battles HR future leader
of the month
I’d like to say being an
HR professional was
part of my grand plan,
but I left school not
knowing my career
preferences. I decided on a
business degree and chose
personnel management
because the modules
looked interesting and it
had a compulsory year in
industry. Now we know it
as human resource
management… and it
turned out I quite liked it.
Andrea Hunter
HR manager
organisation global
purchasing
Organisation:
Jaguar Land
Our
profession
Name:
Job title:
Rover
needs to be better
at being part of the
business not a bolt-on support
HR future leader Personal development
service. There will always be
transactional activities, as with every
department. But HR is also strategic and
can be part of the solution to some of the
biggest business problems. This can be
challenging when there are legislative red
lines we can’t cross. But if we aren’t
included in the discussion we can’t
explain why, or help our business make
something work.
Keeping me busy at the moment is
ensuring we continue to support our
employees and create a stable
environment while the external
influences in the world around
us are making this quite challenging. Our
people are the ones who will get us
through this and it’s important to balance
the business challenges with continued
investment in our people; we in HR have
to be creative about how we do this.
I’ve recently become
hooked on learning
about how our brains
work. This began with
neuroscience and how
our brains influence our
emotions, which for me
is a great way to put
some science behind
what a lot of people
think of as ‘fluffy’ HR. I
started with Steve Peters’
The Chimp Paradox and
am really enjoying Your
Brain at Work by David
Rock. I’m also studying
a graduate certificate
in OD.
The most rewarding
bit of my job is working
with great leaders who
balance driving performance with
being genuine and supportive. I’ve
especially enjoyed partnering newer
managers and watching (and hopefully
helping) them become great leaders.
The most challenging thing about
my job is not taking things
personally, while trying to keep it
personal. By this I mean that during
challenging times like a reorganisation
HR is often seen as the instigator,
when in fact we are there to ensure
fairness. Emotions can run high so you
have to balance not dismissing people’s
reactions with also not taking on
everyone’s worries.
My advice to others is to be open to
different ways of doing things. That
doesn’t mean you have to move jobs
every two years. But do look at and take
in how others do things. HR
If you had a team of people working for you,
and one of them came to you and said that this was their
battle, would you be prepared to back them in this
scenario?
Do you have allies you can call on that will
support you?
Can you be patient enough to choose your moment
for action?
Does this battle have a neutral or positive
impact on your health?
Do you believe you can win?
If you can answer yes to all of the above you should
stick with the battle. If you can’t, think through what’s
motivating you to stick with it.
After you’ve put each battle to the test, rank the
ones that passed in priority order and pick the top
one fi rst.
Identify the allies you need to win the battle and
strengthen your allies and your argument. Back yourself
with facts and data where you need to. Believe in
yourself and with support from your allies pick the
optimal moment to take action. Where you can
just pick one battle at a time so you can focus your
energy and strength. You need to be smart, tactical
and strategic here.
I also want to fl ag that if you have any battles on
your list that you know are having a detrimental impact
on your health and that you know are affecting your
self-care, you need to fi nd a way to make peace
with them and let them go. It may be that you come
back to them in a different way further down the line.
But only if you can put them through the test and they
pass the criteria.
Here’s to moving closer to a happy, healthy and
stress-free life.
Karen Beaven is founder of the HR Entrepreneurs
Network and an IVF and fertility coach. Visit
www.karenbeaven.com and www.ivfcoach.co.uk
hrmagazine.co.uk June 2019 HR 57
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