Damond Fauconier
CHRO
Transportation FCU
Episode 59
The New HR Mandate: Adaptability and Curiosity in a Dynamic World
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleSeptember 8, 2025 · 12:30
Thesis
“Adaptability and continuous curiosity are paramount for HR professionals to navigate an ever-changing professional landscape, enabling them to empower employees and serve as effective organizational stewards.”
Show notes
Damond Fauconier was laid off early in his career. It could have been a detour — it turned out to be the moment that defined how he thinks about HR leadership. The experience forced him to look at the full picture of what an organization is and how it operates, not just the training and development corner he'd been living in. That wider lens became his competitive advantage.
Now CHRO at Transportation FCU, Damond has navigated union negotiations, executive politics, board-level dynamics, and the fundamental challenge that every HR leader eventually faces: how do you position a function that many still see as administrative as a genuine driver of strategy and culture? His answer centers on curiosity — not as a personality trait, but as a professional discipline. Asking better questions, sitting with ambiguity longer, and understanding the business well enough to anticipate what it needs before being asked.
He's also candid about the political complexity of C-suite HR work — the moments when HR is caught between executives with competing agendas, and the judgment required to navigate those dynamics without losing your integrity or your relevance. For anyone who's ever felt that HR's hardest problems aren't on the org chart, Damond's conversation is both validating and actionable.
- Turning a layoff into a career-defining pivot — the unexpected benefit of having your plans disrupted early
- Curiosity as a professional discipline — how asking better questions builds the strategic credibility HR needs
- HR as a bridge in executive conflict — navigating board-level politics without losing your independence
- From mission-driven to bottom-line-focused — what changes when you shift from nonprofit to corporate HR
- The stewardship model of HR leadership — a frame for how Damond thinks about his role and his legacy
- Empowering people managers — why the frontline leader layer is where culture is actually made or broken
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What you'll take away
- 1Cultivate a mindset of constant adaptability, as career paths are rarely linear and organizational changes are inevitable.
- 2Prioritize genuine curiosity about the business, industry, and broader environment to anticipate trends and identify innovative HR solutions.
- 3In corporate settings, ensure HR initiatives clearly demonstrate their quantifiable impact on the organization's bottom line.
- 4Develop the ability to navigate complex organizational politics, even managing up to the board, to resolve high-level conflicts that impact the workforce.
- 5Strive to empower employees and managers in their professional growth and impact, viewing this as a core legacy of HR leadership.
What most organizations get wrong
In Damond's words
“I have to always be, you know, willing to maybe change things up or just to adapt.”
Highlights the foundational lesson learned from a significant career setback, emphasizing adaptability.
“I have to be not necessarily a jack of all trades, but interested in all trades, understanding. And I know HR folks always get told, yeah, you have to know the business. So definitely from that perspective, but just in general interest and just being really being curious about things.”
Emphasizes the importance of broad curiosity beyond traditional HR functions for long-term adaptability and effectiveness.
“everything I had to do was really any changes that I want to make or anything I want to implement, I need to show at least how that would impact the bottom line in terms of like the, and primarily like the cost of certain, interactions.”
Illustrates the practical business acumen required when transitioning from mission-driven to profit-driven organizations.
“I helped to empower or help guide people to empower for their own specific careers, but also generally just in terms of how they work in their professional roles.”
Defines his desired legacy as an HR leader, centered on empowering individuals and their managers.
“See yourselves as stewards always. See yourselves as, I'm here to help this organization along. I'm here to help the team along.”
Provides concise, impactful advice on the overarching mindset and responsibility HR professionals should adopt.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Navigating unexpected career trajectory changes due to organizational restructuring (RIF) and needing to pivot expertise.
- •Demonstrating the tangible business impact and ROI of HR initiatives to leadership in profit-driven companies.
- •Managing highly contentious relationships between top executives that trickle down and negatively affect organizational morale and functionality.
- •The challenge for HR professionals to expand their business acumen and curiosity beyond their functional area to maintain adaptability.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Dave: Damon shares a little bit about his career journey
Describing Your Career Journey
What are some career-defining moments in your HR career
Have You Had A Career-Defining Moment?
Being more prepared moving forward with change and being adaptable is important
Being More Prepared for Change
Damon Smith says two top executives had contentious relationship at one organization
The Challenges of Being an HR Leader
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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