Laurie Shakur
Chief People Officer
Global company
Episode 10
Growth Pains? Proactive People Ops Discipline Builds Your Unshakeable Foundation.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJanuary 26, 2026 · 8:19
Thesis
“Laurie Shakur advocates for highly disciplined people operations, emphasizing clear decision-making, accountability, and communication as the foundation for organizational growth and improved employee experience, rather than chasing a 'seat at the table.' She believes proactive discipline alleviates the pains of scaling.”
Show notes
Laurie Shakur didn't plan on a career in HR. She started in sales and marketing. But three decades later, she's arrived at a philosophy of people operations that most HR leaders spend their careers dancing around: stop chasing a seat at the table, and start running disciplined people ops that earn one.
Laurie is refreshingly blunt about the state of the function. The persistent HR mantra of "getting a seat at the table" is, in her words, "ridiculousness" — a distraction from the actual work of building clear decision-making processes, accountability frameworks, and communication systems that make growth less painful. Her core conviction: growth will expose whatever you're avoiding. Build the discipline early, and it compounds. Skip it, and scaling just amplifies the cracks.
She's also one of the few voices in this space willing to say directly that AI adoption — not AI hype, but actual organizational adoption and understanding — is the most underrated challenge HR leaders are facing right now. Most companies are deploying tools without deploying change management. The gap between capability and comprehension is where the risk lives.
What you'll learn:
- Why Laurie calls "getting a seat at the table" a distraction — and what to focus on instead
- How disciplined people ops reduces the pain of organizational growth
- Why AI adoption (not AI tools) is the challenge HR leaders aren't talking about enough
- The core HR tech stack Laurie considers non-negotiable: HRIS, payroll, engagement, and wellness measurement
- How to manage a global payroll operation efficiently — including a cautionary tale about clunky cross-border processes
- Her parting advice on accountability, clarity, and building for scale before you need to
Built by People is presented by Previ — the free tool that helps HR teams boost internal communication engagement.
What you'll take away
- 1Growth inherently exposes organizational weaknesses; proactive discipline in people operations is crucial for scalable success.
- 2Prioritize building clear decision-making processes, accountability, and robust change management practices early to mitigate growth pains.
- 3HR leaders face a significant, often under-discussed, challenge in navigating AI adoption and ensuring organizational understanding.
- 4The core HR tech stack must include a robust HRIS, payroll system, and advanced engagement and wellness measurement tools.
- 5For remote teams, a constant balancing act between operational efficiency and strategic impact is required, often burdened by tactical follow-ups to ensure clarity.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Laurie views the HR mantra of 'getting a seat at the table' and 'driving the agenda' as 'ridiculousness,' advocating instead for disciplined people operations to achieve real impact.
In Laurie's words
“I don't like people like that. I know that sounds awful, but 30 years later, I find this to be the most rewarding work.”
Reveals her surprising and initially reluctant entry into the HR field.
“If you can do the job well, the true testament will be enabling others that you lead to do it better.”
Highlights her core leadership philosophy of empowerment and continuous improvement.
“I think what now is a big challenge that we're not talking enough about is AI adoption and understanding.”
Identifies a critical, often overlooked challenge in modern HR strategy.
“I think that people would feel much more clearer about what's expected of them and more supported if we just had better and much more disciplined people ops.”
Articulates her fundamental belief in the impact of structured and disciplined HR practices.
“Growth will expose whatever you're avoiding.”
A concise and powerful summary of her advice on proactive organizational discipline for sustainable growth.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Challenges with employee retention and engagement are persistent issues for HR leaders.
- •Learning and development budgets are frequently being cut, impacting employee growth opportunities.
- •The lack of adequate discussion and strategic adoption of AI poses a significant hurdle for HR organizations.
- •Remote work environments lead to excessive time spent on operational follow-ups, meeting logistics, and clarifying communications, detracting from strategic HR initiatives.
- •Clunky global payroll processes create compliance risks and require CPO-level intervention for routine report generation due to system access limitations across international teams.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
How did you get into HR leadership? Tell us about your career journey
In the Elevator With HR Leaders
What's the biggest challenge you're currently facing in HR
What's the biggest challenge in HR?
There's a constant balancing act between operational efficiency and the strategic impact
What's the Strategic Agenda of Your Organization?
Lori, you had a recent situation where your payroll system broke down
A Payroll Breakdown? How to Handle It?
What tools or partners are most critical for you today
What tools or partners are most critical for your HR organization?
Lorie Dallin: Growth will expose whatever you're avoiding
Dallin on Growth and Scale
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
Expand transcript (0 words)
Transcript is not available yet.