Blog Post: Leadership is Crucial in Human Resources

Over the last few days I had the pleasure to attend the 2009 Western Region IPMA-HR Conference in Denver, Colorado.  Jobing.com was a sponsor of the event which attracted speakers from across the country.  While scanning the event program I noticed a trend.  Virtually all the education session summaries mentioned leadership at least once. 

Daryl Ann Moore of Blu Ice Consulting talked about developing a peer mentoring program designed to pass knowledge from Baby Boomer employees to Generation X and Y employees.  As Boomers leave the workforce it is critical that a smooth transition takes place.  Another consultant, Victoria Littlefield, also spoke regarding leadership development due to the large amount of retirees coming soon.  Her recommendation is for HR to develop and execute succession plans to ensure continued leadership through the upcoming retirements.  Karen Main, a leadership consultant, spoke about the importance of ongoing leadership development despite the current economic concerns many companies face.  Yet another speaker, Sam Lloyd of SuccessSystems, Inc., talked about the importance of leadership from HR to ensure employee productivity during layoffs or just the notion that layoffs are possible.

It just goes to show you that leadership takes on many faces.  Is your organization doing what it takes?  Are you doing what it takes?