In this solo episode, released on the fourth anniversary of the Future of HR podcast, I make the case that removing transactional work doesn't automatically make HR more strategic.

I share the story of two HR business partners who got the same time back after a transformation, why one rose to the moment and the other didn't, and what CHROs and HR leaders must do to turn time back into real business impact.

Here are a few key takeaways from the episode:

• Why removing transactional work exposes HR's capability gap instead of solving it.
• How AI and transformation raise the bar for HR business partners, shifting the value from assembling information to judgment, influence, and courage.
• Why 30 years of building HR to execute has left many HR business partners unprepared for a more strategic role.
• Why the step most transformations miss is being clear about what's changing in the role, and what's not.
• How to test whether your transformation plan is as specific about new capabilities as it is about the work that's going away.

How does investing in people make an organization more agile and resilient?

Why is building talent a better bet than buying it, especially in the age of AI?

My guest on this episode is Alana Brandes, Chief People Officer at Guild.

During our conversation Alana and I discuss:

• Why "follow your passion" is a trap, and why should follow your energy instead.
• Why the employee journey should run "to, through, and beyond."
• How treating people well on the way out builds trust, your brand and increases boomerang hires in the future.
• Why build-versus-buy is a false choice
• How upskilling insiders beats buying AI talent from outside.

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Learn more about Guild and their programs.

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 you apply proven frameworks to increase your impact as a HR leader?

Why does understanding the human mind matter more, not less, as AI becomes more capable?

My guest on this episode is Caroline Webb, Leadership coach, bestselling author of Leadership Intelligence and How to Have a Good Day.

During our conversation Caroline and I discuss:

• How HR leaders can influence executive decisions without owning the decision.
• Why leaders should coach for capability, not just solve the immediate problem.
• How to create certainty when you don't have all the answers.
• How to give feedback people can actually act on
• How leaders can stay effective when the pressure builds

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Learn more about Leadership Intelligence and Caroline’s work

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 you drive a high performance culture with four simple questions?

Why is great execution more valuable than strategy?

My guest on this episode is Andy De Marco, CHRO, Fujitsu, Americas Region

During our conversation Andy and I discuss:

• Why the best HR leaders focus on adding value in every interaction.
• How Fujitsu drives a high performance culture with four simple questions.
• Why execution is scarcer and more valuable than strategy.
• Why a stable strategy frees the capacity execution requires.
• What capabilities and skills best position HR leaders for the future.

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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 you “chase the butterflies” and take the stretch assignment that scares you?

Why do the best HR leaders learn to “porpoise” and flex between strategy and execution?

My guest on this episode is Allan Church & Janine Waclawski, Co-Founders and Managing Partners, Maestro Consulting LLC

During our conversation Allan, Janine, and I discuss:

• Why you should never say no to a job you haven’t been offered.
• How “meeting the client where they are” is the foundation of every HR relationship.
• What it means to “porpoise” flexing between strategy and execution.
• How “chasing the butterflies” unlocks your biggest growth.
• How you can learn from every boss, even the ones you don’t like.

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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 you build teams that have collective confidence?

Why does belief matter when it comes to building high performance teams?

My guest on this episode is André Martin, Chief Experience Officer at LEAD3R, author of Wrong Fit, Right Fit and Collective Confidence

During our conversation André and I discuss:

• Why capable executive teams play small, even when they should be playing big.
• How collective confidence drives performance, especially as complexity rises.
• How the best leaders make belief-building a daily practice.
• How early, low-stakes wins create confidence and contribution from day one.
• How high-performing teams surface problems and turn failure into learning.

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Learn more about André, his books and how to work with him

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 and Finance build the business together?

Why can't finance achieve true value creation without HR's knowledge and expertise?

My guest on this episode is Christian Wattig, Director of the Wharton FP&A Program and Founder of Inside FP&A

During our conversation Christian and I discuss:

• Why the scorekeeper mindset keeps finance and HR stuck in the back office
• How challenging assumptions helps leaders think rather than just slowing them down
• The four stages of finance maturity, from data to proactive value creation, and how the same model maps onto HR
• How to forecast humans, agents, and gig workers together, and why tokens are only about a third of AI's true cost
• Why ROI is the wrong tool for many HR programs and what to do instead

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Learn more about Christian’s programs at Inside FP&A

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 you build business acumen without owning a P&L?

Why is developing your business acumen within your control?

My guest on this episode is Rose Velez-Smith, CHRO, DoubleVerify

During our conversation Rose and I discuss:

• Why stepping out of HR to be in the business can be the single best thing you do for your career.
• How to start every executive conversation with business priorities first, then ask what talent outcomes are needed to enable them.
• Why talent doesn't exist separate from business strategy.
• How to choose your next role by evaluating who you'll become because of it.
• Why AI reshapes work rather than replacing it, and why in the future we will design jobs around judgment, creativity, and relationships.

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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 you create an HR Business Partner Center of Excellence?

Why does HR need to shift from owning programs to owning business outcomes?

My guest on this episode is Christina Schelling, SVP, Human Resources, Verizon

During our conversation Christina and I discuss:

• Why naming the HRBP group a Center of Excellence gives partners community, shared goals, and focused development.
• How the HR business partner role is evolving to be more strategic.
• How Verizon defined HRBP success with four shared metrics aligned to their strategy.
• Why HRBPs don't need to be experts in everything, and how COE partners make them stronger.
• How Verizon partnered with their HR tech vendors co-create innovative AI talent solutions.

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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.

Why is the single biggest barrier to having power…ourselves?

How can you, as an HR professional step into your power?

My guest on this episode is Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and Author of 16 books including his latest one the “7 Rules of Power”:

During our conversation Jeffrey and I discuss:

• Why he believes the single biggest barrier to having power is ourselves
• Why it is important that we own and tell our story, not let others tell it for us
• Why he believes that being authentic and/or modest is terrible leadership advice Why networking is a super power and how to do it well
• Why he believes HR needs to raise the bar and step into their power
• His advice on how to deal with difficult leaders in positions of power

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Learn more about the Jeffrey’s books, research, podcast and more

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 you turn HR data into insights that drive decisions?

Why do leaders make decisions based on their experience and instinct, not just data?

My guest on this episode is Morgan Depenbusch, Data Storytelling & Influence Expert

During our conversation Morgan and I discuss:

• How to tell what data is interesting from what data is decision relevant
• Why one reason to say no can beat twenty reasons to say yes
• Why you should see yourself as the guide and the leader as the hero
• How to surface a leader's real objection before the meeting and name it first
• Why AI gives HR more dashboards and signals but not more influence

Connecting with Morgan:

Connect with Morgan Depenbusch on LinkedIn

Learn more about Morgan’s HR Data Storytelling and Influence Playbook

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.