Liezl Tolentino

▶0:00IntroWelcome to the Built by People podcast, where we share the stories and insights of the world's top HR leaders. Join us as we dive deep into the minds of HR executives, uncovering their strategies, challenges, and triumphs in shaping today's workforce.

▶0:44HostI'm excited to welcome Lizelle to the Built by People podcast. Lizelle, thank you so much for joining us today. And as a starting question, I always love to ask if you could share a little bit more about your career journey.

▶0:54GuestYeah, I'm excited to be here. My career has been just incredibly rich. Not just with the experiences, but also the people I've just had the privilege to work with. And so I spent time in private, public, private equity-backed companies, kind of high-growth turnaround and also founder-led organizations. But I think all of them have had kind of a similar theme where HR was central, not just kind of as a support function, but a key driver in transformation and value creation. And long-term success. And so, I started my career, um, at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, uh, the hospitality company. I worked on, uh, the launch and integration of their two new select service brands at the time, Hyatt Place and Hyatt House. Um, and it was exciting. They were in high growth. I was part of the team that built kind of a centralized structure and helped build the Hyatt culture into these two new brands. Um, eventually moved kind of to the corporate HR side of the business, um, and then helped kind of support the organization go through its IPO, which as an HR professional is just, it's an incredible learning experience. I always said that I grew up at Hyatt. It taught me the importance of just like an employee-centered culture, the power of feedback, why and how you build meaningful relationships. And while I was at Hyatt, my mentor kind of nudged me to go to business school to strengthen my ability to lead strategically and grow with the business. And so, I ended up going to the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business., and it definitely shaped me into becoming a more well-rounded and strategic leader. Uh, and after business school, I was just ready for a new challenge. Uh, I joined Enlivant. It was a TPG-backed, um, company in the senior living space, and that organization needed a complete cultural and leadership reset. And so, I was really drawn to the scale of the challenge. And so, over time, I was there about 9 years, moved through multiple HR roles, and eventually became, uh, their CHRO. And then in 2023, um, when the company had kind of somewhat stabilized post-pandemic, uh, I made the decision to take a sabbatical, just a year to recharge, rest, and reflect on what did I wanted to do next. Um, and so I spent that time also coaching and advising leadership teams and boards across various industries from consumer goods, healthcare, gaming, entertainment, and education. Uh, and I also co-authored a book called Everybody Gets a Coach, uh, which launched launched in February, uh, earlier this year. And so writing it really allowed me to put together a lot of the lessons for my career and offer something that could help others also grow in their career. Uh, and then in 2024, I took the role of Chief People Officer at PT Solutions. It is a high-growth physical therapy company based in Atlanta that's been growing about 20 to 30% annually for the last two decades. And so I'm part of the leadership team that is there to help scale the culture, build out sustainable people processes and kind of revamp our employee value proposition, all with the goal of continuing to be a USA Today Top Workplace. And so, it's been a journey full of transformation, learning, and purpose, and I just feel really fortunate to have the chance to grow alongside some truly amazing people and organizations.

▶4:22HostTell me about the book you decided to write. What was the motivational factor for wanting to write it.

▶4:30GuestYeah.

▶4:31HostAnd what's it about? What are some of the key lessons that our audience can take away from reading this book?

▶4:37GuestYeah, I think, I think one of the things I'm really passionate about is coaching. I think I've been really fortunate throughout my career to have really great mentors that have coached me and have really given me the courage and the accountability to reach my potential. And so, there were a lot of lessons lessons that I picked up throughout my career and a lot of best practices, and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to put those best practices together in a book so that others could also learn and help them on their journey. Some key things in the book, I would say the first is there's a theme that's very central is just, you know, knowing and understanding power and how organizations work. I think a lot of individuals, either cap out at their potential or feel stagnant because they don't know and understand organizational savvy and how organizations work. Knowing and understanding how you're perceived, it's called knowing what your buzz is, I think is really important. It's a concept that not a lot of people think about, but when you read about it in the book, it's the one takeaway people feel very energized by. And then I think the other thing is knowing the scorecard, how you're being evaluated, how that changes amongst different leaders. And not a lot of people tailor their behavior to the new leaders when change happens, and change happens all the time. And then I think the, probably the most important concept is a concept in the book called healthy selfishness. And it's, uh, it's about taking care of yourself because I'm a big believer that if you are not well personally, you can't be well professionally.

▶6:20HostI, before we dive into some of the questions that, you know, I'm gonna ask you, I have to also ask about this sabbatical, like this idea of taking a year off. I'm a, I'm a, I'm a big believer in semi-retirements. This didn't really sound like a retire— a semi-retirement for you though. You got busy in writing the book and consulting a lot of companies. I'm curious what motivated you to one, take the sabbatical and how did you go about planning what you were going to be doing during that sabbatical?

