Angela Briggs-Paige, Chief People Officer at Acelero Learning, joins Rob to share why HR is not your friend—and that’s a good thing. Angela breaks down how she shows up as a business leader first and a people expert always. She shares how she earned her seat at the boardroom table, what it really takes to build employee-led career paths, and why performance reviews need a serious glow-up. Plus: Angela’s approach to employee growth (spoiler alert: it involves passports), starting her own fractional CPO business, and never, ever being out-peopled.

• Why HR isn’t your friend

• How to speak “business” instead of “HR” to get heard in leadership rooms

• The courage it takes to challenge decisions in the boardroom

• “I will not be out-peopled”: Angela’s mantra for CPO credibility

• How Acelero is replacing performance reviews with employee-led “career passports”

• The mindset shift from “how do we keep people?” to “how do we make staying a meaningful choice?”

• Why enabling managers as coaches, not judges, is the key to performance development

• The case for giving employees homework before their 1:1s

• How expanding her portfolio beyond HR helped Angela grow as a business leader

• What her fractional CPO venture People Power is teaching her about right-sizing HR strategy for scale

Angela Briggs-Paige on LinkedIn

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

A Soundbeam Studios Production

Michelle Brooks, Chief People & Culture Officer at Security Compass, joins Rob to unpack what it really means to lead with “compassionate candor.” She shares how feedback norms are shifting for Gen Z, how she built a truly strategic people function without a traditional HR background, and why HR’s identity crisis is holding the industry back. Plus, Michelle gives a front-row look at how her team is driving AI adoption across the business—from launching an internal AI council to treating AI like the biggest change management initiative of the decade.

This episode is packed with spicy takes, real talk about feedback, and a blueprint for how HR and IT can actually partner to move AI from buzzword to business driver.

• Why Gen Z wants more feedback, and how to deliver it with “compassionate candor”

• The problem with radical candor and how it’s been quietly rebranded

• Why feedback is often withheld from leaders, and how Michelle invites it in

• The myth that HR needs permission to have a seat at the table

• How Michelle’s background in sales and recruiting helped her avoid HR “learned helplessness”

• Why HR still suffers from an identity crisis

• How Security Compass is treating AI adoption as a company-wide change management initiative

• The structure and purpose of their internal AI council, governance committee, and AI champions program

• The growing alliance between HR and IT

• How to make the business case for leading AI adoption from the people function

Michelle Brooks on LinkedIn

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

A Soundbeam Studios Production

Katya Laviolette, Chief People Officer at 1Password, joins Rob to unpack how the company scaled from a scrappy, consumer-first startup to a 1,500-person B2B security powerhouse. She shares why shifting from B2C to B2B hiring isn’t just about adding new roles—it’s about evolving core competencies. Katya also explains how her team uses “anti-recruiting” to scare off the wrong candidates, why the “Apply Now” button is dead, and how being brutally honest during the hiring process actually leads to better retention. Plus: why every company is a train ride, and you don’t have to ride the whole way.

• Why 1Password eliminated the “Apply Now” button—and what it means for candidate experience

• How hiring changed as the company shifted from B2C to enterprise B2B

• The buy-vs-build approach to talent in cybersecurity and SaaS

• Why “anti-recruiting” is a crucial part of high-growth hiring

• How to design an interview loop that screens for ambiguity tolerance

• The difference between relevant experience and transplanting culture

• Why some hires are “lifers” and others join for a chapter—and that’s OK

• Katya’s metaphor for growth: scaling a company is like a train ride

• Why strong employer branding should repel as much as it attracts

• How candidate curiosity and specificity signal long-term success

Katya Laviolette on LinkedIn

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

A Soundbeam Studios Production