Steve:
That's incredibly cool. Did you have an interest in science growing up as a kid?
Anat:
I did. That being said, I quickly realized I was not going to be an engineer. Physics was not my thing.
Steve:
As you think about growing up personally or professionally, what experiences have helped shape you in your journey to where you are today?
Anat:
Both of my parents are immigrants to the United States. They immigrated in their early 20s, got married. My father's dream was to go to NYU. He begged his way in there. I guess back in those days, you could do that, and my mom was an educator and went to Columbia University. The value of hard work and reaping the benefits of hard work was ingrained into me at a very, very young age.
Steve:
As you think about your path, can you think about a couple of experiences or assignments that you had that were particularly developmental, and then maybe a setback or two along your way?
Anat:
Yeah, so I always say I grew up in HR. So I went to university, thought I was going to be an engineer, quickly realized that wasn't going to happen, and then took a liking to organizational development. I think the biggest impression on my career was really being on the GE HR Leadership Program. My first rotation was at a time where the digital space was new to NBC Universal. They were owned by GE at the time. My role was to really launch the digital space.
We had made this acquisition of iVillage, and it was a great way to learn the GE process and then go and ... It was a playbook. You then went to train the acquired on the playbook, and that was my first rotation. Having exposure to that, and at the time, best-in-class processes from an HR perspective, I think I underestimated the value of those experiences until I left the GE framework, where then you become like, go take GE and apply it in this environment.
Steve:
As you think about roles that you've done between when you started and today, can you think of one that was just really, really difficult, most difficult assignment?
Anat:
I think coming out of GE, you, a little bit take for granted that your leaders want your perspective, they want your opinion, they value the input that you have, and taking me out of that environment and putting me into an environment where HR is untrusted, HR is a paper pusher, or policymaker was a little bit jolting.
I think at that point, I really learned the value of it really is the small things that matter. You have to earn your seat. You have to earn the right to give advice. You have to earn the right to be a leader at the table. It really starts with the small things, some of the things that maybe you don't want to do, but really do earn you credibility and respect.
Steve:
As you think about people who have had great influence on you, who comes to mind, and how did they influence you?
Anat:
Well, three people really come to mind. One, when I graduated from undergrad, I'm from Southern California, and like any good Southern California girl, I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. Back in those days, we would fax in our résumés. I happened to get a call back from a recruiter at 20th Century Fox. I got the job working for this woman who had a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from Harvard. She was amazing. She was my north star.
From that moment on, that was what I wanted to become. That really set my path to going to grad school, and really exploring the opportunities within the HR function. Then post that, the CHRO at DirecTV, Joe Bosch, at the time, was really influential in my career, not only as I was developing, and I was undoubtedly raw talent at the time with a lot of opportunity to refine my skills. He just, even to this day, just a good friend and mentor of mine who I just value his perspective so much.
Then leaving DirecTV, I went to work for TOMS Shoes, right at the time where TOMS had been 50 percent acquired by Bain Capital, and Amy Thompson was the CPO [chief people officer]. Again, just the utmost respect for her. When I think about just being humble and connecting with the team, those are all the things that I really attribute to learning under Amy's leadership.
Steve:
What would people say your superpower is?
Anat:
I think people would say my superpower is the ability to see the long view, the ability to think big, see the strategy, but highly execution oriented and highly execution focused, and so breaking that down into manageable pieces for the team to go and do.
Steve:
The opposite of superpower is kryptonite. What really frustrates you when you're not at your "best self?"
Anat:
I think sometimes, I just get frustrated if I'm in an environment where people aren't picking up on it as quickly as I am, or it isn't the obvious answer. For me, it's like, of course that's what we should do. Sometimes I find that frustrating. I think too, I'm really passionate about what I do. I love it. It gets me really energized to get fired up about the topics.
Sometimes, I have to just remind myself and my team, my excitement and my energy is not a decision. It's really me wanting to engage in the conversation and to hear all perspectives, so that we can make the best decision. I think sometimes my excitement and energy can get the best of me and the room if I'm not careful.
