What if the reason your people programs aren't landing has nothing to do with the program itself and everything to do with what you didn't stop to understand first?

In this episode of Elevate, host Joy Fajardo sits down with Desiree Aprekuma, a people and culture leader, to explore what it actually takes to build credibility, earn trust, and drive real change as a people and culture leader.

Desiree has spent 20 years walking into complicated situations such as post-merger integrations, fragmented C-suites, distributed organizations with no culture infrastructure, and building something that actually works. She's been the direct people partner to CFOs, CTOs, CLOs, and chief strategy officers. And across every one of those experiences, the thread is the same: see what's real before you act.

In this conversation, you'll hear how she built trust with executives one customized conversation at a time. How she rolled out a talent cultivation program across five business units by treating internal communications as a true strategic partner and not a broadcast channel. And how she found a low-lift remote connection tool that drove real engagement because she understood what employees actually needed first.

This is the kind of thinking that shapes everything we do at LineZero too. Real time spent understanding what's actually happening with your people before recommending anything.

If you're an HR or IC leader who's tired of initiatives that look good on paper and miss in practice, this one's for you.