8 minute read
Leading the HR function
Leadership for tomorrow’s HR professional
Over 100 HRNZ members attended the HRNZ HR Summit at the end of November. Kathy Catton reviews the highlights and captures some of the learnings
This Summit, the first in-person since 2019, marked the launch of The Path – the new Capability Framework for HR professionals in Aotearoa New Zealand. Participants were treated to diverse speakers, each with a unique perspective on how HR professionals need to show up as leaders in the workplace of the future.
Held at the museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and skilfully led by Master of Ceremonies Te Radar, the audience was captivated from the start of the day by authors, speakers, leaders and academics.
Leadership and influence lie at the heart of the six core capabilities of the new framework, so it was fitting to start the day listening to Nadine Champion, world gold medallist in martial arts. Nadine gave her inspiring presentation on the power of courage. She passed on the lessons learned from years of elite performance in the arena of martial arts and kickboxing. She challenged us to consider our ‘internal training’ or mindset behind our actions.
“There needs to be a heartbased reason behind what you do,” said Nadine. She recounted the experience of training for a competition fraught with injury and doubts. With the help of her mentor, Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez, she got out of her comfort zone, refined what she ultimately stood for and went on to win the title.
Nadine left us with a tool for managing courage: ‘10 Seconds of Courage’, with a 10-step checklist designed as an opportunity to check in with yourself before pursuing goals. She encouraged us to identify mentors in our lives and ask who we could mentor, and to let them know we’re “in their corner”.
Samantha Jones, founder of Little Yellow Bird clothing company, shared her journey of the past three years working at the helm of an organisation affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With a vision for her company of ethically sourcing and finding circular approaches to all aspects of her business, she led from her heart by communicating with authenticity and vulnerability about the fragile status of the company at the start of the pandemic.
“We told our entire community about a warehouse full of stock but no money in the bank account,” shared Samantha. The response was incredible and, thanks to the generosity of their customers and stakeholders, Little Yellow Bird made it through that patch.
This led to the company redesigning its values to include things such as transparency, doing what’s right, even when it’s not easy, and innovating for change.
Little Yellow Bird is a fantastic example of a company addressing every area of the sustainable development goals. It is a role model for other organisations that care deeply about the economy, the people and the environment.
On the topic of organisational sustainability, Kirsten Patterson – KP, Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors, spoke of the urgency of organisations in addressing climate change.
“Climate change is real,” she said. “It will influence how and where we work and travel. I believe this is a people and culture issue.” KP drew on the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, “COVID has given HR a strategic shift to have a strong role in discussing these issues on what the future of work could hold.” She encouraged us as HR professionals to lead the conversation on how the organisations we work for need to wake up to the responsibilities of climate change.
To help with this endeavour, KP provided 10 reflection questions (see insert box) to start these conversations. In addition, she highlighted Chapter Zero New Zealand – the Directors’ Climate Forum, which aims to show directors “how to make climate a boardroom reality”. This forum is open-source and available to all.
Maree Roche, Professor at the University of Auckland, shared her research on how we understand and support leaders. Specifically, she spoke on two areas of her research: the intersection of indigenous values and ethical leadership and mindfulness in the workplace.
By asking us to think about the lives and challenges our grandparents and parents had, Maree helped us see how their journeys have affected us today. “Who we are today is based on where we came from,” said Maree. So, how we are today will also affect our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Maree asked us to consider what legacy we want to leave for future generations.
Reflection questions – the top 10
1. What is HR’s role in climate leadership?
2. Do you know your number? (refers to carbon emissions)
3. Are you ready for scope 3 emissions?
4. What does decarbonising mean for your organisation?
5. What does a just transition look like?
6. What capability will we need?
7. How do we remunerate and incentivise behaviour?
8. How will we measure progress and tell our story?
9. What are you doing to upskill and lead?
10. Are your board members Chapter Zero supporters?
“Who we are today is a conduit for future generations.”
Her research saw that this longterm orientation was apparent in strong leaders. She highlighted five areas of indigenous values and ethical leadership:
1. manaakitanga – how we look after other people
2. whakaiti – servant leadership
3. tikanga Māori – cultural authenticity
4. whakapapa – layering from the past to the present to the future
5. titiro whakamuri, kia anga whakamua – look back to go forwards.
Along with this look into ‘time’ as a grounding factor for leaders, Maree also highlighted the present moment as a place where great things can happen. Her research has shown we make better decisions when grounded in the present moment in a non-judgemental way.
HR professionals all deal with complex issues at some point in their careers, if not more regularly. This was the topic of Sarah Baddeley’s presentation. Sarah is the Executive Director at MartinJenkins, and is a highly versatile and experienced strategic adviser. She is known for helping clients tackle wicked and uncomfortable problems, such as modern slavery, climate change and disinformation.
Sarah encouraged us to hold an ethical lens to the organisations we work for and approach any complex issues with a collaborative and partnership mindset. “Find your own voice and think about any intergenerational impact,” says Sarah.
For more information on Sarah’s speech, please see the article ‘Tackling Wicked Problems’ on page 18.
Sarah also highlighted useful resources on the Labour Inspectorate’s website and the Speak Up Line.
Deb Bailey, leadership coach and facilitator, took us through a practical session of considering what is holding us back from our goals and how we can overcome these fears that prevent us from achieving them.
In addition, Deb took us through The Path – the Capability Framework for HR professionals. We looked at how and where the framework could be applied both to our own roles and throughout the organisations with work within.
For more information on the framework, read our interview with HRNZ on page 12.
Natalie Cutler-Welsh ended our day with her high energy, high enthusiasm and action-packed presentation. Natalie is a speaker and coach at Go to Girl Ltd and specialises in
helping “the people who help the people”. She took us through a process to capture our insights and commit to “upping our brave” in a way that is aligned with our life. We identified what ‘zone’ we’re living in (disconnected, should, frustration or impact) and what empowered actions we could take in the next two months to “up your brave”.
All of these presentations can support us as we look ahead to 2023. There has never been a more critical time for organisations to focus on creating workplaces that support the wellbeing and potential of their people.
This Summit provided participants with the inspiration and ideas to enable them to play a leading role in the changes that lie ahead.
