Bringing the Human back to Human Resources

Two nominations to the NLRB could rewrite the rules on severance agreements, union organizing, and captive audience meetings, and that’s just the start of this month’s Policy Pulse, which also covers the Department of Labor’s sweeping deregulation push and the independent contractor rule that has already changed.

Traci and employment law expert Bryan Driscoll sort out what’s official, what’s still on the horizon, and how HR leaders can get ready without rewriting the handbook every time a headline breaks.

In this episode:

• If the Senate confirms two new NLRB nominees, the non-disparagement clause in a severance agreement could carry real weight again.
• The Cemex ruling and the ban on mandatory anti-union meetings are both on the chopping block
• Unions raise wages even for workers who never join one.
• Ten regulations out for every new one in
• Proposed OSHA and ERISA rollbacks could change what gets reported when workers get hurt
• Managing a global workforce? Misclassification risk doesn’t stop at the U.S. border.
• The one audit Bryan says HR should be running right now has nothing to do with this month’s headlines.

This week, Traci talks with Laverne McKinnon, MCC, about professional grief. That's the loss we feel when a job, promotion, project, or career identity we cared about is suddenly gone, and it may be what's behind the burnout, low morale, and missing motivation so many HR leaders are seeing right now.

Laverne is a career strategist and grief recovery specialist who works with ambitious professionals through career pivots, new leadership roles, and career disruptions. She's a former senior executive at CBS and Epix, executive produced Netflix's Girlboss, teaches at Northwestern University, and mentors in the CAPE Leadership Fellowship Program. Her upcoming book, Showstopper, reframes professional setbacks as plot twists instead of endings.

What they talked about:

• Why the passion you can't get back might be grief you haven't named
• The two banker's boxes LaVerne kept in her closet for ten years
• The losses a new job, title, and salary can't replace
• A buried script, a eulogy, and the case for a good goodbye
• The C-suite leader who was grieving his old company in his new one
• Four steps to take when your career breaks your heart
• The HR executive who ran 18 months of layoffs and didn't see the grief coming

This week's episode is about why most strategies fail at execution, and what leaders can do differently to actually get results.

Traci sits down with Kevin Ertell, a veteran executive and advisor with more than 30 years of experience leading transformations at brands like Nike, Tower Records, and Sur La Table.

As founder and CEO of Mistere Advisory, Kevin helps companies turn strategy into action, and he just published his first book, The Strategy Trap: Why Companies Fail at Execution and How to Get It Right, pulling together insights from over 60 operators across industries.

In this episode:

• Why up to 90% of strategies fail, and it's not the strategy itself
• The "slow down to speed up" mindset that feels wrong to every Type A leader
• Kevin's six C system for turning ideas into results
• The isolation trap that quietly kills good strategies before they launch
• Why jargon is sabotaging your rollout more than you think
• The difference between empathy and curiosity, and why one moves teams further
• What Kevin's book reveals after interviewing 60+ operators about what actually works
• Where to find The Strategy Trap and Kevin's audiobook

This Policy Pulse episode breaks down three major employment law developments HR leaders need on their radar right now: a Supreme Court ruling that changes how federal agencies operate, an update on the Workday AI discrimination lawsuit, and a new Maryland law restricting mandatory workplace meetings.

Traci and Bryan dig into what each of these means for how you operate day to day, and why "wait and see" isn't always the wrong move.

In this episode:

• The Supreme Court just overturned a hundred year old precedent, and it changes who controls the NLRB and EEOC
• Why HR leaders should brace for more whiplash every time a new president takes office
• An update on the Workday AI hiring lawsuit, and why the EEOC backing off doesn't mean you're in the clear
• The specific employer mistake that can trigger a bias claim even without ever asking about disability
• Why state level enforcement might matter more than federal enforcement going forward
• Maryland's new law banning mandatory political and anti-union meetings, and why there's no small employer exception
• The real reason this law is being called a Trojan horse for union busting
• Why having someone dedicated to regional compliance is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity

Agentic AI is already changing how HR teams buy technology, lead their people, and think about who belongs in the room when decisions about the future of work get made — and most HR leaders don't have a strategy for any of it.

This week Traci sits down with Joey Price, CEO of Jumpstart HR, a TEDx speaker on AI in the workplace, and author of The Power of HR: How to Make an Organizational Impact as a People Professional. A SHRM Top 30 Under 30 alum and one of the top 100 HR tech influencers of 2025, Joey also hosts his own podcast, While We Were Working, and brings years of hands-on experience helping HR teams navigate technology decisions with humanity at the center.

What We Cover

- Why "if you're not at the table for digital transformation, you're on the menu"

- The framework Joey built to help HR leaders actually buy technology the right way

- The surprising number of HR leaders who don't have an AI strategy at all

- The five workforce archetypes and where your organization actually falls

- Whether AI is coming for your job, and what to do about it either way

AI is reshaping how companies hire and how job seekers land interviews, and this week's guest is building the tools making it happen.

Traci sits down with Reimund Nienaber, a seasoned HR leader and global talent development expert with more than 20 years of experience spanning telecommunications, expat HR leadership across five continents, and now consulting work at Edligo.

As Director of Consulting and Customer Success, Reimund helps organizations figure out what their people actually know, where the gaps are, and how to close them as AI reshapes roles across every department.

What We Talked About:

• Will AI Really Give Us a Two Day Work Week?
• Meet the AI Recruiter Agent Changing the Game
• The CV Feedback Job Seekers Never Get
• From Germany to Latin America: A Career Built on Skills,
• The Competency Gap Killing AI Transformation Projects
• The Simple Question That Starts Every Successful Learning Culture

Michael Timms joins the podcast to break down why most "succession planning" in organizations is actually just replacement planning in disguise, and why that distinction matters more than most HR leaders realize.

Michael Timms is an internationally sought after speaker, consultant, and bestselling author who teaches leaders how to inspire accountability. He's the author of How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability, the basis for his TEDx talk "How to Claim Your Leadership Power," and Succession Planning That Works. Through his company, Avail Leadership, he partners with organizations to build high performance cultures of teamwork and accountability.

