A global and local research on HR leaders personalities and implications

The primary task of human resources has historically been to handle employee benefits and grievances. As such, HR played a very minimal role in corporate strategy and an organization’s success or failure. Modern organizations now realize the critical role that talent (i.e., the people in the organization) plays in its success. That is, people aren’t just replaceable cogs in a machine; some employees are better than others, and employing top talent is a major factor in organizational success.

The role of HR has grown over the past decade and has become particularly important now, during these unprecedented times. HR has, in time, taken a more prominent role in organizations through building a sustainable competitive advantage acquired through management and acquisition of top talent. However, the pandemic has brought on even more critical functions: offering support to employees and leaders in managing their anxiety, forecasting in unpredictable times and offering strategic support to the business.

To understand how are HR leaders equipped to deal with all of these challenges, Hogan assessments looked at the personalities of more than 1,000 HR managers to see how they stack up against other workers around the world.

To compare and further explore how Romanian HR leaders can be similar or different with those from other regions, Hart Consulting conducted a similar study locally. Both of these analyses explored three different facets of personality: values (drivers and what motivates them to perform), the „bright side” (day-to day behaviors) and the „dark side” (overused strengths, derailers that can impact negatively performance).

Values

In terms of motivation and values, global HR leaders are above average on Altruism (defined as a concern about the welfare of others and the desire to contribute to a better society) and above average on Hedonism (a desire to enjoy life and have fun).

Additionally, global HR leaders scored well below average on Science (a desire for knowledge and using data to drive decision-making).

This means the typical global HR leader wants to help others, enjoys fun work environments, and prefers making decisions based on experience and gut feelings as opposed to data or scientific research.

In contrast, we found that Romanian HR leaders tend to be higher on Science, being more open to use data to drive decision-making and to use technology to solve problems in the workplace.

Bright side

In terms of their typical daily behavior, we discovered that global HR leaders are above average on Ambition (the tendency to take the lead, compete with others, and push for results), above average on Interpersonal Sensitivity (the tendency to be caring, get along with others, and avoid conflict), and below average on Inquisitiveness (the tendency to be curious, inquisitive, and open to new ideas).

This means the typical global HR leader comes across to others as diplomatic, people oriented, warm, empathic and caring; result oriented, energetic and grounded and practical.

On the other hand, Romanian HR leaders tended to be high on two other dimensions: Sociability (enjoying creating and maintaining networks) and Learning Approach (being insightful and open to learning new things). Compared to global HR leaders, Romanian ones are more oriented towards professional relationships and more open to new way of doing things.

This means that while they may be perceived as less „warm or caring” than global peers, they can be more effective and strategic in their relationships and are able to learn and adapt much more easily.

In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it means that they are much more communicative and in touch with their teams and can learn new technologies and ways of working much quicker.

Dark side

In terms of dark-side behaviors, or the way HR leaders derail, global HR executives score above average on moving against others (the tendency to directly engage in confrontation and “win” interpersonal conflicts through force of will) behaviors.

Romanian HR leaders tend to display dark-side behaviors mostly such as high Reserved. This behavioral tendency means mostly results-orientations versus orientation on emotional issues of people, less frequent and qualitative with people around of such leaders, but, on the other hand, a Hr leaders displaying this behavior can avoid interacting with others during difficult times or may seem uninterested in the problems of peers and subordinates. During times of social distancing, this communication style can impact team morale and engagement.

What can a Reserved leader do? Especially during social distancing, a Reserved leader should prioritize a more frequent communication with their team, as well as making sure they check-in on other issues besides professional ones (such as asking the team how they are managing their workload, what challenges have then encountered while working from home, etc.) The increase in quantity and quality of communication can help the leader reconnect with their team and increase engagement.

To sum up

Overall, the results paint a portrait of the typical global HR leader as someone who cares deeply about other people, wants other people to enjoy work, resists anything construed as an unfair workplace demand, and uses intuition and experience to solve workplace problems.

In contrast, the typical Romanian HR leader appears to be more open to learning and using technology, more flexible to adapt to new ways of working, enjoying social interaction on a day to day basis, eager to learn continuously. These qualities can help Romanian HR leaders propel their organizations towards having a high level of performance after the current pandemic.

During these times of COVID-19 crisis, successful organizations must make good decisions about money and people. Though organizations have always recognized the importance of being smart about financial resources, they’ve only recently begun to realize the critical role that talent and leaders play in the overall organizational wealth, and this can make the difference of future success or failure of many companies.

Hart Consulting