“The most successful leaders navigate paradox. They know how to manage the tensions.” – Dave Ulrich
If you are an HR person reading this, I am going to double down on something you have likely realized. Your success is in the success of others. This is true for all leaders, but maybe more true, poignantly, for HR leaders.
Successful HR Executives are rarely celebrated in the press, aside from several HR specific publications. Their Bosses certainly are. The department heads in their companies are. But the gratification in life for a successful HR Leader is necessarily found in the success of others that they helped. Helped train, helped mentor, helped compensate and helped navigate politics and corporate BS.
Should this be a motivation for all leaders? Absolutely. Is it something found frequently? No. Is it found more frequently in HR? Almost by necessity, as there is no other choice.
Are there HR Leaders out there that seek the limelight and want to be famous? Certainly. I’d argue that they will be left unhappy in that pursuit, as the art in HR is in focusing on the outcomes of the organization and the Leaders therein. HR fails when it exists for its own sake. In the words of my favorite HR Thinker, Dave Ulrich, quoted above, “HR is not about HR.”
A few examples:
A great labor relations manager must navigate a team through all of the complexities and drama of union contract negotiations, but in the end, it is usually the Factory Manager or the Head of Manufacturing that triumphantly announce the outcome of hard fought negotiations.
A good compensation professional is always thinking ahead and maximizing the resources available to reward and retain talent. I have been honored to work with the best. In the end, theirs may be the most thankless of all thankless jobs, as almost no one is ever completely happy with their pay.
Any HR Generalist/Manager/”Business Partner” is juggling 5-10 sensitive/ugly/confidential problems at any moment in time. They remain silent on these things. Some are never resolved and managed as chronic situations. The successes of those involved in these scenarios are never attributed to the HR pro doing triage behind the scenes.
Good recruiters are worth their weight in gold. Their successes are rarely celebrated, but their occasional duds/misfires are widely discussed.
Am I complaining? Heck no. I accepted my role with gratitude, if not at first, definitely after I’d processed the purpose for the job. Any wins I had were because of my fantastic team, and the truly outstanding people at Nestle, Nestle Purina and the non-profits that have been privileged to work with. I am no martyr but I have thought deeply about what the HR role was about. When I would host large HR Meetings as a CHRO, I would often thank the assembled group for all of the hard things they were handling that no one knew about. That’s the gig.
Message to all leaders, not necessarily HR: Are you putting the success of others on your agenda? Does it register? Certainly it must for your own team members, but how about your peers? Is it a zero sum game with only one winner in every situation, or is there room for your peers to have their moment, their win? Is a great outcome enough to motivate you, or must there be a personal element?
Here’s to the success of others!
