People Team to the rescue!! But is it helping?
Why did you choose a career in HR, why did you want to be part of the People Profession? For most, it’ll be because they wanted to help make things better. In fact, Indeed has ‘to help others’ as the number one reason why you might want to start a career in HR.
It’s realistic to have a career in HR, where you make a difference, and you make things better. But who decides what making things better really looks like?
A question we should keep asking ourselves is, "are we helping or harming" leadership confidence, capability, and effectiveness with what we do?
What do I mean by this?
How many times has it hit the fan, and you’ve stepped in to fix it?
How many times have you been doing something for a leader and been thinking, “This is their job!”?
How often do things not get done or not get done well because the leader doesn’t care enough or feels unable to do it?
By considering the reality of what’s happening, we can understand if what we're doing is positive, or not.
Are we part of the problem?
Whilst we might be stepping in when it's really the Leader's responsibility, and we are doing it to protect them and care for the colleague, ultimately, is this the right thing for the long-term?
We need to explore why the circumstances are presenting themselves.
Are we making it too easy to opt out? After all, who doesn’t like someone else to take care of the difficult job we don’t want to do?
We need to understand the organisational expectations of Leaders and Leadership, and therefore, as a People Team, are we enabling that or getting in its way?
Getting the big picture right.
By getting clear on the role and expectations of Leaders and the role and expectations of the People Team, we can understand better and move towards that, or away from it, if that's not the type of HR work we want to do.
If you lead the People Team, make this a priority. By getting clear on this, you make your team’s job a lot easier from the outset, not easy, but easier.
If we are clear on what’s expected and what’s needed, then it's easier to have the confidence to push back and ensure, when that's the direction of travel, for the Leader to own it, giving them the support they need through coaching and feedback.
In my view, the aim of any People Team should be enabling those leading to do so independently. They should be engaged, enabled, and empowered to be accountable for their leadership responsibilities.
The People Team’s role is to shape and enable it through a strategic focus on experience and culture, and supporting that with clear expectations, frameworks, development, and support. These should all be pointing towards Leaders being clear on what’s expected of them, having the tools to do it well and the development and support they need so they are confident in taking action.
If the People Team is only known for fixing problems, then that will be and continue to be its primary function. In my opinion, this harms leaders, and it harms the People Team.
What can we do on an individual level?
We might not be able to fix or control the big picture, but all People Professionals can influence and work with the Leaders they partner with to enable them to grow.
For me, this was one of my favourite parts of working directly with Leaders, engaging them in what their role truly is, ensuring they had the skills and mindsets they needed and empowering them by building their confidence.
Anyone can do this.
So, when you identify that you are potentially contributing to a way of working that isn’t placing leadership ownership and action where it should be, consider these steps:
1) Identify what the actual issue is.
2) Call it out in a supportive way.
3) Agree on a new way forward.
4) Change how you engage, providing support, feedback, and coaching.
5) Be consistent with the change.
This isn’t about not helping, but it is about helping in a way that doesn’t continue a dependency or behaviour that is harmful to leadership.
You might get a buzz from saving the day, but how about getting a buzz from seeing a Leader you support learning, growing, trying, and evolving. You’ll have helped make that happen.