A lot of research shows that good Human Resources (HR) people are most likely to succeed as CEOs – after all the biggest challenge any CEO faces is attracting, keeping and deploying the right people to drive organizational success, and this is what good HR people must be adept at! The challenge however, and unfortunately so is that quite a number of the people in HR positions are there only to “cool off from the more rigorous tasks of marketing and operations”; “want a low-stress job” or “are considered unproductive and posted to HR to mark time”.
As brutal as this may sound, it is true, and sincere HR professionals who really want to make a difference cannot because they are subsumed in this pool of mediocrity and a negative perception that people have about HR. If you are looking to add real value as a HR professional and swim against the ugly tide and stereotypes, you should focus on building your skills in these critical areas:
#1: Business Acumen and Strategy:
By understanding organizational goals and priorities and being able to analyze and interpret internal and external realities and trends, HR professionals will become the key drivers for organizational decisions.
#2: Communication and Change:
HR professionals must think, listen, speak, write and plan communication professionally to be able to create the awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement required for transformational change to happen. Once we can do this, organizational leaders will defer to us and rely on our expertise in transforming the hearts and minds of men
#3: Relationships and Organizational Savvy:
If HR people are going to influence their organizations they need to be emotionally intelligent, people-oriented and understand the organizational power structures.
#4: Creativity and Innovation:
Effective HR people must be keen learners, seeking personal development and growth, embracing new ideas and taking risks in sponsoring and driving innovative solutions for their organization. When the CEO or Business Director gives a target – creative HR people will respond with innovative ways of driving human performance, rather than trying to reduce the target.
#5: Project Management and Peak Performance:
Disciplined execution is critical to HR success. Using metrics and measuring return on investment (ROI) gives HR people credibility around their number-crunching CEOs and other business leaders.
#6: Business Technology:
Technology is transforming the world – HR people who understand how to leverage technology can improve HR systems and processes and use technology to drive collaboration, communication and creativity in the organization.
