ----  Use code MPL-LIVE-50 to get 50% off your ticket for MPL Live Miami on December 10th. ⁠Buy Tickets Here⁠. ----  (0:13) Announcement: MPL Live Miami event on December 10th (7:04) Frank’s journey from Goldman Sachs to Randstad (9:58) Building executive communities: The beginning of the CHRO dinners (12:08) Evolution of executive dinners and blending roles (19:00) Intentional traditions in leadership gatherings (24:31) Vulnerability and creating moments of connection (28:00) The power of service and being generous in leadership (38:30) The state of HR: Burnout, DEI challenges, and AI adoption (42:11) Balancing optimism and skepticism in the HR industry (47:13) Civil conversations in divisive times: Creating supportive policies (54:03) Magic wand HR fix: Pay equity for all (56:08) The future of work: AI and human partnership (59:27) Rapid fire questions: ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn

Jenna Eichberg, Chief People Officer at AlertMedia, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about the state of HR, why CHROs are rethinking their roles, and AlertMedia’s leadership programs. ----  Use code MPL-LIVE-50 to get 50% off your ticket for MPL Live Miami on December 10th. ⁠Buy Tickets Here⁠. ----  (0:13) Announcement: MPL Live Miami event on December 10th (5:01) Jenna’s story (10:06) Navigating industries and career growth (17:07) Transition to AlertMedia – finding a dream job (29:03) The state of HR today and managing change (32:09) The “Manager Dilemma” and leadership development (37:55) The launch of the Emerging Leaders Program (45:14) Executive and people team offsites: Key insights (47:52) HR burnout and the light at the end of the tunnel (54:47) A positive outlook for the future of HR (59:28) Rapid fire questions ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn

Tracy Avin, Founder of TroopHR, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about how TroopHR was born, the importance of community in HR, the challenges HR professionals face in today’s business climate, and the need for support networks. ----  Use code MPL-LIVE-50 to get 50% off your ticket for MPL Live Miami on December 10th. Buy Tickets Here. ----  Timestamps: (6:57) Tracy’s journey to founding TroopHR (10:57) What a day in Tracy’s life looks like (12:59) The meaning of community for HR leaders (16:33) How the needs of the HR community have evolved (18:36) Challenges and conflicts faced by HR professionals (25:47) Handling difficult conversations in a professional setting (28:44) Why boundaries are crucial in discussions (30:06) Politicization of HR topics in the workplace (36:00) Doing more with less: The pressures of shrinking HR teams (42:06) HR burnout and its impact (44:56) The influence of economic situations on HR strategy (47:37) The importance of community in challenging times (51:23) Open sourcing HR ideas: A positive shift post-COVID (52:49) Rapid fire questions ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn

Ray Martinelli, Chief People Officer at Contentful, has an impressive background in finance and HR at giants like Apple. He shares insights on aligning HR strategies with CEO visions and the science behind compensation. Ray discusses the evolving role of HR post-pandemic, highlighting the importance of adapting to change and fostering employee engagement. He emphasizes the need for transparent performance discussions and how to navigate workplace politics, all while building a people-first strategy at Contentful.

Sandra Schwarzer, Board & Talent Insights leader at Index Ventures, joined us on The Modern People Leader.  We talked about Index Ventures’ experience helping founders “scale through chaos”, how much time founders spend on HR-related tasks, their 14-point framework for running executive searches, and how investors evaluate founders’ view on talent. ----  Timestamps: (3:54) Sandra's career story: From East Germany to Index Ventures (10:42) Defining 'Scaling through Chaos' and key takeaways (13:56) Founders spending 50% of their time on HR-related tasks (17:44) Challenges in hiring engineering talent and how Index Ventures supports founders (20:07) Structuring time for hiring and talent-related tasks (27:05) AI adoption in the people function: Early challenges and insights (38:48) The 14-point executive search framework for successful hires (44:06) How to balance speed and cultural fit when hiring (50:26) Common mistakes in executive hiring and learning from them (54:11) The importance of organizational design and a CEO's view of the people function (56:53) Index Ventures' tool for optimizing team planning and scaling ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn

David Hanrahan, Chief People Officer at Flare, and Jessica Zwaan, Author of Built for People & COO at Talentful, joined us live in Austin, Texas.  We talked about how performance management is stuck in the past, the idea of team-based assessments, how to run a data-driven performance calibration, and the evolving role of compensation in driving performance. ----  This episode was brought to you by Kunik. Sign up for their exclusive roundtable on October 30th. ----  3:11: Reflections on outdated performance management practices 5:07: Thoughts on why companies are holding onto legacy review systems 6:46: The impact of AI on performance management and synthesizing feedback 9:40: Team dynamics in performance management and HR’s evolving role 12:24: Real-time tools for performance feedback and privacy concerns 14:27: Shifts in company values post-pandemic and how that affects performance reviews 17:09: Measuring team performance over individual performance 20:12: Calibration, feedback, and team assessments 23:02: Linking performance management and compensation strategies 29:03: The role of procedural and distributive fairness in compensation 32:11: Challenges of tying performance to compensation 36:02: Discussion on bonus allocation based on performance 40:12: Team performance assessments and executive decision-making 44:48: Questions from the audience on coaching and team dynamics 50:22: Closing thoughts on changing traditional HR practices ----  📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps 💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn 😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn