Guerrilla HR

Guerrilla HR Podcast
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Management
  • Biweekly

Guerrilla HR is here to share unconventional wisdom, advice, and stories from the front lines of Human Resources.

  1. 5d ago

    Needed vs. Belonging: The Secret to Sustainable Leadership

    Are you constantly "busy" because you're productive or because you're terrified of being excluded? In this episode of the Guerrilla HR Podcast, Becky sits down with international speaker, leadership advisor, certified brain-based coach, and author Hanna Curman to unpack why high achievers burn out, why capability often becomes a liability, and how leaders can build sustainable performance without running on adrenaline. Drawing on her personal experience recovering from severe burnout after managing global remote teams for decades, Hanna breaks down the biological human drive for belonging versus the trap of merely being "needed" for your skills. She also walks through her proprietary Clarity Chain framework (Spot, Decode, Direct) to help leaders shift thinking patterns before fixing structures, and explains the vital difference between "speedboating" through quick wins versus "sailing" for long-term health. 00:00 – Welcome to Guerrilla HR: Becky Drozdz introduces Hanna Curman 01:10 – From High Achiever to Burnout: Hanna’s 20-year wake-up call 02:07 – The Ripple Effect: How leader burnout poisons families and teams 03:30 – Needed vs. Belonging: The biological wiring behind psychological safety 06:01 – The "Busyness" Lie: Using frantic schedules as a shield against exclusion 08:30 – Remote Work & Autonomy: Why mandate policies destroy trust 11:05 – Meaningful Collaboration: What to actually do when teams gather in person 13:26 – Behavior Before Structure: Uncovering the root beliefs of siloing 15:20 – The Clarity Chain: State, Spot, Decode, and Direct 17:35 – The 55-Minute Problem: Pausing execution to understand the challenge 19:00 – Signs an Organization is Ready to Transform (The power of curiosity) 21:54 – Speedboats vs. Sailing Boats: Dopamine chasing vs. sustainable growth 23:50 – Where to Connect with Hanna Curman & Closing Thoughts Website: https://hannacurman.se LinkedIn: Search Hanna Curman Host: Becky Drozdz Inquiries & Questions: podcast@guerrilla-hr.com If you found this episode valuable, please Like, Subscribe, and share it with a colleague who needs to slow down! #GuerrillaHR #Leadership #BurnoutPrevention #ExecutiveCoaching #PsychologicalSafety #WorkplaceCulture #HighPerformers

  2. Oct 19

    The "Family-Friendly" Culture Trap (And Why It Backfires) | Guerrilla HR

    Is your company culture just slogans on a wall, or does it actually drive business results? In this episode of the Guerrilla HR Podcast, Becky sits down with Adriana Vaccaro, CEO and founder of Culture Redesign and bestselling author of Culture Minded: Six Tools to Transform Organizational Culture and Empower Humanity. With a background spanning Six Sigma, Lean, business operations, and organizational development, Adriana demystifies culture, showing that it isn't "fluffy HR stuff" it is behavior in motion. She reveals why companies fail at innovation without first establishing trust, the hidden dangers of the "we are a family" trap, how to safely collect feedback without burning employee trust, and how to prove real ROI from cultural transformation. Timestamps:00:00 – Welcome to Guerrilla HR: Becky Dross introduces Adriana Vaccaro 01:13 – Culture is "Behavior in Motion" (Not words on the wall) 01:43 – The "We Are a Family" Trap in Corporate Culture 03:11 – The Behavioral Capabilities Framework (Why trust precedes innovation) 04:14 – Signaling Theory: Why Leadership Trumps Handbooks Every Time 05:34 – Exposing the Blind Spots: What Leadership Thinks vs. What Staff Experience 06:33 – Protecting Survey Integrity (The 5-direct-report rule) 07:43 – Closing the Feedback Loop: Why Unused Surveys Breed Cynicism 08:48 – Proving Culture ROI: Retention, Customer Satisfaction & Cost Savings 09:48 – Tolerating Workplace Toxicity: The "Uncomfortable Shoe" Metaphor 11:17 – Where to Connect with Adriana Vaccaro & Free Culture Tools 11:48 – Outro & Final Takeaways Connect with Adriana Vaccaro:LinkedIn: Search Adriana Vaccaro Company: Culture Redesign Book: Culture Minded: Six Tools to Transform Organizational Culture and Empower Humanity Connect with the Guerrilla HR Community:Host: Becky Drozdz Inquiries & Questions: podcast@guerrilla-hr.com Make sure to Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more real-world, no-BS HR strategy! #HumanResources #GuerrillaHR #CompanyCulture #OrganizationalDevelopment #Leadership #EmployeeEngagement #WorkplaceCulture

  3. Oct 5

    How Toxic Leaders Destroy Culture (And How to Fix It)

