Courtni Hughes-Bochenek

"It all starts with my parents. They were incredibly hardworking and scrappy — the kind of people who rolled up their sleeves and did whatever needed to be done. They took the road less traveled more than once, and they absolutely shaped the way I approach both work and life. There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for the example they set.

I've also been fortunate to have mentors who challenged me, trusted me, and gave me opportunities before I felt fully ready for them. My husband and my children keep me grounded in what matters most.

The truth is, I'm not self-made. I'm incredibly well supported, and I try to pay that forward whenever I can.

Beyond that, I've always been willing to build something from nothing and stubborn enough to see it through. Most of the work I'm proudest of didn't come with a roadmap. It was a function that needed building, a system that needed modernizing, or a problem nobody had solved yet.

That taught me something early: you don't always need permission, and you definitely don't need a perfect plan, to create something meaningful."

"Earlier in my career, someone told me not to wait to be picked.

Raise your hand for the work nobody else wants to do. Learn it in public. Trust that your resume will build itself.

I've only worked for two organizations throughout my career, but I've had the opportunity to touch an incredibly broad range of work because I was willing to step into ambiguity, tackle problems that didn't have clear owners, and help build things that didn't yet exist.

The roles that shaped me most weren't the ones I was ready for on paper. They were the ones that stretched me. The ones where I said yes before I had every answer and figured it out along the way.

Looking back, every meaningful step in my career started with a willingness to be uncomfortable before I was confident."

"Get comfortable taking up space, and stop apologizing for what you don't know yet.

Nobody knows everything. And often, the people pretending they do have the most left to learn.

Ask the questions. Challenge assumptions. Push back when something doesn't sit right. HR is often viewed as the function responsible for upholding the rules, but part of our responsibility is making sure those rules still make sense for the people they're meant to serve.

Build relationships generously. This is a smaller profession than most people realize, and the people you meet early in your career often become your future peers, leaders, advocates, and friends.

And most importantly, find your people. Find the people who tell you the truth, root for you out loud, and sponsor you when it matters. Your network won't replace hard work, but it will often determine how far that hard work can take you."

"AI is the most obvious opportunity in our profession right now. It's changing how we hire, develop talent, analyze data, and think about the employee experience. But I don't believe the future of HR will be defined by AI itself. It will be defined by the People leaders who learn how to use it well.

At the same time, many organizations still view People functions as administrative cost centers rather than strategic business partners. That's where I see both the challenge and the opportunity.

The opportunity is for People leaders to step more confidently into executive conversations, speak the language of the business, and help shape strategy rather than simply support it. The organizations that do that well will have a significant advantage over the next decade."

"Honesty and kindness are incredibly important to me, especially when they're difficult.

In People work, we spend a lot of time navigating sensitive situations, and I've learned that people can handle hard truths when they're delivered with respect and care.

I try to lead the way I parent and parent the way I lead: with clear expectations, genuine warmth, and a belief that people are capable of more than they sometimes believe themselves.

Curiosity is another value I hold closely. The world of work is changing too quickly for anyone to assume they already have all the answers. I've always believed growth comes from staying a little uncomfortable, continuing to learn, and remaining open to perspectives that challenge your own."