How HR Leaders Change the World

The queen is the most powerful player on a chessboard – a queen can move anywhere - just like HR. Ewen shares why HR practitioners need to stop staying in their square and start thinking like a queen on a chessboard.  
He explores how meaningful change comes through sustained commitment to human-centred approaches and shares the example of The Havas Platform, demonstrating how HR can create impact both within organisations and society.  
Ewen champions transparency as foundational to trust and equity and discusses his approach to reward, including opportunities to personalise pay and benefits according to need. Framing reward as an opportunity to target support, he emphasises that social impact isn't only external and reminds us that employees may be experiencing the same issues that we see in society. 
Encouraging you to "be a queen", Ewen's wish is for everyone in HR to appreciate how powerful your position is, and use that power to drive positive change. 
 
How is AI really playing out? Slalom's new research
Thank you to Slalom for sponsoring this week's podcast episode. 
If you're an HR leader navigating AI and wondering how to move from ambition to adoption, Slalom's latest research offers practical insights you can use right away.
Slalom surveyed more than 2,000 global executives to understand how AI is really playing out, where investment is translating into value, where it isn't and, what that means for leadership, skills and cross functional alignment. 
Download your free summary here: Get Slalom's latest AI research
  
👥 Join our free HR Changemakers community  
  
You'll be the first to hear about each podcast episode, about our events, and receive free bonus resources that enhance your influence and impact.   
  
Join us here: upliftingpeople.com/pages/how-hr-leaders-change-the-world  
  
And on Linkedin: Uplifting People | LinkedIn  
  
Are you looking for your next great read that inspires you and helps your work?  
  
We're starting 2026 with Brene Brown's new book, Strong Ground, as our Book of the Month - a thoughtful guide to building resilience, connection, and clarity in a fast-moving world. 
 
Brené draws on decades of research into courage and vulnerability to help us navigate uncertainty in both our professional lives and personal lives. 
 
Strong Ground is perfect for the start of a new year - a reminder that small shifts in perspective can make a big difference, and it highlights the power of curiosity and intentional action. 
 
Let it inspire you to step into the new year ready to create positive impact - because change starts with each of us, one choice at a time. 
 
Head to UpliftingPeople.com to grab your copy, and we hope you enjoy this month's Uplifting Book!

Fabiola explores how real change often comes from small, human moments - conversations, deep listening and creating spaces where people can bring their whole selves. Drawing on her international career and psychotherapy studies, she shows how engaging with people relationally forms the foundation for sustainable organisational transformation.
 
Fabiola also highlights the power of human-centred design in organisations. By fostering improvisation and curiosity, and giving employees a voice, teams build resilience, creativity and stronger connections. Concepts such as 'the fertile void' create space for insight and innovation to emerge.
 
Looking ahead, Fabiola urges HR leaders to see human-centred ways of working as essential, not optional. Her wish for HR is for leaders to recognise that the health and wellbeing of their people is at the heart of everything they do.
 
How is AI really playing out? Slalom's new research
Thank you to Slalom for sponsoring this week's podcast episode. 
If you're an HR leader navigating AI and wondering how to move from ambition to adoption, Slalom's latest research offers practical insights you can use right away.
Slalom surveyed more than 2,000 global executives to understand how AI is really playing out, where investment is translating into value, where it isn't and, what that means for leadership, skills and cross functional alignment. 
Download your free summary here: Get Slalom's latest AI research
  
👥 Join our free HR Changemakers community  
  
You'll be the first to hear about each podcast episode, about our events, and receive free bonus resources that enhance your influence and impact.   
  
Join us here: upliftingpeople.com/pages/how-hr-leaders-change-the-world  
  
And on Linkedin: Uplifting People | LinkedIn  
  
Are you looking for your next great read that inspires you and helps your work?  
  
We're starting 2026 with Brene Brown's new book, Strong Ground, as our Book of the Month - a thoughtful guide to building resilience, connection, and clarity in a fast-moving world. 
 
Brené draws on decades of research into courage and vulnerability to help us navigate uncertainty in both our professional lives and personal lives. 
 
Strong Ground is perfect for the start of a new year - a reminder that small shifts in perspective can make a big difference, and it highlights the power of curiosity and intentional action. 
 
