What makes HR professionals? What qualities are essential in the HR department today and what skills should you have?
Innovation seminars have never been as popular as they are today and have likewise never been so unsuccessful. But why is this so? Because people come before process.
For one thing, we know that organizations that don't innovate will perish. But man in himself is not an innovator. He may be able to slowly adapt to external conditions as a biological organism, but he is not really innovative. Nevertheless, there are innovators among us and only innovators can drive innovation and only innovative-minded people can find such innovators.
Therefore, it should be the aspiration of many HR professionals to develop innovative traits and skills. After all, HR professionals are primarily responsible for whether a company is doing well or not. It is only in your power to bring in a breath of fresh air and to initiate innovations through new people and ideas.
So without innovative HR professionals, companies are not moving with the times, and unfortunately, this means that these companies are moving with the times.
Fortunately, there are one or two innovative HR managers out there, and as it is with such characters, all of these HR managers were willing to give us an interview. We then broke down these interviews into 5 essential characteristics and 5 essential skills of innovative HR professionals.
Flexibility: Expertise must be continuously renewed, because only then does one put oneself in a position to respond with true flexibility to new situations and opportunities.
Mindfulness: Ultimately, innovative HR leaders read their environment, use critical information from internal and external sources to continuously redefine strategies, visions and decisions.
Agility: work will become increasingly agile, and it is this change that innovative HR professionals will accompany and support. An innovative leadership role should and must be taken in this regard.
Creativity: Creativity always begins in the company by adopting different perspectives. This is central for innovative HR professionals, because only then can new ideas be spontaneously presented and represented.
Courage: It always takes courage to act. You must advocate your positions with conviction and do so even in situations where your decisions are likely to be criticized. Courage is where the path to the all-important skills of an innovative HR professional begins, because it takes courage to change.
Reflectivity: one skill brings all the others together and therefore it acts as a link between traits and skills. The innovative HR manager is open to criticism and multiplies the means to deepen their self-knowledge to better understand their strengths, limitations and motivations.
Business acumen: Innovative HR practitioners need some business acumen, they need to understand what is happening in the markets and how customer needs are changing. After all, this is the only way new projects can emerge. Spontaneously, this turns interesting data into opportunities.
Results orientation: The innovative HR manager ensures that work is done in the best possible way to reduce costs, improve performance or reduce time wastage.
Communication: In HR, interpersonal is always important and especially in the area of communication, the characteristic of creativity helps. Thus, communication always takes place optimally when one can take the perspective of the other person.
Vision: The innovative HR manager clearly foresees the future of the organization and his department and anticipates the needs and requirements that will change in the medium and long term. In this regard, it helps to think specifically laterally.
What is interesting here is that traits and skills are in perfect proportion to each other.
Reflectiveness <-> Flexibility
Because only those who have the necessary expertise and are flexible in spirit can really question themselves.
Communication <-> Creativity
Communication only takes place when you can put yourself in the other person's position.
Results orientation <-> Agility
Results are achieved faster and more sustainably with some degree of agility.
Business acumen <-> Mindfulness
Only those who are truly mindful and think outside the box can move their business forward.
Vision <-> Courage
Every vision, every innovation and every idea requires courage. That's why an HR professional in the 21st century needs courage first and foremost.
Qualities can be cultivated and then help to acquire the appropriate skills. We at jacando accompany you in this process as a partner.
Courage to act will always remain the most important quality. But not just acting somehow, but on the basis of a vision, on the basis of your vision. The lack of courage to act is innovation killer number 1:
This is how you tend to be appeasing at the decisive moment, when you should actually be assertive. Because only then can you influence like-minded people towards a significant change of habits. You have to seduce your colleagues and perhaps even manipulate them a bit, and only by confidently expressing your bold ideas.
You may also pull back when it would be necessary to intervene in a difficult situation. Because without spirited intervention, your ideas - even the most innovative ones - will peter out before they reach implementation mode.
But how can you now develop the courage to act in a very concrete way in order to be more innovative as a result?
If you must present an innovative idea that might upset others, be prepared to face objections by building your case in advance:
Explain the source of your ideas and specifically state and break down facts. After all, if people understand the reasons behind your ideas and feel they have a say in their part of the creative process, they'll be more likely to trust you.
Find out specifically about your industry, your company's products or services, and your competitors. After all, only by understanding your company's problems can you deliver relevant HR solutions that will be well received.
Visit other HR departments. Talk to HR colleagues in other organizations. Shifting perspectives helps generate creative ideas.
With this in mind, attend conferences or seminars. Read professional journals and keep up with relevant news.
Trust your intuition, because only then will you really allow yourself to dream and come up with ideas that are off the beaten path.
The relationship between innovative traits and skills can help you do just that. Traits lead to skills and only traits are what create your own.
Ultimately, it's about having the courage to communicate a structured idea in a factually based and engaging way. Only then will you move from being an HR manager to an innovative HR professional.
We just read it: An important characteristic of HR professionals is innovative strength. This is exactly where transformations, such as becoming a digitized HR department, count. Learn in this white paper how you can succeed in this transformation:
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