Bryan Power
Chief People Officer
Nextdoor
Episode 323
Modern CHROs: Master Business Acumen to Unlock Peak Employee Performance
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleJanuary 30, 2025 · 12:05
Thesis
“The CHRO role has profoundly evolved post-COVID, demanding deep business acumen beyond traditional HR functions, with strategic mental health initiatives becoming crucial for enabling employees to perform optimally and drive business success.”
Show notes
When Bryan Power asks a room of HR leaders what the top benefits priority is for their youngest employees, the answer is almost always therapy. Not medical. Not retirement. Therapy. Bryan — who has led people functions at Google, Square, and now Nextdoor — sees this not as a crisis but as an inflection point: an opportunity for CHROs willing to build mental health infrastructure that actually meets people where they are.
Bryan argues that the CHRO role was fundamentally redefined by COVID-19. The executives who thrived weren't those who managed people processes — they were the ones who engaged with product strategy, revenue challenges, and board-level business questions. Tomorrow's HR leaders will be distinguished not by their people expertise alone, but by their ability to sit credibly at the business table and operate across the full executive agenda.
On mental health, Bryan draws a distinction that reshapes how companies think about the work: the goal isn't just preventing negative outcomes but proactively priming employees for peak performance. That framing — borrowed from elite athletics — moves mental health from a welfare expense to a competitive investment, and it changes the conversation with every CFO in the room.
- Why CHROs must expand beyond "people questions" — the business acumen gap and how to close it
- Mental health as performance infrastructure — shifting from stigma reduction to proactive optimization
- The power of leader vulnerability — why sharing personal struggles creates stronger teams, not weaker ones
- ERGs as mental health communities — building support structures with collective wisdom at the center
- What Gen Z actually wants from benefits — and why therapy access is a recruitment differentiator
This episode is sponsored by Previ, helping employees save on the household expenses that matter most.
What you'll take away
- 1CHROs must expand their impact beyond traditional 'people questions' by developing general business acumen and engaging with broader challenges like product or revenue.
- 2Mental health initiatives should be framed not just as preventing negative impacts, but as proactively priming employees for optimal performance and personal growth.
- 3Leaders are critical in reducing mental health stigma by openly sharing their own struggles, fostering stronger connections and psychological safety.
- 4Leverage Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to build communities around mental health, providing spaces for support, shared learning, and collective wisdom.
- 5Companies must prioritize robust mental health benefits, especially therapy, as it's a top expectation for the younger generation entering the workforce.
What most organizations get wrong
- •He challenges the notion that work inherently 'does bad things to you' to the point of reducing aspirations, arguing instead that managing mental health enables employees to embrace adversity and achieve greater things.
In Bryan's words
“I personally feel like the COVID-19 pandemic was a real inflection point for this role in particular.”
Highlights the pivotal event that transformed the CHRO's responsibilities and strategic importance.
“Chief people officers can't get constrained to being the answer on people questions and then quiet on questions that are not people-related.”
Emphasizes the need for CHROs to expand their influence and engage with broader business challenges beyond traditional HR.
“The pandemic mainstreamed mental health as a challenge because so many people were dealing with stress at a level that they'd never dealt with before. So I think it really helped normalize a lot of the conversations around this.”
Explains how COVID-19 broke down the stigma around mental health, making it a common workplace discussion.
“I really look at priming your mental health so that you can do your best work... it's really about managing your mental health at the company level and the individual level will put you in a position to do your best.”
Presents a proactive, performance-oriented view of mental health management, rather than just reactive care.
“I've found sharing that you deal with this stuff as well actually makes a stronger connection because everybody's dealing with these things.”
Highlights the importance of leader vulnerability in fostering trust and openness around mental well-being.
“Young people tend to be healthy. They tend to not worry about needing to go to the doctor all the time... but they all want to go to therapy. It's one of the top things that young candidates and young employees ask us about.”
Illustrates a significant shift in generational expectations regarding health benefits, prioritizing mental over physical.
The problems this episode addresses
- •CHROs are often perceived as solely responsible for 'people questions,' limiting their influence on broader business strategy and decision-making.
- •The traditional workplace healthcare system is ill-equipped to address modern 'mental health injuries' like stress, anxiety, and depression caused by knowledge work pressures.
- •A pervasive stigma around mental health historically prevented open discussion and access to support in the workplace, impacting employee well-being.
- •Leaders may inadvertently create a culture of silence around mental health by projecting an image of being 'superhuman' and immune to such struggles.
- •Companies risk failing to attract and retain younger generations if they lack a clear stance and robust offerings for mental health support, especially access to therapy.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
I joined Google just after it went public in 2005
In the Elevator With Nextdoor's COO
Brian, how has the CHRO role evolved in recent years
Chief People Officers: The Role
How is your organization addressing mental health challenges in the workplace
Mental Well-being in the Workplace
Nextdoor has implemented initiatives to reduce stigma around mental health and create supportive environment
Beyond Stigma: Mental Health
The CHRO's role in mental health initiatives is evolving to meet future workforce needs
CHRO's Role in Mental Health Initiatives
Brian, any parting advice you'd like to share with our community
Brian Kotlikoff on Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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