What We Cover:

– The real difference between succession planning and replacement planning, and why most organizations are only doing one of them

– Why the nine box might be doing more harm than good in your organization

– The uncomfortable truth about who actually gets to decide someone's "potential"

– What the research says about how much your manager actually shapes your performance

– Why most leadership competency lists accidentally describe an impossible person

– The handful of behaviors that actually predict great leadership, and how to find them

– A better, less political way to identify who's ready to grow

– The employee headcount where succession planning actually starts to matter

– Why developing people, even the ones who might leave, is never a loss

Michael challenges a lot of what HR has been taught to accept as best practice, and this conversation is a great reminder of why it's worth questioning the tools we default to. Be sure to check out his TEDx talk, linked in the show notes, for more on claiming your leadership power.

Traci welcomes Dr. Carrie Graham, PhD, a training strategist specializing in scalable talent development who guides small and mid-sized organizations to achieve measurable results through strategic employee training programs.

Dr. Graham's research reveals that toxic work environments aren't just unpleasant, they produce real, life-altering mental and physical health consequences for the people inside them, particularly for high-achieving women who were promised development opportunities that never materialized.

What We Cover:

• Why retention strategies miss the point and what to focus on instead
• Good people leave bad managers and what makes someone actually unequipped to lead
• The real cost of a toxic environment and Dr. Graham's research findings on health outcomes for employees
• When employees outgrow their role and how social roles shift over time and what that demands of employers
• Why development starts with the individual, not what you think they bring, but everything they haven't told you yet
• The free recruiting tool most companies are ignoring and how former employees become brand advocates
• What job seekers can and should ask and the questions candidates have every right to put on the table

In this episode, Traci shares what her return to work has looked like with three kids under three, a demanding career, and a podcast.

She opens up about what that took to admit, and why the "have it all" pressure lands differently when both your career and your family are simultaneously demanding more of you.

She also gets into what she actually wishes workplaces understood about flexibility, and why the traditional nine-to-five model isn't built for the reality most people are living.

What We Cover:

This week, Traci sits down with Greg Roche, founder of Retention and Rewards Partners and author of The Fast and Easy Guide to Networking for Introverts, to explore why intentional connection is the most underrated retention strategy in any organization.

Greg shares the "stepping over the line" framework he's used throughout his career in total rewards, walking through the exact moment an employee mentally checks out, why most organizations are trying to solve engagement from the top down when the real work happens between individuals, and what leaders can do right now to build the kind of trust that makes people genuinely want to stay.

What We Cover:

– The "stepping over the line" moment – what's actually happening in an employee's mind right before they quit

– Why proximity created connection before 2020 and what we lost when it disappeared

– Top-down engagement strategies vs. small intentional acts and why one actually works

– The 15-minute calendar invite that could change how you're perceived in your organization

– What happens in the brain when someone talks about themselves (and how to use it)

– Why new leaders who skip relationship-building create stranger danger for the whole team

– The one-question approach for building upward relationships without being awkward

– How connection directly impacts talent reviews, succession planning, and career visibility

– The Relationship First Playbook – five ways HR leaders can make connection a cultural value

This week's episode makes the case that your next team building session should involve a table full of LEGO bricks, and JoLynn Ledgerwood, certified LEGO Serious Play facilitator and learning and development specialist with over 25 years of experience, is here to explain exactly why.

Most people have never heard of LEGO Serious Play. The ones who have? They usually want to get certified on the spot.

JoLynn shares how this research-backed methodology uses hands-on building to surface what people can't always say out loud, create a genuine level playing field for every voice in the room, and reveal the limiting beliefs teams carry without ever realizing it. She also breaks down what makes LEGO Serious Play so different from the typical after-hours Topgolf outing, and why courageous leadership is the one thing every successful session requires.

What We Cover:

— What LEGO Serious Play actually is and why only about 100 facilitators are certified in the entire U.S.

— How building with your hands activates 80% more brainpower and why that changes what comes out in the room

— The tower exercise that quietly exposes every team's limiting beliefs before the session even really begins

— Why introverts and extroverts finally get equal airtime in this format

— How metaphor builds unlock things people didn't even know they wanted to say

— What "simple guiding principles" are and how they keep momentum alive after the workshop ends

— Why quarterly sessions compound the results and how new team members can catch up fast

— The one thing a leader can do to kill all momentum in under ten seconds

This week, Traci sits down with Chris Taylor, founder of Actionable.co, a company that helps consultants prove the impact of their programs and build deeper, longer-lasting client relationships through behavior change technology, the Impact Certainty Methodology, and a global network of peers.

Chris has spent 18 years making the case that the entire L&D industry is stuck measuring the wrong things, and that closing this gap is one of the most powerful levers a business has for driving real, lasting results.

This episode is about authentic leadership, self-awareness, and the quiet ways competition undermines collaboration in the workplace. Traci sits down with Archana Mohan, Chief Operations and Technology Officer in the finance sector and author of The Thru Line: How Understanding Who You Are Empowers How You Lead.

Archana holds a BA from Brown, an MA from Columbia, and an MBA from Yale, but her most formative credential might be what she's carried from classrooms and boardrooms alike: the experience of not quite feeling like she belonged, and choosing to build something different because of it.

What We Cover:

• Why authentic leadership starts from the inside, not from a title
• The two types of self-awareness and why most leaders only develop one of them
• Listening as the most undervalued skill in the workplace
• How school conditioned us to chase the right answer instead of ask better questions
• Why group impact is exponential, not just additive
• What collaboration actually looks like versus what leaders often mistake for it
• The key difference between competing with someone and competing against them
• Why not having the answer is just as valuable as having one
• How creating space for others to be seen fully changes what a team can achieve

This episode closes out the layoff series with a look at what employees are rarely told about severance, separation agreements, and their rights when a job ends.

This week, Traci sits down with Dan Goodman, founder of Dan Goodman Employment Advisory (DGEA), a firm that has helped nearly 1,800 employees navigate some of the most high-stakes moments of their careers.