Steve:
Just to go back to something that you said before, I think it's something that sort of lingers over HR, HR doesn't always get the best reputation. Why do you think that is? What would you say to the detractors of HR broadly that maybe would help them understand what HR is trying to do?
Anat:
Your question reminds me of when people say, "Oh, you're in HR, you hire and fire." To your point, it's so much more than that. I would just say to the detractors that an organization in any size or scope is made up of people. In order to advance the organization or the business to where it wants to go, you have to figure out how to get the most out of the people, and get the people aligned to what the business is trying to achieve.
That's what the role of HR is, is to really understand the business strategy, the business results, and to help move, guide, shape the way we're going to get there through the largest asset, which is the people.
Steve:
When you think about you and your team's mission and purpose in HR to strategically impact the business, how do you think about that?
Anat:
Yeah, I think Maxar is a really great example today, because we were a public company, we've been taken private, and we have a private equity company behind us that has a very big value creation plan for us. How are we going to achieve that value creation plan, and what changes does the organization need to have in order to realize the value that has been placed upon Maxar?
For us, it's whether it's from a cultural aspect, or the way we do things. One of the things we talk about now is we want a feedback-rich culture. Well, are we going to create that? How are we going to enable our managers to have great, candid, honest conversations to accelerate leadership in the organization? Those are the things that I get excited about.
Steve:
Have you changed your role or focus in any way now that you're working with private equity versus traditional public company structure?
Anat:
I have. You always have to be aware of your stakeholders, and there's a lot of stakeholders when you're sitting in the HR seat. Everybody thinks they know how to do HR. Everybody's worked in a great organization or an organization that they didn't like, so everyone has a perspective. I think the stakeholder engagement aspect of private equity is a little bit more accentuated, so many more stakeholders, many more people to wrap around what you're doing and how you're going to do it.
Steve:
Who do you go to for advice?
Anat:
What a good question. Well, I do go to Joe when it comes to HR, career; some of my colleagues who I grew up with at DirecTV were a great HR peer group. Interestingly, my husband has a really good gut about or instinct about people and environment. I really value what he has to say in a lot of these circumstances.
Steve:
If you think broadly about CEOs today leading businesses, public or private, top three challenges CEOs face?
Anat:
I think how CEOs spend their time is a really interesting challenge. It's actually one of the questions that I ask leaders when I interview for jobs or when I'm interviewing for jobs. I think that's an interesting challenge. I think there's the stakeholder engagement element that the CEO faces as well, whether it's their team, whether it's the board, the private equity company, and the employees.
Then I really do think communications is a big challenge, could be positively or negatively, because the tone and tenor that the CEO takes can make or break the organization. Having seen that firsthand, I think they have to be really thoughtful about it.
Steve:
Same question, different vector: top three challenges CHROs face?
Anat:
I think a big challenge is everybody thinks they can do your job or everybody wants to have a say in how you do your job. I think that can be really difficult. It can also be very enlightening, because you can learn a lot from it. I think the change management aspect of a CHRO's job is very big. You really do have to think very thoughtfully around how you're going to manage the change and engage in it.
Then the third one, I think there's a lot of expectations around the CHRO. The employees want you to know them personally. They want you to know their stories. You're expected to deliver results, you're expected to drive, enable culture elements. As one person, you have to have champions around you that can enable that. I think really high expectations, and sometimes it's hard to fulfill all of those.
Steve:
When you look at hiring someone, whether it's a member of the C-suite, or somebody to work directly for you, tell me a little bit about what are you looking for today, and maybe share one of your best interview questions.
Anat:
I'm a big fan of Patrick Lencioni, and I always go back to his Smart, Hungry, Humble. I try to take a page out of his playbook that they don't necessarily have to have the direct experience, that they just need those three qualities, but it can be hard sometimes. Probably my best interview question is really to understand this hungry innate desire to go above and beyond.
