HR Superstars

15Five's acclaimed podcast features real stories and strategic advice from the world's most successful People Ops and HR leaders.

Recent Guests

HR leaders from the world's largest and most successful companies like Walgreens, Twitter, and Levi Strauss & Co.

Creative Ways to Combat Talent Scarcity

Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory and author of Talent Scarcity, reveals the root problem with hiring and retention. Through his research, he’s seen many job-hoppers end up unsatisfied no matter the pay increases or lofty titles they achieve. The common thread among them is that they’re seeking – and failing to find – deeper connection at work.

Breaking Through the Concrete Ceiling with Zee Clarke

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.

Integrating Cultures Through M&As with Sarika Lamont

The Vice President of People & Culture at Vidyard shares the crucial steps HR leaders can take to ensure seamless integration during mergers and acquisitions by prioritizing people and culture to 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.

What Neuroscience Reveals About Employee Experience

Dr. Zak breaks down his Immersion Framework for creating incredible employee experiences including, setting the stage, immersing employees in the experience through emotional engagement, and targeting individuals who are especially engaged and can become champions.

Building a Culture of Authenticity with Tyneeha Rivers

Curaleaf CPO, Tyneeha Rivers, 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.

Making a Data-Driven Case for Employee Development with David Pearson

From tuition reimbursement to creating training programs, investing in your employees’ growth can get expensive. So how do you know if it’s worth it? David shares how to make a data-driven case for employee development programs to ensure everyone is equipped to succeed at their current job and beyond.

Perfect Is the Enemy of Progress with Liesel Mertes

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.

Leading Through Trauma with Tarveen Forrester

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. 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.

Empathy & Expectations: Your First 90 Days as a People Leader w/ Workweek's Hebba Youssef

Hebba is CPO at Workweek and creator of the popular “I Hate It Here” newsletter. She shares her experience about the importance of communicating to other leaders what is and is not a fire, and what she does not stand for as an HR leader. Curious to hear what that is? Listen in...

HR’s Evolution from Cost Center to Profit Center

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.

Unapologetically Human: Embracing Mental Health in the Workplace w/ Walgreens' Holly May

What responsibility do leaders have in supporting the mental health of their employees? One thing is certain—authenticity and vulnerability play an important role. Holly speaks with Adam about the power of vulnerability and how it can impact employees, improving work relationships and performance.

People Leaders & The Weight of Keeping Secrets w/ Jen Paxton

The unwritten job description of a people leader is the need to listen and safeguard everyone’s worries and struggles, but it can be a lonely place. Jen shares how secrets can impact a person’s mental health and also shares practical ways to dig yourself out of that isolation.

How People Fuel VC Success with VMG Partners’ Brianna Rizzo

Listen in to hear Brianna correct misconceptions about talent in VC ecosystems, reveal the secret to building a strong startup team, and share how to fuel your success with a talent strategy.

Making Bold Investments in Your People with Auror’s Kirsti Grant

Kirsti shares the guiding principles that have allowed her team at Auror to create a cohesive and high-performing culture they love. This includes sharing context around every initiative, aligning the team on strategy, and the massive ROI of leadership development.

Leading with Meaning Over Mandates: An Exclusive Live Podcast from 15Five's Thrive Gathering

Salesforce’s Karen Mangia discusses leading with values, creating meaning at work, and how to make your company a community where people find belonging. She shares the importance of flexibility, autonomy, and choice for employees when it comes to workplace policies and benefits.
Christine Maxwell

Preserve Your Cultural “Secret Sauce” As You Grow with Rippling’s Christine Maxwell

Christine shares how she helps set people up for success by emphasizing the importance of intentional onboarding, using cultural rituals to reinforce company values, and humanizing executive leadership. Perhaps that's part of why Rippling has grown from 200 to 1,600 people in just two years.
Kathleen Ragelis

Translating Personal Conversations into Business Results

Kathleen Ragelis, Head of People at Komodo Health, joins the show to share her experience with the power of vulnerable conversations and how they translate to business results. She also walks us through how to build an environment that balances high-performance with high-care.
Jon Greenawalt

Tech-Enabled Coaching Creates A Work World Where Everybody Wins

Jon Greenawalt shares how tech is making manager coaching and training more accessible, and how it can bring about lasting change. We dive into the core competencies of the modern leader, how to create learning programs that work, and how to show the return on your investment in personal development.

People Leaders are Business Leaders

Helpscout's Latoya Lyn took her seat at the executive table to educate the business on what HR can do as a business partner and business leader. Listen as she explains why she's primarily a product leader, building products (acquisition, performance, etc.) for the business to drive on. 
Kate McKinnon Playfly

Teaming Up with Your C-Suite

Becoming a teammate with the rest of the leadership team is critical to building a successful HR function. In this episode, Kate McKinnon, Head of HR at Playfly Sports, discusses what it looks like to partner with your people, find creativity in HR, and unify around a shared mission.

The Measurable Value of Inclusion

15Five's Cara Pelletier shares her personal story around discovering her neurodivergence and how that fuels her passion for working in the DEIB space. Cara also explains how inclusive companies experience more than just safe working environments; they also see measurable returns on the investment they make in their people.

The HR Industry’s Evolution from an Administrative Function to a Strategic Function

Today's leaders need to consider the enormous complexity we’re all facing and how to care for employees as human beings. Businesses tend to move to one end of the empathy/results spectrum. Josh Bersin, top industry analyst and founder of the Josh Bersin Academy, shares his thoughts on maintaining a balanced focus on both results and empathy.

Your Host

HR Superstars is the first and only People Ops podcast that is integrated with a thriving HR community hosted by...

Adam Weber

Fmr. CPO & Creator of HR Superstars Community

Adam Weber is the SVP of Community at 15Five and the former Chief People Officer and Co-founder of employee engagement survey platform, Emplify, which was acquired by 15FIve in 2021. Adam has spoken around the country on topics like employee engagement, team performance, and leadership development, and is the author of the Amazon bestseller, Lead Like A Human. In 2020, Adam was named to Business Insider’s list of Rising Stars in HR. He is a former musician, retired pastor, aspiring comedian, and currently lives in Zionsville, Indiana with his wife, two sons, and dog, Poppy. Follow Adam on LinkedIn.

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