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

Connecting with CHRO Summit presenters:

Connect with Tim Bartl on LinkedIn

Connect with Tim Richmond on LinkedIn

Connect with Kristi Hummel on LinkedIn

Connect with Ethan Mollick on LinkedIn

Learn more about CHRO Association

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

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.

Connecting with Edie and Alan:

Connect with Edie Goldberg on LinkedIn

Connect with Alan Colquitt on LinkedIn

Learn more about Edie’s firm and Performance Enablement

Learn more about Alan’s firm and Performance Enablement

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can HR Operations help transform the function and drive business impact?

Why should HR shift from People First to People Forward strategy?

My guest on this episode is Girish Ganesan, Chief People Officer, S&P Global

During our conversation, Girish and I discuss the following:

• Why HR operations are the foundation of real impact
• Why credibility requires understanding the work beneath the work
• How HR teams can shift from "People First" to "People Forward"
• Why execution is becoming a defining capability for next-generation HR leaders.
• Why adaptive leadership is critical in the age of AI.

Connecting with Girish:

Connect with Girish on LinkedIn

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can two simple words, “How so?” unlock a deeper conversation with any leader?

Why is consistency more important than intensity when building new leadership habits?

My guest on this episode is Dave Stachowiak, Host of the Coaching for Leaders podcast.

During our conversation, Dave and I discuss the following:

• Why most "questions" aren't really questions.
• How defining success in advance makes behavior change measurable.
• Why high achievers are especially prone to feeling like they've failed.
• Why pushback when you go more coach is often a green light, not a red one.
• Why the future of leadership is “both/and."

Connecting with Dave:

Connect with Dave on LinkedIn

Learn more about Coaching for Leaders podcast

Listen to JP’s episode on Coaching for Leaders podcast

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can we redesign our culture by redesigning our meetings?

Why do well-designed meetings allow for more time for individual and value-added work?

My guest on this episode is Rebecca Hinds, author of “Your Best Meeting Ever” and leading expert on organizational behavior and the future of work.

During our conversation, Rebecca and I discuss the following:

• Deciding what deserves to be a meeting (and what doesn’t) is one of the most important decisions leaders can make.
• How poorly designed meetings become signals of busyness rather than drivers of real work.
• What meetings reveal about your organization's culture
• Why treating meetings like a product changes how leaders think about time, collaboration, and outcomes.
• How high-performing organizations design clear communication norms so meetings are a last resort, not the default.

Connecting with Rebecca:

Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn

Learn more about Rebecca’s book and AI research.

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

Over the past 180 episodes, I've only been the one getting interviewed twice. I continue to get requests and questions from you saying, "JP, we'd love for you to answer more questions. We want to get to know you better. We've got some questions we would love you to answer." So, that is what I am doing today. This is a special Ask Me Anything episode.

I am joined by my brilliant friend, Anne Gotte, who's the Senior Vice President, Global Talent and Organizational Effectiveness for Mondelēz International. Anne was kind enough to say, "Hey, JP, I want to interview you. I think this will be a lot of fun." And she was right.

All the questions today were submitted by you — through the newsletter, on LinkedIn, and across the Future of HR community. I saw some of the questions as they came in, but Anne and I made a deliberate choice: no scripts, no prep, just a candid conversation. So what you're going to hear is Anne and I working through your questions in real time.

I'm going to do my best to answer questions around:

• How I got my first big break
• Where I think AI will shape HR careers
• What I would do differently if I could go back in time and give myself the advice I give many next-gen HR leaders today

How can organizations make employee well-being a leadership responsibility, not just an employee responsibility?

Why is belonging the number one driver of employee well-being?

My guest on this episode is Mark C. Crowley, a pioneer in workplace leadership, speaker, and bestselling author of Lead from the Heart and The Power of Employee Well-Being.

During our conversation, Mark and I discuss the following:

• Why leading with the heart is often misunderstood as being "soft" in business settings.
• How pulse surveys, when paired with real accountability systems, can transform manager behavior and team performance.
• Why belonging is the number one driver of employee well-being
• Why employee well-being is the leader’s responsibility, not the employee’s and the research that proves it.
• Why HR leaders need to challenge decisions that prioritize short-term financial metrics over long-term culture and people.

Connecting with Mark:

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn

Learn more about Mark’s books and podcast

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can organizations use coaching to build leadership capability?

Why should every organization have a clear executive coaching strategy?

My guest on this episode is Brian Underhill, Founder and CEO of CoachSource

During our conversation, Brian and I discuss the following:

• How the executive coaching industry evolved and matured over the past few decades.
• How organizations can design disciplined, scalable coaching systems that drive measurable behavior change.
• Why coaching works best when it is aligned to the talent strategy.
• How team coaching can improve trust and effectiveness when designed intentionally.
• Where AI can support coaching at scale and where it can’t.

Connecting with Brian:

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Learn more about CoachSource

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can HR lead with courage?

How can organizations be both high performing and healthy?

My guest on this episode is Pat Wadors, CHRO, Intuitive and author of “Unlock Your Leadership Story.”

During our conversation, Pat and I discuss the following:

• Why HR leaders must have the courage to challenge decisions that compromise the organization’s or their own values, even when it puts their role at risk.
• What it truly means to build a healthy company, not just a high-performing one.
• How can you partner with the business, so they own the initiatives and not HR
• Why HR needs to adopt a product mindset when designing employee experiences and strategic initiatives.
• Why should you have a “personal scorecard” that helps you navigate your career and personal life.

Connecting with Pat:

Connect with Pat on LinkedIn

Learn more about Pat’s book Unlock Your Leadership Story.

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How do leaders develop cultural agility?

Why is cultural agility an essential skill in the age of AI?

My guest on this episode is Paula Caligiuri, Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University, Co-Founder of Skiilify, and Best-Selling Author.

During our conversation, Paula and I discuss the following:

• Why cultural agility is becoming a critical leadership capability
• How leaders actually develop effectiveness across cultures
• Why vulnerability, curiosity, and perspective-taking build trust and adaptability.
• How individual behavior shapes team dynamics more than formal authority.
• How organizations can intentionally design experiences to develop global leaders.

Connecting with Paula:

Connect with Paula on LinkedIn

Learn more about Paula’s company, Skillify

Check out my conversation with Paula on International Business Today podcast where we discuss The Future of HR

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How does active listening build a culture of trust?

Why is the employee experience as important as the customer experience?

My guest on this episode is DJ Casto, CHRO, Synchrony

During our conversation, DJ and I discuss the following:

• How adopting an agile mindset and methodologies transformed Synchrony's approach to HR
• How Synchrony bucked the “return to office” trend by listening to employee feedback and maintaining a flexible, performance-based work model.
• Why they created a frontline experience team to invest in and improve the employee journey and customer experience.
• How Synchrony uses active listening to co-create the employee experience and shape the culture.

Connecting with DJ:

Connect with DJ Casto on LinkedIn

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.