Delivering bad news may be part of HR’s job but it’s easy to become disillusioned if that’s all you’re doing during the day – here, one business leader explains how to overcome the issue.
“There are many HR professionals who struggle to reconcile their passion of helping others develop professionally and personally with the added pressure of often having to deliver the ‘harsh news’,” says Cortney McDermott, a strategist to Fortune 500 executives.
“The HR professionals I’ve worked with have described this inherent conflict as a sort of Jekyll and Hyde paradox that’s just part of the job, but that often leaves them feeling estranged from their co-workers,” continues McDermott.
McDermott – who recently penned ‘Change Starts Within You: Unlock the Confidence to Lead with Intuition’ – says this can quickly cause disengagement among HR leaders as they struggle to form a thicker skin and detach themselves from the organisation.
However, she insists it doesn’t have to be this way.
“The genuine passion of helping others grow, which is what leads most people to HR positions, can remain the primary focus of most HR executives,” says McDermott.
“One way to ensure this is for HR professionals to coach managers on how to have those hard conversations with their team members directly,” she suggests.
“Alternatively, equipping HR professionals to remain objective in delivering harsh news so that they can continue to feel fired up about what they love most can also be helpful. Because when people can focus chiefly on what they’re most passionate about, the results are phenomenal.”
Of course McDermott says HR professionals will always have to do some things that they won’t enjoy – but the question is whether that is your dominant state or not.
“If what doesn’t feel good far outweighs what does, there’s a good chance you’re out of alignment with what’s most important to you,” she tells
HRD.
If that’s the case, McDermott says HR professionals should take some time to course correct.
“In most cases, we’re not talking about a complete overhaul,” she says. “The smallest shifts can bring you back into alignment.”
For leaders who feel disconnected form their passion, McDermott says they should drop, drop, and breathe.
“Your long-term well-being requires tuning out from the distractions and noise of the day so you can tune back in to what’s most important, leading from a place of passionate purpose,” she tells
HRD.
“Tuning out can be as simple as taking a quick walk around the block to clear your head. But even one full breath can bring you back into the power you have right now to change.”
While using deep breathing to reconnect with the moment, McDermott says HR leaders should ask themselves what feels good about their work and how could they do more of it.
“Write down your answers to these questions,” she urges. “Next: commit to what makes you feel good, in small doses to start out.”
According to McDermott, this could be as simple as taking more moments to reset your state.
“When I’m feeling in a funk, for example, I put everything on standby for a 10-minute dance break,” she reveals. “Other times, I might just close my eyes for a 5-minute meditation. This time-out always leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to refocus on what’s important.”
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