Lisa Hammond
CHRO
Veradigm
Episode 316
Beyond the Caretaker: Build Strategic HR with Business Acumen & Crisis Leadership
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleFebruary 4, 2025 · 19:42
Thesis
“Strategic HR leadership is built on a foundation of strong business acumen, a willingness to take calculated career risks, and the ability to lead with composure and strength during crises, rather than merely fulfilling a 'caretaker' role.”
Show notes
Lisa Hammond started as a paralegal. She watched lawyers and executives make high-stakes decisions and thought: how do I get to the other side where I can help prevent some of the catastrophes I'm helping clean up? That question drove her career, and the path she took to answer it — full of deliberate risk-taking and discomfort — is a case study in how HR leaders who want to operate at the executive level actually get there.
As CHRO at Veradigm, Lisa leads HR for a health data and software company operating in a complex, fast-moving environment. Her career philosophy is built around a counterintuitive insight: the experiences that built the most durable skills were the ones that seemed risky at the time and didn't maximize short-term compensation. She's taken roles others turned down, operated in organizations that were messy and unproven, and come out the other side with a toolkit that polished career trajectories rarely develop. She also tells a story she calls "don't bake the cake" — a parable about HR leaders who get so absorbed in doing the work that they lose sight of whether the work is right, a failure mode she's had to consciously resist throughout her career.
Lisa's crisis leadership experience is one of her most distinctive assets. When organizations face genuine emergencies — operational, financial, reputational — the HR leader either becomes a steadying force or an anxiety amplifier. She's learned to focus on what can be controlled, project composure to the organization, and build the coalitions that crisis response requires. She's also direct about the ongoing challenge for women in HR leadership: the function is often positioned as "caretaker" work, and the leaders who have the most impact are the ones who successfully resist that framing.
- Strategic career risk-taking — why the experiences that build the most capability are often the ones that look the least safe
- Crisis management composure — how to lead from the front in organizational emergencies by focusing on what's controllable
- Business acumen as HR's credibility infrastructure — EBITDA, P&L, and turnover economics as the vocabulary of executive influence
- The "don't bake the cake" trap — recognizing when HR is executing well on the wrong thing
- Resisting the caretaker framing — why the most impactful HR leaders don't accept the function's lowest-ambition definition
- Mentorship as professional obligation — paying forward the sponsorship that shaped your own trajectory
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
- 1Prioritize taking strategic career risks and valuing experience over immediate financial gains for long-term professional growth.
- 2Develop a calm, measured approach to crisis management by focusing on what can be controlled and projecting strength to the team.
- 3Cultivate strong business acumen (understanding P&L, EBITDA, turnover costs) to build credibility with business partners and gain a strategic seat at the table.
- 4Challenge traditional expectations (especially for women) to take on non-strategic 'caretaker' roles, exemplified by the 'don't bake the cake' parable, to enhance leadership perception.
- 5Regularly assess the alignment between your personal values, strengths, and current career role, and actively support the growth of others in their HR careers.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Choosing experience and a lower title/pay over immediate financial advancement can be a more beneficial long-term career strategy.
- •The 'don't bake the effing cake' parable directly challenges the conventional (and often gendered) expectation for individuals, particularly women, to take on nurturing, non-strategic roles in the workplace.
In Lisa's words
“I thought, how do I get to the other side where I can help prevent maybe some of the catastrophes that I was helping the lawyers defend?”
Highlights her foundational motivation for transitioning into HR: a proactive desire to prevent organizational problems.
“The risk is you go to a bigger company, you're a minnow in the ocean versus a king salmon in a small creek.”
Candidly describes the perceived vulnerability and challenge of taking career risks in larger, more competitive corporate environments.
“If I'm going to go panic, I'm going to do it away from my computer and my monitor and my team. But I know now I never, I can't present the panic.”
Illustrates a pragmatic and self-aware approach to maintaining composure and a strong leadership presence during organizational crises.
“Stop baking the effing cake. You don't get it. You need to understand this does not help you.”
The memorable and direct core message of her parable, advising women to shed non-strategic 'caretaker' roles to foster their leadership perception.
“To have that early knowledge and to continue growing it gives you a unique ability to build credibility quickly with your business partners.”
Emphasizes the critical importance of developing business and financial acumen for HR professionals to gain strategic influence.
“HR is a function that we get beat up, we get recognized, we're beloved, we're ignored and hated, and all the things at the same time.”
A relatable and insightful reflection on the often-paradoxical and multifaceted nature of the human resources profession.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employees' number one concern is covering monthly expenses, highlighting financial well-being as a key challenge for HR.
- •Preventing large-scale organizational catastrophes and navigating complex labor laws is a core HR challenge.
- •Career stagnation and the need for individuals to actively seek growth opportunities, even if it involves risk.
- •The societal and internal pressure on HR professionals, particularly women, to take on non-strategic 'caretaker' roles, diminishing their leadership perception.
- •Lack of business acumen among some HR professionals, hindering their credibility and ability to contribute strategically to financial discussions.
- •The stress and potential misalignment when personal values and strengths are not met by one's current professional role.
- •The often unappreciated and contradictory nature of the HR function, simultaneously being vital yet sometimes overlooked or criticized.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Dave Zirin shares a little bit more about his career journey
Exploring Your Career Journey
Lisa says taking career risk pays off in her professional development
Employees Take Career Risk
Lisa says managing crises has shaped her approach to HR leadership
How to Manage Crisis-level Issues
Lisa has worked at both small businesses and large corporations. How does that diverse experience influence HR challenges today
Working at a Large Company and a Small Business
Lisa Miller shares a parable about being a servant leader in leadership positions
Don't Bake the Cake
Lisa says business acumen has been key to her survival in HR
Understanding the business fundamentals of HR
Lisa, what parting advice would you like to share with our listeners
Lisa Hewitt's Ending Advice
Lisa, thank you so much for joining us on the Built By People podcast
Lisa on Built By People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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