HR如何为CEO角色做准备：从合规到战略领导

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Welcome to the Workology Podcast a Podcast for the disruptive workplace leader. Join host Jessica Miller-Merrell, founder of Workology.com, as she sits down and gathers tools and case studies for the business leader, HR, and recruiting professional who is tired of the status quo. Now here’s Jessica with this episode.

Jessica Miller-Merrell: Welcome to the Workology Podcast, sponsored by Ace the HR exam and UpSkill HR. These are two of the courses that we offer for certification prep and recertification for HR leaders. And you can learn more about those over at Workology.com. This interview was recorded during WorldatWork’s Total Rewards Conference in San Antonio, Texas. I’ve met so many smart people during this conference, and I’m thrilled to be able to highlight their expertise on this podcast.

Today’s conversation is both timely and necessary as HR continues to navigate the increasing complexity from AI integration to shifting expectations at the executive level. There’s a growing need for HR leaders to step beyond compliance and into true business leadership. And that’s exactly where today’s guest comes in.

We’re joined today by Scott Cawood, the CEO of WorldatWork, an organization long known for its leadership in total rewards and executive compensation. Scott is helping lead a bold evolution, one that challenges HR professionals to think bigger about their impact, their influence, and their role in driving business outcomes. So, in this episode, we’re going to be talking about the current state of human resources, why the profession must evolve to earn a stronger seat at the executive table, if you will, and how WorldatWork is positioning itself and its members for what’s next.

But before I introduce Scott, I do want to hear from you. Please comment “podcast” on my pinned Instagram post over at our Instagram account. It’s @WorkologyBlog, where you can ask questions, leave comments, and make suggestions for future guests. I want to hear from you. So let’s go ahead and get to it.

Today’s guest is Scott Cawood, CEO of WorldatWork, a global nonprofit organization focused on advancing the total rewards profession through education, certification, and thought leadership. With a career that spans HR strategy, talent management, and executive leadership, Scott brings a unique perspective on how organizations can align practices with business performance. His leadership is grounded in the belief that HR has the potential to directly influence organizational success, not just support it.

Since joining WorldatWork, Scott has been instrumental in redefining the organization’s direction with a focus on elevating the HR profession beyond traditional administrative and compliance functions. He is a strong advocate for building more business-savvy HR leaders, professionals who understand revenue, strategy, and the broader enterprise. Under his leadership, WorldatWork continues to leverage its deep roots in executive compensation to help HR leaders gain greater access to the C-suite and boardroom conversations that shape the future of work. Scott, welcome to the Workology Podcast.

Scott Cawood: I could not be more thrilled to be here. Thank you very much for having me.

Jessica Miller-Merrell: Absolutely. And you’ve had a very diverse career leading up to your role at WorldatWork. Can you share a little bit about your background and the experiences that shaped your perspective on HR as a strategic business function?

From Higher Education to HR Leadership

Scott Cawood: Sure. I started my career in higher education. I was really fascinated with how people learn, especially outside traditional learning environments like a classroom. So I was an RA in college and we got to do programming and whatnot. And so I carried that for the first two years trying to figure out what works for the human brain and what doesn’t. And I stumbled upon an organization called W. L. Gore & Associates. And it was my entrée into corporate America. I took on a training and development role.

But W. L. Gore was different from most companies in that they had no job titles, no hierarchy. There was nothing like a boss. Nobody had a boss. You had a sponsor, and their job was to help make you successful. So it was my first intro into this thing we call corporate America, and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with what it meant to be a part of an organization that didn’t rely on hierarchy. It did shape me for maybe being a little bit anti-hierarchical in my other roles afterwards. But it taught me what was possible when good people want to get somewhere and do the same thing and when they care about stuff, it makes a big difference. And so that was my intro into the space years ago.

Jessica Miller-Merrell: What an interesting space for you to be in. And in a way, not ruined you, but that’s kind of where my brain is going. Like it fundamentally probably shifted your perspective and leadership for sure.

Scott Cawood: You know, I have often actually said that it ruined me for most of the rest of corporate America because it’s traditional top-down. You have cascading goals from a CEO who’s barking out orders. And that was just not the case at Gore. You know, the manufacturing plants were only 250 people because nobody had a title. So you had to know everybody to know who’s doing what. And we call them commitment areas. My commitment was in HR, my commitment was in manufacturing. So it was a very different look at coming from higher ed than to Gore. And then I went on to more hierarchical organizations where I just wasn’t quite as happy, actually.

Jessica Miller-Merrell: I’ve often said “unemployable” because I’m an entrepreneu