The Talent Blueprint: Avoiding the Permafrost with Dr. Mary Meaney
This episode features an interview with Dr. Mary Meaney, Former Senior Partner at McKinsey and Beamery Board Member. Having worked across different companies and sectors throughout her career, Dr. Meaney helps advise a broad range of clients on transformational change, top team alignment, capability-building, leadership development, human resource strategy and performance improvement.
Dr. Meaney shares insights from her days at McKinsey, talks about the importance of nurturing and cultivating talent, discusses measuring success through “organizational health”, and explores a common-sense approach to navigating change and avoiding managerial permafrost.
“I believe that the real sources of competitive advantage – what will really help companies succeed and thrive and win – is actually all about talent and culture.”
— Dr. Mary Meaney
[1:21] Dr. Mary’s background and helping organizations thrive
[3:24] Measuring success through performance and organizational health
[7:08] A common sense approach to navigating change and avoiding managerial permafrost
[9:29] The myriad of challenges for companies and talent
[13:53] Succeeding through talent and culture
[14:55] Partnering with Beamery to help Ukrainian refugees in France
[17:24] Dr. Mary’s recipe for success: belief from the top, a truly strategic HR function, and thinking of the value proposition
[20:26] Prioritizing attraction & retention, learning, and D&I
[23:00] Linking the learning agenda to the business strategy
[25:48] Dr. Mary’s advice to her younger self
[27:42] A hope for the future
The Talent Blueprint podcast is for business leaders who understand the value of creating a talent-first culture, as well as HR and TA executives looking to do it at the highest level. Subscribe today and receive weekly episodes to guide you to become a talent-first organization, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Simplecast.