By John Viktorin and Lee Downs
HR leadership is set to become one of the most important HR-related business concepts. It will test the limits of what HR does and how HR adds value to the organization.
Leadership defined
Leadership is multifaceted. It’s about creating a shared vision and communicating it effectively, helping and supporting employees to achieve success, setting direction for the department, team and organization, and inspiring and rewarding stakeholders.
Leadership encourages risks and innovation and isn’t satisfied with middling success. It’s about inviting others to participate in mapping and creating their and the organization’s future. Leadership is a process by which an individual influences others and, most importantly, it must be earned.
HR leadership
HR leadership is a combination of the HR function’s leadership role in the organization and the individual HR professional’s leadership capabilities. Leadership does not happen in a vacuum—it must be based on the organization’s mission, vision, values and strategic direction.
In terms of execution, HR leadership is about acting more like a consultant, coach and business partner in the organization. To be a trusted business partner in this environment, we must educate and re-educate ourselves on both the HR field and our various partners’ fields to fully understand their needs. HR leadership empowers HR professionals to act as internal consultants to our business partners, leaving line managers to handle day-to-day tactical duties.
Business partners
To be a valued business partner, problem solving for our clients (organizations, departments and employees) will need to go beyond the standardized cookie-cutter solutions that HR policies often require. To adapt its practices and policies, HR must learn to speak the language of its business partners. It also needs to overcome misperceptions of HR as cost centre and non-strategic function.
Challenges and potential
As HR’sroles and responsibilities evolve, so must HR professionals. Traditional HR responsibilities such as payroll, recruiting and learning and development are being outsourced by many organizations.
If HR as a profession is to survive, HR professionals must adapt to a changing role within their organizations to justify their continued presence and contribution.
One challenge to shifting the perspective of the HR function to one of HR leadership is that HR professionals are often rewarded for activities that lie outside of a more strategic context, such as disciplining or firing employees.
HR professionals need to think outside of their usual comfort zones to identify the areas that HR leaders impact now and in the future. We need to get these goals into our professional development targets.
Human resources should also champion new and interesting programs, such as corporate social responsibility, organizational ethics, change management, talent identification and succession planning to align itself to this strategic, business partner organizational landscape.
Moving forward
HR is often to blame for its lack of leadership potential: we pay lip service to being strategic thinkers and partners, while living in a transactional world.
The HR profession will continue to focus on recruitment, compensation and development regardless of where the actual execution of these takes place. But HR will also need to grow to more fully contribute to the organization in terms of its brand and performance.
HRPA’s HR leadership PD in a Box workshop provides the tools and skills to shift HR’s mindset from transactional to one of HR leadership—building a new role that includesHR visionaries, navigators, communicators, translators, facilitators and influencers. Think of it as your manual for what comes next.
Lee Downs and John Viktorin are partners in Amoeba Communications a consulting firm that creates communications that engage people and drive performance. They are the go-to team for leaders seeking high impact, high value solutions in four areas: organizational communications, change management, HR communications and leadership communications. You can reach Lee and John at www.engagecanada.com or by calling 416-535-3350.
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