What We Cover:

• Why severance exists and who it actually benefits
• The negotiation most employees don't know they're allowed to have
• The "pip or resign" trap and how employers use it to void unemployment eligibility
• What to document if you suspect your termination is retaliatory or discriminatory
• Review period protections based on age and layoff type
• Why at-will employment doesn't mean employers can terminate anyone for any reason
• The cost of blindsiding employees versus treating them with transparency on the way out
• How former employees can become a company's greatest advocates or its most vocal critics

This week's episode is part three of the layoff series, and it's focused entirely on the employee side of the experience: what to actually do when you or someone you know is the one getting laid off.

Spoiler alert: Over 40% of Americans have been laid off at least once in their careers. Statistically, this conversation is more relevant than most of us want to admit.

This is a greatest hits episode worth another listen because the layoff conversation almost always centers on the company executing it. Traci flips the lens and walks through what employees actually need to know in the aftermath, from the immediate questions that surface in that first conversation to negotiating your severance, protecting your intellectual property, and separating your sense of self from your employer.

What We Cover:

• That initial shock and what it might actually be telling you
• The questions you should absolutely ask in that room
• Separation agreements and why everything is negotiable
• The age 40 rule that changes your review timeline
• Healthcare continuation and what to ask for before COBRA ever enters the picture
• What your former employer can and can't say about why you left
• The intellectual property clause you might have already signed
• Why your resume should never be an emergency
• Untangling your identity from your job title
• Financial resources and moves worth having on your radar

In part two of the four-part layoff series, Traci addresses what often goes unspoken in layoff conversations: the toll on the HR professionals managing them, and how to take care of yourself while taking care of everyone else.

What We Cover:

— The grief HR professionals carry that nobody talks about— Numbness as a warning sign, not a badge of honor— How to structure your day when the conversations are relentless— The end-of-day ritual that actually creates separation— Where to find HR peer support when you need people who get it— What survivors are feeling after the dust settles— Rebuilding morale without forcing it

Traci sat down with Jena Dunay, founder of Recruit the Employer, to talk about conducting layoffs with dignity. We're bringing this one back as the first episode of our four-part layoff series because it's just as relevant now as it was when it first aired.

What We Cover:

• Offboarding as seriously as onboarding
• What's at stake when there's no plan in place
• What outplacement actually is (hint: not George Clooney in Up in the Air)
• The communication plan every HR leader needs before they ever need it
• Legal landmines to think through before a single conversation happens
• Survivors' guilt and what leaders can actually do about it
• What owning leadership mistakes publicly really looks like
• Why middle management is the make-or-break layer in post-layoff recovery

This week, Traci sits down with the co-founders of Flora Fertility to talk about why employer-sponsored fertility coverage is broken and what the first individually owned fertility insurance solution is doing to fix it.

Dr. Christy Lane is a global leader in InsureTech, an investor, founder, and award-winning health scientist with expertise in AI, digital health, and wearable devices. She is the co-founder of Flora Fertility and the Stanford Wearable Health Lab, and a venture partner with IA Capital in New York. A mom of three who went through IVF herself, Dr. Lane has built her career in women's health research since the 1990s.

Laura McDonald is the co-founder and CEO of Flora Fertility, the first individually owned insurance solution for fertility and women's health. She previously founded, scaled, and sold Canada's largest financial media company focused on women and wealth, and is the author of two bestselling personal finance books. A mother of four, Laura brings deep expertise in insurance, direct-to-consumer AI models, and bringing new financial products to market.

What We Cover:

• Why fertility benefits tied to your employer are a risk most employees don't see coming
• The underwriting model that makes Flora unlike any fertility product on the market
• What most people get completely wrong about IVF and the fertility treatment spectrum
• Egg freezing vs. Flora and why it might not be the either/or choice you think it is
• How employers can offer Flora without open enrollment, utilization risk, or complicated admin
• The recent federal guidance that could change how fertility benefits are offered at work

This week, Traci sits down with Steve Cadigan to explore what the future of work actually demands from HR leaders and why most organizations are still building for a world that no longer exists.

Steve is a globally recognized talent strategist, advisor, author, and founder of Cadigan Talent Ventures. Best known as LinkedIn's first CHRO, he helped scale the company from 400 employees through its IPO. His book Work Quake debuted as Amazon's #1 Hot New Release and a graduate-level course at Stanford was built around the culture he helped create.

In this conversation, Steve shares the frameworks, hard lessons, and contrarian thinking that have shaped his career and what they mean for HR leaders navigating today's workplace.

What We Cover:

• Why high turnover might actually be your competitive advantage
• The two things every HR leader must have and why you can't have one without the other
• What LinkedIn taught Steve about building HR completely from scratch
• Why working yourself out of a job makes you more valuable, not less
• The happiness trap that's quietly leading organizations toward mediocrity
• Why "Head of Diversity" might be creating more problems than it solves
• Where AI delivers the greatest leverage in HR right now

This episode is about how the language we use to describe people at work is quietly shaping both workplace culture and the future of AI. Joshua Berry, author, speaker, and Director of Iconic, brought this conversation to the podcast last year and it has only gotten more relevant since.

The business terms you've been using on autopilot (headcount, right-size, prospects) aren't neutral. They're belief systems, and they're being baked into the AI your organization will rely on tomorrow.

What We Cover:

• Words are a symptom of your unconscious beliefs about people
• "Headcount" isn't neutral, and neither is "right-size"
• Your internal messages are actively training the next generation of AI
• We're at an inflection point where conscious language can reshape what AI believes about human value
• What HR professionals actually need to hear about AI and their jobs
• The custom ChatGPT setting that flags dehumanizing language before you hit send

This week, Traci sits down with Stephen Flanagan to tackle one of the most persistent problems in growing organizations: the gap between strategy set in the boardroom and what actually gets executed on the ground.

Stephen Flanagan is the founder of Seeks Consulting, a firm dedicated to helping lean, fast-growing companies scale leadership by turning mid-level managers into execution-ready leaders. He spent the last decade in learning and development across high-growth organizations, and his flagship program, the Performance Booster, has helped hundreds of leaders drive measurable business impact.

