Why Great Government Is Possible: Teresa Roche’s Blueprint for Talent, Trust, and Transformation

🎙️ From Accidentally Joining HP to Malcolm Baldrige Excellence: Teresa Roche's Public Service JourneyTeresa Roche, Chief Human Resources Officer at City of Fort Collins, shares her journey from accidentally falling into HR at Hewlett-Packard in 1981, to building 90% internal senior leadership bench at Agilent, to leading 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award-winning city government discovering "the city broke me and the city made me whole."✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Accidentally joined HP 1981: "when you want to save the world it's hard to put it in five-year increments"HP 1984-85: saved 1,500 material handlers from layoffs through community college retraining programAgilent 90% internal bench: filled both 2014 split CEO positions entirely from withinBest CEOs are internal hires with outside experience: sent candidates to board programsFort Collins 2017 Malcolm Baldrige winner after 2016 failure provided improvement feedbackCommunity broadband fiber: 25,000 customers, underground fiber beats private competitorsCOVID Future of Work: essential workers get three annual flex days for fairnessPurdue students: "used to think government workers wore gray, now see innovation"Hogan derailers revealed stress denial: "city broke me and made me whole"Metrics: 90%+ acceptance rate, retention gaps analysis, employee experience surveys🌟 Teresa's Key Mentors & Influences:Dick Stewart (Purdue Placement Services): Mentor who set up HP interview saying "only company you should work for has values"Bill Sullivan (Agilent CEO): Initially skeptical ("spread rose petals?"), became two-in-box partner caring about development and business results equallyGene Halloran (Agilent): Developed metrics framework with Teresa (acceptance rate, retention, leadership quality)Darren Atterberry (Previous City Manager): Asked hundreds "do you think local government can be great?" (none said yes), charged performance excellenceZach Mercurio (Fort Collins Author): Wrote "Mattering" about discovering purpose, what fulfills you, what gives joy👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about accidentally falling into HR speaking from heart versus technical knowledge, building 90% internal senior leadership bench at Agilent through intentional outside-experience preparation, and why "the city broke me and the city made me whole"—because seeing your derailers under stress, being willing to look at shadow side and heal them without getting afraid, creates ongoing life challenge felt most acutely in public service.🔗 Connect with Teresa Roche:Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: Teresa Roche Organization: City of Fort Collins, Colorado Website: fcgov.com📄 Transcript Available: Why Great Government Is Possible: Teresa Roche’s Blueprint for Talent, Trust, and Transformation📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com