HR in Action: Learning to Lead

I explored four companies that appeared on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list of 2025: Hilton, Cisco, NVIDIA and PwC. These companies are notable because staffers consistently say they feel appreciated, trusted and supported (Great Place to Work, 2025a).

HR Practices at These Companies It puts people first, focusing on trust inclusion and empowerment of staff. A lot of its employees describe the workplace as one in which they can bring their “whole selves.”

Cisco promises flexible work policies and a strong commitment to learning and career development which should get employees on track to develop new skills (Great Place to Work, 2025b).

NVIDIA funds from a strong culture, innovation and acknowledging its employees. It is also counted among the top HR companies in India (Human Resource Executive, 2025).

PwC has continued to rise on the Best Companies list to #20 in 2025 by concentrating on growth, feedback and creating an environment where all people are able to “flourish” (PwC, 2025).

These companies embody concepts we have read about: designing work to allow employees to contribute (Breitfelder & Dowling, 2008), building capabilities through training and feedback, inspiring employees with trust and recognition (Garvin, 2013).

The Manager I Want to Be I want to be a manager who listens, empowers and helps others grow. I do believe in expectation setting, consistent feedback and opportunities in development. I want make decisions based on data.

References:

Breitfelder, M. D., & Dowling, D. W. (2008). Why did we ever go into HR? Harvard Business Review, 86(7/8), 39–43.

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, break all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently (2016 ed.). Gallup Press.

Garvin, D. A. (2013). How Google sold its engineers on management. Harvard Business Review, 91(12), 74–82.

Great Place to Work. (2025a). Hilton – Fortune 100 best companies to work for 2025. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/

Great Place to Work. (2025b). Cisco – Fortune 100 best companies to work for 2025. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/

Human Resource Executive. (2025). Most admired for HR: The top 50 companies this year. https://hrexecutive.com/

PwC. (2025). PwC named to 2025 Fortune 100 best companies to work for list.

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