I like to ask people to describe for me a challenge or a problem, and how they've solved it or overcome it, what their role was in it, and what the outcome was. Interestingly, I think that sometimes when the outcome wasn't favorable, that just shows the tenacity to repeat and try better the next time, which to me, shows this insatiable desire to be successful.
Steve:
Biggest thing that people love about working for Maxar?
Anat:
The mission. Hands down, the mission, saving lives, sharing data with the world.
Steve:
What are you excited about as it relates to AI in the workplace, and maybe what concerns you?
Anat:
I'm excited that I feel like AI enables delivery at a faster pace. We're developing leadership competencies, and AI is a really great tool to come up with your baseline, and to evolve from there. Something that would've taken months to do prior, now you can do in a matter of days. I'm excited about that.
Likewise, I think job descriptions are super easy. You don't have to spend hours scanning the net to borrow from other companies. I think there's some real opportunities there. I worry that it feels a little bit like you're not doing your job, or—
Steve:
You're cheating a little. Yeah.
Anat:
Yeah, cheating. Exactly. Like you're taking a shortcut, and should you be taking that shortcut?
Steve:
When in reality, it's really a great tool, and you're almost cheating if you're not using all the tools available to you.
Anat:
There's so many ways to use AI that I haven't even thought of that I'm learning about every day, where I'm like, "Oh, that's a great idea."
Steve:
Okay, so fill in the blank for this one: HR needs to become more, blank.
Anat:
Just focused on the business, like business-oriented. We cannot be buzzword-focused. If the buzzword is training, we shouldn't focus on training. Let's focus on identifying where we're trying to go as a business, and what gaps do we need to solve for?
Steve:
Similarly, HR should become less…
Anat:
Buzzword-focused.
Steve:
If you could change one thing about HR overnight, what would it be?
Anat:
Its reputation. I guess if you look at the history and the evolution of HR, maybe you can understand where the reputation came from, but I feel like it is so undeserved today with such smart, bright individuals who really care about the success of the business, and have some of the brightest ideas.
Steve:
What are you doing with your team to help leaders lead more effectively?
Anat:
I think, well, for us, we have a hybrid model. We have a dispersed team. Finding those moments of connection, and being really intentional about when and how we get together, and making sure that it's frequent is important to me. We have, whether it's a monthly team meeting, or we have in our Teams chat, a fun channel where we'll post fun things, where we get to know the team, silly questions, and then intentionally making the time and effort to be in touch with every person on the team, I have a smaller team, over the course of every quarter, I think, is really meaningful.
Steve:
If a CEO asked you, not your current CEO, "How do I get more out of the HR function?" what would you say to them?
Anat:
I would tell them that they should ask their HR leader to spend time in the business, to understand how the business makes money, to understand what will make or break the business. Then based on that, to have them put together a plan to solve for the gaps.
If the business is transforming to appreciate or hire more AI engineers, what's the talent today, and how do we get to an environment where we have 50 percent more AI engineers? I would have that HR professional put that together, and then hold them accountable to executing on it.
Steve:
How do you stay positive and energized, and could you share maybe one of your wellness hacks with us?
Anat:
Yeah. At the end of the day, we're all humans. Sometimes, I think that it's the tone and tenor that you take with people that really matters. That's kind of my go-to. On a personal level, I'm a hot yoga junkie. I practice hot yoga at least six days a week, seven if my husband will let me.
Steve:
If you could give a couple of pearls of wisdom to maybe the younger next generation of HR professionals out there that might be listening, what advice would you give to those ones?
Anat:
I would say performance is your ticket to play. Make sure you deliver results and outcomes, and try to see around the corner. One thing that I think is really important, whenever you're making a presentation or delivering a body of work, make sure it looks great. It's not a draft when you're submitting it. I think that's important. Focus on results, make sure you deliver quality work, and try to see around the corners as much as you can.
Steve:
Fabulous. Well, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day.
Anat:
Thank you.
Steve:
Really appreciate it, and look forward to watching your success at Maxar.