The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

Zuora’s Laura Robblee, CHRO, and Valerie Jackson, Chief Diversity Officer, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about why their CHRO/CDO partnership works so well and how they’re laying the foundation for a new Zuora. Timestamps: their favorite thing about working with one another (16:40), prioritizing diversity and inclusion at Zuora (21:50), why having both the CDO & CHRO reporting to the CEO works for them (25:08), the swim lanes for Human Resources & DEI at Zuora (30:00), why diversity is a measure of organizational health (37:39), why their leadership playbook is a big focus for them right now (40:05), the summit they’re hosting for VP + folks at the company (44:00), the career advice Valerie would give her 22-year-old self (47:10), and what Laura would fix in HR with a magic wand 49:10). Subscribe to the MPL Weekly Digest: https://forms.gle/qdt6YaWULfoEHb6n8 Connect with us on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Melissa Werneck, Global Chief People Officer at Kraft Heinz, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about the work Kraft Heinz is doing to help support and develop their managers, why it was important for the move from a “know it all” culture to a “learn it all” culture, and how they’re using new tech to turn their ambitions into reality. Timestamps: why we should be jealous she gets to work at Kraft Heinz (9:58), moving from a "know it all" to a "learn it all" culture (14:28), the year of the manager at Kraft (22:20), only 10% of people are naturally wired to be a manager (23:00), the launch of Project WIN (24:20), how they’re using nudges to make their ambitions a reality (34:20), why the forgetting curve is real (37:43), the advantages of being an early adopter of new tech (39:00), how they've been able to scale people programs at such a large organization (42:20), and the career advice she would give her 22-year-old self (45:06). Subscribe to the MPL Weekly Digest: https://forms.gle/qdt6YaWULfoEHb6n8 Connect with us on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Stephanie Cramer, Vice President of Human Resources at MGAC, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about how she’s incorporated solution selling into the way she recruits and what MGAC is doing to support their employees’ mental health. Timestamps: why we should be jealous that Stephanie gets to work at MGAC (11:20), how recruiting has changed in the last 10 years (14:08), how she’s incorporated solution selling into recruiting (16:10), stacking the deck in your favor to land the dream candidate (17:58), what discovery looks like at each stage in the recruiting lifecycle (22:00), applying her empathic approach to recruiting to herself and her mental health journey (25:35), her purpose analogy for life (30:10), what MGAC is doing to support their employees’ mental health (34:57), empowering employees to get more active on social media (40:40), and the career advice she’d give her 22-year-old self (46:35). Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the top takeaways and the full transcript of each new episode! https://forms.gle/qdt6YaWULfoEHb6n8 Connect with us on LinkedIn! Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Beth Steinberg, Senior Vice President of People and Talent at Chime, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about why it’s so hard to find good HR leaders, what happens when you don’t invest in leaders early enough, and long-term talent planning. Timestamps: what Beth feels was some of her best work as a people leader (7:00), why we should be jealous that Beth gets to work at Chime (12:40), the importance of #behuman in business (14:22), why it’s so hard to find a good HR leader (17:40), what happens when you don’t invest in leaders early on (23:35), how Beth builds business cases for HR investments (27:10), what the people team at Chime is up to right now (31:30), headcount has become an ego metric (35:08), putting together a recession proofing playbook (39:20), creating a framework for what your company will speak out about (41:35), the career advice she’d give to her 22-year-old self (44:00), and the HR problem she’d fix with a magic wand (47:45). Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the top 3 takeaways and the full transcript of each new episode: https://forms.gle/qdt6YaWULfoEHb6n8 Connect with us on LinkedIn! Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Jackson Lynch, 3-time CHRO and Founder of 90Consulting, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about why there needs to be consistency in what’s expected from a CHRO, why talent strategy should be bifurcated from talent operations, and why the job of the CHRO is so difficult. Timestamps: how working at PepsiCo in the early 2000s shaped his career (9:57), the best and worst career advice he ever received (12:22), why Jackson thinks there isn’t consistency in what is expected of a CHRO (17:12), we haven’t defined what a CHRO needs to have to be a CHRO (20:22), why we need to bifurcate operations from talent management (27:40), getting board members to set clear expectations of what good looks like for an HR leader (31:53), the 3 biggest changes for HR leaders the past couple of years (33:25), finding the least wrong answer as an HR leader (40:40), how HR teams can think differently about investment decisions being made (46:50), and the four agreements (57:24). Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the top 3 takeaways and the full transcript of each new episode: https://forms.gle/qdt6YaWULfoEHb6n8 Connect with us on LinkedIn! Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Mai Ton, Chief People Officer at Fabric and Author of Come into My Office, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about why your identity shouldn’t be centered around what you do at work, how she prepped her former company for the 4-day workweek, and her book that she published last year. Timestamps: why we should be jealous that Mai gets to work at Fabric (10:20), why your entire identity shouldn’t be centered around your job title (13:35), how companies can help their people rediscover themselves (22:58), sharing your story of the need to be more than your work (28:30), how Mai prepped her company for the four-day workweek (33:00), a couple of tools for taking control of your time (40:48), why she wrote a book full of her crazy stories as an HR leader (43:50), the advice she’d give her 22-year-old self (53:24), what she sees coming next for the future of work (55:18), and more. If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Mindy Honcoop, an HR exec with 20+ years of experience, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about employee feedback, the new world of work, and what companies can do to help their people connect. Timestamps: the best and worst advice Mindy has ever received in her career (11:20), the companies that are getting things right (15:50), what companies can do to better listen to their employees (19:00), learning how to ride the new bicycle of work (28:46), how companies can give their people opportunities to connect (42:55), the definition of connection (45:40), the career advice she’d give her 22-year-old self (50:00), and why she would fix meetings if she had magic powers (51:10). If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Today we talked about the interconnectedness of all of the HR buzzwords, diversity being the key to everything, and the best career advice we’ve heard from our guests. Timestamps: the interconnectedness of the all of the buzz-words we’ve heard over the last year (4:23), the 3 P’s of Rituals in the workplace (6:22), the importance of intentionality (8:07), the common denominator to success is diversity (10:50), how Twitter has re-opened offices and zoned them (13:53), flexibility and connection are key right now (18:30), best career advice from our guests (20:34), and the magic wand question responses (28:09). Go follow us on LinkedIn:  Podcast Page: The Modern People Leader Co-Hosts: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

The Starr Conspiracy's Bret Star (Founder & CEO) and Steve Smith (Partner & CMO) joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked with the Work Tech gurus about the metaverse's place in the workplace, the difference between employee engagement and employee experience, and why they recently raised money to send body armor to Ukraine. Timestamps: how Starr Conspiracy is testing the applications of the metaverse at work (20:55), products out there that allow employees to connect in the metaverse (26:20), why companies need to keep trying new things (32:39), employee engagement vs employee experience (38:10), and why Starr Conspiracy sent over $500,000 worth of body armor to Ukraine (44:20). If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Erica Keswin, the author of two Wall Street Journal best-sellers (Bring Your Human to Work & Rituals Roadmap), workplace strategist, and podcast host, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about how rituals are the human way to transform everyday routines into workplace magic. Timestamps: her career journey (5:15), Bring Your Human to Work and Rituals Roadmap (8:10), why connecting with peers, managers, and colleagues is so important (15:12), matching the message to the medium (18:25), the definition of a ritual (21:17), the 3 Ps of rituals (23:10), the magic question that Erica asks every leader to better understand their company’s rituals (24:30), some of Erica’s favorite rituals that she’s seen (32:38), Erica’s go to Chipotle order (42:04), career advice she’d give her 22-year-old self (48:37), the people problem she would fix with a magic wand (49:46), and why on-sites are the new off-sites (51:40). If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta