Advice to my younger self

Reflections on 20 years of HR – advice to my younger self.

As I am transitioning back into the interim, portfolio market, I have been speaking to many people and talk about my 20 years of experience in HR. I can’t believe, its over 20 years, time really does fly.

I remember well as a younger HR professional being the knowledge expert in the room could at times be daunting and I felt the need to know all the answers there and then. I could also be ridged in my thinking, seeing things only from one perspective. Years of experience, achieving outcomes and making mistakes along the way has made me the rounded, pragmatic, commercially minded HR professionals that I am today. If I could talk to my younger self, here are some of the pieces of advice I would provide.

1. You don’t have to have the answer in the moment, whilst there are wrong ways to deal with situations, there isn’t always one right way. It is okay to take time to consider a situation, reflect on what has been said and come back with an answer. Having the confidence to say just let me have a think about what you have said I’ll come back with some options, is sometimes what is needed to get the right solution.

2. You have to provide options, risks but ultimately the manager must decide, I say to those that I give advice to, you can make any decision you like, the question will be whether it morally and legally right. In any decision there are risks and sometimes they go beyond the employment risk. Our job is to provide options, solutions, the pros and cons and the risks. It is then the decision makers job to decide on a course of action, not mine.

3. You can’t please everyone, so do the right thing for the right reasons and stand behind your decision. In a company with 100’s or 1000’s of colleagues in it, decisions will never suit everyone. A benefit that is introduced may appeal to a range of employees, however criticism can come from those who have no interest. My advice is when make decisions knowing why you’ve made them, they should align to your values and what you’re setting out to achieve. Make the decision in this light, and then when questioned unapologetically explain the why and stand behind what has been agreed.

4. The collective brain is a wonder. Make time to share, thoughts, ideas and problems, the best ideas come from discussions, shared experiences, and time to chat ideas over. As a leader, I know I don’t have all the answers, but what I do have is the ability to facilitate discussion, encourage ideas and appreciate the skills and knowledge in my team.

5. Look at the world through others eyes. It is easy to criticize and take a view from what you can think is happening. An example of this is often managers are criticized for now doing what they are asked to, and the assertion can be one of incompetence, but when you dig deeper there are other factors. It can be confusing for Managers to understand what is expected from all the functions, often when resource is tight they maybe covering for people in their team and will be short of time, they are at the forefront of the customers and their demands can take priority. It is important to look at issues, e.g. want managers to follow process, that it is looked at from their others eyes, otherwise the solution to resolving the issue may simply be wrong.

6. Don’t make judgement until you have all the facts. Over the years I have gasped in horror as employees’ situations and circumstance have been relayed to me. Over the years, I have become calmer as Managers and Leaders tell me their stories. What I have found is there are always two sides to every story and usually the truth lies in the middle, so a calm levelheaded approach is required. My motto, we’ll take one step at a time and then we’ll do the next best thing.

What advice would you give your younger self?