How are you ensuring you have the support you need?

The reality is that HR leaders are always providing support for others. Often they fail to ensure they have the right support in place for themselves.

With the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, HR leaders have been incredibly consumed with many new and unusual responsibilities. Additionally they are tasked with providing even more support to employees for many new issues that have cropped up. A few examples include:

• Helping to plan for and execute the transition of employees to a work from home model
• Planning and executing reductions in force and/or furloughs
• Keeping up with changing regulations due to Covid-19
• Ensuring employees have the necessary support to learn new technologies such as Zoom, Office Teams, Slack or other business communications platforms, and the like
• Assisting employees who are having challenges working with managers who find it difficult to manage a remote team, and likewise, assisting struggling managers
• Reviewing, planning for, and executing return to the workplace plans and strategies
• And more…

An Executive Coach Might Be The Support You Need

I recall when I was working as the head of HR and my boss recognized how much of my in office time was spent supporting our employees. She was curious to know who I had to support me. At the time, I should have asked for the company to provide an executive coach for me to work with to have had the needed support. Fortunately, since I am a professional coach, I knew the importance of having a coach of my own, thus I did reach out for coaching support when I needed it most.

In my coaching practice, I spend a great deal of time connecting with HR leaders. They are typically the ones who hire me to coach others within their organizations. Many HR leaders have spent time connecting with the importance of self-care, especially during these stressful, uncertain times. That often means focusing on getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, or meditating. Many are also focusing on setting boundaries so they are not “on” 24×7 for their companies but rather can be there for their families and for themselves. Whatever self-care methods they select, ideally that care helps them to be their best self.

And, it’s also incredibly important for HR leaders to have support which often means looking outside of their organization. I encourage all HR professionals who want to ensure they have the right support, to consider the benefits of partnering with a professional coach, especially at this challenging time.

If you are an HR Leader or a CEO, perhaps now is the time to consider working with a coach to ensure you have the right support in place. As a coach who specializes in working with executives and leaders at all levels, and as an experienced HR professional myself, I’d love to connect.