I found HR through an unfortunate experience in my life which ended up being the very trauma that got me to where I am today. And to be quite honest with you, I’ve accepted it all and I feel like this is where I need to be and everything had to happen this way.
In my younger days, the boss from hell bullied me through a very unfortunate miscarriage. I found out that he was a serial offender and just treated women this way, particularly women who are pregnant. It never really made sense to me. Why do managers get away with these behaviours? I naturally handed in my notice but yet I was harassed and bullied from afar.
I never talked about it since it happened because I was always afraid of it being a “real thing” that happened. I realised soon after this ordeal that (a lot of) people in managerial and leadership positions just don’t know how to manage employees in issues they have no experience of/don’t understand. Being a business owner, a team leader, or even a director does not mean that you automatically gain knowledge of how to conduct daily people relations.
As a owner of a HR consultancy, I know that I have the ability, knowledge and expertise to suggest, advise, and implement all of the best HR strategies to protect my clients and align with their vision. All of this will fall flat on its face if managers of the business do not align with the vision and the purpose.
HR is often faced with the issue of managers going against our advice and more often than not, it is due to emotions and the inability to critically analyse situation and the lack of emotional intelligence. This is not bashing managers at all. As human beings we don’t natually possess these skills. So, it’s even harder to apply them when dealing with employees. I’m not making excuses here, particularly for my old boss. What I’m saying is I practice what I preach. I host a very valuable leadership program called Leading with Integrity and I take managers through these very skills that is absolutely required in order for them to be an effective leader. This is a nonnegotiable. These skills are paramount in preventing employment matters from going into tribunal, for encouraging better performance in the workplace, and for enabling parties to align in the overall business objectives.
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Founder of HR Habitat, award winner of "Best HR & Employment Law Consultancy, 2024" title. As featured in BBC Oline, BBC Asian Network Radio, Telegraph & more.
