Groundbreaking ideas and research for engaged leaders
Rotman Insights Hub | University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management Groundbreaking ideas and research for engaged leaders
Rotman Insights Hub | University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

Reset: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval

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Johnny C. Taylor, Julie McCarthy


The way we live and work has been completely transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there may be no going back. Organizations of all shapes and sizes must find new ways of defining and supporting their corporate culture in an era when many of us are working from home. They must also demonstrate a new agility when it comes to finding and developing the talent they need for this rapidly-changing world.

In this video chat with Rotman professor Julie McCarthy, Johnny C. Taylor Jr. shares some of the insights he uncovered while writing his book Reset: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval (PublicAffairs, Sept. 2021). The book draws upon his experiences leading SHRM, the largest HR professional association in the world, and reflects his special interest in broadening the talent pool by considering those who have been traditionally excluded from opportunities due to age, gender or legal status.


Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is president and chief executive officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. With over 300,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world. Mr. Taylor has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and Blockbuster Entertainment Group, McGuireWoods LLC, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was president and chief executive officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He is a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and chairs the President’s Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 
Julie McCarthy is a professor of organizational behaviour and HR management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, with a cross-appointment to the organizational behaviour area at Rotman. She is the associate chair of external relations and strategic initiatives in the department of management at UTSC and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology and the Journal of Business and Psychology. In the corporate sector, Julie has collaborated with behalf public and private corporations including CIBC, Deloitte, Microsoft, TMX, and Rogers.