Futuristic Leadership With Margaret Wheatley

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Futuristic Leadership with Margaret Wheatley As a human resources professional, there are many challenges in the field. Human resources staff members are sometimes viewed as the enemy and there are many articles and opinion pieces written on the subject. The list of why human resources departments are despised is endless. According to Hammonds (2007) the human resources department often is perceived to be unable to make an impact on an organization due to a lack of strategic partnerships. The work with benefits, compensation, payroll and other HR functions may be viewed as unnecessary as many functions can be contracted to outside companies. In my experience there is some truth to the claim that there is a lack of leadership opportunities in human resources departments. It is not enough to be a strategic partner; you must be a leader as well and be able to impact the organization’s direction. Human capital is important and quality staff members can make or break a company. HR can have an impact but only if the opinions and recommendations are given merit. Margaret Wheatley’s approach to leadership is somewhat humanistic and I believe that some of her approaches can be applied to the challenges a human resources department may face. According to Wheatley (2005) organizations can slip easily into a command and control style of leadership. Because HR is often focused on compliance and adherence to federal laws and regulations it may seem as though HR departments contribute to the slide into an ineffective leadership model. Management and employees must realize that many times the hands of HR staff are tied by compliance issues. If HR departments get used to saying “no” all time, when they do have the power to make exceptions or changes, then the department is contributing to the command and control leadership slide. HR may have a unique role to play
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