In this episode of Beeneeth The Surface Podcast, I sit with Carlos Larracilla and we talk about what it takes to restore credibility in HR when the noise is louder than the work.

As Co-Founder of Wowledge, Carlos is part of a steady, practitioner-first movement to make HR more execution-ready, more strategic, and more accountable to real outcomes, not performative “best practices.” We get into what happens when legacy institutions lose trust, why HR has to reclaim its craft, and what it looks like to create tools and frameworks that actually help leaders operate.

This is a conversation about standards, substance, and the future of the profession; with a clear focus on what’s happening underneath the systems: decision-making, accountability, and the human dynamics that shape whether HR actually works.

#BeeneethTheSurface #BeeneethTheSurfacePodcast #HolisticallyHR #TheHumanLayer #CarlosLarracilla #Wowledge #HRLeadership #HRStrategy #PeopleOperations #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceCulture #OrganizationalDesign #HRTransformation #TalentStrategy #LeadershipDevelopment #EmployeeRelations #ChangeManagement #HRGovernance #EthicalLeadership #CredibilityInHR #ModernHR #FounderLeadership #BusinessImpact #HumanCenteredLeadership

This conversations sits in The Work We Live In — where real work meets real life, and we name what’s true.

I sit down with Charles Goretsky, Chief Content Officer & Co-Founder of Wowledge—a 30+ year HR veteran, classically trained, deeply seasoned, and the real deal.

This conversation cuts through the noise to name what’s true about the HR profession right now: where credibility has been diluted, what real capability looks like in practice, and what it takes to build HR that actually holds up in the rooms where decisions get made.

If you’ve been craving substance over performance, this one will land.

💫 And for those of us who know… you know.

#BeneathTheSurfacePodcast #TheWorkWeLiveIn #HolisticallyHR #Wowledge #CharlesGoretsky #HRLeadership #PeopleStrategy #HRTransformation #FutureOfWork #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveLeadership #OrganizationalEffectiveness #TalentStrategy #CultureAndChange #WorkplaceCulture #ChangeManagement #HumanCapital #StrategicHR #HonestTalk #RealChange

This conversations sits in The Work We Live In — where real work meets real life, and we name what’s true.

What does it actually mean to be content, without shutting down your edge, your growth, or your truth?

I sit with Rick Hardin for a grounded, real conversation about the tension so many of us live in: wanting more while also wanting peace. We talk about the difference between contentment and resignation, how “success” can quietly become a performance, and what it looks like to pursue change without betraying yourself along the way.

This is one of those episodes that doesn’t give you a neat checklist, because life doesn’t. Instead, it offers language for the moment you’re in… and permission to re-examine what you’re building, why you’re building it, and what it’s costing you.

If you’ve been feeling restless, grateful, unsure, motivated, tired, or all of the above, this one will land.

Want to see more of Rick, check out Beeneeth The Surface Podcast on Youtube:

https://youtu.be/4y9Itb4wnvc?si=euoqTNFRoXtoO7p3

This conversation lives in Crosscurrents, where work, culture, and identity meet—and no single lens is enough.

In moments like this, no single lens is enough. Across the country, people are carrying real tension into work and everyday life; grief, fear, anger, fatigue. Questions about safety, dignity, and what leadership even means when the ground feels unstable.

In this "BTS" riff, we anchor the conversation in Minnesota / Minneapolis, (where Russ is from) to talk about what leaders, teams, and humans can do when a national moment shows up in real time.

How to stay steady without going silent, how to set boundaries without shutting people down, and how to lead with clarity when opinions are loud and emotions are real.

Want more of Russ?

Beneath the Surface Podcast ("BTS"):

https://youtu.be/mDJG6mbJi5s?si=RlDTNvrf2nLd8nw2

This conversation lives in Crosscurrents, where work, culture, and identity meet—and no single lens is enough.

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the feed... As we move into a new year, my quiet hope is this: That we give ourselves permission to bring forward what’s genuinely ours — even if it’s imperfect, unfinished, or still forming.

