HR leaders often deal with seemingly never-ending “people-problems” that arise among employees, leaders, and teams.
Why is that?
People who become leaders and managers in their companies are typically promoted to those positions because of their
- talent,
- work ethic, and
- ability to get results.
What’s often missing for these leaders is the skill set and mindset to know how to
- lead effectively,
- motivate, and
- care for the people on their teams (aka ’emotional intelligence’)
As a result, “people problems” arise, and they are handed to HR to “fix.”
This puts a lot of pressure on HR, and on top of that, HR isn’t WITH the people on a daily basis. So they can’t be expected to step in and fix everything without knowing the context.
There is a better way! It’s time to teach a new mindset and skill set to managers.
HR can offer leaders:
- a better understanding of human behavior
- advocating for meeting people where they are and treating them equitably
- training in the ability to coach, mediate and resolve conflict
By doing this, HR empowers leaders to be proactive in leading their teams through conflict and challenges. This is a win-win for everyone involved! (And it means leaders learn how to “fish” for themselves, rather than HR “catching the fish” for them.)
The role of HR shouldn’t always be solving every people-related problem.
The role of HR can be a partner to TEACH and COACH the leaders through the mindset and skill set of solving their own people-problems.