What We Cover:

• Why 60% of strategic goals never translate into results, and what HR leaders say the real number is
• Translation, communication, and adoption — the three forces driving or stalling execution
• Why mid-level managers are the most critical leverage point in any organization
• The "when instead of I will" framework and how it turns strategy into simple, triggerable daily habits
• Why starting laughably small leads to a 75-85% habit adoption rate
• How workplace habits spill into personal life, improving stress, presence, and performance at home

This week, Traci sits down with James Warren, founder and CEO of ShareMore Stories, to explore how storytelling, emotional intelligence, and human experience research are reshaping the way organizations understand their employees, and themselves.

James brings nearly 30 years across marketing, insights, and strategy, blending storytelling and AI through his company's SEEQ platform to help leaders listen more deeply and act with more impact.

In this episode:

• The hidden truths your employees are carrying into work every day
• The fishbowl nobody warns leaders about
• The power imbalance every employee feels but nobody talks about
• Why failure is actually the belonging signal you've been missing
• The one reframe that changes how your whole team takes risks
• Why you're shaping your culture faster than you think

This week's greatest hits replay features generational researcher Dr. Meghan Grace breaking down who Gen Z actually is, what drives them at work, and how leaders can better engage and retain them.

Dr. Meghan Grace is a leading generational researcher, host of the Hashtag Gen Z podcast, and co-author of three books on Generation Z. She co-leads the Institute for Generational Research and Education, where she's spent the last decade helping companies, universities, and associations around the world understand generations and work better together.

- The Generation That Refuses to Be Scammed

- Why They Question Everything (And Why That's Actually Good News)

- The Trait Gen Z Values Most — And the One Thing That Unlocks It

- Where the Real Tension Comes From

- What HR Can Actually Do Differently

- The 10-Minute Habit That Builds More Loyalty Than Any Perk

Key Quote: "You don't find connection over spreadsheets. I'm sorry, you just don't." — Dr. Meghan Grace

This week, Traci sits down with Brett Hoogeveen, co-founder of Better Culture, to pull apart what culture actually is, why perks and benefits aren't it, and what organizations can do right now to build something that lasts.

Brett shares the philosophy behind Better Culture's 20 Tenets of Culture, a research-backed framework built around the attitudes and behaviors that define high-performing, healthy teams, this episode gives you a practical, no-fluff roadmap for making culture something your whole organization actually feels.

What We Cover:

• Culture is invisible, and that's exactly why we keep getting it wrong

• Foosball tables aren't culture (neither are your benefits)

• The iceberg problem: what's lurking beneath your company's surface

• Pride, appreciation, and investment, the three questions worth measuring

• Why recognition events miss the point and what to do instead

• The 20 Tenets of Culture and why "be coachable" comes first

• Assume positive intent: the two words that dissolve workplace drama

• Bottom-up culture building and how to reach every employee, not just leaders

• Why your core values might be doing absolutely nothing

• The Culture Kickstarter Pack, a free tool to get your team started

This week on a replay episode, Traci welcomes Bianca Best to discuss what actually stops burnout and why values alignment matters more than sleep, exercise, or vitamins.

Bianca Best is a globally recognized speaker, author, and strategist whose career includes collaborations with Google, Amazon, Deloitte, Barclays, and Unilever. She's dedicated to empowering professionals to achieve extraordinary results without sacrificing their health or happiness. Her book Big Impact Without Burnout offers actionable strategies to help leaders align purpose with performance while thriving sustainably.

(00:00) Meet Bianca and What This Episode Is Really About

(03:11) From Side Hustle to Entrepreneurship: How the Burnout Cycle Started

(08:14) Why Your Last Burnout Happened in 2015—And What Changed

(10:30) The Missing Piece Nobody Talks About

(15:10) That Feeling in Your Gut That Something's Wrong

(22:08) Energy Management as Your Foundation

(24:16) Why Where You Work Actually Matters

(26:24) How Gender Changes the Burnout Equation

(30:32) What the Workforce Is About to Look Like

(34:27) The One Question That Changes Everything About Your Career

This conversation will change how you think about your career, your values, and what burnout really costs you. If you're feeling stuck between ambition and exhaustion, this is for you.

This week on the Traci explores what it really means to be cynical at work with Hywel Berry, CEO and founder of Alicorn Learning.

A veteran of corporate leadership, sales, and organizational training, Hywel challenges the narrative that cynicism is inherently toxic—and argues that some of the most valuable people in your organization might just be the ones asking tough questions.

Throughout this conversation, you'll discover how to harness skepticism as a leadership tool, understand why tone matters more than words, and learn what "realistic optimism" actually looks like when everything feels impossible.

What we cover:

• The cynic paradox
• Challenging without being dismissive
• Tone as strategy
• Realistic optimism in action
• The role of the natural cynic
• Speaking up safely
• Feedback meets cynicisI
• Intention versus impact
• Code switching for leaders
• Moving the needle forward

Connect with Hywel Berry:

This week, Traci welcomes Karen Worthy, an executive career transition coach who helps leaders accelerate their job search and land their dream roles often in half the time of their peers.

Karen unpacks why building community and leveraging your network is the most powerful tool in your career transition toolkit.

What We Cover:

• Your personal "champions list" and how it opens doors across companies, not just within them

• Why the person you talked to three years ago at a training class can be your secret career weapon

• The three communities you should be part of at any given time

• How to network when you're terrified of reaching out to someone you barely remember

• The transferable skills framework that helped Karen go from engineering to HR

• Breaking into HR (or any new field) when job postings require experience you don't have yet

• Why "applying off the street" is only 5-10% successful and what actually works

• The gym buddy, the neighbor's son, and other weak ties that landed real interviews

• How to identify and articulate your transferable skills in a new career

• The difference between having one amazing mentor and building multiple supportive communities

Connect with Karen Worthy:

Traci sits down with Chris Hamilton, a benefits consultant who specializes in helping employers cut through the noise of rising healthcare costs, to dig into what's really driving the hardest insurance market in 15 years. 

