Bringing the Human back to Human Resources

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

Connect with Laverne McKinnon, MCC: LinkedIn | Website | Substack
Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

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

Connect with Kevin Ertell: LinkedIn | Book: The Strategy Trap: Why Companies Fail at Execution and How to Get It Right | Mistere Advisory
Connect with Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci
Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

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

Got thoughts or questions on this episode? Email Traci at contact@hrtraci.com and share your feedback in the comments wherever you're listening.

Connect with Bryan Driscoll: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjohndriscoll/

Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

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

Connect with Joey Price: LinkedIn | JumpStartHR.com | The Power of HR Book | Podcast

Connect with Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

This week's Policy Pulse segment tackles three major legal developments HR leaders need to know about: the EEOC's lawsuit against The New York Times over its DEI program, Colorado's rollback of its AI hiring law, and a Supreme Court case that could give the president the power to fire agency heads at the EEOC and NLRB without cause.

Bryan Driscoll returns for another Policy Pulse segment, bringing his employment law expertise to break down the cases and policy shifts shaping workplace compliance right now. As our resident legal expert, Bryan helps translate the legal jargon into what it actually means for your business.

In this episode:
- The EEOC just sued The New York Times over its own DEI program, and the case could reshape how discrimination claims get proven going forward.
- Colorado gutted its AI hiring law, but that doesn't mean the compliance risk disappeared.
- Your AI chat history could end up as evidence in a lawsuit.
- A Supreme Court case could hand the president the power to fire the heads of the EEOC and NLRB at will.
- Good intentions won't protect you from a discrimination claim if your documentation doesn't back them up.

Connect with Bryan Driscoll, JD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjohndriscoll/

Connect with Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.