I Demoted Myself Twice at Meta - And It Made Me Happier with Cynthia "Baz" Shrauner, Head of People - Electric Capital

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Recorded29 May 2025

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In this episode of HR Heretics, Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich talk to Cynthia "Baz" Shrauner, former Meta HR executive and current Head of People at Electric Capital. Baz discusses her unconventional career move of voluntarily demoting herself twice to focus on work she genuinely enjoyed rather than traditional leadership roles. She candidly explores the tension between ego and fulfillment, Meta's hiring excesses during COVID and subsequent layoffs, and the complexities of DEI initiatives in corporate environments, offering rare insider perspective on Silicon Valley's operational realities.*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: [email protected] coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.Support HR Heretics Sponsors:📝 Planful empowers teams just like yours to unlock the secrets of successful workforce planning. Use data-driven insights to develop accurate forecasts, close hiring gaps, and adjust talent acquisition plans collaboratively based on costs today and into the future. ✍️ Go to https://planful.com/heretics to see how you can transform your HR strategy.📋 Metaview is the AI assistant for interviewing. Metaview completely removes the need for recruiters and hiring managers to take notes during interviews—because their AI is designed to take world-class interview notes for you. Team builders at companies like Brex, Hellofresh, and Quora say Metaview has changed the game—see the magic for yourself: https://www.metaview.ai/hereticsKEEP UP WITH BAZ, NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDINBaz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-bazlamit-shrauner-683767/Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/—LINKS:Electric Capital: https://www.electriccapital.com/Link to Baz’s LinkedIn post about getting demoted in Facebook:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cynthia-bazlamit-shrauner-683767_7-years-into-my-time-at-facebook-i-was-demoted-activity-7321208807441731587-8SYh?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAWcjXgBb3Jw6dX16PD9lRJSsxfgqVAqZLw—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(01:59) The Demotion Story Begins(04:00) The Emotional Reality(06:00) Finding the Right Replacement(07:59) Learning What You Love vs. Loathe(10:58) Sponsors: Planful | Metaview(13:58) Demoting Yourself Again: The Christine Ellis Story(19:03) What Makes Great Leaders(22:21) The Reality Check: Not Everyone Can Do This(27:59) Self-Awareness and Ego Management(35:24) Meta's COVID Hiring Spree(42:08) The Layoffs: What Really Happened(51:37) DEI Programs: From Helpful to Distracting(57:41) Wrap This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com

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