Ripped from the pages of Inc. magazine’s recent article, 7 Habits of Remarkably Likeable Bosses, I give you … something slightly different:
The 7 Habits of Remarkably Likeable HR Managers!
Here they are:
- They are named “Kay.” Have you ever really not liked someone named, Kay!? Kay just seems like a friendly lady with at least three cats and grandchildren, a whole lot of grandchildren. Kay is helpful. Kay will give you a hug when you need it. Kay brings in really good comfort food with funny names like “Redneck Bunt Cake.”
- They dress up on dress up days at work. You know what I’m talking about. They wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. They wear their normal sweater on Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. They aren’t afraid to be a part of the festivities. People like people who are involved.
- They order the right mix of cookies for the conference room. Don’t even think about discounting this as “remarkable!” Have you ever been late to a meeting and had to choke down an oatmeal raisin cookie? Likeable HR Managers know you need at least a 3 to 1 chocolate chip to raisin mix at a minimum, because really high performers will forgo raisin cookies all together.
- They are forgetful. You know that one holiday party where you had too much to drink and hooked up with a co-worker, and your HR Manager saw? Yeah, don’t worry, she forgot on purpose because she doesn’t want your one bad decision to haunt your entire career with the company. Likeable HR Managers tend to forget your misdeeds (that are forgivable) and remember the value you bring to the organization!
- They drink the Kool-Aid. A likeable HR Manager is one who is also an organizations cheerleader. They support top managements decisions, and in turn help others in the organization to see the benefits as well. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Getting everyone to move in the same direction is a very powerful trait to have. Some will view it as they are just followers, I view it as a great strategy to build influence.
- They cuss at your CEO. You wouldn’t actually know about this trait, because besides being remarkably likeable, they’re also remarkably professional and only do this behind closed doors of your CEO’s office. But they do it, and they’re the only one who does it and gets away with it. This keeps your CEO from going crazy train, and they appreciate it, as long as it stays between just the two of them.
- They don’t rake sh*t. You know what happens when you rake sh*t that’s been lying stagnant for a long time? It stinks. That’s just like problems in your organization that have been laying dormant for some time. You begin digging up and turning over stuff, you’ll find stuff that stinks. Many times that stuff has been taken care of and is water under the bridge. No reason to rake sh*t, unless you just like the smell.
For those who will hate on this and say “I don’t want to be liked, I want to be respected!” I say, “Why, not both!?”
It’s not a one or the other choice; you can have both. The HR Pro who can be respected and likeable is the HR Pro I want working for my team!
This was originally published on Tim Sackett’s blog, The Tim Sackett Project.