Hey HR for Humans Team, I'm Tyren, an HR professional focused on Total Rewards. I started my career with zero experience and no team at Forever 21, and now lead the Compensation function at Webflow. Along the way I spent a decade at Activision Blizzard and Zoom doing compensation work, launching and leading employee resource groups, and implementing HRIS systems. I'm currently the Compensation expert on California's Citizens Compensation Commission and I have taught compensation courses at California State University, Los Angeles and was honored with an Excellence in Benefits award last year. I'd love to share real, honest stories and insights from my journey. There's a lot to talk about when it comes to leadership, inclusion, employee experience, and the evolving role of HR as both a strategist and a human advocate. Outside work, I live in Southern California and our young daughter. I'm into board games, writing poetry, and I'm part of a book club. I'm happy to discuss any of these topics or dive into what it really means to put humans first in people operations. Thanks so much for considering me! Tyren
Hello, my name is Liana and I'm writing on behalf of Dr. Marquette L. Walker, founder of Marquette L Walker Ministries. I am providing her information with her approval. Below is a shortened unpublished article that you may quote her from. Humility in the Workplace: Building Trust Through Leadership Delegating isn't just about dividing tasks—it's about trust. And trust is often in short supply. While 86% of executives say they trust their employees, only 60% of employees feel trusted (PwC). Gen Z, in particular, faces heavy micromanagement, leading to frustration and disengagement. Trust is essential. It drives innovation, engagement, and retention. High-trust teams are 2.5x more innovative (Deloitte) and see 30% fewer voluntary exits (Gallup). I've seen both sides: teams weighed down by gossip, favoritism, and low morale—and teams where trust transformed the culture and performance. In my leadership experience—overseeing teams of up to 50 in organizations of 26,000+—I've found that humility builds trust. Admitting your limits, listening well, and empowering others fosters a safe, collaborative environment. 1. Hire for Integrity and Strength Start with people who are skilled and emotionally intelligent. One team I led became a high-performing, tight-knit unit. Feedback flowed, conflict was handled with grace, and our Customer Index Score rose from 2.9 to 4.7. 2. Lead with Intention Trust doesn't happen by chance. It requires vulnerability, transparency, and encouragement. I turned around a disengaged team by holding weekly check-ins, celebrating wins, and listening actively. Morale and collaboration surged. 3. Address Issues with Empathy Underperformance often signals deeper issues. One-on-one talks reveal frustrations or personal struggles. Offer support and clarity. If challenges persist, consider role changes—but lead with care. Leading Remotely In leading virtual teams at Marquette L. Walker Ministries and Marquette's Destiny Foundation, I've learned that trust transcends location. Honest communication, consistent check-ins, and empowering team members fuel success—even online. Final Thought Trust starts with humility. Ask yourself: Do your people feel safe, heard, and free to contribute? Your answer shapes your team's future.
We're a marketing agency, not an HR firm—but that's exactly why we rethought people ops from the ground up. When I started hiring, I made the classic mistake of trying to mirror corporate HR playbooks—performance reviews, rigid org charts, the works. None of it clicked. It felt borrowed, not built. The turning point came when one of our designers said, "I don't want a boss, I want a coach." That single line reframed everything. We scrapped titles, moved to squad-based teams, and made feedback a weekly ritual instead of a quarterly form. HR became less about control, more about momentum. To us, HR isn't a department—it's how we shape energy. We treat employee experience like we treat UX: test, listen, and evolve constantly. That mindset didn't just retain talent—it made us more human, and more competitive.
After 25 years in corporate HR—spanning roles leading L&D, Recruiting, People Operations, Performance, Employee Experience, and Culture—I made the leap. Not to another big title, but to build something of my own. I now run Ignite Consulting, where I help scale-up companies transform their cultures into competitive advantages. But deciding to make this shift wasn't about entrepreneurship. It was about purpose. The HR profession is facing a quiet crisis of identity. We've spent decades professionalizing HR by creating better systems, smarter tools, sharper analytics. And yet, in far too many organizations, HR is still viewed as the fixer of problems rather than the architect of possibility. My work focuses on changing that narrative. Through my CultureCatalyst program, I guide executive teams to stop treating culture as an afterthought and start treating it as infrastructure. I've worked with high-growth businesses navigating leadership transitions, M&A chaos, burnout spikes, and rapid scale. In each case, the turning point wasn't a new system. It was a return to something deeply human: listening, trust, shared purpose, and systems that reinforce values instead of eroding them. I'm also passionate about calling out the real emotional labor behind "people work." HR isn't just policies and performance reviews. It's holding space during layoffs. It's staying grounded when the rest of the room is on fire. It's catching what no one else sees falling. That's why I speak often on redefining what strategic HR looks like. I've contributed to over 50 publications, published two books, sat on Forbes HR Council expert panels, and served as an advisor to companies and universities alike. And through it all, I've carried one belief: we don't fix workplace culture with perks—we fix it with courage. I'd love to share stories from the front lines of transformation—what works, what doesn't, and what's coming next. Because behind every thriving organization isn't just a leader—it's someone in HR who dared to do things differently. Let's talk about the real work! :)