Episode 372: How Great Leaders Build Their Inner Circle with Shona Kamath
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What actually makes a people strategy work?
It’s not just having the right talent in the right seats. It’s building a workplace where people feel trusted, included, challenged, and connected to something bigger than their job description.
For HR and people leaders, that can feel HUGE. You’re balancing employee engagement, leadership development, retention, performance, culture, and business results...all while trying to make work feel a little more human.
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin talks with Shona Kamath, Head of Human Capital and Human Resources at MegaMex Foods, about what it really takes to build a strong people strategy and a culture where talent can thrive. They dig into trust, belonging, empathy, high-potential talent, leadership development, and why employees are more likely to stay when they can see how their work connects to the bigger picture.
Invest in People, Not Just Output
A strong people strategy is about more than hiring talented people and hitting goals. Shona shares what it really takes to help people thrive at work, from building the right capabilities and developing strong leaders to creating an environment where people can see how their individual work connects to the bigger picture.
Build a Culture of Trust
Belonging, trust, and inclusion don’t happen because they look good on an employee engagement survey. Shona explores why meaningful workplace relationships, real-time feedback, and a genuine sense of belonging are essential to engagement, retention, and a culture where people actually want to stay.
Develop the Leaders of Tomorrow
What makes someone a high-potential leader? Shona breaks down the qualities that matter most, from emotional intelligence and empathy to communication, business acumen, strategic thinking, and integrity, and why leadership development needs to start before someone officially has “leader” in their title.
Build Your Talent Pipeline Before You Need It
The best time to develop your next generation of leaders is before you desperately need them. Shona shares how to spot potential early, create stretch opportunities, build supportive networks, and give people space to reflect on what they’re learning so they can keep growing instead of quietly checking out.
Create Some Career Heat
Growth rarely happens when everything feels comfortable. Shona explores why raising your hand, creating a little “heat,” and saying yes to experiences that stretch you can accelerate learning, build confidence, and help people take greater ownership of their careers and their teams.
Make Work a Little More Playful
What does improv have to do with leadership? More than you might think. Shona shares how creative, playful experiences can help people take risks, learn faster, communicate differently, and make work—and the lessons that come with it—more memorable.
Connect the Dots
Help someone on your team see how their day-to-day work connects to the bigger picture. When people understand the impact of what they’re doing, a task can start to feel a whole lot more like purpose.
Create Some Career Heat
Raise your hand for an opportunity that stretches you—or create one for someone on your team. Growth usually starts just outside the comfort zone.
Invest in the Human
Ask someone what they actually need to feel supported, challenged, and included at work. Then make space for trust, feedback, relationships, and, yes, a little more play.
Your Freebie
This is your plug-and-play guide to building an environment where your team feels safe to share bold ideas, take creative risks, and fully engage in the work that matters most.
Download your Psychological Safety Playbook for Leaders here.
About the Guest
Shona Kamath is a highly experienced human capital and HR leader with expertise across organizational development, talent management, leadership development, performance management, culture, employee engagement, HR systems, and organizational effectiveness. As Head of Human Capital and Human Resources at MegaMex Foods, Shona advises senior leaders on strategic talent and organizational priorities and has presented to C-level executives and boards across financial services and consumer packaged goods organizations. A recognized high-potential leader herself, Shona is passionate about developing talent, building high-trust cultures, and helping people take ownership of their careers.