“If you’re tired of London, you’re tired of life,” the capital’s devotees sometimes say. To me, the expression is a challenge to get out and discover new favourites within the city, learning afresh to appreciate its many quirks and qualities. This can be a lifelong task, much like the learning that all HR professionals need to continue doing, to stay engaged and effective.
It’s all too easy to moan about HR, and dwell on individual and organisational failings. It’s much harder, though essential, to identify and rectify gaps in our own knowledge or skills.
When I interviewed Collinson’s chief people officer, Bertie Tonks, for our HR Most Influential resource, he explained that he’d once worked with a CFO hell-bent on self development. “The CFO said: ‘I’ve read all the self-help books, and been to business schools around the world. None of it works.’”
Tonks’ response was: “Well, where do you think the problem is? As the saying goes: When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
Read more: HR Most Influential supplement 2024
Are business leaders ready to look in that mirror, reflect on where they need to grow, and then actively learn how to plug that gap? Is there enough energy in their tanks for the lifelong task of self and professional improvement?
Wherever you are on that journey, the talented team I am privileged to work with has created a gorgeous animated resource that we hope will fuel your continuous development journey, inspiring a renewed desire for learning. It’s packed with insights from this year’s HR Most Influential listees, and is accessible online, at bit.ly/HRMost24.
Within the pages of our latest magazine, the education continues as our reporter Honey Wyatt rounds up advice on how to boost HR’s reputation, and in so doing combat the negativity that’s often hurled HR’s way. I hope you’ll learn much from these pages, and from each other, to propel your professional success.
This article was published in the September/October 2024 edition of HR magazine.
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