It's Me. It's Always Me. And If You Are A Leader, It's You Too

Leadership. Human Resources. Supervision. Process Improvement. Conflict. Resolution. Performance. Outcomes. Motivation. 

I've been doing this long enough to know that if something is not going the way that I want it to, the way that I expect it to, or just seems to be continually amiss, it is not long before it circles back to me.

You don't know how many times, or maybe you do, I've started to work through a workplace concern with my coach and ended up sitting back in my chair saying, "It's me. It's all me.  Again." 

It's at these time that I often wonder, "so, what's a nice girl from Long Island doing in a place like this?"

Seriously though, leadership is a series of course corrections and it always comes back to the leader. I shouldn't be surprised but it really is an eye opener for me - each and every time. Am I alone on this?

Photo Credit iStockphoto

Oh to be an HRE

Do you find yourself bogged down in the details of HR at the cost of being strategic? Do you flip through the pages of Human Resource Executive and wonder who those Human Resource Executives (HRE) are anyway? Do you lament because you aren't pictured with tall buildings towering in the background and  an "I can leap tall buildings in a single bound" look on your face?

Quit looking for the yellow brick road and wondering why you can't get there from here - because you can. Yup, if you want to, you can. How? Well, I don't know, but I am in the inquiry to find out. Yes, I could read a book and get lists of 10 handy dandy attributes to succeed but I'm not taking the book learning route; I'm taking the experiential (live it, feel it, breathe it) route to see what I come up with.

Why? To see if I am closer to or further away from being an HRE, (what ever that really means anyway) than I think; to coach others (speaking from experience is very credible); and because, well, the idea was suggested to me as a blog topic (to step a tad out of my comfort zone.)

So, here it goes. First on the agenda is to learn the language. I'll start by connecting more regularly with organizations like Human Capital Institute (I am a certified Human Capital Strategist now, you know) and The Conference Board and reading more blogs by women in business. Then, I'll build thinking time into my week (which should be easier now that I'm adding two new HR professionals to my already amazing HR staff.)

What comes after that? Oh, I don't know but I'll keep you informed as this whole thing unfolds. One thing I do know for sure (I think) is that being an HRE is not an office, a parking spot, a business card or a company name. . . . and it's more than a state of mind. Being an HRE will take more than a photo shoot, a top ten lists of leadership traits, and a pair of ruby red slippers.

And with that, the adventure begins.

Photo credit iStockPhoto