Three

Crucial Competencies

To succeed as an HR leader, develop your strengths in three important areas: You must know yourself, you must stay current with the most recent HR advances and trends, and you must know how to listen to and learn from others. Build credibility, value and trust by emphasizing service to the people in your firm and to the firm itself.

You want to become a steward for other leaders’ performance and careers while not neglecting your own leadership development. Seek experiential learning, for example, by taking on stretch assignments, participating in HR associations, reading journals and attending conferences. Within a framework of servant leadership, develop a “personal leadership philosophy.”

Work to understand your organization’s business beyond the functions of HR. Align HR’s priorities to the company’s strategies and objectives. That means hiring the right talent; developing people and leaders to deliver the right knowledge and skills at the right time; managing and directing change; providing relevant, useful counsel to firm leaders; and creating and maintaining a high-performance culture. Work with board members to meet their priorities...