What does great leadership actually look like when nobody has the answers?

In this episode of Built By People, HR leader Erin Goodey breaks down why the most effective leaders today have stopped chasing certainty — and started creating clarity instead. Drawing from her own career journey, Erin shares a leadership framework that's equal parts practical and honest, built specifically for the messy, high-stakes reality HR and people ops professionals navigate every day.

If you've ever watched a high-performing team quietly fall apart before the numbers even budged, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar. Erin explains why energy shifts inside teams almost always precede performance drops — and how leaders who know how to read those early signals can intervene before small cracks become real problems.

You'll also hear Erin tackle one of HR's most persistent tensions: the line between empowering your people and micromanaging them to death. Her take is clear — micromanagement doesn't just slow teams down, it manufactures dependency. Real empowerment builds thinkers, not followers. And it starts with asking better questions instead of handing out ready-made answers.

The episode also gets into something most leadership content ignores entirely: nonverbal leadership in remote and hybrid environments. When your team can't read the room, silence from leadership doesn't feel neutral — it feels like abandonment. Erin walks through how to close the loop, model vulnerability, and build the kind of psychological safety that makes people actually speak up.

In this episode:

• Why clarity is more powerful than certainty in uncertain times
• How to spot team disengagement before it shows up in your metrics
• The empowerment vs. micromanagement trap — and how to escape it
• Nonverbal leadership cues that matter in remote and hybrid teams
• How vulnerability from leaders creates ownership across the whole team

Episode Description:

CAVA's stock has risen over 300% since its IPO. Its restaurants average $2.6 million in sales. It's on a path to 1,000 locations by 2032. But behind those numbers is a people strategy that most fast-growing brands get completely wrong.

In this episode of Built by People, we sit down with Kelly Costanza, Chief People Officer at CAVA — the woman CAVA's own CEO credits with rebuilding the company's culture from the ground up after a $300M acquisition nearly broke it. Kelly pulls back the curtain on how CAVA turned a cultural crisis into a competitive advantage, and what it actually takes to scale a people-first organization without losing your soul in the process.

This isn't a feel-good story about ping pong tables and unlimited PTO. It's a frank conversation about the hard, systematic work of investing in frontline workers — creating real career ladders for hourly employees, redefining leadership competencies for a post-pandemic workforce, and building a "human deal framework" that treats team members as whole people, not just labor costs.

If you lead people in the restaurant industry, manage HR at a high-growth company, or are trying to figure out how culture actually scales — this episode will change how you think about your job.

What you'll learn:

• How CAVA rebuilt its culture after a major acquisition — and how they measured it
• Why Kelly defines generosity as a business strategy, not just a value statement
• The specific career pathways CAVA created for frontline and hourly workers
• How emotional resilience became a core leadership competency post-pandemic
• Where technology fits in a people-first culture — and where it doesn't

Summary

In this episode of the Built by People podcast, Brett shares his extensive experience in human resources, focusing on creating better employee experiences and the importance of strategic alignment within organizations. He discusses the evolution of performance management, the critical role of communication in leadership, and the tools that enhance HR efficiency. Brett emphasizes the need for a growth-oriented approach to employee engagement and offers valuable advice for leaders navigating rapid changes in the workplace.

Takeaways

Brett has spent his entire career in human resources.

Creating better experiences for employees is a key focus.

Employee engagement is a critical culture metric.

Alignment with business needs is essential for HR.

Performance management has evolved from ranking to growth.

Communication is a vital leadership skill.

Active listening and empathy are crucial for effective communication.

Visual tools enhance accountability in team projects.

Leaders should prioritize one-on-one interactions.

Collaboration and teamwork are essential for effective leadership.