Newbies In Leadership – How to Rock Your Position

HR Pros, I’m sure you can remember the first time your boss gave you ‘that assignment’ to see how you would hold up on your own.

By definition, Leadership means – the action of leading a group of people, or an organization. I got it from Google, so I know it’s true. As an HRNewbie, there will be several task and decisions thrown your way, so here are a few ways you can rock your role as a leader.

1. Lead, don’t boss – Some people believe these two words are the exact same and this isn’t true. To lead a team you must be able and willing to listen, discuss, be critiqued, and show action like the rest of your team. To boss, you’re simply telling people what to do. Show your team member how you want the job done, work beside them, give them feedback. Not only will your superior notice, your team members will feel better about their jobs.
2. Pay Attention – I honestly believe HR has so much paperwork, because we read the same document multiple times to make sure we are getting the best understanding, or maybe it’s just me. Pay attention to the details, pay attention to your team needs.
3. Be Transparent – Employees provide your customers with service, remember that as a new leader, they will follow your lead.
4. Show Them – This goes with being transparent, show your team exactly what you are expecting from them, remember all forms of communication.
5. Have Fun – HR has enough serious moments in the career, take the time to enjoy and appreciate your team members and yourself. Remember that everyone is not the same and get to know your employees for who they are organically.

For my managers, I like to go into the store and watch how they are managing the store during rush. There are some managers that can stand in one position and lead the team on where each person needs to be and what they need to be doing. This, to me, is leadership. The manager is showing authority and allowing the team members to pull their own weight, but he/she is not sitting in the office expecting them to figure it all out. Then you have the managers who are working and not in a good way. These managers are doing all of the work, bouncing from station to station while the team members kind of stare at them. These are the team members that need more training and given then opportunity to show their manager what they can actually do. Your team member will get far more from their position and give you more if they are able to effectively complete their job.

Always remember, leadership isn’t just a fancy word you get to attach to your resume, kind of like “culture” shouldn’t be attached to every company, just for the sake of fitting in. Leadership is an action that you must put work into in order to be successful. 

HRTribe, how do you define leadership?

Until Next Time …