The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, Co-Founder and CEO of Wellthy, and Stephan Dolling, AVP of Global Benefits & Well-being at Merck, joined us on The Modern People Leader. 
We talked about the rising pressures facing working families and what companies can do to support their employees that are caregivers.
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
🔗 Learn more about Intuit QuickBooks Payroll at QuickBooks.com/workforce
🔗 Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(06:00) HR’s Expanding Role in Healthcare & Family Support
(08:00) The Rising Cost of Childcare & Caregiving Challenges
(10:00) Layoffs, Workplace Pressure & The “Sandwich Generation”
(11:00) How Employee Expectations Changed Post-COVID
(13:00) Merck’s Philosophy on Supporting Working Families
(15:00) What Real Employee Support Looks Like in Practice
(17:00) Flexibility, Compassionate Time & Supporting Diverse Workforces
(18:00) The Importance of Benefits Communication & Employee Awareness
(20:00) Simplifying Access to Benefits Through Journey Mapping
(22:00) Most Popular Benefits at Merck: Backup Care, Flexibility & Concierge Support
(24:00) Why Backup Care Peaks During School Breaks
(25:00) Senior Care, Pet Care & New Caregiving Trends
(26:00) Why Managers Need Better Support & Empathy Training
(28:00) What Great Managers Do During Caregiving Crises
(30:00) Building a Workplace Culture Rooted in Flexibility & Trust
(31:00) The $70 Billion Childcare Disruption Problem
(32:00) How COVID Changed Merck’s Backup Care Strategy
(34:00) Why Fast, Flexible Care Solutions Matter Most
(35:00) The Future of Backup Care & AI-Powered Matching
(38:00) Why Employees Don’t Engage With Benefits Programs
(39:00) Simplicity vs Specificity in Benefits Communication
(41:00) Keeping Benefits Top-of-Mind Before Employees Need Them
(42:00) Using Employee Testimonials to Normalize Caregiving
(45:00) Why Modern Workplaces Need to Normalize Care Conversations
(46:00) Real Stories of Caregiving Support During Crisis Moments
(48:00) Helping Employees Through Dementia Care & COVID Emergencies
(49:00) Navigating Grief, Medical Debt & End-of-Life Care Support
(51:00) Building the Business Case for Caregiving Benefits
(53:00) Productivity, Flexibility & the ROI of Caregiving Support
(55:00) Why Caregiving Is an Economic Issue, Not Just a Social Issue
(56:00) AI, Productivity & the Cost of Context Switching
(58:00) Mental Health, Burnout & What Employees Need Most Right Now 
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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, VP People Strategy & Operations at Leapsome and author of Built For People, joined us for another MPL Build AMA. 
This time we talked about how to redesign your People team if you're running your team like a product team, why metrics like internal promotion retention matter more than traditional HR KPIs, and more.
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report
🔗 Learn more about Intuit QuickBooks Payroll at QuickBooks.com/workforce
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(06:00) Building Internal AI Tools: From Non-Technical to Product Thinking
(09:00) The HR Paradox: More Strategic Power, More Emotional Pressure
(12:00) Why Most Employees Don’t Understand Company Strategy
(15:00) The Real Problem Isn’t AI — It’s Communication and Leadership
(19:00) How the CPO Role Changed After COVID and AI Acceleration
(22:00) Short-Term vs Medium-Term Thinking in High-Speed Organizations
(25:00) Trust, Transparency, and Decision-Making in Uncertain Environments
(27:00) Why Scaling HR Strategy Is Harder in Established Companies
(29:00) The Death of Traditional Career Paths and Org Hierarchies
(32:00) Why the CPO Role Is Still Misunderstood at the Executive Level
(34:00) Saying No: The Most Underrated Skill in HR Leadership
(36:00) HumanOps vs Strategic Work: Where HR Should Actually Focus
(38:00) Aligning AI Strategy with Business Outcomes (Not Just Tools)
(40:00) The “So What?” Framework for Driving Real Impact
(44:00) Why Most Companies Are Building the Wrong AI Stack
(45:00) AI as a Product Advantage: Driving Strategy Through Use Case
(46:00) When AI Adoption Becomes Non-Negotiable for Employees
(48:00) Why Long-Term Planning Is Dead (and What Replaces It)
(49:00) Rethinking Headcount: Hiring vs Rebuilding Roles with AI
(52:00) Where AI Will Actually Replace Work in HR
(54:00) Stop Thinking Roles — Start Thinking Workflows
(55:00) Rebuilding Teams for Human + AI Collaboration
(58:00) The End of the SaaS Hiring Playbook
(59:00) New Metric That Matters: Revenue per Employee
(01:01:00) The Risk of “AI Tech Debt” from Poor Implementation
(01:02:00) Why Every Company Will Face AI Pressure Soon
(01:03:00) HR as Crisis Management: The Reality of the Role
(01:05:00) If HR Isn’t in the Room Early, You’ve Already Lost Influence
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📬 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.