▶6:52GuestYeah, I think, I think for me, the pandemic, working at a senior living company and taking care of the highest risk population during a global pandemic, it was about 10,000 residents and 7,000 employees that we had to keep safe. It just, it took a toll on you, I think, just as a leader in general. And I think for me, I was ready to go do something else, but I did not want to rush into it. And so, taking that time off, to be able to really know and understand what I wanted to do next, recharge and have energy on whatever was going to be that next career move was what I really focused on. And I think I was nervous that if I did it too soon, if I found another job, I wouldn't be as energized and be able to kind of showcase my capabilities and talents. And so for me, you know, I was working probably 16 to 18-hour days during the pandemic. And so I knew that I was going to continue to be successful if I poured into myself. And I knew, I think personally, I was tired. I think we were all tired, but I knew that about myself. It was scary, I think, to take a sabbatical and say, in a year, I'm hoping somebody's going to hire me and think that I can lead their HR function. I think there's definitely self-doubt that creeps in, but it was necessary for me to do that. I actually, you know, you talk about consulting and writing the book, The time away actually allowed me to be just more creative and dig deeper into my thoughts than I normally would've if I had been working full-time.

▶8:33HostLizelle, can you tell us about a career-defining moment in your HR career? Yeah.

▶8:39GuestUm, I touched a little bit about it. Uh, so I think one of the most career-defining moments for me was just leading Enlivant, uh, the national senior living company I mentioned, during the height of, uh, the COVID-19 pandemic. Imagine the pressure of being responsible for 10,000 residents, many of who were very vulnerable, 7,000 employees who were showing up every day to care for these residents. No playbook, guidance was changing daily. Fear and uncertainty were everywhere. And, you know, as HR leaders, I think we were all faced with the impossible question: how do you inspire and support employees to provide care or service when they're fearing for their own health and safety? How do you ask somebody to walk into a senior living community with a resident that, you know, has tested positive for COVID and ask them to still show up with empathy, caring, and compassion and courage? So burnout was really high. The virus was spreading quickly. Staffing was a constant challenge. When people were sick, they couldn't work. And so unlike other industries, we couldn't just close our senior living community. It was a 24/7 responsibility. And so our leadership team came together really quickly and got organized, and we knew that building trust with our employees was going to be everything and that we had to earn it not just with our words, but with our actions. And so, you know, a couple of things we focused on. I think the first was just PPE and safety. We made absolutely sure that no community or employee ever ran out of PPE at any of our senior living communities, whether that meant our teams were sourcing that around the clock Uh, we made sure they always had enough equipment and supplies, um, to be safe. And safety was just a non-negotiable for us. Um, in fact, we actually even mailed masks to our corporate teams at home when they were like nearly impossible to find in stores because we really believed that everybody mattered, uh, in keeping our residents safe. The second thing we, we did was we had transparent daily communications. Every single day we sent a daily email from our leadership team to every employee sharing what we knew about the pandemic, what we were doing, best practices, and messages of encouragement and appreciation. And we heard from so many of our team members that those emails became a steady source of hope and a guiding light that helped them stay grounded and focused to take on the challenges of the next day. And I think, you know, the last thing is we provided wellbeing resources, tools, workshops to help our employees manage stress and avoid burnout. And that when it became safe to travel, our leadership team launched a gratitude tour to visit our communities and thank our frontline teams in person. And so what made this, I think, a defining moment wasn't just like the scale of the challenge. It was actually the humanity that rose up in response to it. And I think watching our employees risk their own well-being to care for others, to live up to our mission and protect and support each other was nothing short of inspiring. And I just think personally that experience made me a better person and leader. And just reminded me of just the incredible power of empathy, communication, and action, especially in a crisis. Um, and it also restored my faith in humanity at a time when the world felt just very uncertain.

▶11:57HostHmm. Uh, I wanna talk about challenges that you've experienced as an HR leader in your career. Uh, obviously going through COVID, that's a significant challenge. Uh, might be the one that you're gonna talk about here, but I'd love to learn more about a challenge that you've faced recently and how you overcame it.

▶12:20GuestYeah, I think, um, I think like a lot of HR and talent leaders, you know, I've faced really tough challenges, right? You can go from staffing shortages to engagement and retention struggles. You know, if I could be vulnerable for a moment, I think the biggest challenge, uh, that I had to overcome, and I actually still think I work on it today, was just just minimizing kind of self-doubt and the negative self-talk that was happening in my head. I think, you know, throughout my career, I've been focused on just driving change and building, you know, cultural transformations, which means sometimes making decisions that aren't always popular and they require real conviction. And so, I think as a woman of color, being confident and assertive in those moments sometimes led, I think, to unfair criticism, not about like my decisions, but I think, you know, my competence was called into question and my character. And I think, you know, when situations like that happen, they kind of shake your confidence and they fuel self-doubt. And so, for me, I think what has helped was gaining a clear understanding of my strengths, embracing my leadership style in a way that felt true to who I am, how I'm aligned with my values. And I think the self-acceptance as a leader and as a person allowed me to give myself grace when I made mistakes and realizing that like the negative self-talk was not helping me in any way. And even just learning the traits that people criticized, what I was too direct, too honest, you know, willing to challenge the status quo and speaking up when my perspective wasn't popular. Those are actually the qualities that I think helped contribute to my success and effectiveness as a leader. And so, I think knowing this, knowing who I am and understanding my value as a leader and the accomplishments that I've had, have helped me build that confidence. There's a quote that I love that, you know, I actually have it on my desk. It says, when you believe in yourself, it won't bother you that other people don't. And I think this mindset has just been a game changer for me in minimizing self-doubt, um, and focus on leading from a place of confidence and authenticity.

