{"podcast":{"title":"HR Leaders","slug":"hr-leaders-1048082","podcast_index_feed_id":1048082,"rss_url":"https://rss.art19.com/hr-leaders-podcast","website_url":"http://www.hrleaders.co/podcast","image_url":"https://content.production.cdn.art19.com/images/ab/10/c3/fc/ab10c3fc-de78-4e2f-a117-c9a11ca9071a/25c51f4cc5cfa0b78d1c15e624dda78a4dd821e81bdf66e9a54c06f8b5abd8889725648bebb41d4b7392e293b7461e360a8663dac3d734f89d98f008d5f25d99.jpeg","author":"Chris Rainey","episode_count":839,"summary":"Join host Chris Rainey on the HR Leaders Podcast, where he sits down with top Chief People Officers, CHROs, and leading HR experts to uncover the strategies, trends, and insights shaping the future of human resources. Each episode dives into best practices in people management, leadership challenges, and transformative HR innovations that impact both business success and society at large. Whether you're an HR professional or simply passionate about modern workplace strategies, this podcast delivers expert advice, real-world experiences, and the latest trends in HR, making it your go-to resource for all things human resources.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leaders-1048082"},"episode":{"title":"Why Your People Don’t Speak Up (even when you ask them to)","slug":"why-your-people-don-t-speak-up-even-when-you-ask-them-to","published_at":"2026-05-11T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leaders-1048082/why-your-people-don-t-speak-up-even-when-you-ask-them-to","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leaders-1048082","url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/rss.art19.com/episodes/a5883d35-c6d8-493e-9faa-de54ac594a9e.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/rss.art19.com/episodes/a5883d35-c6d8-493e-9faa-de54ac594a9e.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","summary":"In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Khalil Smith , VP, Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement at Akamai Technologies , to unpack what it really takes to build a performance culture where people trust each other enough to speak up, challenge ideas, and grow. Khalil explains why culture is not what leaders say they want, but what the organization actually rewards, and why silence is often the clearest signal that trust has broken down. He shares how leaders can build stronger cultures by creating trust, encouraging healthy disagreement, aligning systems with values, and making recognition and feedback feel honest, specific, and useful. Most importantly, Khalil reveals why the future of culture belongs to organizations that close the gap between what they say and what they reward, creating environments where people can challenge respectfully, perform boldly, and speak up without fear. 🎓 In this episode, Khalil discusses: How culture is shaped through awareness, behavior, community, and systems Why recognition only works when it is grounded in honesty, specificity, and trust ow leaders can create the conditions for employees to speak up and challenge ideas Why healthy disagreement is essential for trust, performance, and better decision-making Why organizations must align internal reality with the values they communicate externally See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .","meta_description":"In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Khalil Smith , VP, Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement at Akamai Technologies , t…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1107,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hr-leaders-1048082/episodes/why-your-people-don-t-speak-up-even-when-you-ask-them-to/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leaders-1048082/why-your-people-don-t-speak-up-even-when-you-ask-them-to.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}