If you sat through open enrollment this year wondering why insurance premiums jumped 20% when you thought it would be single digits, this episode reveals why—and what you can actually do about it.

Chris walks through the misaligned incentives that make traditional insurance companies profit when your costs rise, exposes waste hiding in your current plan (like medications available for $300 being charged at $1,000), and breaks down why Wells Fargo and Johnson & Johnson ended up in fiduciary duty lawsuits over benefits decisions. 

But the real value is the concrete timeline and strategy for what to do starting this month—not waiting until August—to completely reshape your 2026 renewal and actually improve coverage while reducing costs.

Contact Information:

Traci shares an exciting update about the podcast's production plans for 2026.

What You'll Hear:

• A peek at the production schedule and what's planned for the coming months

• Why Policy Pulse episodes will return in the summer with new content

• An invitation to share what topics and guests you want to hear about

• A sneak peek at next week's episode on insurance and benefits

This episode unpacks the real danger of a female-dominated profession being policed through male eyes, the seismic shift happening with NLRB independence, and what HR leaders need to prepare for as workplace regulation becomes a political ping-pong ball. Bryan breaks down why the next few years will be anything but predictable for your compliance calendar.

What We Cover

– The Michigan firefighter bra inspection case and why "professionalism" is being weaponized to keep workplaces male-dominated

 – Why this case matters even though it shouldn't exist—and how past court rulings could doom the firefighter's lawsuit

 – The NLRB's loss of independence and what it means when presidents can fire board members at will

– How decades of stable labor policy will now swing with every election cycle 

– The real difference between independent agency oversight and direct presidential control 

– Why rapid policy reversals in employment law will crush compliance predictability 

– Union membership trends: will the NLRB chaos actually drive more unionization or accelerate decline? 

– Bryan's three bold bets for 2026: AI implementation, AI discrimination issues, and te blue state/red state divide 

– The impossibility of creating one handbook that works across incompatible state laws 

– Why HR is the only department in the room protecting the human impact of business decisions

This week, Traci sits down for a solo catch-up to address the elephant in the room: the influx of obviously AI-generated resumes and job applications flooding inboxes. Plus, this is our last episode of 2025, so you won't want to miss this episode!

What starts as a cautionary tale about resume fraud becomes a deeper conversation about reputation, confidence, and why the "spray and pray" approach to your career is actually costing you more than it saves.

Whether you're tempted to let AI write your resume from scratch, use automated job application services, or lean on generative tools during interviews, this episode challenges the all-or-nothing thinking that's driving so many job seekers to compromise their credibility before they even get in the door.

What We Cover:

– The telltale signs of AI-generated resumes (generic language, zero personality, missing data points)

– Why perfect keyword matching actually hurts your chances despite what you think about ATS systems

– The reputation damage that never really goes away in smaller industries

– The interview nightmare scenario: claiming experience you don't actually have

– How one hiring manager caught a candidate using AI mid-interview (spoiler: the camera angle was a dead giveaway)

– Why automated job application services are just spray-and-pray without the actual effectiveness

– The difference between using AI as a prep tool versus letting AI replace your thinking entirely

– How to leverage AI ethically—workbook prep, question practice, resume critique—without faking your way through applications

– The real thing that lands jobs: being prepared, being specific, being YOU

– The competitive job market pressure that's driving candidates to abandon authenticity

Join Traci and Emily Erstad, author of It's Not That Deep, regional operations strategist, executive director in hospice, and soulful leadership coach, as they explore how to break free from the mental loops that keep us stuck—and still lead with heart.

Spoiler alert: Being a deep thinker and deep feeler is a gift, but staying there indefinitely is the problem.

Emily unpacks why so many high-achieving leaders and HR professionals get trapped in what she calls the "doom loop"—where perfectionism, overthinking, and taking ourselves too seriously becomes the very thing that blocks our progress. You'll discover how to leverage emotional intelligence without letting it become an excuse for avoiding accountability, and why boundaries and vulnerability aren't opposites—they're both essential to building trust.

What We Cover:

– The doom loop that keeps deep thinkers trapped in unproductive cycles

– Perfectionism as a self-diminisher and team drainer

– Trauma dumping versus authentically sharing hard things

– Why "triggered" has replaced actual disagreement and conversation

– Setting boundaries without sacrificing your authenticity or kindness

– The difference between over-empathy and strategic compassion in leadership

– Culture is about knowing your team's limits, not pizza parties

– Using vulnerability strategically to build trust and transparency

– The next frontier in leadership: moving beyond "emotions are valid" to action

– Observation and reflection as the antidote to reactive leadership

Key Quote: "You are important, but you're not that important. You're adding a lot of responsibility to yourself that's so unnecessary, and it's just going to drive you nuts. And you being driven nuts is not productive." – Emily Erstad

Connect with Emily Erstad:

Website: https://eepublications.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsnotthatdeep_author/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-erstad-m-a-ccc-slp-381346135/

This week, Traci sits down with Dr. Greg Giuliano, founder of GA Ultra Leadership and executive coach to senior leaders worldwide. For nearly 30 years, Greg has been helping leaders understand that the way they lead directly impacts whether people show up engaged or just show up.

Spoiler alert: That micromanaging leader you're frustrated with? Their anxiety is driving every decision—and you're probably doing the exact same thing to your team without realizing it.

Greg unpacks why leaders accidentally slip into command and control despite genuinely wanting to empower their teams, and shares the coaching framework that transforms how managers lead. He reveals the drama triangle that plays out in every workplace, explains why anxiety masquerades as micromanagement, and gives leaders the tools to shift from managing and telling to coaching and empowering.

What We Cover:

– The drama triangle that runs every workplace

– Why micromanagement is anxiety wearing a business suit

– The mama bird trap leaders fall into

– Coaching versus telling and why one actually works

– How to create your own team culture inside a broken system

– The question that reveals what kind of leader you really want to be

– Why the post-pandemic workforce won't tolerate command and control

– How to actually make the shift from managing to coaching

– The 10-minute framework that proves coaching isn't complicated

– When you stop coaching and start managing instead

Key Quote:

"My job is to empower these people and the best way to empower people is to coach them." – Dr. Greg Giuliano

Connect with Dr. Greg Giuliano:

This week, Traci connects with Renaud Delaquis, Head of Product Marketing at Coastline Academy, the nation's largest driving school scaling across 500+ cities.

