The Intersection of Leadership and Human Resources in Organizations

A career in HR requires a business mind with a people focus. This includes understanding a company’s goals and objectives, financial performance and industry trends.

HR leaders’ top priorities for 2020 included responding with agility and driving leadership, culture and employee experience. They also cited establishing and radiating purpose and mapping talent to value as important.

Leadership and HR

One of HR’s key responsibilities is to create an employer value proposition that resonates with potential employees. This requires a deep understanding of the company’s culture, mission and values as well as an ability to understand what motivates people. In addition, HR leaders must be able to build strong relationships and foster a positive, sustained culture.

They must also have a good sense of what’s needed to make the business run smoothly, and how long-term goals can be achieved with the right level of talent. They must have a solid understanding of the changing world of work and translate it into short and long-term strategic plans that will help the business achieve its objectives.

This kind of problem-solving approach to human resource issues and management issues is what defines a strong HR leader. They are constantly scanning the landscape, looking for trends and predicting how the business environment will change. They also possess an ability to listen and respond quickly, which is a hallmark of effective leadership.

As a leader, an HR executive must be ready to take the lead on difficult issues, such as addressing an issue of harassment or dealing with a crisis situation. Taking a proactive approach to these kinds of situations is essential to building trust. It’s the type of action that will keep people engaged and show leadership’s willingness to step up when the time comes.

An HR leader should also be able to develop and implement an ongoing employee engagement plan. This should be based on the business’s overall strategy and the needs of its employees, including the development of a diverse workforce. The plan should include regular feedback and coaching for all employees, along with career paths to encourage a culture of continuous learning and growth.

Lastly, an HR leader should be able to prioritize initiatives based on their importance and impact to the organization’s bottom line. In a McKinsey survey conducted in May 2020, the majority of HR leaders who attended a virtual conference said they would focus on improving organizational resilience by prioritizing those initiatives that strengthen identity, agility and scalability.

HR’s Role in Leadership

HR professionals are a source of expertise in leadership development. They can assess current leaders and help them build on their strengths to address any weaknesses. They also identify potential new leaders in the organization and provide them with training to grow into those roles.

HR teams deal with a variety of other employee concerns, including benefits, pay, employee investments and pension plans. They also settle conflicts between employees and their managers or coworkers. HR managers often work to find creative solutions that keep people happy and productive while minimizing company risk.

Strong HR leaders use critical thinking to see the big picture of every challenging situation and carefully consider different options before deciding how to proceed. They can recognize the effect of a decision on others, understand the impact of an action on their department and make long-term plans to mitigate risks.

In addition, they must constantly stay in tune with the business environment, technological evolution and global developments that affect the workplace. They can develop policies that reflect the changing times and ensure that they are compliant with legislation, such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires employers to offer health insurance to their employees.

Because HR managers deal with people at all levels of the organization, they must have exceptional interpersonal skills. They must be able to communicate with employees in the same way that they do with management. They must be able to inspire trust and openness in their communication. They also must be able to create channels between managers to prevent personal fiefdoms that stifle teamwork and slow efficiency.

Lastly, HR leaders must be able to create a cohesive leadership culture that promotes the desired organizational values. This is not only done through policies and procedures but also by being a model of the desired behavior and encouraging other leaders to do the same. They must also be aware of the broader workforce and continually seek out ways to engage people from different backgrounds, demographics and cultures in the workplace. This includes developing programs that encourage mentoring and collaboration.

HR’s Impact on Leadership

HR managers, like other management leaders, must embody the desired culture. HR’s remit covers such topics as managing diversity, leading change, building leadership capabilities, and establishing and radiating a purpose. A strong HR team can inspire employees and serve as a magnet for talent. HR must also be a trusted advisor, keeping a finger on the pulse and responding innovatively to shifting business conditions, as well as maintaining an awareness of the broader human ecosystem from which it draws talent.

During the pandemic, HR teams needed to be agile and rethink ways of working in real time. This meant that measured pilots and controlled rollouts were not possible. For that reason, HR managers had to prioritize a broad portfolio of value-creating initiatives. In a McKinsey survey, 27 percent of HR leaders said that over the next two years, they would focus on initiatives that strengthen agility and identity. Driving leadership, culture, and employee experience was second at 25 percent, followed by establishing and radiating a purpose at 13 percent.

Strong HR leaders steward the company’s culture and promote organizational values by demonstrating their own behavior and through the actions of their direct reports. They develop relationships of trust and respect, are transparent and honest in their dealings, and lead with integrity. They also encourage open communication and a sense of community among employees. They set standards for regular one-on-one meetings between managers and their direct reports, monthly skip-level meetings, town-hall meetings, Q&A sessions with leadership, and other communication mechanisms.

Leaders must be able to identify and develop future leaders. This requires a combination of HR’s identification and selection, learning and development (L&D), and the organization’s performance management processes. Ideally, HR and L&D work together to establish a cyclical process of identifying potential leaders, developing them through leadership training, and then moving them into leadership positions in the business.

As organizations move back into full-time operation, many will increase the use of temporary workers and freelancers. This will require HR to develop policies and procedures for hiring, pay, and other issues. It will also require HR to develop a broader view of talent by considering options outside the company, including what types of contracts are available, and how companies in their industry or sector engage contingent workers.

Leadership’s Impact on HR

Leadership and human resources management are often paired in the workplace. Leadership and HR are both critical aspects of company operations, and their departments need to work together to ensure employee satisfaction and business success. While some people see these two management styles in conflict, effective business leaders can distill the strengths of each approach and implement a strategy for meeting long-term goals while managing day-to-day personnel issues.

The most important function of HR is determining the company’s culture and setting expectations for employees. This is particularly true during recruitment, when HR must communicate the organization’s values to potential hires and make sure they are a good fit. The department is also responsible for building the company’s internal processes and ensuring compliance with laws that govern how workers should be treated.

It is not always easy for HR to build a company’s culture, but it can help by focusing on creating an environment where employees can thrive. This includes fostering high morale, which is crucial to productivity. High morale reduces distraction and motivates employees to put their full effort into achieving organizational goals. It is also important for HR to provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow. In fact, according to a 2022 LinkedIn study, companies that focus on career development and promoting employees internally tend to retain them for twice as long as those that don’t.

In addition to building a positive culture, HR must also be able to handle constant change. Almost every business decision will impact employees in some way, and the HR department must be able to plan for and adapt to these changes. The best HR managers are able to find solutions for even the most challenging situations.

Many chief human resource officers (CHROs) say that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted them to shift from a model focused on cost-efficiency and process to one that prioritizes people and their wellbeing. However, this is a shift that they will need to continue to cultivate if they want their departments to thrive in the future. Achieving this will require both leadership and HR to rethink their current operating models and ways of working.