How To Succeed In HR: 15 Leaders Share Words Of Wisdom

This is a repost from Forbes Article Authors Forbes Human Resources Expert Panel 8/25/2022

For some, leaders in Human Resources represent the "heartbeat" of an organization—advocating for other people and giving them a platform to have a voice. Demonstrating empathy to your subordinates fosters an environment of psychological safety that can increase trust between leaders and their teams and improve morale and high-performance outcomes.

Newly hired employees also appreciate nurturing mentors and seasoned co-workers who are willing to invest their time and energy to teach them the ropes. Here are 15 important lessons that members of Forbes Human Resources Council have learned over the years from those who have maintained their leadership positions in HR a little longer.

1. Make Yourself Accessible To The Team

Never underestimate the importance of being available to your employees. Visiting multiple locations of the business allows for open dialogue, making every employee feel heard. It also provides insight into what matters most. HR leaders should maintain this availability during remote work to keep in touch with what works for employees and to ensure all members of your company feel their voice is appreciated. - Jennifer Reimert, Workhuman

2. Be A Strong Advocate For Others

The best advice I have received is to recognize that every decision and policy made in HR impacts the organization's employees in some way. I learned not to take that lightly and to use my voice and position to advocate for those who can't advocate for themselves. Lastly, I learned that HR is not just a support function within an organization. If done right, HR can be the heartbeat of the organization. - Raven Lee, Raven Lee Consulting LLC

3. Internalize Credibility To Drive Innovation

I learned many things from Matt Harmon, VP of HR at AutoZone. He taught me that you have to internalize credibility to drive change. In addition, you must be willing to take risks in deploying new HR technology quickly. When people trust their leader cares deeply about people, has a vision and understands ROI, amazing results are achieved. - Dinesh Sheth, Green Circle Life

4. Try Something New

As the adage goes, "Great ideas don't happen sitting behind a desk." I am a big believer in time blocking and daily routines but that rarely works well with experiencing new things! What I learned from my mentor was that as much as daily routines are good for long-term, sustainable progress, moments of inspiration rarely happen behind a desk. To this day, I am intentional about trying something new once a week. - Rachel Fletcher, Projekt202

5. Listen To Understand

Being privileged to have several mentors with much more experience and wisdom than me, they taught me to prioritize listening and give people a platform to talk about themselves. Prioritizing time for others gave me the "edge" over my peers. I’ve gained a more intimate understanding of what makes people tick, what their greatest fears are and how they prefer to be managed. - Catalina Schveninger, DataCamp

6. Show Empathy

Nothing, absolutely nothing, replaces actually caring about your team. If they know with certainty that you have their back and they feel safe and secure in bringing their whole self to their job without fear of losing it, it ties directly back to employee retention, morale and high-performance levels. - Russell Klosk, Accenture

7. Dress For The Role You Want

When I first started my career in HR, my chief HR officer told me to "always dress for the part you want, not the part you have." And that was to be taken literally not only in the clothing choices, but also figuratively. You need to see the picture in your head to strategize and transform the role that you're currently in to the role you want. This has helped me develop into a better strategic leader in HR. - Evelyn Reed, Jacent Strategic Merchandising

8. Think Before You Act

It's important to listen. Sometimes we jump into action mode and forget to actually listen to the words, actions and heartbeats coming out of the company. Taking a step back to really listen, learn and then put actions in place is an invaluable lesson I've learned from past mentors. - Iman Abbasi, Plume Design, Inc.

9. Empower And Educate New HR Colleagues

Sometimes just doing your job isn’t enough, you also have to help educate. For tenured HR employees, interviewing, screening, hiring, onboarding and training are intuitive, but for candidates who are new to the job search process, this is unfamiliar territory and additional explanation may be required. Whether or not they’re hired, a positive candidate experience is an investment in the future. - John Feldmann, Insperity

10. Keep The User Experience In Mind

I love operations and processes. Being able to understand these areas has been an important skill in my toolbox. Some years back, I received a brilliant piece of advice from a chief HR officer: "Process is the track on which things run but it's not representative of the user experience. Always design with the lens of a great experience first, then construct the process to create it." This tip has transformed my perspective and is now in my DNA and how I build. - Jonathan Reyes, Reejig Corp

11. Prioritize Inclusivity And Mental Health

Be your authentic self and prioritize team health. A relatable, emotionally commented leader who interacts with transparency and vulnerability creates a safe and inclusive space where teams can thrive and experience joy. Creating healthy team dynamics fosters a highly productive environment to include team synergies that maximize each other's strengths. - Britton Bloch, Navy Federal

12. Pay It Forward

The best advice I've received is to pay it forward. Throughout my career, I've been blessed to receive mentorship and be made aware of opportunities that allowed me to tap into my gifts. Though I'd love to pay everyone back, I was advised to pay it forward by seeing, hearing and really getting to know your teammates. This allows for great business and personal relationships, in addition to good karma! - Joyce Jelks, Wieden + Kennedy

13. Provide Positive Feedback To Balance The Negative

One skill that's been invaluable to me is providing positive feedback, especially when I’m giving feedback that may be seen as negative. A longtime mentor with much more management experience than I modeled this technique well by always starting these conversations with something positive and gently piggybacking off that into whatever the issue was. This kept morale strong and motivation high. - Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations, Inc.

14. Use Your Voice

Having a voice in the workplace is crucial. Being invited to sit at the table is key but having yourself heard is even more important. Many times, HR leaders walk away from a meeting and end up with the "action items" from those around them. Use your voice in the meeting and be heard. Make sure you are a good communicator and a good listener because if you have those key pieces under your belt, being heard comes easier. - Heather Smith, Flimp Communications

15. Keep A Pulse On The People

I’ve learned that the landscape (including people and talent) is always changing. As an HR leader, if you are not actively keeping a pulse on people’s evolving needs and desires, it is likely you’ll fall out of touch. Stay relentlessly abreast of current situations to ensure you understand the main priorities. - David Tripp, Sage Dental