HR is expected to model professionalism, consistency, and neutrality in every interaction. Over time, that expectation has shaped a recognizable image - one that establishes authority, but can also create distance. In this episode of HR Wine Bar, host Amy Luckenbill, President of the Human Resource Association of the Midlands, and co-host Jamie Mohrman, Director Elect for HR Nebraska, welcome style and color consultant Nickaela Schroeder of House of Colour for a conversation on authenticity as a component of professional presence.

Titled Authenticity is Everything: Presence, Perception, and Prosecco, this episode examines how HR professionals are is subject to the prejudgments that come with the profession and how that interpretation influences trust, access, and credibility. The discussion explores the tension between representing the organization and showing up as an individual, and how defaulting to a “safe” version of professionalism can reinforce the perception of HR as controlled and difficult to approach.

Through real-world scenarios, including first impressions, informal workplace interactions, and the balance between leadership influence and employee access, the conversation connects presence directly to the work of HR. It introduces the idea that authenticity is not a departure from professionalism, but a more intentional alignment between role, environment, and individual presence.

If you lead, support, or influence teams, this episode sharpens your awareness of how you are being read before you speak and what that means for your effectiveness. It positions HR as a function that is not only responsible for communication, but one that is constantly interpreted through presence as well as action.

Cheers to HR!

Podcast produced by Todd Studer (Loess Hills Media)
Jingle recorded by Mad Honey
Jingle produced by Kyle Knapp (Dry Creek Studio)

The way HR talks about its work shapes how that work is understood, valued, and included in business decisions. Language carries assumptions, signals priorities, and frames the role of the function long before outcomes are evaluated. In this episode of HR Wine Bar, host Amy Luckenbill, President of the Human Resources Association of the Midlands, welcomes Beth Trejo, CEO of Chatterkick, for a conversation focused on how language influences perception and influence inside organizations.

Titled Words Matter: Language, Leverage, and Lambrusco, this episode continues the HR Branding and Image Series by examining how HR describes the work it does. The discussion explores how familiar terminology, often carried forward from earlier models of the function, can position HR in ways that limit its ability to shape strategy and contribute to decision-making. Even as the scope of the work has expanded, the language surrounding it has remained relatively static.

Through structured discussion and real-world scenarios, the conversation looks at how language influences how HR is interpreted by leaders and employees, how internal vocabulary shapes experience over time, and how framing can either strengthen or dilute the connection between HR and business outcomes. It also considers what it takes to examine the words we use, reconsider how the work is described, and align language with the impact the function is designed to have.

This episode builds on the series by moving from examining systems to examining how those systems are communicated. It invites listeners to reconsider how language shapes perception and how more intentional choices can strengthen alignment, influence, and inclusion.

If you lead, support, or influence HR work, this conversation provides a lens for evaluating how your language reflects the work you are doing and how it positions you within the organization.

Cheers to HR!

Podcast produced by Todd Studer (Loess Hills Media)
Jingle recorded by Mad Honey
Jingle produced by Kyle Knapp (Dry Creek Studio)

There are patterns in HR work that professionals recognize immediately, yet rarely name directly. Processes continue because they have always existed. Systems remain in place because they feel familiar. Workarounds become embedded over time, shaping how work gets done without addressing what needs to change. In this episode of HR Wine Bar, host Amy Luckenbill, President of the Human Resource Association of the Midlands, and co-host Jennifer Tritz welcome Dr. Scott Cawood, CEO of World at Work, for a conversation focused on examining why we are still doing what we do the same way we've always done it.

Titled Say it With Your Full Chest: Hot Takes, Hard Truths, and Haut-Médoc, this episode opens the HR Branding and Image Series by stepping back from perception and influence and looking first at the systems that define the profession. The discussion explores how HR continues to rely on legacy processes, inherited technology, and long-standing assumptions that have not been meaningfully re-evaluated, even as workforce expectations and organizational needs have shifted.

Through structured discussion and real-world scenarios, the conversation examines how compliance guardrails, leadership expectations, and organizational incentives shape how HR work is designed and delivered. It highlights how patterns persist when they remain unexamined, how workarounds evolve into the process itself, and how leadership preference can influence whether systems are challenged or maintained.

This episode invites listeners to question how HR work is structured, how decisions are made, and where the function has the opportunity to reimagine rather than let stability turn to stasis. It positions HR as both the observer of system effectiveness and a contributor to how those systems evolve. To Scott's point, "HR is the table."

If you lead, support, or influence HR work, this episode provides a lens for examining the practices you have inherited and the choices available to move them forward with greater alignment and intention.

Cheers to HR!

Podcast produced by Todd Studer (Loess Hills Media)
Jingle recorded by Mad Honey
Jingle produced by Kyle Knapp (Dry Creek Studio)