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What Separates Great HR Leaders from the Rest

Jack ZengerJoseph Folkman

August 17, 2015

HR seems to have become every manager and employee s favorite corporate

punching bag, vying with IT for the dubious title of most-irritating function.

We have seen a parade of articles recently calling for HR to be blown up, split

in two, or at the very least, redesigned.

Perhaps this is a good moment to evaluate what it is we really want from our HR

leaders and what we don t. Over the last five years, Zenger Folkman has

collected 360-degree feedback data on 2,187 HR leaders. These leaders are

spread across hundreds of different organizations with 68% of those leaders

located in the US, 11% in Asia, 8% in Europe, 7% in Latin America, 4% in

Canada, and 1% in Africa. Comparing assessments of leaders in the HR function

with those of leaders in other functions, our data suggest that the typical HR

leader is seen as is six percentile points below average.

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We analyzed the data in two different ways. First, we contrasted the results

for the 2,187 HR leaders in our dataset with those of 29,026 leaders in other

functions. We were able to identify a few key skills that were common strengths

of those in HR and some that appeared fairly frequently as weaknesses. Second,

we rank-ordered 49 leadership behaviors for all those in HR from the most

negative to the most positive behaviors.

Strengths of HR Leaders

Developing and coaching others. One of the most positive areas for HR leaders

in general was that they were truly concerned about developing others. This set

them apart from leaders in other functions, who did not score highly on this

skill. They were also rated positively on providing coaching, acting as a

mentor, and giving feedback in a helpful way.

The 16 Key Leadership Skills

Great outcomes are connected to 16 leadership competencies that span five

categories:

Character:

1. Displays honesty and Integrity

Personal Capabilities:

2. Exhibits technical/professional expertise

3. Solves problems and analyzes issues

4. Innovates

5. Practices self-development

Getting Results:

6. Focuses on results

7. Establishes stretch goals

8. Takes initiative

Interpersonal skills:

9. Communicates powerfully and broadly

10. Inspires and motivates others

11. Builds relationships

12. Develops others

13. Collaborates and fosters teamwork

Leading change:

14. Develops strategic perspective

15. Champions change

16. Connects the group to the outside world

But is this skill valued by HR leaders colleagues? We asked raters to indicate

the importance of each competency we measured, and they rated this skill

eleventh of 16 for HR leaders. Perhaps the message here is, We know you do

this well already or even This is just table-stakes. Or, it could be that

developing others takes a back seat to other competencies that are highly

valued by the other functional leaders.

Building positive relationships. This was another skill where HR scored much

more highly than other functions. That makes sense; in most organizations HR is

responsible for diversity and inclusion initiatives and for labor relations. HR

leaders were rated well on being able to balance results with a concern for

the needs of others. Another of their more positive items was being trusted

and staying in touch with the issues and concerns of others. This competency

was also more valued by our raters, who chose it as third in importance.

Role modeling. Some of the most positively rated items for HR leaders focus on

their willingness to walk the talk, to be role models and to honor

commitments and promises. HR leaders are frequently put into the position of

ensuring that others in the organization do the right thing and follow

established procedures. For those in the HR function, this competency is rated

as second in importance. It s also a skill that seems to be fairly common

across all functions.

Having functional knowledge and expertise. Many HR leaders were rated

positively on their functional knowledge and expertise. Most employees in

organizations are unaware of labor laws, hiring rules, benefits and

compensation issues. HR leaders were viewed as knowledgeable and helpful in

these areas. This was another common skill across functions, and was rated as

ninth in importance for HR leaders.

Weakness of HR Leaders

Focusing internally rather than externally. When comparing HR leaders to all

other leaders in our database, they were rated significantly more negatively on

their ability to understand the needs and concerns of customers. In many ways

the function of HR is focused on internal problems, but the lack of

understanding of the external environment often caused others to view some HR

leaders as not in touch with the issues facing the organization. HR leaders

were also rated more negatively on their ability to represent the organization

to key groups.

Lacking strategic perspective. In general, HR leaders were rated significantly

less positively on their ability to have a clear perspective between the big

picture strategy and the details. Many were viewed as so focused on the

day-to-day work that they lost perspective on the longer term broader business

issues. HR leaders often complain that they want a seat at the table to

engage more fully with other executives, but without clear strategy and focus

they will never have that seat.

Not anticipating and responding quickly to problems. HR leaders were rated

significantly more negatively on their ability to anticipate and respond

quickly to problems. A number of items noted a general lack of speed and

urgency to respond and react quickly.

Resisting stretch goals. On a number of occasions we have watched as senior

executives ask for a program or process to be rolled out quickly only to have

HR respond, It takes more time than that we need to slow the process down.

While at times that is necessary advice, too often it is the first response

given by HR without considering what could be done to speed the process and

move quickly.

What the Best HR Leaders Do

We also found in our database that some of the best leaders in the world were

part of the HR function. The graph below shows the four competencies that most

consistently separate the top quartile leaders from the other HR leaders. It is

worth noting that what separated the best HR leaders from the rest was their

performance on the key competencies that were often weaknesses in HR, in

addition to performing extremely well on HR s traditional strengths.

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If more HR leaders would add these four important competencies to their skill

sets, we would see many more sitting at the table; and an increasing number

seated at the head of the table.

Authors Note: There s an interesting gender wrinkle in our data, although we

re not quite sure what to make of it. According to our data, HR has the highest

percentage of female leaders (66%). Overall, female leaders were rated at the

45th percentile while male leaders were at the 43rd percentile, but at the very

top levels it flipped, and the senior-most men in HR were rated more highly

male senior leaders were rated at the 52nd percentile, and female senior

leaders at the 47th. These differences, while small, are statistically

significant. When we look at the overall data for male versus female senior

managers in the other functions, males are at the 48th percentile and females

at the 53rd. Only in HR, Engineering, and Safety do male senior leaders score

higher than their female counterparts.

Jack Zenger is the CEO of Zenger/Folkman, a leadership development consultancy.

He is a co-author of the October 2011 HBR article Making Yourself

Indispensable.Connect with Jack at twitter.com/jhzenger.

Joseph Folkman is the president of Zenger/Folkman, a leadership development

consultancy. He is a co-author of the October 2011 HBR article Making Yourself

Indispensable. Connect with Joe at twitter.com/joefolkman.