HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley

About HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley

HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley is a leadership conversation series where thoughtful HR and business leaders share lived experience on people, risk, culture, and compliance. It is designed for business owners, senior leaders, and HR professionals across Australasia to learn from real decisions and leadership judgment. The show is a platform to honour the contribution of leaders willing to share their experience.

Publisher

People Associates & iHeartRadio NZ

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 May 2026

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

39 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Nicki Mackay - FMG | Leadership, Trust & Keeping Business Moving

   What happens when someone with deep operational experience steps into the Chief People Officer role?⁣ ⁣ In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Nicki Mackay, Chief People Officer at FMG, to explore leadership, trust, resilience, culture, and the future of People & Culture.⁣ ⁣ After 17 years at FMG across operational and leadership roles, Nicki brings a practical understanding of the business. She shares how moving between roles has challenged her assumptions, strengthened her commercial understanding, and shaped her approach to executive leadership.⁣ ⁣ A central theme is perspective. Nicki explains why technical expertise builds credibility while leadership builds influence, and why People & Culture must help people thrive while keeping the business moving.⁣ ⁣ She also explores trust, self-awareness, and constructive challenge, reflecting on the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. Experiencing a year's worth of claims in just two weeks taught her valuable lessons about staying calm, supporting teams, and leading through uncertainty.⁣ ⁣ Nicki discusses decision-making under pressure, why perfect information rarely arrives on time, and how leaders must combine data, judgement, and instinct while remaining ready to adapt.⁣ ⁣ The conversation also covers career agility, performance, motivation, generational diversity, mutuality, and Nicki's leadership philosophy: be your story, own it, live it, love it.⁣ ⁣ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧⁣ • How operational experience strengthens People & Culture leadership and commercial understanding⁣ • Why changing roles challenges assumptions and broadens perspective⁣ • Why technical expertise builds credibility while leadership builds influence⁣ • How People & Culture can maintain organisational momentum⁣ • What CEOs and executive peers need from a Chief People Officer⁣ • Why relationships and respectful challenge strengthen executive teams⁣ • How self-awareness and active listening improve leadership ⁣ • What Cyclone Gabrielle taught Nicki about trust, resilience, and crisis leadership⁣ • Why leaders must make decisions with incomplete information⁣ • How career agility creates opportunities beyond rigid career plans⁣ • Why performance issues may reflect role fit, strengths, or motivation⁣ • How beliefs, values, and individual drivers influence behaviour⁣ ⁣ 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬⁣ • Perspective matters. Moving across an organisation builds context and improves judgement.⁣ • People & Culture should enable progress. Early involvement, commercial understanding, and strong relationships help businesses move forward.⁣ • Trust is built before a crisis. Everyday relationships provide the foundation for extraordinary moments.⁣ • Resilience means moving forward. Crisis leadership requires calm, awareness, judgement, and support for others.⁣ • Decisions can't always wait. Leaders must act with incomplete information and adapt as circumstances change.⁣ • Careers aren't concrete. Flexibility creates opportunities that rigid plans may miss.⁣ • Performance depends on context. Strengths, motivation, role fit, and individual circumstances all matter.⁣ ⁣ 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐲⁣ Nicki Mackay is Chief People Officer at FMG. With more than 15 years at the organisation, she has held operational and leadership roles across area management, agribusiness, claims, recovery, and executive leadership.⁣ ⁣ Nicki joined FMG's executive leadership team as Chief People Officer in 2023, bringing extensive operational experience to the People & Culture function.⁣ ⁣ Her leadership approach centres on trust, curiosity, connection, practical judgement, and creating conditions for people to perform at their best. She is passionate about leadership, culture, resilience, organisational agility, and helping people navigate change while staying connected to their strengths and values.⁣ ⁣ 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬⁣ People & Culture leaders need more than HR expertise. They need commercial understanding, operational awareness, strong relationships, sound judgement, and the ability to influence across an organisation.⁣ ⁣ Nicki's career demonstrates how operational experience can shape executive leadership, culture, crisis response, and the People & Culture function.⁣ ⁣ As organisations face accelerating change and uncertainty, leaders will rarely have perfect answers. They'll need to trust their judgement, understand their people, act with integrity, and move forward when waiting is no longer useful.⁣ ⁣ For HR professionals, executives, people leaders, business owners, and anyone navigating leadership or career change, this conversation offers practical insights into trust, agility, resilience, and keeping people and business moving.⁣ ⁣ 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 & 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬⁣ • FMG: https://www.fmg.co.nz/⁣ • Connect with Nicki Mackay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicki-mackay-b8501158/ See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

2. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Rose Powell - Vitaco | Future Skills, AI & Building Capability on the Factory Floor