Spoiler alert: What if your biggest hiring problem was actually a revenue problem in disguise?

When Renaud noticed a tiny dip in quality metrics—just 1%—he could've ignored it. Instead, he discovered something most marketing leaders never see: the direct correlation between who you hire and what your customers experience. That realization led him to partner with recruiting and completely rethink how Coastline attracts, screens, and retains driving instructors.

What We Cover:

– The moment a marketing leader realized recruiting was his problem too

– Why a 1% quality drop led to an entirely new hiring system

– How to find people who don't know they want the job

– The personality trait that actually predicts success (and it's not what you think)

– Turning your best employees into organic brand ambassadors

– Making the business case to leadership with numbers that stick

– Why happy employees are literally your greatest product

Key Quote:

"The best product that you have are happy employees. When you invest in your best product, your employees, all of your other products will totally start to rise to the occasion." – Renaud Delaquis

Connect with Renaud Delaquis:

This month's Policy Pulse episode with Traci and co-host Bryan Driscoll is packed with the compliance updates every HR leader needs heading into 2026. With new EEOC leadership officially in place, federal enforcement is shifting, state protections are becoming more critical, and workplace culture decisions are getting harder to navigate.

Spoiler alert: You're about to feel major whiplash as protections from the past four years (DEI initiatives, pregnancy accommodations, gender identity policies, and more) face rollbacks. But state laws might be your lifeline.

This conversation covers everything from DEI audits and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to religious and gender identity protections, reverse discrimination claims, and a cultural reality check about office returns.

You'll hear why one company's Halloween costume mishap revealed their broken culture, what managers actually need to know about anti-harassment training, and the single question every HR leader should ask before mandating people back to the office.

Plus, Bryan walks through the most pressing questions he's getting from clients right now about navigating these changes without losing employee trust.

What We Cover

• New EEOC leadership and the anticipated rollbacks to DEI programs, pregnant workers protections, and gender identity policies

• Why auditing your DEI initiatives now isn't optional (it's survival)

• The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: expanded protections facing the axe and what state laws might save you

• Religious and gender identity conflicts: expect stronger protections for religious objections and narrower interpretations of gender identity

• When federal law disappears, state law is your safety net and some states have serious teeth

• The culture-killing move: mandating office returns without a legitimate business reason

• How convincing employees signals distrust and guarantees compliance theater instead of real engagement

• Why one Halloween costume revealed everything wrong with a company's culture

• Anti-harassment training for managers vs. company-wide training: why you need both and why most companies miss this

• The real question HR leaders should ask before sending that RTO mandate: would I come in for that reason?

  
  

Key Quote

"Your response or lack of response when someone crosses a line in your organization, that is your culture." - Bryan Driscoll

This week, Traci welcomes Laura Tolhoek, founder and principal consultant at Essential HR, where she leads a team delivering clear, results-focused solutions to businesses facing HR challenges across Canada. With her CHRL designation and over 20 years of experience, Laura specializes in helping companies navigate the complex world of Canadian employment law.

Laura has built her career guiding managers through high-volume decision-making in fast-paced restaurant, food service, and retail environments.

Her expertise becomes critical when US-based companies attempt to expand north of the border using American HR practices—a mistake that can cost tens of thousands in severance.

Spoiler alert: That US employment contract you're using in Canada is probably null and void—and that might actually work in the employee's favor.

Laura breaks down why expanding into Canada makes strategic sense—from accessing highly educated workers at a 30-35% exchange rate discount to tapping salary ranges significantly lower than US metropolitan areas.

You'll also hear the critical legal pitfalls that can turn a cost-saving hire into an expensive nightmare, including the "dependent contractor" classification that's caught countless US companies off guard.

What We Cover:

– The Target Canada lesson – Why understanding operational and cultural differences before expansion matters, even for America's most successful retailers

– Why at-will employment doesn't exist in Canada – Termination without a strong contract can cost months of severance instead of weeks

– The contract clause that voids everything – One mention of drug testing invalidates your entire employment agreement

– Dependent contractors aren't subcontractors – If someone gets 75%+ of their income from you, courts may deem them an employee with back taxes, vacation, and overtime owed

– How to find strong mid-level managers for $60-80K CAD – The salary arbitrage that builds loyalty while expanding your talent pool

– Quebec's French-first requirement – Why Montreal expansion means understanding distinct cultural approaches to business

– The 18-month parental leave structure – How progressive family leave policies help balance workforce discrimination concerns

– Why employees always get the benefit of the doubt – Understanding Canada's employee-first legal system where courts consistently side with workers

Key Quote: "You can't get a subcontractor relationship clean in Canada. All is good till it's not. If your subcontractor gets more than 75% of their income from you, they're called a dependent contractor—and then the company says, 'You decide how much you think you owe them and we'll tell you if we think you're right.'" – Laura Tolhoek

Connect with Laura Tolhoek:

This week, Traci welcomed Wendy Sherry, Chief Executive Officer for Global Health Benefits within International Health at Cigna Healthcare, overseeing healthcare delivery to more than 3,700 clients in over 250 countries.

With 30 years at Cigna spanning multiple leadership roles, Wendy is a strong advocate for inclusion and the advancement of women in leadership. She also serves as an advisor to Hello Heart and supports healthcare equity angels.

Spoiler alert: 50% of millennial women are experiencing perimenopause symptoms right now, and by 2030, three-quarters of the global workforce will be millennials or Gen Z—meaning this isn't a women's issue, it's a business imperative.

