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The good ones are gone!
The conversations I am having about and with HR are just mindblowing. Here are a few.
CEO: My HR is a disaster. She ruined everything. Look at my company's reputation. She has been here for 3 years, but I should have fired her on day 2. I need somebody to come and fix things.
My question is; Who allowed that HR to be there for 3 years? You!
COO: Nobody likes HR here. My employees don’t like to go to them, they are somewhat hostile to my people, the processes don’t exist and the whole thing is just a very old-fashioned system. HR is disliked and doesn’t support a business.
My question is; Who allowed that HR to be there for 17 years? You!
Head of HR: I got fired because I fired the person who sexually harassed a co-worker unfortunately he was the friend of the boss.
My question is; Priorities?
CHRO: I left because I wanted to make the necessary changes, i.e., allow people to take holidays, don’t work 12 hours a day, act on what the engagement surveys were saying, and change the performance management structure to allow performance improvement instead of just going through the process. I conveyed the voice of my employees to the CEO, who didn’t like the critique. I got fired because apparently, I am not a business partner and I wanted to follow the labour law.
My question is; Why do you hire a senior person when you just want a puppet?
HR Director: I left because the CEO didn’t allow me to change anything and I could only do what he said or approved in HR.
My question is; CEO person, what made you an HR expert?
Head of HR: I raised a series of issues with my CEO regarding unfair pay structure, hiring process, and bonuses but I was dismissed. I am not even involved in salary increases. I am looking for another job.
My question is; CEO person, are we serving the/your community or the organisation?
The business world is full of conversations in which senior leaders either leave bad HR in place and don’t want to take action or make all the decisions (often wrong ones) and don’t allow HR to do its job. Imagine a COO telling me “I hate my HR, everyone does. She is such a useless.” But when I ask what the plan is for her, The only answer is; You know, I don’t want to hurt her feelings and here we are a family so we don’t fire people. Well, then you and your people will continue suffering and that's on you!
On the other extreme, you encounter incompetent and unethical HR professionals climbing the career ladder despite a trail of ethical complaints. Some HR individuals remain in the same role for 10-20 years, contributing little value to the organization or its people. They navigate their careers by avoiding mistakes, but they also avoid doing anything impactful. Instead, they focus on keeping upper management happy, relying on these relationships to stay secure in their positions. Unfortunately, organizations mirror this behaviour—barely staying afloat. These HR professionals survive through these parasitic relationships, at the expense of the organization and everyone else involved.
Talented HR professionals are leaving organizations, in one way or another. Some are being pushed out, while others walk away because they’re not allowed to do their jobs effectively. This leaves organizations with three types of HR: those coasting on a paycheck by doing the bare minimum, those actively harming the organization in various ways, and those who seem talented but are stuck in an old-school mindset, simply repeating what’s always been done. An HR person who blindly agrees with everything the boss says or suggests isn’t a good HR professional—and neither is one who mistakes stagnation for expertise.
As a senior leader ask yourself these questions:
What do you expect from your HR?
Why do you have the need to interfere in HR’s job? Did you hire that badly?
What makes you think that you have the expertise in HR?
High-performing leaders hire the right talent and let them do their jobs. If someone isn’t performing, they replace them—but they don’t step in and do the work themselves. You wouldn’t do that with Finance or Marketing, would you? So why is HR any different? The truth is, that you don’t understand HR, which is why you can’t manage them or even articulate clear expectations. That’s how someone can cruise through 16 years without adding any real value—and why it’s only after those 16 years you realize they’ve been doing nothing useful. So why are we, of all people, telling HR how to do their jobs?
The biggest issue with HR is that CEOs and senior leaders often aren’t clear about HR’s role or what they expect from them. Since no one truly understands the job, no one can effectively supervise it. The solution? Hire the best, set clear expectations and KPIs, and let them do their work. But you might ask, “If I don’t know what they’re supposed to do, how can I set KPIs?” Simple—HR’s job is to support the business. Hand them your business plan—the one that outlines what you want to achieve—and tell them their job is to help you make it happen. Then, leave them to it.
That’s it really! It is that simple. And when you understand that you won’t be firing or letting go of the ones that want to perform and keeping the ones that don’t.
If you need help let us know. HR doesn’t have to be that difficult if you have the right people and let them do what needs to be done.
In this video, I talk about senior leaders trying to micromanage HR.
00:06 HR professionals should focus on actions, not self-glorification or victimhood 02:55 HR professionals need to understand and acknowledge the complexities of managing people. 05:39 HR needs to focus on competence before claiming credit 08:29 HR professionals struggling with mental health impacts their ability to solve organizational problems 10:50 Business leaders should not micromanage HR functions. 13:33 HR blames leaders for implementing tools they dislike 16:10 HR needs to present data and provide alternatives when introducing new processes. 18:37 Addressing accommodation concerns and finding alternative solutions. 20:41 Avoid victimhood and helplessness mindset in HR professionals. 23:04 Focus on building support from your employees to become a successful leader. 25:24 Boosting struggling employees for better work performance 27:30 Take action without seeking sympathy or excuses.
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