The Cost of Speaking Out in HR with Anessa Fike

Anessa Fike has led 125+ organizations, pioneered the Fractional HR model in the U.S., and built a career by saying the things most people won’t. In this episode, she joins Rhona to break down what it really costs to speak up in HR—especially when it challenges power, calls out performative allyship, and disrupts the speaker circuit status quo. Anessa shares how she uses her privilege intentionally, what she’s given up to stay true to her values, and why she keeps going even when the backlash hits. This one’s for every HR leader, content creator, or change-maker wondering if the risk is worth it.   What you’ll learn:   How Fractional work gave Anessa the freedom—but not the reason—to speak up The difference between bold leadership and performative allyship What privilege looks like when it’s used, not just acknowledged How to spot fake expertise in HR and DEI spaces What it really costs to use your platform for good—and why she does it anyway RESOURCES MENTIONED: Fractional Coaching with Anessa Buy Anessa’s Book: The Revolution of Work Takeover The Workfluencer Podcast Get My Newsletter Perceptible Studios – Video content that builds trust    ****🌟 CONNECT WITH ANESSA💼 LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anessafike/  🌐 Website: https://www.fikeandco.com/  📗 Book: https://a.co/d/6ZAsC8d     🌟 CONNECT WITH RHONA💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonabarnettpierce/🦋 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rhonab.bsky.social  📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhonabpierce/🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rhonabpierce 🌐 Website: https://www.rhonapierce.com/  📹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RhonaBPierce/    💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workfluencer/id1740429498 🟢 Leave a rating on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/4R6bJ4JZpqOlFdYelWwsBr Workfluencer, HR leadership, fractional HR, privilege, authenticity, DEI, speaking up, business alignment, expertise, HR conferences, community, performative allyship, advocacy, allyship, authentic allyship, social justice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices