Creating structure from chaos: Seychelle Padgett, Yanick Goens, and Jessica Michniacki on HR with heart

This episode was recorded live at the isolved booth during SHRM 25 in San Diego. William Tincup sat down with Seychelle Hercules Padgett, Yanick Goens, and Jessica Michniacki. Each guest brought a different take on what it means to lead with empathy and courage in HR. Jessica explained how she helps clients through terminations. She does the hard work with calm and compassion. Yanick shared how he manages daily conflict by showing up in person and listening first. Seychelle described how she rebuilt her career after a layoff and found new purpose by helping others do the same. The conversation moved quickly, but each answer left an impact. These professionals do not just talk about people-first culture. They live it. Timestamps 00:00 — William Tincup kicks off from the SHRM floor 00:28 — Jessica owns the nickname “The Terminator” by leading hard conversations 01:11 — William calls out the emotional cost of termination work 01:33 — Yanick explains why comfort should never follow tough decisions 01:54 — Seychelle finds her edge by bringing order to dysfunction 02:29 — William draws a connection between chaos theory and HR 02:40 — Seychelle compares good HR to good jazz 02:54 — Yanick keeps things from burning down by leading with presence 03:25 — Yanick tells the moment he protected both the company and the person 04:09 — Seychelle reflects on losing her job and gaining her voice 05:17 — Jessica returns to her first company and mentors the next wave 06:06 — Seychelle embraces failure as fuel 07:05 — William recalls how NASA made failure part of the plan 07:29 — Seychelle defines people heroes as those who lift others 08:07 — William compares career confidence to body dysmorphia 08:13 — Jessica points to leaders who never ask for credit 08:48 — Yanick shares why floor time builds trust 09:40 — The group agrees HR works best when it feels human This episode was recorded live with isolved at the SHRM Annual Conference in San Diego. The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more. Learn more about isolved: ⁠https://www.isolvedhcm.com/⁠ Connect with Us: William Tincup LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/⁠ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/⁠ Connect with us on social: Site: ⁠http://www.wrkdefined.com⁠ TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/⁠ Twitter (X): ⁠https://twitter.com/WRKdefined⁠ Substack: ⁠https://wrkdefined.substack.com/⁠