What We Cover

• The inclusive leadership philosophy
• What perimenopause actually does to your body
• 50% of millennial women have perimenopause symptoms
• Which states mandate menopause workplace protections
• Why this is a business imperative, not a nice-to-have
• The hidden cost of perimenopause stigma
• How Cigna connects employees to menopause specialists
• The talent war you're losing without these benefits
• What to ask your benefits provider tomorrow

Key Quote

"If all the good ideas come from me, we are in trouble. You need to have a team that in many ways is smarter than you in certain areas, because it's all about perspective." – Wendy Sherry

Join Traci and attorney Bryan Driscoll for this month's Policy Pulse episode covering the latest workplace regulations that demand your attention. Together they break down the DOL's new emergency pay ruling, a shocking discrimination lawsuit, California's pay transparency expansion, and Supreme Court cases that could reshape federal workplace regulation.

Spoiler alert: Emergency pay just became part of your overtime calculation headache, and California is done with fake pay ranges.

This episode unpacks how the Department of Labor now requires emergency and hazard pay to be included when calculating overtime rates, making your payroll significantly more complex. 

You'll also hear about the EEOC's lawsuit against a staffing firm that honored male-only hiring requests and why this puts all recruiters on notice. Discover how California's strengthened pay transparency law demands "good faith" ranges that include total comp, not theoretical maximums, plus why the Supreme Court's upcoming term could create wild policy swings for the NLRB and EEOC.

What We Cover:

– DOL's new emergency pay overtime requirement

– The staffing firm's male-only hiring lawsuit

– California's "good faith" pay range mandate

– Why vendor compliance doesn't absolve employer liability

– Supreme Court cases threatening independent agencies

– The ERISA fiduciary risks HR overlooks

Key Quote: "California now says you can't put in a job description what you could pay an employee. You have to put in the job posting what you will pay the employee." – Bryan Driscoll

Content Warning: This episode discusses pregnancy loss, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death. Please take care of yourself if these topics are sensitive or triggering for you.

This week, Traci tackles a topic that touches one in four pregnancies but remains largely invisible in workplace conversations: pregnancy and infant loss.

A longtime listener and HR professional reached out to share her powerful story of loss and resilience after losing her newborn son earlier this year. Through her experience, she’s seen how unprepared many workplaces are to support grieving parents—and she’s on a mission to change that. 

Her message is a call to action for HR leaders to bring more compassion, awareness, and humanity to how we support employees through unimaginable loss.

Spoiler alert: There's no federal requirement for bereavement leave in private employment, leaving a massive gap in support for grieving parents.

Traci reveals the three-stage support framework that actually works, explores state laws that lead the way, and shares why explicitly stating "reproductive loss" in policies makes all the difference.

What We Cover:

– The one-in-four reality: Why this is far more common than most realize and how that should reshape support

– The three-stage framework: Supporting employees before return, during transition, and once they're back

– Language that harms versus heals: What to avoid saying and what actually helps

– State laws leading the way: How California, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington provide reproductive loss leave

– Making loss explicit: Why stating "reproductive loss" in policies normalizes asking for support

Have thoughts on how your organization supports employees through loss, or want to share what's working in your workplace? Drop a comment on Spotify or YouTube and let us know. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe!

This week, Traci sits down with Tan Moorthy, CEO of Revature and accomplished business leader with over three decades of experience in the global IT services industry.

After 23 years with Infosys—where he served as Executive Vice President across multiple functions including Head of Delivery Operations for US, Canada, and LATAM, Group Head of HR, and Global Head of Education—Tan now focuses on bridging the talent gap through workforce transformation. He's also a champion of sustainable development, having led UN work groups defining corporate metrics for Sustainable Development Goals.

Spoiler alert: That knowledge you're protecting isn't as proprietary as you think—and hoarding it might be the very thing keeping you from growing.

Tan reveals why learning at the speed of change is the only way to stay relevant, how upskilling existing employees delivers faster ROI than external hiring, and the three-pillar framework (education, engagement, exposure) that builds true competence. Plus, he shares the career-defining moment when a failed proposal taught him that content without communication means lost opportunities.

What We Cover:

• The proposal that changed everything – How losing a client deal due to poor communication skills sparked Tan's transformation into a lifelong learner and eventually led him to share a stage with Steve Ballmer

• Why comfort zones are career killers – The counterintuitive move from a successful business role into corporate HR that everyone warned against, and why it opened doors Tan never imagined

• The three pillars of competence – Breaking down how knowledge, skills, and attitude combine through education, engagement, and exposure to create lasting workforce transformation

• Learning at the speed of change – Why continuous learning isn't about getting ahead anymore—it's about staying in the same place you are now

• The upskilling advantage over external hiring – How investing in people who already know your systems, culture, and ecosystem delivers immediate productivity versus the ramp-up time new hires require

• Why knowledge hoarding backfires – The fundamental truth that if you don't share what you know, someone else will—and why giving more means getting more in return

• Mentorship as a two-way street – How working with Gen Z employees (or any generation different from yours) creates peer-to-peer learning that benefits both sides equally

• The innovation power of different perspectives – Why surrounding yourself with people who think like you guarantees stagnation, and how diverse viewpoints spark breakthrough ideas

• Building elastic teams that bend without breaking – How creating learning ecosystems helps organizations adapt through pandemics, economic shifts, elections, and technological disruption

  
  

Key Quote: "You've got to learn at the speed of change for you to stay in the same place that you are, let alone to run." – Tan Moorthy

Connect with Tan Moorthy: 

This week, Traci welcomes Kelly McGinnis, certified Gottman educator, emotion coach, and CEO of Incredible Family—an organization committed to unleashing potential in working parents through developing strengths.

With over 20 years of experience educating and empowering families, Kelly shares her own journey through the abrupt transition to motherhood with three daughters and how it ignited her passion for helping working parents thrive without choosing between career and family.

Spoiler alert: The odds are stacked against working parents—but there's a science-backed way to flip the script.

Kelly reveals why our brains are hardwired for negativity, the shocking happiness curve research that shows when life satisfaction hits rock bottom, and the one simple strategy organizations can implement that creates ripple effects across engagement, productivity, and retention.

Plus, she shares a powerful story about how unlocking one mom's hidden strength not only kept a valuable employee from leaving but sparked an entirely new mentorship program.

