THE HR CHIEF INTERVIEW
As a leader you get so much out of that type of person, rather than building a team of individuals that don’ t buy into your philosophy,” he explains.“ It creates a working environment where there is engagement, participation and innovative ideas.” To create an workplace where mustangs flourish, Jason advocates for an organisational culture centred around trust, vulnerability and communication. At Toshiba, his team works in an open forum, a space where ideas can be shared honestly and without fear of repercussions.“ I’ ve been pushed down plenty of times when I was younger,” he says,“ and I always said that once I got to the top I’ d never do the same. It’ s a funny thing being in HR, people are afraid to talk to us at a certain level, but my door is always open.“ As leaders, we have to talk to people, to get around the company, walk the plants and meet employees,” says Jason.“ It helps us to coach and mentor, but also that the environment is right and ensure our companies provide space, autonomy and opportunity. As soon as we lose that vulnerability we lose ideas, thought or creativity.”
Lessons in leadership With the workplace evolving rapidly, Jason believes that HR must continuously adapt to stay ahead of the curve. Key to this ongoing evolution, he says, is how leaders build genuine trust and leverage their skills to influence both people and decision-making. Underpinning this is a concept he calls the‘ leadership influence zone’, an environment where leaders focus on the fundamentals and build strong foundations, use data and intelligence to hone strategy and be“ authentically vulnerable”. As part of this, Jason advocates for a‘ Listen, Learn, Lead’ philosophy. Influencing strategy can only happen with a firm understanding of the current state of the organisation, assessed by focused and active listening. Leaders should be endlessly curious, shaping their decision-making by learning not just the‘ how’ or‘ when’, but the‘ why’. Lastly, leadership should be built on questions not commands and creating a shared sense of purpose around change or success.“ It’ s challenging being a CHRO, and you have to find a way to achieve balance across the creative and the process or implementation,” Jason says.“ Too often, leaders favour one side over the other but it means you end up not well rounded enough and, in all likelihood, not able to rise to the top. I work hard to create an environment where my teams bounce across both approaches – a big part of our role is bringing people together.” While experienced in building high performance culture, Jason is well aware that transformation – evolution, even – takes time. He is a proponent of an HR maturity model and process that begins with a basic, compliance-driven function
28 March 2026