Melissa Leneis
Chief Human Resources Officer
Quaker Houghton
Episode 30
Unlock Peak Performance: Inclusion & Belonging Are Your Business Growth Engines
Current chapter: Built by People Podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleOctober 9, 2025 · 7:34
Thesis
“When organizations foster genuine inclusion and a deep sense of belonging, employees are empowered to perform at their highest level, driving both individual growth and business success. Growth arises from fearlessly embracing the unknown with purpose and resilience.”
Show notes
Summary
In this episode of the Built By People Podcast, Melissa Leneis shares her extensive career journey in HR, highlighting her experiences across various industries and her evolution into a CHRO role. She discusses the importance of inclusion, community, and well-being in the workplace, and how these elements drive performance and engagement. Melissa reflects on defining moments in her career, the challenges she faced, and the legacy she hopes to leave as an HR leader. She concludes with valuable advice for future HR professionals, emphasizing the need for purpose, humanity, and a focus on talent investment.
Takeaways
- Melissa's career spans various industries including defense and technology.
- She was inspired to pursue HR after hearing a Disney HR leader speak.
- Inclusion and community are central to her HR philosophy.
- She transformed HR from transactional to enabling roles.
- Melissa's defining moment was realizing the impact of inclusion-based work.
- She introduced global family planning benefits and expanded parental leave.
- Leadership upscaling is critical for effective strategy implementation.
- Her legacy aims to make organizations and people better.
- She advises future HR leaders to lead with purpose and humanity.
- Investing in talent is essential for organizational success.
- Navigating the HR Landscape: Melissa Leneis' Journey
- The Power of Inclusion in the Workplace
- "Inclusion isn't just about representation."
- "Lead with purpose, but stay human."
- "Thank you very much for the opportunity."
Chapters
00:00 Melissa's Career Journey in HR
03:26 Defining Moments in Inclusion and Leadership
06:06 Challenges and Legacy in HR Leadership
What you'll take away
- 1Inclusion and belonging are critical performance drivers, directly impacting retention and engagement, rather than just being 'nice-to-haves.'
- 2Successful HR leaders must 'follow the work,' actively engaging with the business to reshape HR functions and align human capital strategy with evolving organizational needs.
- 3Effective leadership upskilling, grounded in psychological safety and inclusive leadership, is essential to guide employees through transformation and ensure strategy adoption.
- 4Designing a human capital strategy requires thinking beyond mere systems; it must consider the lived experience of employees and how it makes them feel.
- 5Authentic leadership, continuous learning, and staying true to one's values are crucial for personal and professional growth, enabling both individuals and organizations to thrive.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Inclusion extends beyond representation metrics; its true impact comes from making people feel safe, valued, and fully able to contribute, transforming it into a clear performance differentiator.
- •Kindness and business results are not mutually exclusive but deeply connected. Embedding inclusion ensures that a compassionate approach directly drives organizational success.
- •Organizational transformation is not solely a top-down initiative but rather an iterative process that 'happens one conversation at a time,' emphasizing the importance of consistent communication and individual coaching.
In Melissa's words
“When people feel a sense of community and can show up as their genuine selves, they do their best work. Inclusion, belonging, and wellbeing came central to how I defined talent investment.”
This quote encapsulates her core philosophy regarding the holistic value of inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
“Inclusion isn't just about representation. It's about helping people feel safe, valued, and able to contribute fully.”
Melissa redefines inclusion beyond metrics, emphasizing its emotional and psychological impact on individual contribution.
“When people don't have to spend energy pretending to fit in, they do better work.”
This highlights the hidden energy drain of non-inclusive environments and the productivity gains from authentic belonging.
“Transformation, I found, happens one conversation at a time.”
She underscores the iterative and human-centric nature of organizational change, contrasting it with large-scale initiatives.
“I hope my legacy is that I made both organizations and people better, that I built HR foundations that live on, respected by the business and able to evolve, that people felt heard, welcomed, and given the opportunity to perform at the highest levels, that inclusion wasn't an initiative, it was embedded, and that kindness and results weren't mutually exclusive. They were connected.”
This comprehensive statement outlines her vision for impactful HR leadership, integrating human values with business outcomes.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employees' primary concern is covering monthly expenses, highlighting a need for financial wellbeing support.
- •Leaders struggle to effectively lead through transformation, requiring significant upskilling and consistent support.
- •HR functions can become transactional, failing to proactively solve problems or earn credibility within the business.
- •Ensuring inclusion is genuinely embedded as a performance driver, rather than remaining a superficial initiative.
- •The challenge of maintaining personal values and energy while navigating demanding executive roles and complex organizational shifts.
In this episode
Built by People Podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
You're a two-time public company CHRO with experience across multiple industries
5 Rules for Being a Public Company CHRO
Alyssa realized just how much impact inclusion-based work can have
Can You Tell Us About A Career-Defining Moment
A consistent challenge is ensuring leaders can lead through transformation
What's the Challenge You're facing in Your Career?
What's a legacy you hope to leave as an HR leader and why
A Legacy for HR Leaders
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
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