   What happens to the future of work if half your workforce gets left behind? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Rose Powell, General Manager People & Capability at Vitaco Health Group, to explore what future-focused People & Culture looks like inside a complex, vertically integrated organisation. Rose's leadership philosophy was shaped early in her career when she moved from a command-and-control manufacturing environment into the very different world of higher education. It was there that she began recognising empathy, care, and connection not as leadership weaknesses, but as strengths. That experience helped shape the servant leadership approach she continues to practise today. At Vitaco, Rose leads People & Capability across a workforce spanning manufacturing, distribution, science, quality, sales, marketing, and corporate functions. She explains how Vitaco's Mini Business Unit model, Pillar Fundamentals, and skills matrix give manufacturing employees a structured pathway to build capability, learn end-to-end processes, progress their careers, and increase their earning potential. The conversation also tackles a bigger question facing manufacturing: what skills should organisations be developing when technology is changing the work itself? Rose shares her involvement in industry and vocational education, why future manufacturing workers will need a different capability mix, and why organisations also have an obligation to help their existing people become more adaptable. She discusses the value of reverse mentoring, including what Vitaco has learnt from younger interns bringing new AI knowledge and ways of working into the organisation. For Rose, capability is more than knowing how to perform today's job. It means understanding how that job may need to be done differently and having the will to make that change happen. That becomes particularly important with AI. Rose warns of the risk of creating a divide between employees who sit behind desks and those who don't. With many frontline employees traditionally lacking company emails, laptops, and access to the same digital tools as corporate teams, she argues that organisations need to be intentional about democratising access to technology, information, and learning. Rose and Lisa also explore how strong cultures survive rapid growth, what constructive employer-union relationships look like, and why trust is built well before anyone reaches the bargaining table. For Rose, regular conversations with delegates and genuine relationships mean disagreement does not have to destroy trust. What You'll Learn How Rose's early career experiences shaped her servant leadership style Why empathy, care, and connection can be leadership strengths What People & Culture looks like across a complex, vertically integrated workforce How Vitaco develops manufacturing capability through its Mini Business Unit model How skills matrices can connect learning, career progression, and remuneration Why capability development needs both technical and human skills How employers and unions can collaborate on workforce development Why traditional qualifications may not always keep pace with changing jobs What future manufacturing employees will need to succeed Why existing employees need support to remain adaptable as technology changes How reverse mentoring can bring new skills into an organisation What younger workers can teach established leaders about AI Why capability is about more than knowing how to perform today's job How purpose can support innovation and organisational growth Why AI risks widening the gap between desk-based and frontline employees How Vitaco is increasing frontline access to digital information and learning Why organisations need to democratise access to technology How culture can remain strong as organisations scale Why consistency of purpose and messaging matters during rapid growth What constructive employer-union relationships look like in practice Why relationships with union delegates matter outside collective bargaining How trust allows employers and unions to disagree constructively Why People & Culture professionals need genuine commercial understanding Why frontline leaders need more than technical expertise How organisations can identify and develop leadership potential earlier Why workforce planning increasingly needs to focus on capability rather than fixed job titles Key Takeaways Empathy, caring, and connection aren't weaknesses in leadership. For Rose, recognising those qualities as strengths fundamentally changed the way she leads. Developing frontline capability works best when employees can clearly see how learning connects to their role, career progression, and earning potential. Future manufacturing capability will look different as automation, data, new systems, and AI change the nature of work. Organisations have a responsibility to develop the people they already employ, not simply recruit different skills when technology changes. Reverse mentoring gives organisations an opportunity to learn from younger employees who may already be highly comfortable with emerging technologies. For Rose, capability is a combination of knowing how to do the job, understanding how it might need to be done differently, and having the will to make that happen. AI capability cannot be limited to employees with laptops and company emails. Otherwise, organisations risk creating a new workforce divide. Modernising only part of the workforce limits both organisational performance and future talent pipelines. Giving frontline employees greater digital access can improve their ability to access business information, learning platforms, and their own information. Strong organisational cultures require consistency as businesses grow. People need to continue understanding the organisation's purpose and what makes it distinctive. Constructive union relationships are built outside bargaining. Frequent dialogue and genuine relationships with delegates create a stronger foundation when disagreement occurs. Trust doesn't require agreement. It requires consistency, legitimacy, and relationships strong enough to withstand disagreement. People & Culture professionals need to understand how their organisation actually operates, creates value, and makes money. Technical excellence doesn't automatically translate into great people leadership. Frontline leaders need support to build confidence and people capability. Future workforce planning needs to consider capabilities as much as job titles because organisations cannot know exactly what every role will look like in the years ahead. People want to understand why change is happening, have a voice in it, and know their contribution matters. About Rose Powell Rose Powell is General Manager People & Capability at Vitaco Health Group, where she leads the People & Capability framework supporting a vertically integrated Trans-Tasman workforce across manufacturing, distribution, science, quality, sales, marketing, and corporate functions. Her work focuses on aligning workforce capability with organisational growth, developing future skills, strengthening leadership, and creating practical pathways for employees to build their careers. Rose brings extensive experience across manufacturing, higher education, and complex workforce environments. Her leadership philosophy is strongly influenced by servant leadership and a belief in growing others, building relationships, and creating opportunities for people to succeed. She is also actively involved in conversations around vocational learning and the future skills needed by New Zealand's manufacturing and food and beverage sectors. Why This Episode Matters The future of work isn't only happening in offices. As AI, automation, data, and digital systems reshape organisations, one of the biggest workforce challenges will be ensuring frontline and non-desk employees have access to the same opportunities to learn, adapt, and remain relevant. Rose offers a practical view of what that looks like inside a large manufacturing environment, from structured capability pathways and digital access to reverse mentoring, vocational education, leadership development, and constructive relationships with unions. Her perspective also challenges organisations to think beyond simply recruiting the skills they'll need next. Future readiness means investing in the people already inside the organisation and creating the conditions for them to evolve alongside the work. For HR and People & Culture professionals, executives, manufacturing leaders, operational managers, and anyone thinking about AI and workforce transformation, this conversation offers practical ideas for building capability without leaving people behind. Resources & Links Vitaco Health Group: https://vitaco.co.nz/ (https://vitaco.co.nz/) Connect with Rose Powell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-powell-9a00728/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-powell-9a00728/) See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