    Why do employees really walk out the door?In this episode of the Guerrilla HR Podcast, Becky Drozdz sits down with leadership consultant, author, and researcher Bryan Hughes to uncover the real mechanics of workplace culture, accountability, and employee retention. Brian draws from 30+ years of operational experience overseeing 4,000+ employees and $750M in P&L, along with his doctoral research on what happens to an organization after a toxic leader leaves. Together, they break down why firing the "bad boss" only leaves a vacuum if the underlying wound isn't healed, how leaders accidentally create disempowering bottlenecks, and how AI should actually be leveraged to elevate human potential rather than just slash headcount.Timestamps:00:00: Welcome to Guerrilla HR: Becky introduces Bryan Hughes 01:22: From Operator to Researcher: Adding context to business metrics03:36: The Shift in Retention: Why people quit the environment, not the work05:32: Warning Signs: Credit distribution, bottleneck leaders, and "reluctant stayers"08:02: Building Capability vs. Dependency in Employee Growth10:31: The Culture Recovery Framework: Healing after toxic leadership exits12:50: Capability Trust vs. Moral Trust (And why leaders need both)14:50: Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Upskilling vs. head-count cutting22:20: The Coaching Gap: Why executives need practice and psychological safety25:03: The Financial Cost of Poor Culture (Research sneak peek)27:42: The #1 Practical Fix: Elevating the 1-on-1 conversationConnect with Bryan Hughes:Website: https://cleardaystrategies.comBook: Let's Finally Do Something About It#HumanResources #GuerrillaHR #Leadership #ToxicWorkplace #EmployeeRetention #WorkplaceCulture #AIinHR

  4. Sep 21

    Rethink Your Onboarding

    Is growth slowing your organization down? In this episode of the Guerrilla HR podcast, Becky sits down with Lilith Christiansen. Lilith is a growth alignment architect, founder of HumanGenuity, and co-author of Successful Onboarding.Together, they explore the concept of organizational drag—the hidden friction that causes decision-making to stall, creates rework, and frustrates teams as companies scale. Lilith explains why leaders frequently mistake structural alignment issues for people problems, why adding more headcount doesn’t fix process bottlenecks, and how to clarify roles and decision rights first.They also dive into Lilith's Everboarding Framework, shifting the perspective of onboarding from a transactional "day one checklist" into an ongoing support system for major career transitions—including promotions, role changes, and returns from leave.Key Topics Covered:*Defining "organizational drag" and why decisions get constantly revisited*Why scaling headcount often creates more friction instead of more output*Structure vs. People: Why you must define the role before evaluating the person in it*Beyond Day One: Implementing the Everboarding Framework across employee lifecycles*Simple, low-cost ways to make new hires feel connected and valued before they start

  5. Sep 7

    Communication Drives Action: Why Clear Teams Win with David Lengyel

    Why do some teams thrive while others struggle even when they have top talent and abundant resources? In this episode of The Guerrilla HR Podcast, host Becky Drozdz sits down with David Lengyel, founder of Venture Up. With over four decades of experience leading experiential training programs and reaching more than 400,000 participants, David shares how extreme sports, mountaineering, and hands-on metaphors help leaders build genuine trust and alignment. Becky and David dive into: The Evolution of Team Building: How Venture Up transitioned from high-altitude expeditions and ropes courses to modern experiential corporate training. Why Action Requires Risk: Understanding why communication is really about reducing fear, avoiding costly assumptions, and empowering employees to act. The Trap of Control: Why great individual contributors often struggle when transitioning into leadership and how to give up control to empower a team. Overcoming Complacency: Practical ways leaders can stay present, stop rushing through conversations, and communicate clearly from the front end.

  6. Aug 24

    Fixing The Million Dollar Business Mistake with DeeAnne Palin

    In this episode of the Guerrilla HR Podcast, Becky sits down with DeeAnne Palin, Founder and CEO of OnPoint Business Solutions. Deanne shares why managing people is often the hardest part of running a company and explains what she calls the "Million Dollar Mistake", the massive operational, turnover, and revenue leaks businesses suffer when people strategy is neglected. Becky and DeeAnn dive into the true costs of turnover, why CEOs struggle with hiring, how to avoid common pitfalls with HR technology, and how shifting HR from a compliance-heavy "cost center" to a strategic partner can create a sustainable competitive advantage.

  7. Aug 10

    Mastering The Art of Hiring

    In this episode of the Guerilla HR Podcast, host Becky Drozdz sits down with business owner, staffing specialist, consultant, bodybuilder, and author Nina Burris. Nina shares how she transformed a single cleaning business started in 2001 into a multi-faceted operation by leveraging core-value hiring and situational group interviews to virtually eliminate employee turnover. From her early days managing retail stores to authoring her book The Employee Whisperer and planning her next venture into fitness, Nina details the mindset needed to scale businesses and overcome doubt.

  8. Jul 27

    How to Get BETTER Ideas From Your Team

    In this episode of the Guerrilla HR Podcast, Becky sits down with Coby Skonord, founder and CEO of Ideawake, an idea management platform designed to help organizations crowdsource innovation from their employees. Coby shares his journey from walking away from a Big Four accounting firm on his first day of training to building a software solution used by major companies to turn employee feedback into actionable business impact. Becky and Coby dive deep into the real-world HR challenges surrounding employee experience, engagement, and culture. They discuss why transparency and closing the feedback loop matter far more to employees than whether every idea gets implemented, and how companies can effectively engage frontline workers.

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About

Guerrilla HR is here to share unconventional wisdom, advice, and stories from the front lines of Human Resources.

Information

  • Creator
    Guerrilla HR Podcast
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Guerrilla HR Podcast
  • Show Website
    Guerrilla HR