Human Beings First

My experiences over the last 20+ years as a leader and HR leader have led me to this foundational message. Somehow leaders have lost their way and have been taught to always have an answer, never appearing to “sweat” and by acting superhuman. But that is not who we are - we are human beings. We all have full lives that can include caring for a sick family member, helping our kids apply to colleges, coping with stress and mental health challenges and so much more.

I believe that creating an environment where your employees feel valued and seen, is when we as leaders create a safe space for them to share who they are and what they are going through.

I have helped thousands of executives and leaders at some of the top companies in the world get back to the basics of better leadership.

Paul Wolfe is a Human First Leadership Advocate who champions the development of workplace cultures built on authentic connection, shared vulnerability, and purpose-led performance. Paul came to this mission from an over two decade resume as an HR executive, and his lived experience of seeking to show up– and view others, as humans before titles.

Paul currently serves as a board member at PayScale, and as an HR Venture Advisor for SemperVirens Venture Capital. He is also the host of the 52 Humans vlogcast, a live weekly video podcast on the human side of workplace experiences, and is preparing to launch his book in spring of 2023, "Human Beings First - Practices for Empathetic, Expressive Leadership." Paul spends much of his time speaking to and leading workshops for organizations, companies and teams on a variety of topics in HR and leadership.

Prior to his current endeavors, he served as the inaugural SVP/Head of Human Resources for Indeed, the world’s #1 job site. During his almost 8 years at Indeed, he helped the company grow from hundreds of employees to over 12,000. While this rapid growth was happening, Paul was laser focused on culture; employee engagement; diversity, inclusion, and belonging; and employee growth and development. From March 2020 through the end of 2021, he helped the organization navigate COVID-19 with the primary focus being the health and safety of Indeed’s employees.

It was during this time that Paul decided “Human First Leadership” meant embodying the ideals he espoused by including his own struggles with mental health in the pandemic in his weekly to his 10k+ coworkers. From his moment of vulnerability came hundreds of others as he received an outpouring of support and telling of shared experiences. This inspired Paul to ultimately depart Indeed to focus his next chapter on writing this ethos into the culture of today’s most prominent organizations.

Prior to his role at Indeed, he served as Vice President, Senior Vice President, and Chief HR Officer at a number of well-known companies, including (link hidden), Ticketmaster, Orbitz and Conde Nast. He has a bachelor of science degree from Nova Southeastern University and lives with his husband and their three dogs in New York.

Down stage confidence monitors (2)
Lav Mic