The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

Brandon Roberts, leader of Talent Strategy and Workforce Transformation at ServiceNow, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about how ServiceNow is redesigning HR for the AI era, why every role needs to be mapped for AI impact, and more.
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
🔗Learn more about Beqom at beqom.com/mpl
🔗. Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(09:30) Creating ServiceNow’s Talent Strategy and Workforce Transformation Organization
(14:45) How AI Supercharges ServiceNow’s Workflow Platform
(21:50) Now Assist and the Productivity Shift in HR Operations
(22:55) Why ServiceNow Reinvested AI Productivity Gains Instead of Just Cutting Costs
(25:15) How AI Is Changing Software Engineering Roles
(29:25) Building an AI Heat Map for Every Role in the Company
(35:05) AI Control Tower, Usage Signals and Where to Invest Transformation Resources
(36:45) Employee Works and the Agent Orchestration Layer for HR
(38:30) Data Agent, Engagement Agent and Real-Time People Insights
(41:00) The Reskilling Challenge for HRBPs Using AI-Powered Insights
(43:25) People Strategists, People Technologists and People Scientists
(47:30) Why Brandon and Jacque Built the ServiceNow AI Transformation Playbook
(51:15) Why Companies Are Too Focused on Technology and Not Enough on Skills
(52:05) Helping People Step Away From Their Work Identity as Roles Change
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💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

Jessica Zwaan joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about her first four months at Leapsome, why HR needs to operate more like a product team, and how AI agents, forward-deployed engineers, and flexible HR systems could reshape the future of people operations.
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about SixFifty
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(11:40) Jessie’s 12-Week Sprint and the “How We HR” Document
(13:10) Why The Purpose of Work Changed What Jessie Wanted Next
(14:10) Why People Ops Will Change the Most Through AI
(15:30) The Three Future Archetypes of People Teams
(17:35) Starting With Retros, Problem Statements and Roadmaps
(18:15) Launching Transparent Compensation and Leveling
(19:10) Building a Dynamic Promotion and Merit Increase Coach
(19:30) Why Leapsome Added a Forward-Deployed Engineer to the People Team
(20:15) What to Look for in a Forward-Deployed Engineer for HR
(22:30) What Surprised Jessie After Joining Leapsome
(23:20) Why Founder Fit Matters So Much for People Leaders
(31:20) Speed, Urgency and Knowing When to Pull Back
(32:25) Why Traditional 30, 60, 90 Day Plans Are Dead
(35:10) Bringing Practitioner Credibility Into Product Strategy
(37:35) Building HR Agents People Can Trust
(39:20) AI-Powered Calibration Pre-Reads and Better Manager Conversations
(40:35) The Idea of a Plastic HRIS
(41:10) What HR Should and Should Not Vibe Code
(42:00) Why HR Deserves Commercial-Grade Tools and Better ROI
---- 
📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps
💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn
---- 
Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

Molly Graham, Host of WorkLife Podcast & Co-Founder of Glue Club and The Guild, joined us on The Modern People Leader. 
We talked about career emergence, why fear is slowing down AI adoption at work, and why the future of HR will depend on leaders who can create clarity, curiosity, accountability, and better management habits for both people and AI agents.
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Beqom at beqom.com/mpl
🔗 Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report
🔗 Learn more about SixFifty
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(05:25) Molly’s Origin Story: Google, Facebook, Quip and Career Emergence
(09:30) What Molly Does Today: Helping People Feel Less Alone and More Confident at Work
(11:30) Turning Down the Big COO Job That Would Have Made Her Miserable
(19:00) Why Fear Is Dominating the Future of Work Conversation
(23:49) The Macro Narrative That AI Is Coming for Everyone’s Job
(24:32) Why AI-Branded Layoffs Are Damaging the Trust Conversation
(25:24) Why the Future Belongs to People Who Approach AI With Curiosity
(27:15) Building a Clear Leadership Narrative Around AI
(31:28) Creating a Culture of Sharing and Experimentation
(32:04) What Facebook Got Right About Blameless Failure
(34:36) Why Culture Is Built Through What Leaders Do, Not What They Say
(35:20) Why the “Super IC” Conversation Misses the Real Point
(36:20) Why Everyone Just Became a Manager
(37:05) Managing Agents Requires the Same Skills as Managing Humans
(40:06) Why Token Consumption Can Become the New Productivity Theater
(41:05) Why No Company Has AI Fully Figured Out
(43:39) Lazy Interns: Why AI Slop Is Turning Smart People Into Bad Employees
(48:00) Why AI Work Still Requires Human Accountability
(49:05) Molly’s Rule: If You Send It, You Own It
(50:49) False Productivity and Why the End Result Matters Most
(52:04) Career Advice: Learn the Business
---- 
📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps
💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn
---- 
Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

