Becoming HR Director: all you need to know before jumping in

Being HR Director can be a lonely position. I arrived there by accident. And never thought about my learnings in this journey until a friend changed job and asked me to share my experience.

I worked most of my professional life in business (sales and marketing). When I received the invitation to join RH, I thought it would be a good learning experience for a few years. To bring the business view to the HR and to improve employee experience.

I had been in the company for 10 years, so I had proven my value and I had my network. My manager, peers and team were very supportive of my learning phase. Despite it was a BIG challenge, it was equally exciting.

The truth is: it was really tough. Especially because everyone took me as enough for the challenge. A company of 600 souls, with a dispersed organization, a complex business operation and a non-structured HR function. And everyone assumed I would be able to do it. And I did but would have been much easier with the guidance of a coach or a mentor. My manager was very supportive and inspiring. I must thank her for the opportunity and the credit. But she also gave me room to test and learn, so I had to find my way.

Starting on personal learnings:

• Without me anticipating that, I became an “important person”. From people’s point of view, I had an enormous power (that I never felt that way). So, spontaneous talk disappeared from my life. Some people, especially the more distant or new ones, choose wisely the words and topics to talk about when I was around. A few people started to interact with formal speech after years of informal one. It was a big shock to me, that took me some time to digest, accept and manage the best way.
• All I say comes with a big weight. It took me time to realize I had to measure the extent of my comments and delegate on my team some feedback that were “too heavy” coming from me. I am a hands-on person, that like to question, suggest and challenge. That was always natural to me, as well as disagreeing and giving quite direct feedback to people and teams. In this role, it is taken in a much heavier way than before. I needed to adjust.