Deanie Ilukowicz
Chief People Officer
TPI Composites, Inc.
Episode 285
Beyond Policy: HR's New Role in Driving Strategic Business Growth
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleMarch 3, 2025 · 18:51
Thesis
“HR must be a strategic driver of business outcomes, deeply understanding and solving real-world business problems rather than being purely policy-driven. This involves empowering individuals through intentional choices, continuous learning from experiences, and consistent personal renewal to prevent burnout and foster growth, especially during major transformations.”
Show notes
Deane Ilukowicz doesn't believe in work-life balance. She's one of the few voices in senior HR leadership willing to say it plainly — and her alternative framework is more useful than the standard advice: manage your career energy, not your calendar.
As Chief People Officer at TPI Composites, Deane oversees HR for a global manufacturer of wind turbine blades operating across multiple continents. Her path to the role ran through operations, not HR — and she credits that detour with giving her an unusually clear view of how people strategy has to connect to business strategy to actually work. Her concept of the career energy triangle — the interplay between intellectual stimulation, emotional fulfillment, and physical sustainability — reframes burnout not as a wellness problem but as a strategic misalignment. When you're depleted, something in the triangle is out of balance. The fix isn't always rest. Sometimes it's a harder challenge.
Deane also brings hard-won insight on HR communication during major business transformations, including an IPO process where legal restrictions made transparency genuinely difficult. Her principle: share what you know, when you know it, in the most thoughtful way possible — even when "what you know" is "we can't tell you yet." She's also candid about what it takes to build inclusive cultures across a global, often remote workforce: transparency, empathy, and platforms where every voice can actually be heard, not just acknowledged.
- Why work-life balance is the wrong frame — and the career energy triangle as a better model for sustainability
- Anchoring people strategy to business strategy — HR as a driver of outcomes, not a support function
- The policy flexibility imperative — when to make exceptions for top performers and how to do it thoughtfully
- Communicating through an IPO — maintaining trust with employees when information is legally restricted
- Building inclusion across global, dispersed workforces — transparency, empathy, and genuine voice platforms
- The career risk calculus — why HR leaders should seek challenging experiences over comfortable ones
Built by People is sponsored by Previ, the private pricing network that saves employees an average of $2,200/year on essentials like cell phone and auto insurance — free for companies to launch and maintain.
What you'll take away
- 1Anchor people strategy to business strategy, ensuring HR solutions solve real-world business problems and proactively drive business outcomes.
- 2Practice flexibility with HR policies (beyond non-negotiables) to adapt to business needs and retain critical talent, making exceptions where appropriate for top performers.
- 3Manage career energy by making intentional choices, seeking challenging experiences for growth, and prioritizing personal renewal, which may not always mean rest.
- 4During major business transformations like IPOs, prioritize intentional communication by sharing what is known, when it's known, in the most thoughtful and engaging way possible, even with information restrictions.
- 5Build inclusive cultures in global workforces through transparency, empathy, clear expectations, and creating platforms where all voices are heard, fostering a sense of belonging.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Challenges the concept of 'work-life balance,' advocating instead for 'choices' with intentional awareness of their consequences.
- •Pushes back on HR professionals being 'too policy-driven,' urging them to prioritize understanding and solving business problems over strict policy adherence.
- •Suggests that 'renewal doesn't have to mean rest,' emphasizing physical activity and other non-rest activities for recharging one's energy.
In Deanie's words
“I tend to approach HR as a driver of that business outcome, and how do we align the people function as not just the people function, but really the driver of how we're going to achieve the business strategy.”
This highlights her core philosophy of HR as a strategic business partner rather than a purely administrative function.
“I'm one of the, the lone voices out here that says I don't believe in work-life balance. I believe in choices, right?”
This is a contrarian perspective on a widely discussed topic, emphasizing intentional decision-making over an elusive balance.
“My general mantra about communication is we communicate what we know, when we know it, in the most thoughtful and engaging way possible.”
This provides a concise and practical guiding principle for communication during complex organizational changes.
“I tell HR people, I tell leaders all the time that I'm about to give you this burden of knowledge. That now you have to tuck away.”
This quote perfectly captures the challenge of navigating sensitive information during transformations like an IPO.
“I think inclusion or belonging also starts with listening and finding a platform to ensure that all voices are heard.”
This emphasizes the foundational role of active listening and creating safe spaces for diverse perspectives in fostering inclusion.
“But to pause the conversation and really listen to what problem the leader is trying to solve is going to help you understand and maybe think through different options to solve a problem than just jumping to, no, you can't do that.”
This advice encourages HR leaders to be consultative problem-solvers rather than gatekeepers of policy, building trust and engagement.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Companies struggle when HR is 'too policy-driven,' leading to missed opportunities for talent retention or business adaptation (e.g., losing a top performer due to strict compensation or remote work policies).
- •During major business changes (like IPOs or M&A), organizations face challenges in communicating effectively and transparently without oversharing sensitive information, leading to potential talent flight or disengagement.
- •Employees (especially leaders) struggle to maintain career energy and avoid burnout without intentional strategies for 'renewal' and understanding the consequences of their 'choices.'
- •Large, global workforces face the challenge of fostering genuine inclusion and ensuring 'all voices are heard' across diverse cultural contexts, which can impact engagement and feedback.
- •Business leaders often view HR as a reactive/administrative function rather than a strategic partner that drives business outcomes, making it hard for HR to be 'pulled in' to critical discussions.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Denia Lukwitz is currently the Chief People Officer at TPI Composites
Inspiring leaders: Denia Lukwitz's story
Deanna says it's crucial for HR professionals to understand business first
Deanna and Tom: People Strategy
Dana says many HR professionals can be too policy-driven
Are HR Policies Too Policy-?
Deena says choices, experiences and renewal play a role in career energy
The Career Energy Triangula
On the third side, you have renewal. For me, renewal is physical activity
The 3 Ps of Career Renewal
Having gone through IPOs and also significant organizational changes, what have you learned
Leading HR Through Major Business Transformations
With TPI Composites' global workforce of 13,000 employees
TPI Composites CEO on Building an Inclusive Culture
Deanie, what parting advice would you like to share with our audience
A Final Word from Deanie Jones
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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