3. 

   7 Oct 2026

   Laurent Sylvestre | Leading Self, Building Trust & High-Performing Teams

   How do you become the kind of leader people genuinely want to follow? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Laurent Sylvestre to explore leadership, trust, human dynamics, executive development, and what it really takes to lead well. Laurent challenges the traditional view of HR and People & Culture, emphasising that leaders ultimately own people and culture, while People & Culture professionals help create the conditions for people to thrive. The conversation explores the importance of knowing your people, having meaningful conversations about skills and aspirations, and aligning individual potential with business outcomes. A key theme is congruence — understanding who you are, the leader you want to become, and whether the organisation you work for aligns with your values and ambitions. Laurent also shares his three levels of leadership: leading self, leading others, and leading the enterprise, alongside insights on high-performing teams, trust, executive wellbeing, CEO pressures, and navigating change with greater agency. What You’ll Learn Why Laurent once declared “HR is dead” and what he meant Why People & Culture is about impact, not labels What it means for HR to act as a curator * Why leaders need to truly know their people How talent reviews can become dynamic and commercially useful Why employee aspirations should connect to business outcomes How Laurent’s experiences shaped his interest in human dynamics The difference between HR process and what happens “under the waterline” Why authenticity and congruence matter in leadership * Why difficult experiences can strengthen leadership capability How to assess whether a role or organisation is right for you Why diversity matters in high-performing leadership teams The importance of leading self before leading others How leading self, others, and the enterprise connect Key Takeaways The future of HR is not about changing the label. It is about increasing its impact on people, leadership, culture, and business outcomes. Leaders own people and culture. People & Culture professionals help curate the environment in which both can thrive. Knowing your people means understanding aspirations, capabilities, potential, and what matters to them — not just performance. Talent conversations should be ongoing and linked to organisational outcomes rather than happening once a year. Sustainable leadership requires alignment between who you are, how you lead, and the organisation you work within. Career success on paper does not automatically equal fulfilment. Before pursuing a bigger role, leaders should ask what they are actually trying to achieve. You cannot lead others well without first understanding yourself. Leading the enterprise requires self-leadership and genuine followership. High-performing teams need clear definitions of performance, strong individual contribution, disciplined behaviours, and trust. Professional intimacy helps maintain trust when performance dips because people will not always be perfectly credible or reliable. Many executive team problems are not individual capability issues, but problems with how people work together. CEOs are increasingly focused on boards, executive team effectiveness, staying connected to the organisation, and their own wellbeing. About Laurent Sylvestre Laurent Sylvestre is a leadership and human dynamics specialist, CEO, and founder who works with executives, senior leaders, and leadership teams. His career spans Human Resources, People & Culture, executive leadership, and organisational development across Europe and Asia Pacific. His work focuses on self-leadership, team dynamics, trust, organisational culture, and high performance. After a long corporate career, Laurent moved into entrepreneurship to align his work more closely with his purpose and strengths. He works particularly with CEOs, managing directors, executive teams, and senior leaders. Why This Episode Matters Leadership expectations continue to grow as leaders navigate changing markets, board pressure, complex teams, technology, employee expectations, and uncertainty. This episode brings leadership back to the individual, exploring identity, purpose, trust, relationships, and the kind of leader we want to become. Laurent also challenges HR and People & Culture professionals to look beyond processes and understand the human dynamics behind performance, conflict, trust, and change. Whether you’re an HR professional, executive, business owner, senior leader, or considering your next career move, this conversation offers practical insights for leading yourself, strengthening relationships, and helping people and organisations perform at their best. Resources & Links Laurent Sylvestre: https://laurentsylvestre.com (https://laurentsylvestre.com) Connect with Laurent Sylvestre on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurentsylvestre/ See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

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