Sometimes the most meaningful work doesn’t scale. It simply connects.

Wishing you a grounded close to the year and space for real thinking ahead.

This conversation lives in The Work We Live In, exploring leadership, systems, and the real consequences of decisions.

As SHRM publicly unravels, something uncomfortable is happening across the HR industry. Instead of pausing to reflect, some organizations are rushing to launch new certificate programs, attempting to monetize uncertainty rather than learn from it. In the middle of credibility questions, governance gaps, and trust erosion, “credentials” are being sold as reassurance.

And that’s the problem. The reactive scramble.

This episode explores why the reflex to buy legitimacy, letters, badges, and certificates, misses the deeper issue. When a profession feels shaken by the instability of a single institution, it reveals how fragile our foundations really are. When practitioners panic about perception instead of practice, and when companies equate HR expertise with who they pay rather than how work is done, something is broken beneath the surface.

We don’t need more certificates. We need more competence, conscience, and courage.

This conversation challenges the certification culture in HR, calls out opportunistic behavior in moments of crisis, and asks a harder question: what actually makes someone credible in this profession? If HR is serious about its future, it won’t be rebuilt through branding, it will be rebuilt through judgment, accountability, and ethical leadership.

This conversation lives in The Work We Live In, exploring leadership, systems, and the real consequences of decisions.

Gina dives into a real HR plot twist: SHRM, the organization that literally trains HR professionals, asked a judge not to treat them as HR experts in a racial discrimination trial.

Gina breaks down the verdict in the racial discrimination and retaliation case against the world’s largest HR association. The jury’s decision, and the potential for punitive damages, highlights a deeper issue: what happens when an HR organization fails to follow its own rules.

We explore the investigation conflicts, credibility gaps, and governance lessons beneath the surface of this case, and what HR leaders need to take seriously moving forward.

Accountability just got real.

This conversation lives in Crosscurrents, where work, culture, and identity meet—and no single lens is enough.

Abundance is misunderstood, especially in the creator economy, community, and network spaces, where numbers seem to define value.

Abundance has nothing to do with metrics if you’re not original = no skin in the game.

Shout out to the "BTS Guest Community". Keeping it real ❤️.

This conversation lives in Crosscurrents, where work, culture, and identity meet—and no single lens is enough.

Gina dives into a real HR plot twist: SHRM, the organization that literally trains HR professionals, asked a judge not to treat them as HR experts in a racial discrimination trial.

A federal judge refused, opening the door for punitive damages and serious questions about accountability in HR. From dress codes banning sequins to investigation conflicts, we break down what this case reveals about governance, credibility, and why practicing “best practice” matters more than preaching it.

This conversation lives in The Human Layer, focusing on identity, meaning, and what we carry underneath it all.

I sit down with Jenny Brandemuehl, former HR Executive and author of Forever Fly Free. Jenny didn’t arrive with splashy PR teams, advance buzz, or a hyper-curated launch plan. She showed up with a book that feels like a door opening: Forever Fly Free. a collection of lived experience, memory, and truth that somehow feels like it was written for the person you’re becoming, not just the person you’ve been.

In a world obsessed with “brand,” Jenny brought presence. No jargon. No clickbait. Just a voice that refuses to rush itself.

We live in a culture where creators are pushed to optimize everything — SEO, engagement cadence, funnel strategy, “drop windows,” hashtags, advance readers, pre-saves (IKYKIYK).

Meanwhile, Jenny moves with something different: intentional pacing.

It almost feels… rebellious.

A human being releasing a project on human time.

Here’s what struck me when we talked:

• Jenny didn’t write a book as content.
• She wrote a book as capacity; emotional, spiritual, reflective capacity.

There’s a difference.

Content fills. Capacity expands.

And the industry rarely knows what to do with that.

Because if you’re not playing the algorithm, people assume you’re not playing the game.

LOL we’ve made creativity a compliance system.