Amin Palizban, Co-Founder & CEO of TopicFlow, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about why managers are at a breaking point, how AI is transforming performance management, and what it takes to build AI-native people products that actually support managers in real time.
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Get the AI for Performance Management Toolkit: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/aiforperformance
Sponsor Links:
🔗 Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report
🔗 Book a conversation with Compete at compete.com/mpl
🔗 Learn more about Intuit QuickBooks Payroll at QuickBooks.com/workforce
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(03:33) Amin’s Career Journey: From Engineer to CEO of TopicFlow
(07:32) Early Exposure to Performance Management Tools and Market Gap
(10:05) AI’s Impact on Productivity and Internal Workflows (MPL 2.0)
(12:36) Why Managers Are Burnt Out and the “Code Red” Situation
(16:30) The Real Problem: Poor Manager Training and Promotion Practices
(21:34) Why Traditional L&D and HR Tools Are No Longer Effective
(24:21) What Real Manager Support Looks Like in the AI Era
(26:49) Coaching vs Performance Reviews: Why They Should Be Separate
(29:15) Why AI Coaching Can Be More Effective Than Human Coaching
(34:38) The Increasing Span of Control and Manager Workload Challenges
(36:02) Why Performance Reviews Are Still Not Data-Driven
(40:01) What Data Sources Actually Matter for Better Reviews
(46:15) Transcript Data as “Corporate Gold” and Cultural Shift Challenges
(52:05) From Asking AI to Ambient Intelligence and Proactive Coaching
(56:39) Personalized AI Coaching and the “Scale to One” Future
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📬 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.

In this live episode of The Modern People Leader recorded in Toronto, the crew reflects on the evolving role of HR leaders amid rising AI pressure, shifting expectations, and increasing emotional load. They unpack real-time challenges around strategy clarity, leadership trust, and how people teams must adapt to stay effective in a rapidly changing world.
Our guests for this episode:
- Kate Railton, Chief People Officer @ Mejuri
- Katya Laviolette, Chief People Officer @ 1Password
- Jenny Do Forno, Chief People Officer @ TouchBistro
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
🔗 Explore the 2026 ​Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report
🔗 Learn more about Intuit QuickBooks Payroll at QuickBooks.com/workforce
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(06:00) Building with AI: Creating Tools Without Engineering Background
(08:00) Internal Tools & Using AI to Solve Operational Problems
(10:00) Framing the Conversation: State of HR & Growing Expectations
(12:00) Poll Results Breakdown: Why HR Leaders Feel Split
(14:00) Strategy Misalignment: The Real Organizational Problem
(17:00) Communication Gaps & Repeating Strategy Effectively
(18:00) The Emotional Load on HR Leaders Today
(19:00) How the CPO Role Has Evolved Since COVID
(21:00) Speed of Change & Constant Decision-Making Pressure
(23:00) Balancing Short-Term vs Medium-Term Thinking in HR
(25:00) Transparency, Trust & Decision-Making in Organizations
(27:00) Managing Complexity in Large vs Growing Companies
(29:00) The Future of Career Paths & Organizational Design
(31:00) Challenges in Advising Employees on Career Growth
(32:00) Misunderstandings About the CPO Role
(34:00) Saying No & Avoiding the “Catch-All” HR Trap
(35:00) HR Is Not the Therapist: Redefining Responsibilities
(36:00) HumanOps vs PeopleOps: Where HR Should Focus
(38:00) Aligning AI Strategy with Business Strategy
(41:00) Practical Framework: Building Strategy with “So What?”
(44:00) AI as a Business Driver vs Just a Tool
(46:00) Enforcing AI Adoption & Organizational Expectations
(47:00) Iterating Strategy Across Different Employee Groups
(48:00) Q&A Begins: AI Replacing Roles & Team Structures
(50:00) Headcount Strategy & Reimagining Roles with AI
(52:00) Where AI Will Impact HR Most (TA, Learning, Compensation)
(54:00) Task-Based Thinking vs Role-Based Thinking
(55:00) Rebuilding Teams Around Work, Not Titles
(56:00) Resistance to Change & Leadership Challenges
(58:00) The End of Traditional Org Design Playbooks
(59:00) Revenue Per Employee & New Success Metrics
(01:01:00) Preparing for AI Mandates from Leadership
(01:02:00) Managing Crisis Culture in HR Roles
(01:04:00) Trust, Leadership, and Being Included Early

James Seechurn, Author of ‘What Pay Costs’ and ‘Nothing Left to Take Away’, joined us on The Modern People Leader.
We talked about why traditional “pay for performance” systems often fail—both because individual performance is hard to measure in knowledge work and because incentives don’t actually drive better outcomes. We also explored a new definition of performance centered on innovation, and how companies can unlock it by creating the conditions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness instead of relying on compensation levers.
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Intuit QuickBooks Payroll at QuickBooks.com/workforce
🔗 Book a conversation with Compete at compete.com/mpl
🔗 Learn more about Cloverleaf at cloverleaf.me/mpl
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
---- 
📬 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.