Kate Connor, Chief Operating Officer at Moxie Communications Group, joined us on The Modern People Leader.
We talked about how Moxie is adopting AI safely, why leaders should automate low-judgment work first, and how to embed AI into the culture without replacing human creativity, judgment, and relationships. 
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about SixFifty
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
🔗 Learn more about Beqom at beqom.com/mpl
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(19:14) Why AI Strategy Is Different in a People-Powered Agency
(20:06) Automating Admin and Low-Judgment Work First
(20:51) Using AI to Create More Time for Client Relationships and Storytelling
(21:24) Bringing the Team Into the AI Roadmap Through Workshops
(24:06) Why Moxie’s AI Approach Starts With Safety
(24:35) Building an AI Use Policy With Cybersecurity and CTO Advisors
(25:41) Why AI Belongs on the Strategic Roadmap
(26:08) Being Transparent With the Team About AI Intentions
(26:31) Positioning AI as an Extension of the Team
(28:00) Running Team Workshops to Identify What Should Be Automated
(29:05) Building Proprietary Tools for Problems Off-the-Shelf Platforms Cannot Solve
(30:38) Messaging AI as an Expander, Not a Replacement
(32:31) GEO Optimization and the Future of PR
(34:07) Monthly AI Hackathons and Learning From the Team
(34:43) Why AI Cannot Stay With the Leadership Team
(35:22) When to Build Custom AI Tools Instead of Buying Off-the-Shelf
(39:08) Culture as the Feeling and Energy People Associate With a Company
(39:43) Building People Programs Around Real Business Needs
(44:19) Why Moxie Has Strong Retention
(48:43) Listening to the Team to Build Better Retention Programs
(51:03) Career Advice: Understand What AI Means for Your Job
---- 
📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps
💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn
---- 
Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

Davida Lindsay-Bell, Chief People Officer at Hanna Andersson, joined us on The Modern People Leader. 
We talked about why AI transformation needs to start with people, how Hanna Andersson operationalized psychological safety, and why trust, learning, and intelligent failure are the foundation for lasting change.
----  
Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
🔗 Learn more about Beqom at beqom.com/mpl
🔗 Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(18:58) Why AI Transformations Are Struggling Right Now
(20:10) Why Organizations Need to Start With the Why Before AI
(21:14) Building AI With Trust, Experimentation and Learning Out Loud
(21:53) Why Cultural Readiness Must Come Before Technical Readiness
(22:30) Making Psychological Safety a Priority 35 Days Into the Role
(23:03) What Davida Noticed During Her Listening Tour
(24:23) Infusing Psychological Safety Into Values and Leadership Expectations
(25:17) Shifting From a Nice Organization to a Kind Organization
(28:16) Inclusion, Learner, Contributor and Challenger Safety
(29:07) Making Culture Measurable Through Calibration Rubrics
(30:23) Creating Clarity With Bain’s RAPID Decision-Making Framework
(33:00) Why the CEO Relationship and Air Cover Matter First
(35:00) Davida’s LORA Framework: Listen, Absorb, Respond, Act
(38:41) Why Strategy and Culture Are Not Separate Tracks
(39:26) Cultivate Excellence as Hanna Andersson’s Strategic People Pillar
(42:25) Amy Edmondson’s The Right Kind of Wrong and the Permission to Fail
(45:05) Preventable Failures vs. Intelligent Failures
(47:05) Hanna Andersson’s Three-Pronged AI Journey
(49:20) How Psychological Safety Supports AI Adoption
(52:08) Hanna Andersson’s AI Philosophy: Augmenting Human Judgment to Unleash Creativity
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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.