5 SKILLS NECESSARY FOR THE SUCCESSFUL HR PROFESSIONAL

I was interviewed the other day as an HR “expert.” Naturally I was flattered; I am a sucker for an ego play. They wanted to talk about what it is like to be an HR Professional and what does it take to get there. They asked a number of questions, and I talked for almost 45 minutes on a variety of questions. But, one stuck with me and that was the area of “skills” that go beyond HR knowledge and needed to be a great HR professional.


THE TOP FIVE SKILLS NECESSARY FOR THE SUCCESSFUL HR PROFESSIONAL

Number 1: Speaking Ability
The ability to speak in front of a crowd is a key HR skill for a successful HR Professional. In fact this skill can probably do more for you career than almost any other. To be able to make a presentation or speech with confidence and minus all the “ums” and “likes” and “ers” will set you heads above the others around you. It is well worth time, money and effort to learn how to do it well. Even the ones who are good at it realize that time needs to be put into the craft of making a good presentation. So get yourself to a Toastmasters, Dale Carnegie or some other professional coach and learn how to do this well and in turn you boost your personal marketability in an HR Career.
Number 2: Reading people
The ability to “read” people is another key HR skill. Most of us who have been around have developed an ability to read people. We acquire the ability to sense if someone is lying to us or trying to hoodwink us. We have a feel for “body language” and what it may be telling us about attitudes. This, however, is something we can all get better at with training. You can learn to notice and understand some universal expressions, postures and micro-expressions that reveal subtleties about an individual that will then allow you to better understand how to deal with them.
Number 3: Backbone
The ability to have a “backbone” and not be intimidated is a key trait. Too often HR professionals are seen as being weak because they back down when intimidated by a controlling manager or executive. A “backbone” comes from the strength of your convictions and the strength of your knowledge of your “craft.” The more knowledgeable you are the more confident you will be in your encounters with managers. With that knowledge comes strength. Although age plays a factor it is not sufficient. I have known my fair share of weak HR managers who have been well into their 50s.
Number 4: Empathy
Empathy is the fourth soft skill I consider key to being an HR professional. Without the ability to see another point of view or to understand the nuances of a situation you will be robbed of the ability to make the appropriate decisions at the appropriate time.
Number 5: Listening
The HR skill that I consider the last of my list is “listening.” You must have the ability to put aside you agenda and to listen and “hear” what someone is saying and how they are saying it. You must be able to make the person understand that you have heard what they are trying to say in addition. Generally this requires a focused mind and a disengaged mouth.
Being in HR and doing it well is a tough job. To be a true HR Professional you must have the foresight of Nostradamus, the vision of Issac Asimov, the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the speaking ability of Cicero and the brashness of Theodore Roosevelt. Piece of cake!
Article by Mike Haberman

Leadership lessons for Gen Y

Essential Leadership Lessons for Gen Y - http://pulse.me/s/hfbfI

Tips for first time Managers by Janine Popick

If your company culture is all about empowering employees, your managers need to know how to step back and just listen.

I love promoting people to first-time managers. They now have a different perspective on what their own managers deal with every day, and most of the time, they say something like, "Oh, I get it now. There are PEOPLE involved."

In my opinion, first-time managers should not manage people; they should manage situations and promote ideas for their team. Gone wrong, they get an ego, the perceived power goes to their heads and they end up having a team that not only hates them but now hates working at your company.

People don't just leave a company for money or benefits. They often leave because they don't feel appreciated by their boss. And if they were good, you now have a big hole to fill.

I've seen unsuccessful micromanagers:

• Tell employees what to do every moment of the day (this only works if you hired them to be task managers).

• Interrupt an employee in the middle of a task to tell them what they're doing wrong--especially if they're in an open environment where everyone can hear. (Ouch!)

• Make all the decisions or recommendations instead of asking their employees for input. Outcome? They'll always look to you for what to do and will never feel like they have a stake in a decision. It's just easier that way, to them. Why bother?

In my opinion, here are what successful leaders do:

• Remove hurdles that employees have in their way that are preventing them from getting their jobs done.

• Listen to any issues that team members have, and ask for their recommendations on what a solution should be. Empowerment.

• Gain trust from their team.

At my online marketing company, VerticalResponse, we've done three things to help out managers from top down and bottom up:

1. Instituted a Management Program

Every few months, we bring in a management professional to role-play and go through some interesting situations our managers have gone through. The professional is extremely aware of our culture and how we like to manage, so they lead the team in a direction that promotes it.

2. Leave Doors Open

Anyone should be able to go in and ask a question or pitch a gripe.

3.  Actively make ourselves available at lunches or after work.

People want to talk to managers in a more relaxed environment. When guards are down information flows! The team feels more comfortable and close to the manager when they can talk to them about what they're feeling.

If you've got a micromanager on your team, you need to talk to them about their actions. We've had managers who unnecessarily needed everything to go through them before they let any documents be seen. Heck, some managers didn't even allow their team members to talk to me without them knowing first. (They're long gone now!)

Hey, sometimes managing all the details is needed, but if you set up your company culture to empower employees, you've got to let them know to step back and just listen.

Article written by Janine Popick