Don’t Feel Lonely: HR Professionals
As an HR Professional do you often find yourself feeling isolated and don’t know where to turn for support? You may be seen as the ‘go-to’ person within your company. Everybody from the Managing Director to the apprentice will come to you when there is an HR issue or they want support to develop themselves or their teams.
But what about you, who do you, talk to? How do you improve your performance and make sure that you don’t get pigeonholed into a transactional HR role?
There was an interesting article in Forbes which described the key challenges for HR professionals in 2016, it spoke about being able to deal with issues such as reputation management and harnessing learning and knowledge management within the leadership teams. To face these sorts of challenges you need to be able to step into a much more strategic role and be recognised by the Executive Team for having the skills to deal with not only challenges that face the organisation now but take a conceptual view of what is to come.
This is where the HR Coach can come into play for you. I know you are fully aware of the definition of coaching but here’s a short summary which I am sure will resonate with you.
‘Coaching targets high performance and improvement at work and usually focuses on specific skills and goals, although it may also have an impact on an individual’s personal attributes such as social interaction or confidence. The process typically lasts for a relatively short defined period of time, or forms the basis of an ongoing management style.’
Experience has also shown me that coaching helps to develop strategic skills, influencing skills and negotiation. It’s not just about challenging yourself to change it is also about influencing the executive team into accepting HR as a strategic and influential part of the business!
As an HR professional who is used to helping others all the time, you need to take time out and look at your own personal development. Although you may be a trained coach and support others within your company, you may find that having an independent coach who can be a confidential sounding board can make a huge impact on you.
In addition, you need someone that has operated in a senior leadership position as well, so truly understands the pressures of the HR function and how you can take a step up and show your company that HR has an impact at every level. To succeed the company needs your leadership to achieve all its goals.
Now is the time to think about yourself as you start making plans for financial investment for the year ahead. Make yourself the promise that in 2016/17 you will put your personal development at the top of your list of priorities. You will find this investment will have a knock-on effect on all parts of the company so it is well worth doing. If you come to Penny Strutton Ltd and use our HR Coach service this is how you will benefit:
- Help bridge the gap between HR and business strategy.
- Develop skills to influence, lead and embed change.
- Develop confidence and purpose for the wider HR function.
- Plus develop skills required to progress in your career.
We are passionate about helping HR professionals transition into driving business strategy, productivity and profitability. So now is the time to stop feeling lonely and speak to us about our coaching programme, which will support you on a personal level and help you to gain influence within the company. Contact me at penny@pennystrutton.co.uk or call 0115 880 0098.