HR Blogging: Going for Gold

American viewers have been sold a load of goods. For years, we were told that Olympic female gymnasts and figure skaters are princesses. Pretty—sometimes petite—women who are captivating, enchanting and virtuous.

These women are warriors. Thanks to the popularity of fitness blogs and protein supplements at the local Target, more of us know about sports science and what it takes to get your body into shape. Takes more than unicorn tears and pixie dust to execute a floor routine or a triple salchow jump.

I’ve been thinking about the warriors in the HR blogging field, this weekend. Who trains hard and writes what’s true? Where are our HR Olympic athletes? Who’s going for gold in HR blogging?

Anybody who writes about HR is operating at a level higher than most individuals. Also, gotta love people who have blogs and try to write a few times each week. Keeps their thinking fresh. Shows that they’re interested in topics outside themselves. I don’t hate it.

But there’s something about people who commit to writing and invest their heart and soul in the process. That’s why I’d like to hand out Olympic medals to a few bloggers. Gold, silver, bronze. Only three spots on the podium. No participation awards.

Here we go.

Individual Women

Gold: Robin Schooling — An Amazing storyteller with longevity in the space. As America’s HR lady, she’s very generous with her time and will mentor new writers.

Silver: Sharyn Lauby — Understands HR, understands technology, and can’t stop writing good books on the subject.

Bronze: Sarah Morgan — She’s the hardest working woman in HR blogging. Writes with truth and passion. Watch her career grow.

Individual Men

Gold: Tim Sackett — Undisputed heavyweight champion of HR blogging and HR tech. Style, substance, and integrity. Pick up the phone and call him. He’ll make time for you.

Silver: Steve Browne — The ambassador of Human Resources has a long-time blog, book, and speaking tour to reshape HR. Plus he has a big heart.

Bronze: Jonathan Segal — Who likes lawyers? You should! Jonathan has a rising career as the voice of a smarter and more nuanced approach to employee management.

Pairs (Team Blogs)

Gold: RecruitingDaily — Come for the recruiting news and technology, stay for the fantastic content on social issues and cultural topics.

Silver: SHRM blog — Maybe I’m biased, but half the authors are my friends who have flourished as writers. Required reading.

Bronze: TLNT — Once a fresh-young media site, TLNT has grown and matured over the years. On the comeback. Love a comeback story!

Who did I exclude? Nearly everybody. Good people. Honest writers. My friends and colleagues who write like champs. Just because you’re not on the list doesn’t mean you’re not an athlete. Keep waking up early, training the mind, and writing quality content. The road to HR blogging Olympic gold is long, but the medal doesn’t make the writer. It’s the journey