▶14:26HostThat really resonates. I think like 6 months ago, I got invited to a, a panel to talk about imposter syndrome., and I felt like an imposter even considering taking that on. And I, I didn't end up taking it. Yeah. I'm, I'm curious to get your perspective as a follow-on to what you just said. What are some of the daily things that you're doing to reaffirm confidence and, and minimize that self-doubt? Because I don't know if it's the same for you, but for me it's like a daily thing.

▶14:56GuestIt is. It's a daily struggle. That's why I kind of said like, I'm still working on it, right? Like, I don't think that I've made really great progress, but, uh, it's something that I, I practice practice, I think, and I talk a little bit about this in the book, I think, um, one, it's just the self-acceptance that you are a human being, that you can grow and learn, um, and that you are not your mistakes, I think is something that I really had to focus on. I used to be very critical of myself when I made mistakes, um, which I thought was helpful because it was really pushing me to be better, but it was destructive because my thoughts were negative. So it was not It was not helpful, I think, overall. I think practicing gratitude, that actually changes the rewiring of your brain and how you think about yourself, how you think about the world. I also meditate. I do Transcendental Meditation, which has been life-changing for me. I will not leave my house in the morning unless I do my morning meditation. And I think the other activity that was really central to me was not a lot of people do this, but a lot of people focus on failures rather than success. And, uh, a, a coach by the name of Marty Seligman had me focus on my strengths, actually had me write down all of my strengths. And I remember he said to me, he said, you have 5, 6 strengths written down. He said, you should be at least be able to write 60 strengths easily. Just 'cause you're good at it doesn't mean you have to do it all the time. Right? And so I think it really opened my eyes to know and understand what my strengths were., and it just builds your confidence when you actually see it on paper.

▶16:32HostI love that. And Lizelle, what's a legacy you hope to leave as an HR leader and why?

▶16:39GuestYeah, um, this is a really powerful question. I think, um, I think the first is just being able to use my talents to make a positive difference in the world. Um, you know, that I use my leadership and my strengths to help people and organizations, uh, reach their full potential. I just truly believe that the biggest flex in life isn't about your titles or your accolades. It really is about how many people you positively impact along the way. And I've been really fortunate to have so many people in my corner that have really helped me reach my potential and continue to reach my potential. I think the second thing is being somebody that stayed true to who I am. You know, I was raised on strong values, and actually one of my biggest fears as I was moving up through my career was that I would have to change who I was to fit some sort of mold of success. But, you know, I strive to lead authentically every day, and I hope that inspires others to do the same, to lead in a way that aligns with them and who they are. And then I think lastly, I think I want to be remembered for somebody who had fun, right? Somebody who brought joy into the rooms that they walked in, who didn't take everything so seriously all the time,, who made whatever they were doing feel lighter and more human, whether that was work or a project or even just like a random Thursday. Um, I want people to remember that I had fun with, uh, all my life experiences, both the good and the not so good, um, that make me who I am today and that I enjoyed every minute of the ride and, and have no regrets.

▶18:15HostLizelle, what parting advice would you like to provide to our community right now?

▶18:20GuestYeah, I think two pieces of advice for this community, and I think both come from experience and both are just kind of, you know, really close to my heart. I think first, taking care of yourself. You've probably heard the airplane analogy where you put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. And I think that couldn't be truer for HR leaders. We spend so much time pouring into others, nurturing and guiding and supporting our teams. That we often put ourselves last on our list. And for me, you know, we talked a little bit about the sabbatical. That's what led to the sabbatical. I needed to put myself first, not out of luxury, but more out of necessity. And it really gave me clarity and energy and the space to reset. It helped me build a routine around self-care that I treat as a non-negotiable. And in today's world where HR leadership is more essential than ever, we need to protect, you know, our energy and be intentional about our own wellbeing. And I think the second is just don't underestimate your impact. I think if we're being real, the world is really tough right now. There's a lot of cynicism, a lot of burnout, a lot of mental health challenges and distrust. And as HR leaders, we're right in the middle of it, trying to help people and organizations find their way forward. And in the middle of the complexity, we have an opportunity to lead with empathy, build purpose-driven cultures, and make the workplace more human. And while it's overwhelming at times, it's really important not to forget as HR leaders that we're in the business of humanity, and there's no greater privilege or opportunity, uh, to make an impact.

▶19:55HostLizelle, thank you so much for joining us today on the Built By Podcast.

▶19:59GuestYeah, thank you.

▶20:00HostIt was a pleasure to have you involved.

▶20:02GuestThank you.