HR Advisors

I am doing a few events, this spring, where I’m talking about high-performing HR advisors. People want to know — what does great HR look like?

Well, I don’t want to dismiss the question. I think it’s interesting. But sometimes I shake my head because … and I hate to be so obvious … who teaches great people to be great?

Nobody. You know that.

What I end up teaching is courage, sorta.

Nobody will fire you for being great, so I challenge my audience to take a risk. Despite what people tell you, go ahead and be amazing and kick ass and break stereotypes and redefine HR and disrupt everything. If you need permission to smash your fucking guitar on stage, you got it. You are invincible when you are right on the facts and you put on a good show.

But let me also give you permission to distance yourself from the show. Move slowly, observe, and only speak when you feel like you have a solid answer. There’s no need to get excited and bang the drum for every goddamn company-wide initiative under the sun. You’re not a circus monkey. You don’t need to perform.

Somewhere between Neil Patrick Harris and Grumpy Cat, high-performing HR departments are getting it done, having fun and doing great work without constantly asking themselves, “Is this okay? Am I doing it right?”

You’re good. You’re fine. Chill out.

I would love to come and see you. I would love to come and talk to you about work. Maybe we can talk about something other than how to be great at HR.