A note from JooBee
You are heard when your work has commercial clarity
I noticed a leadership theme this month: you can be doing the work, seeing what the business needs and trying to influence change, but still not be heard.
Whether you are asking for headcount, stepping into an HRBP role, or trying to influence founders, the work needs to be translated into business language, business results and what your work unlocks.
Here’s what we’ve been learning, building and celebrating across Learngility this month.
Featured story
Missy turned 9 months of no into a yes
"This was so important to me because it's proof that what I’ve been learning isn’t just theory. Even when you're underwater, you can take one small piece of learning and do the simplest thing that changes your daily work life."
Missy Strong, Sr Lead People Experience
"I've been paralysed in the best and worst way," Missy said a few months after finishing STEP UP Bootcamp and MBA. Her attempts to apply what she had learned did not quite land. It left her questioning whether to stay in her lane instead of stretching into the skills she'd been building.
At work, she was running onboarding, career frameworks, performance cycles, L&D, workplace and events. Solo. 🤯 For 9 months, she'd pushed for headcount and got 9 months of no.
So she went back to what she'd practised inside STEP UP: connect the People work to company results. She built a strategy map tying every programme and project to company OKRs, showing what a new hire would unlock, where the bottlenecks were, and why the investment would pay for itself within a year. She even pre-empted the question we all know is coming: "Why can't you just do this with AI?"
Then she presented it to 2 founders with very different expectations.
After 9 months of no, they said yes!
Missy’s work has always mattered, the difference was that the business could finally see it.
This is such a big win, Missy 💜
CONNECT WITH MISSY →
Celebration this month
Jesse landed her role because of the MBA
When Jesse moved into HR later in her career, she built her expertise the way many People leaders do: through self-learning and a lot of figuring it out as she went.
Before the MBA, she said: “I didn’t fully grasp what the purpose of an HRBP was, even though it’s in the title – Business Partner!” 😅
Jesse already had strong HR expertise. She was focused on important projects like progression frameworks and onboarding programmes, but had not fully connected how they impacted business results.
Through the MBA, she built the commercial lens to:
connect People projects to wider business goals
understand business models and commercial metrics
influence through insight, even without formal decision-making authority
That shift helped Jesse land her HRBP role. And what made this win special was that she unlocked the full potential of the role.
The HRBP role sits close to the business. When you speak the business language, you stop simply supporting or executing decisions. You start influencing them.
Curated for you
Leadership in action
LeadDev + Learngility
This month, I was at LeadDev. Interestingly, I noticed an increased focus on commercial impact. This year’s talks are not available yet, but this was my favourite from last year:
AI-Native Leadership Teams
AI-native start-ups operate under different rules from tech companies of the pre-AI era. So what should leadership look like now, and in what sequence should you hire?
Tiny notes, big meaning
From Learngility Leaders
A few messages from Learngility leaders this month that made me smile, laugh and feel very proud.
Justine Friedmann
Bootcamp alumnus
“I feel like I'm making a lot more sense, and I'm clearer, and I'm more prepared... I gained a lot of clarity doing those exercises, and having this framework really helps my mind focus.”
💪 This is what 'I've got this' sounds like out loud. Love this for you Justine!
Esther Ebeh
Newsletter subscriber
“Your advice from day one and your newsletters have been instrumental in my growth as an HR leader. They felt like 1:1 coaching, without meeting monthly.”
😭 This makes all the writing worth it, thank you, Esther!
Matt McFarlane
MBA student & newsletter subscriber
“Awesome edition, JooBee. This sounds to me exactly like the kind of "HR" most companies say they want but rarely make happen. (The salary one still terrifies me though haha)”
😱 Me too! Usually, I scare the room. This time, Cynthia scared the HR out of me.
A final note
Grow your commercial acumen with STEP UP MBA
HR expertise got you the seat at the table. Business fluency gets you heard.