Let it inspire you to step into the new year ready to create positive impact - because change starts with each of us, one choice at a time. 
 
Head to UpliftingPeople.com to grab your copy, and we hope you enjoy this month's Uplifting Book!

Samantha cuts through the AI hype to discuss what businesses are really experiencing, including thoughts on why investment in AI is high, yet value remains elusive - highlighting challenges with legacy technology, data, governance and workforce readiness.
 
Emphasising the crucial role of HR in shaping the future of work, working alongside tech and data leaders and the importance of cross-functional collaboration, Samantha highlights a striking insight from Slalom's research: empathy and communication are being deprioritised, even as these human skills become more important for trust, adoption and sustainable change.
 
Introducing the concept of AQ and the SHIFT framework, Samantha shows how organisations can build human and cultural foundations adept at dealing with continuous change, including AI adoption.
 
Her practical call to action for HR leaders: connect with your CTOs and CDOs, learn from each other, and help lead a future of work that balances technology with human needs.
 
How is AI really playing out? Slalom's new research
Thank you to Slalom for sponsoring this week's podcast episode. Slalom is a business and technology consulting firm that believes meaningful change starts with people, helping organisations turn change into outcomes that actually last.
If you're an HR leader navigating AI and wondering how to move from ambition to adoption, Slalom's latest research offers practical insights you can use right away.
Slalom surveyed more than 2,000 global executives to understand how AI is really playing out, where investment is translating into value, where it isn't and, what that means for leadership, skills and cross functional alignment. Download your free summary here:
Get Slalom's latest AI research
Thanks again to Slalom for supporting the podcast, and thank you for being a brilliant HR Changemaker, we're excited to create more positive change together this year.
👥 Join our free HR Changemakers community  
  
You'll be the first to hear about each podcast episode, about our events, and receive free bonus resources that enhance your influence and impact.   
  
Join us here: upliftingpeople.com/pages/how-hr-leaders-change-the-world  
  
And on Linkedin: Uplifting People | LinkedIn  
  
Are you looking for your next great read that inspires you and helps your work?  
  
We're starting 2026 with Brene Brown's new book, Strong Ground, as our Book of the Month - a thoughtful guide to building resilience, connection, and clarity in a fast-moving world. 
 
Brené draws on decades of research into courage and vulnerability to help us navigate uncertainty in both our professional lives and personal lives. 
 
Strong Ground is perfect for the start of a new year - a reminder that small shifts in perspective can make a big difference, and it highlights the power of curiosity and intentional action. 
 
Let it inspire you to step into the new year ready to create positive impact - because change starts with each of us, one choice at a time. 
 
Head to UpliftingPeople.com to grab your copy, and we hope you enjoy this month's Uplifting Book!

Kicking off the new year Nigel reflects on the human impact of HR, sharing his working principles: focus on what is within your control, particularly the 'how' of decision-making, and approach people with empathy and care.  
Looking to the future, Nigel explores the opportunities and challenges HR faces in a world shaped by AI. He highlights the importance of human skills - relationships, empathy, connection - and shares how HR can unite purpose, people and performance to positively impact work and society.  
Nigel challenges HR leaders to move from people operations to 'purpose operations', contributing to a fairer society and fostering kindness, curiosity and compassion.  
 
Thank you to Slalom for sponsoring this episode   
 
Slalom is a business and technology consulting firm that believes meaningful change starts with people, helping organisations turn change into outcomes that actually last. 
They partner closely with leaders across HR, technology, and the business to move beyond experimentation and ensure real adoption, building the skills, data foundations, and ways of working that make change stick. 
What makes Slalom different is their approach: they lead with context rather than tools or hype. By taking the time to understand what truly matters in your organisation, they connect strategy to delivery in ways that people can trust, use, and scale effectively.  
To ground this work, Slalom surveyed more than 2,000 global executives to explore how AI is really playing out, where investment is translating into value, and what this means for leadership, skills, and cross-functional alignment. HR leaders navigating AI can draw on this research for practical insights to move from ambition to adoption today.  
Find out more and download Slalom's AI Research Outlook 2026: https://www.slalom.com/gb/en/insights/ai-research-outlook-2026 
  
👥 Join our free HR Changemakers community  
  
You'll be the first to hear about each podcast episode, about our events, and receive free bonus resources that enhance your influence and impact.   
  
Join us here: upliftingpeople.com/pages/how-hr-leaders-change-the-world  
  
And on Linkedin: Uplifting People | LinkedIn  
  
Are you looking for your next great read that inspires you and helps your work?  
  
We're starting 2026 with Brene Brown's new book, Strong Ground, as our Book of the Month - a thoughtful guide to building resilience, connection, and clarity in a fast-moving world. 
 
Brené draws on decades of research into courage and vulnerability to help us navigate uncertainty in both our professional lives and personal lives. 
 
Strong Ground is perfect for the start of a new year - a reminder that small shifts in perspective can make a big difference, and it highlights the power of curiosity and intentional action. 
 
Let it inspire you to step into the new year ready to create positive impact - because change starts with each of us, one choice at a time. 
 
Head to UpliftingPeople.com to grab your copy, and we hope you enjoy this month's Uplifting Book!

Celebrating an incredible milestone – this network of HR Changemakers has now donated over $1 million to vulnerable children - we bring you a special, live-recorded episode: Sir Bob Geldof, on stage with Cecilia Crossley at How HR Leaders Change the World – Live! for a fireside chat on purpose, people and harnessing your profession to drive change.  
Discussing how HR can deliver people strategy for commercial businesses, and at the same time have positive impact, he reflects that "work has to be more than the exchange of effort for wages". 
Sir Bob shares his story and doesn't shy away from the big issues – politics, tech, and the state of the world – but his message is clear: people have the power to drive positive change, and HR can play a pivotal role in making that happen. 
From Live Aid to today, the scale of opportunity is enormous. Just as Sir Bob created a lobby that mobilised billions through music, HR has lobby of 3.5 billion – the number of employees there are in the world. Tune in for insight, humour, and a call to action for every HR leader ready to harness the power of their profession to drive meaningful, lasting change. 
References: 
Early Bird Ticket: How HR Leaders Change the World – Live! 11 November 2026 
 
Thank you to Peak PEO for sponsoring this episode  
 
Thank you to Peak PEO, your global employment and remote culture partner, for sponsoring this episode.
 
Peak makes international hiring simple, helping organisations overcome the barriers of entity setup, compliance and admin so global growth becomes an opportunity, not an obstacle. With real human experts - not chatbots - they handle contracts, payroll, tax filings and more, giving you the freedom to focus on growing your business.
 
Beyond compliance, Peak helps companies build remote cultures where global teams genuinely thrive. Their award-winning approach means they don't just advise from theory - they share what truly works in practice, supporting you to create strong connections, effective systems and brilliant employee experiences across borders.
 
If you're ready to hire globally with confidence and build a thriving remote culture, visit www.peakpeo.com
 
 
👥 Join our free HR Changemakers community 
 
You'll be the first to hear about each podcast episode, about our events, and receive free bonus resources that enhance your influence and impact.  
 
Join us here: upliftingpeople.com/pages/how-hr-leaders-change-the-world 
 
And on Linkedin: Uplifting People | LinkedIn 
 
 
Are you looking for your next great read that inspires you and helps your work? 
 
Each month we recommend a book that challenges, motivates and uplifts, every pick is selected to spark meaningful conversations and personal growth.
We're huge fans of social enterprises, which is why we're very happy that, Soup for Good is getting a second turn as our Book of the Month. 
A heartwarming collection of delicious recipes and inspiring stories from the incredible team at Cook for Good, who combat food insecurity and social isolation. Soup for Good shares the community's favourite recipes and the stories of its much-loved characters - perfect for curling up with on a chilly winter's day.
 
This festive season, it's a feel-good gift for friends, family, clients, or colleagues - and every penny of Cook for Good's profit goes straight back into their community programmes. Take a look at our Soup for Good festive gift bundle and brand-new seasonal hampers, full of treats ideal for Christmas and end of year gifting. 
Impact-led gifts that truly show you care. We wish we could show you just how beautiful they are! Tick off your shopping list with meaningful gifts by visiting  UpliftingPeople.com today.