What does it really take for an HR leader to decide that change is the right move? In this episode, Jeff Bettinger shares the real story behind multiple corporate relocations, career pivots, and the hard-earned lessons that shaped how he evaluates opportunity. From moving his family across states to weighing financial growth against personal trade-offs, Jeff pulls back the curtain on what those decisions actually look like — not just on paper, but around the dinner table. He talks about knowing yourself first, recognizing when growth requires discomfort, and understanding when staying put is the right call. Jeff also reflects candidly on a role he regrets taking — and the red flags he missed because he was distracted by the upside. For HR leaders considering a change, he offers practical guidance on how to interview the company as rigorously as they interview you — including asking about unwritten rules, power dynamics, turnover patterns, and the conversations no one wants to have. Because deciding when to change roles isn’t just about compensation or title. It’s about fit, growth, timing, family, and the courage to ask the questions that reveal what’s really going on beneath the surface.

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Matt Taylor, VP of Global HR at Endpoint Clinical, reflects on what it really means to stay curious as an HR leader in the middle of complexity. From earning a pilot’s license to navigating global people strategy, Matt shares how curiosity—not titles or promotions—has shaped his leadership journey. He explores why the best HR leaders learn to sit in the tension between empathy and accountability, how leadership is less about pleasing people and more about guiding them through ambiguity, and why holding complexity without losing compassion is the real work. Along the way, Matt unpacks lessons from commission-based recruiting, boundary-setting, lifelong learning, and why HR ultimately teaches you more about leadership than people. This conversation is a grounded, honest look at leading through uncertainty—by asking better questions, staying human, and never stopping the learning process.

Integrity isn’t a slogan in this conversation—it’s a decision that comes with real risk. In this episode, Valerie Workman recounts the moment she walked into a meeting with Elon Musk fully expecting to be fired—and walked out leading Tesla’s 700-person HR organization. What began as speaking up about what the company needed turned into a defining leadership moment: when integrity opened the door, courage demanded she step through it. Valerie and Melanie unpack the invisible leadership calls no one prepares you for—taking responsibility instead of seeking permission, choosing the work over the title, and leading without a playbook during moments of real uncertainty. Valerie reflects on resisting the need to be liked, building the right team before crisis hits, and why excellence—not roles—is what actually transfers across careers. This conversation goes beyond career advice. It’s about what happens when you tell the truth in the room where decisions are made—and are brave enough to take the wheel when the road suddenly becomes yours to drive.

When remote work took off during the pandemic, so did a risky new trend: people secretly working two full-time jobs at once.

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo talks with Tracy Simek, Chief People Officer at Locus Robotics, about why this isn’t just a hustle issue — it’s a trust, culture, and mission issue.

Both leaders are clear: side hustles are fine. Entrepreneurship is encouraged. But representing yourself as fully committed to two companies at the same time crosses a line — because it puts company values, team trust, and even confidential information at risk

Tracy explains why at a fast-growing, mission-driven company like Locus, no one can build something truly meaningful while splitting their loyalty across multiple employers.

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo sits down with Andrea Cooper, Chief People Officer at Talkspace, to unpack her winding career journey — from working on the retail floor at Walmart, to spending over 20 years inside one of the world’s largest organizations, to stepping into the uncertainty of consulting and ultimately finding alignment in smaller, mission-driven companies. Andrea reflects on the fear and freedom that came with leaving the “safety of familiarity,” the steep learning curve of working for herself, and the confidence that comes from having to pitch your own value, set your own rates, and risk rejection. She shares candid lessons on building a consulting network, negotiating pricing without underselling yourself, and why relationship-based, authentic networking mattered more to her than personal branding or social media hustle. The conversation also explores the differences between large enterprises and lean teams, why smaller companies force deeper business understanding, and how retail experience shaped Andrea’s people-first but business-grounded leadership style. Throughout, Andrea emphasizes growth, resilience, and the power of discomfort as a catalyst for long-term confidence and clarity. This episode is especially valuable for HR leaders, consultants, and professionals considering a leap away from traditional career paths — or anyone questioning whether staying comfortable is holding them back from their next chapter.

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo sits down with Carey Albertine, SVP of People & Culture at Voltus, Inc., to talk about what happens when the job you love suddenly becomes the one you can’t stand.

Carey reflects on how a leadership change transformed her work overnight—and how that moment reshaped her views on management, culture, and what truly drives engagement at work. The conversation explores her unconventional path into HR, the humility required to admit what you don’t know, and why personal reinvention isn’t a failure—it’s often the work itself.

This is an honest conversation about leadership misalignment, growth through discomfort, and finding purpose again when your career takes an unexpected turn.

In this candid conversation, Chief People Officer Jevan Lenox reveals how an impressive résumé can actually intensify imposter syndrome — especially when you’re expected to have all the answers on day one.

Jevan shares how a rocky first year at Square shook his confidence, why starting over in sales ops (a field he knew nothing about) became a turning point, and how leading through curiosity instead of expertise reshaped his entire approach to leadership.

He and Melanie dive into navigating new executive roles, interrogating your own experience, resisting over-engineered HR processes, and choosing the highest-ROI path even when it’s not the most familiar.

A sharp, honest look at what happens when expectations collide with reality — and how not knowing can become your greatest strength.

When a legal mind meets a human heart, the gray areas of work and life start to make a lot more sense. In this episode, Match Group’s Vice President of Global Employment Law and Ethics & Compliance, Katie Dugan, joins hosts Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo to explore how love, law, and leadership collide. From the do’s and don’ts of dating at work to what really defines a “hostile” environment, Katie shares how empathy, judgment, and accountability can coexist—even in the most complex workplace situations. The trio dives into real-world workplace dilemmas, generational shifts in expectations, and the delicate art of handling the gray with both heart and integrity.