Britt Provost
Chief Human Resources Officer
SiteImprove
Episode 163
Beyond Straight Lines: HR's New Era of Squiggly Careers & Magnificent Failure
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJune 3, 2025 · 6:22
Thesis
“Britt Provost argues that successful HR leadership fosters individual purpose, embraces non-linear career paths, and prioritizes honest feedback, even if it means guiding employees to opportunities outside the organization. She emphasizes the importance of curiosity and creating supportive environments where failure is a learning opportunity.”
Show notes
The Importance of Purpose and Non-Linear Career Paths with Britt Provost on the Built by People Podcast
In this episode of the Built by People Podcast, the host welcomes Britt, a seasoned HR professional, who shares insights from her career journey and the importance of being adaptable and scrappy in HR roles.
Britt talks about her experience in leading HR for multiple organizations, including her current role at Site Proof, a company focused on web accessibility.
The conversation delves into the significance of purpose in work, embracing failure as part of the learning process, and the need for leaders to be willing to step aside for others to grow.
Britt also discusses the 'squiggly career' concept, highlighting the benefits of non-linear career paths and how they cater to different life stages and personal choices.
The episode underscores the value of honest feedback, open dialogue, and curiosity, both in professional settings and in personal growth.
Britt concludes with advice on staying curious and asking good questions, drawing a parallel to the wisdom of Ferris Bueller.
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:51 Britt's Career Journey
01:26 The Importance of Purpose
02:24 Embracing Non-Linear Career Paths
03:28 Building Strong Workplace Relationships
04:32 Fostering Career Progression and Personal Growth
05:25 Parting Advice and Closing Thoughts
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What you'll take away
- 1HR leaders benefit from being scrappy, creative, and practical, often learned from diverse experiences like non-profit work.
- 2Cultivate an organizational environment where failure is seen as a 'magnificent' part of growth, allowing individuals to 'turn over a brand new leaf' and recenter on purpose.
- 3Embrace and support the 'squiggly career' concept, acknowledging that career paths are non-linear and may involve individual contributor roles, fractional work, or time away from traditional office settings.
- 4Leaders should strategically 'exit stage left' to create opportunities for successors, seeing it as a crucial part of their legacy and the team's development.
- 5Provide honest, caring feedback that helps employees understand their true growth opportunities, even if it means advising them that their best next step might be outside the current company.
- 6Foster curiosity by asking 'beautiful questions' as a core practice in HR work and personal life to gain new perspectives and drive continuous learning.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Britt challenges the conventional view of failure, asserting that 'failure is actually a magnificent and fabulous part of the experience,' especially when supported, which goes against typical corporate aversion to mistakes.
- •She pushes back on leaders' typical desire to retain their positions by suggesting that sometimes a leader needs to 'exit stage left to give somebody the opportunity to do a bigger job,' prioritizing team member growth over personal tenure.
- •She counters the traditional HR focus on internal career progression by stating that 'progression within a career may not always be progression within a company,' advocating for open conversations about external opportunities when they align with an employee's best interest.
In Britt's words
“When you're in the HR field, being scrappy and being creative and being practical makes a lot of sense.”
Highlights the essential qualities for effective and adaptable HR professionals.
“Failure is actually a magnificent and fabulous part of the experience, especially if you're supported, especially if you have a space where you have leaders that understand that things don't always go the way they need to go.”
Challenges the negative perception of failure, advocating for a supportive, learning-oriented workplace culture.
“This idea that you're not going to go straight up a ladder, and maybe you don't even want to.”
Encapsulates the core message of the 'squiggly career' and the shift away from linear progression.
“Sometimes you're the blocker of that role. So I've been in a couple situations, particularly in my career, where it was time for me to exit stage left to give somebody the opportunity to do the a bigger job.”
Provides a compelling example of a leader prioritizing team development and succession planning.
“Progression within a career may not always be progression within a company. So being able to have honest and open conversations have established that sense of trust, with people that are on your team or in your organization to say, hey, this is potentially the right next step for you, and it may not even be here.”
Emphasizes the importance of transparent career guidance that prioritizes employee growth above internal retention.
“It's about getting really curious, and getting really curious is about asking really good questions.”
Offers actionable advice for continuous learning, problem-solving, and gaining new perspectives in both professional and personal life.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Organizations face challenges when employees lose their sense of purpose, leading to disengagement and reduced productivity.
- •Traditional, linear career development models often fail to accommodate modern employee needs, diverse life stages, and individual preferences for non-management roles.
- •Leaders can inadvertently hinder the growth of high-potential team members by not recognizing when to create opportunities for succession or step aside.
- •Workplaces that foster a fear of failure inhibit innovation, risk-taking, and employee psychological safety, limiting valuable learning experiences.
- •A lack of honest, empathetic feedback prevents employees from understanding true career paths, sometimes necessitating external moves without clear internal guidance.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
BROKEN by People
I always love to ask you a little bit more about your career journey
In the Elevator With Sarah Ferguson
Can you tell us about a time when you helped an individual or team discover their purpose
Seeking Purpose in the Workplace
The squiggly career is a great resource for people thinking about their career
The Squiggly Career
Britt: Being prepared when you're the leader to leave an organization
The Secret to Building a Strong Workforce
Britt Miller uses effective HR approaches to foster career progression and personal growth
BRIT Britt on Career Promotion and Personal Growth
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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