Stephanie Hammerwold: Redefining HR Leadership with Empathy and Limits

On this episode of Adapt or Die: Transformative Leadership Conversations, former tech CEO-turned-executive coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with Stephanie Hammerwold, Head of HR at the Skirball Cultural Center and a passionate advocate for humane leadership. With an HR career spanning warehousing, tech, the arts, and more, Stephanie has spent decades in service of people. But her journey reveals a hard truth: when you say yes to everything, you disappear. From being tethered to her computer during the pandemic to burning out in the name of being “available,” Stephanie shares how she rebuilt her leadership with radical honesty, boundary-setting, and a healthy dose of perspective from her volunteer work with incarcerated women.

Challenge →
As the world reopened post-COVID, Stephanie found herself physically and emotionally drained—anchored to Slack, Zoom, and a sense of duty that never let her log off. Even on vacation, she worked. The breaking point came mid-road trip in a friend’s car, when she burst into tears—not from sadness, but from clarity: she was done.

Adaptation →
For the first time in her career, Stephanie chose to leave a job before the resentment set in. She stopped waiting for burnout to be the alarm. Within a week of updating her LinkedIn, an opportunity at Skirball appeared—and this time, she set the terms. She began applying the same non-negotiable boundaries she learned through prison advocacy to her own career. The result? More impact, less self-erasure.

Success →
Today, Stephanie leads with empathy and limits. She centers presence over fixing, teaches others the power of “no,” and helps her team thrive without her being on call 24/7. Whether it’s the “above the line/below the line” mindset tool or using running as a sanctuary from burnout, Stephanie models what it looks like to protect your peace—and your people—by leading with both heart and backbone.

🔥 60-Second Hot Seat:
 Stephanie’s retired belief? That she has to save everyone. She’s broken the rule of always being accessible, and now evangelizes true disconnection—no email on cruises, no guilt for setting limits. Power Without Permission, to her, means reshaping leadership through a new lens: one that’s inclusive, anti-patriarchal, and deeply human.

Her story is proof: when you stop trying to be everything to everyone, you become everything you need.

📘 Power Without Permission
Stephanie is a co-author in Power Without Permission. Get your copy at leadersadapt.com/book and join the community of women building unapologetic leadership from the inside out.

Visit www.leadersadapt.com/adaptordie for show notes, free resources, and coaching programs.

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