Part 1: What type of HR leader are you?

A few weeks ago, I assigned you homework. Yes, you.
Professor Hebba is here to give homework and drop knowledge.
If you didn’t catch that edition – here’s a recap of what homework I assigned:
Find your job description for your current role. Read it. Is it reflective of the work you are currently doing? If not, what would you add? Write it down and start thinking about having a discussion with your manager about what an expanded scope of work means.
Then I told you to think about your HR leader profile.
Are you:
- The Hypergrowth Type
- The Change Agent
- The Compliance Pro
- The Strategist
- The Employee Champion
Or maybe you’re a little bit of them all?
Today’s edition I’m doing a deep dive on the first three of those profiles (The Hypergrowth Type, The Change Agent, The Compliance Pro) what their focus areas are, and questions to consider if you are leaning into your leadership style.
✨ Come back next week for PART TWO! ✨
It’s important to note: you may WANT to be a certain type of leader but your organization and the moment could hinder you from fully embracing your role. That is a newsletter for another day…
For today, let’s look at the first set of profiles. And don’t forget your homework or I’m giving detention!!!!
The Hypergrowth Leader

This type of leader thrives in a face paced scaling environment.
Consider them experts on:
- Building systems
- Handling things on the fly
- Balancing scalability
2 defining characteristics of The Hypergrowth Leader:
🤸🏾 Agility: think hearing Ross yell PIVOT but 24/7 at work
💪🏿 Resilience: hypergrowth is a challenge – like the final boss of a video game but every day.
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Here are some things this leader may be focused on:
✅ Hiring at scale: to do this effectively there need to be the right processes in place to support rapid growth.
✅ Aligning the organization: onboarding, goals, values, and comms it all needs to be on lock to keep everyone moving in the same direction.
✅ Adapting the culture: every person added to an organization changes the culture a tiny bit. In times of hypergrowth that change happens quicker and potentially has more impact. This leader will need to pay attention to how the culture will evolve.
4 questions to consider:
- How can you balance short term needs with long term scaling?
- What aspects of the culture does your team want to maintain during growth?
- What strategies will you leverage to maintain and help culture thrive?
- What do you need to do to prepare my leadership team?
😎 Your pop culture leadership inspo: T’Challa (pictured above) leads Wakanda through a transformative time from being isolated from the rest of the world to sharing their technology with the rest of the world. He had to face challenges from scaling resources to building infrastructure and through that was resilient, delegated tasks and empowered those around him.
The Change Agent

This type of leader specializes in transformation.
Consider them experts on:
- Disrupting the status quo
- Securing buy-in
- Navigating resistance
2 defining characteristics of The Change Agent:
🤝 Influencing: securing buy-in comes second nature to this type
👁️ Visionary: they see more than what meets the eye – they’re more focused on envisioning the future than upholding the status quo.
Here are some things this leader may be focused on:
✅ Leading change management: a good vision is nothing without a good plan. These leaders excel at change management and help facilitate all the moving parts effectively so their vision becomes a reality.
✅ Securing buy-in and trust: People do not naturally like change so these types of leaders face the challenge of bringing everyone along for the ride by securing buy-in and building the trust for their plan. These leaders are skilled at handling resistance, in fact maybe they enjoy it?? (I sure do!)
✅ Managing change fatigue: Change is good but TOO MUCH change, well that can be exhausting. These types of leaders know when it’s too much and how much whiplash their employees can handle. It’s a thin line so being observant is super key here.
4 questions to consider:
- What are the most important changes the organization needs to make?
- How can you measure the success of changes made?
- Do all stakeholders understand the WHY behind any changes being made?
- Where is the most resistance in the organization?
😎 Your pop culture leadership inspo: Miranda Priestly. It goes without saying that she is not the ideal boss by any means. In fact, she is actually toxic. The reason I mention her here is because she made Runway magazine into a leader in fashion and we see several examples of her pushing her team to innovate and think outside the box. She was focused on staying ahead of the trends and being strategic. My leadership fanfic of Miranda would involve her evolving into a leader more focused on wellbeing.
The Compliance Pro

This type of leader knows their policies, laws, and regulations. They’re focused on balancing risk, protecting the organization from exposure, and fostering a fair workplace.
Consider them experts on:
- New and existing laws and practices
- Conducting investigations and carrying out disciplinary actions
- Developing comprehensive trainings
2 defining characteristics of The Compliance Pro:
⚖️ Assessing risk: understanding risk comes naturally to this leader as they are navigating protecting the organization from unfavorable outcomes.
✏️ Meticulous: details are super important to everything when it comes to compliance. This type of leader tends to gravitate to the details and documentation.
Here are some things this leader may be focused on:
✅ Ensuring adherence to labor laws: When laws change your policies also need to be reviewed. This can get particularly complicated if the company is global as there are more laws to consider.
✅ Managing investigations and/or disciplinary actions. This process can become particularly tricky and time consuming to ensure you are following the proper procedures.
✅ Developing training: Compliance isn’t just an HR thing, it’s an everyone thing. Meaning your employees, managers and leaders sometimes need to be trained on certain things. Depending on how nuanced the conversation is, the training may take time to develop.
4 questions to consider:
- What new laws do I need to be aware of?
- How can you balance compliance with people’s experience?
- What systems can be implemented to help with any compliance issues?
- How can you educate those around you about compliance in an engaging way?
😎 Your pop culture leadership inspo: Olivia Pope. Listen, Olivia may have broken a lot of laws and dealt with crises in somewhat unconventional ways – she still gets my pop culture inspo here. She has an amazing attention to detail, risk assessment and how to navigate particular tricky situations.
What’s next:

Come back next week for the next set of leader profiles!
Until then TA TA.