Reflection Questions for HR Leaders
HR leaders tend to put others’ needs over their own as a rule. If you’re an HR leader, here are a few journaling prompts to settle into that can help you take stock of yourself and the weight of your role.
The personalities that find their way into HR do the work in great service to our organizations and the people therein. The large percentage of HR folks that I have known are the type of people who put everyone else ahead of their own needs and take on loads of responsibility, all while holding up the sky. Being the nexus between all the humans of the organization and the company is a role rife with many challenges. And, being the type of person who tends to take on responsibilities, and not leave time for themselves, makes facing the day-to-day even more challenging.
Here are a few journaling prompts to settle into that can help you take stock of yourself and the weight of your role:
Scope of responsibility: What is on the list of things you are accountable for (if they fail or succeed)? If you could wave a magic wand, what one thing would you change about this list?
Metrics: What are examples of metrics you use to measure your success in your role or on culture projects/initiatives?
Stress / Anxiety: What one thing keeps you up at night the most? Either literally or figuratively. On a scale of 1 to 10, where is your anxiety/ stress level with that issue (where 10 is the worst stress ever)? What would help decrease the anxiety or stress by just one point?
Time for long term vs short term: What one or two things have helped you make sure you are spending the right amount of time working on big picture, long-term strategy things vs dealing with the daily grind of troubleshooting, questions, and unplanned employee needs/requests?
Living values: What are examples of values that feel vivid and alive in your company? What are examples of values that currently feel under-represented or like they’re on “life-support”?
Culture wins: Tell me about a time when you found a culture-shifting tool or idea that worked so well you could really “rinse and repeat” with it.
Career: Where do want your career path to take you 1, 3, or 10 years from now (whichever time frame feels right for your brain :). This could be what kind of company, scope, physical environment, financial possibilities, or anything else. Optional follow-up: What are you currently doing that aligns with this vision? What feels misaligned with this vision?
Consistency: What is a tool or action that has helped you be more consistent/ impactful in helping others reach ‘a-ha’ moments? What is an example of it in action?
Work / Life: Tell me about a time when you felt work/life harmony. What 2 or 3 factors were most important to make that possible?
Choosing battles: Tell me about a time when you chose to ‘pick your battles’ because doing so would help you achieve a greater goal. How did it go?
Influence: Tell me about a time when you were able to change a top leader’s mind that originally felt very strongly about an opposing position. How did you bridge the gap or influence them?
Disengaged: Tell me about a time when you felt you were not a ‘cultural fit’, or felt disenfranchised at your company. What was that experience like, what worked or did not work to get on the right track?
What do you notice about these responses? What stood out to you? What might you want to ask for support around? What might you want to bring forward in light of some of these insights?