What We Cover:

• The "motherhood penalty" and why becoming a parent happens at the worst possible career moment

• Why happiness levels plummet when we become working parents (and what causes that dip)

• How to break the negativity cycle by shifting to a strengths-based philosophy

• The dual reality principle: Why two contradictory things can be true at once

• Why working parents make exceptional leaders (hint: parenting and leadership run parallel)

• The research-backed reason community is the #1 way to support working parents

• How to navigate the return-to-work transition and view parenthood as a series of transitions

• The "pebble in the pond" impact: How small shifts create massive organizational change

  
  

Key Quote: "Culture will emerge 'by design or default,' and organizations end up paying the price either way. You can invest intentionally upfront or deal with costly damage control later." – Kelly McGinnis

FREE GIFT: Email Kelly at kelly@incrediblefamily.com and mention this podcast to receive a free code for the parent strengths assessment!

Connect with Kelly:

Email: kelly@incrediblefamily.com 

This week, Traci sits down with Scott Shickler, one of the world's leading experts on mindset-based empowerment and CEO of Seven Mindsets.

Scott has interviewed billionaires, Olympic athletes, and celebrities (including an unforgettable three-hour dinner with Oprah Winfrey) to uncover what truly drives success.

Spoiler alert: It's not talent, luck, or connections. It's mindset.

Scott reveals the seven specific mindsets that separate high achievers from everyone else, why our brains come "factory-loaded" with limitation software, and how even the most successful people battle 30,000-50,000 automatic negative thoughts daily.

Plus, he shares his vision for transforming HR from "Human Resources" to "Human Success."

What We Cover:

• Why Oprah says mindset is "over everything" (even with all her resources and opportunities)

• Richard Branson's surprising regrets and why he'd "dream bigger" despite owning 400 companies

• The "one inch higher" challenge that reveals how we limit our own potential

• How to identify and flip your "ANTs" (Automatic Negative Thoughts)

• Why Scott returned as CEO after his company's culture shifted away from mindset-based practices

• The revolutionary MQ (Mindset Quotient) that measures how your mindsets compare to world-class achievers

  
  

Key Quote: "Your mindsets matter. They determine the quality of your life at home, at school, and in the workplace." – Scott Schickler

In this month's Policy Pulse episode, Traci and Bryan explore the increasingly complex landscape of HR compliance across U.S. states and cities. With federal deregulation on one side and stricter state-level laws on the other, HR professionals are feeling the squeeze.

They discuss how employers can stay compliant with an evolving "patchwork" of laws—from pay transparency and AI in hiring to hyperlocal handbook requirements.

Plus, they tackle the ever-relevant topic of free speech in the workplace: what you can say, what you should say, and what might get you fired.

This episode is essential listening for any HR leader navigating multi-state operations, remote workforces, and the realities of a lean HR team.

What We Cover:

• How state-specific laws are reshaping HR practices
• When to use addendums vs. separate employee handbooks
• The compliance pitfalls of national job postings
• What "free speech" really means at work (hint: it’s not what you think)
• Why documentation is everything—and when it's better not to write things down

Key Quote:

“Say it, forget it. Write it, regret it.” — Traci (quoting Dorinda Medley, a RHONY legend)

Got a question for Bryan & Traci for an upcoming episode? Email Traci at contact@hrtraci.com

In this deeply moving and eye-opening episode, Traci sits down with Matthew Megson, an HR professional and mental health advocate, to discuss how HR leaders can better support employees navigating mental health challenges. 

With over 21 years in the field and personal experience living with bipolar disorder, Matthew brings a unique dual perspective, both as someone who has created accommodations and as someone who has needed them.

Together, Traci and Matthew explore the critical need for empathy, the dangers of stigma, and practical strategies for handling mental health disclosures in the workplace. 

This conversation touches on suicide prevention, legal considerations, and how to balance organizational needs with human needs, making it a must-listen for anyone in people leadership.

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions about mental health, suicide prevention, and personal struggles. Please take care while listening.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 for free, confidential support anytime.

Connect with Matthew Megson here:

This week on Bringing the Human Back to Human Resources, we’re talking about what it really means to be the “shield” in HR, and how to protect yourself from burnout while doing it.

Traci is joined by Lindsey Carnick, psychotherapist and founder of Onward Psychological Services, to unpack the emotional weight of HR, especially when you’re stuck between the needs of your company and the needs of your people.

With years of experience supporting high-stress professionals, Lindsey brings clarity, compassion, and a few unforgettable analogies (hello, cereal and climate!) to help HR leaders and people managers navigate stress without drowning in it.

Whether you’re rethinking your boundaries, looking for coping strategies, or wondering why work suddenly feels heavier than it should. This conversation will help you take a deep breath and start where you are.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why HR professionals often act as emotional “shields” in the workplace
• The difference between empathy and sympathy (and why it matters)
• How to support others without absorbing their emotions
• When it's time to leave a role or organization, and how to know if it’s a “weather” or “climate” issue
• Why alignment between your personal values and your company’s values is non-negotiable

Connect with Lindsey Carnick here:

This week on Bringing the Human Back to Human Resources, we're shaking things up... literally.

Traci is joined by Stefanie Adams, keynote speaker, author of Cheer Leadership, and Chief Empowerment Officer, to talk about how leaders can bring energy, trust, and humanity back into the workplace.

With 20+ years of leadership experience and a background in cheerleading, Stefanie shares her powerful "Cheer Leadership" framework that challenges outdated ideas about team building.

Learn why connection, care, challenge, celebration, and inspiration are the five ingredients every leader needs—and how you can start applying them today.

Whether you're leading hybrid teams, managing burnout, or just trying to bring some joy back into your workday, this conversation will leave you inspired and equipped.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why leaders need to stop throwing people into “team stunts” without trust
  

• How to change your team’s energy—especially on tough days
  

• The power of creating psychological safety and celebrating small wins
  

• How fun and productivity can (and should) coexist
  

• Why modeling positive behavior gives others permission to do the same
  

Connect with Stefanie Adams here: