Part 2: What type of HR leader are you?

Last week I dove into part 1 of HR leader profiles.
This week I’m back with PART TWO.
I know you were anxiously awaiting this conclusion!! I wasn’t going to keep you waiting months like Wicked to see the rest of the story. 🙂
As a reminder here’s the list of 5 HR leader profiles:
- The Hypergrowth Type
- The Change Agent
- The Compliance Pro
- The Strategist
- The Employee Champion
Today we’re covering The Strategist and The Employee Champion.
It’s important to note: you can be a combo of all these profiles. Like a Megazord of HR or something.
But how I think about these profiles is that one of these will come potentially easier to you than the others. That is your dominant or default profile. The rest can be secondary things you tap into when needed but aren’t always your default.
Now, onto the final 2 profiles.
DUN DUN DUN.
The Strategist

This type of leader is all about the big picture and aligning HR strategy with the business objectives.
Consider them experts on:
- Aligning HR with the business
- Leveraging data to make strategic decisions
- Succession planning and forecasting
2 defining characteristics of The Strategist:
✏️Planning: analyzing data and plotting the best path forward is a key characteristic of the strategist.
🧮Business minded: understanding how the business operates from how it makes revenue to what are key drivers are is a must to put together any great plan.
Here are some things this leader may be focused on:
✅Aligning HR objectives with the business: Aligning every strategy, program and process with the business is no easy task. You have to ask yourself – is this something that will move the business forward or not? And the hard part, if the answer is not then its time to potentially scrap that thing.
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✅Leveraging data to make decisions: Everything from collecting data to analyzing and interpreting the data is key to making decisions. This could entail looking at engagement data, performance data, retention data, talent data, ALL THE DATA! Looking at the data can help paint a picture and path forward for the organization.
✅Workforce planning: Without the proper workforce how can the business ever execute on their goals? Cough they can’t cough. Spending time looking at succession planning and talent gaps will be crucial here.
4 questions to consider:
- How can you ensure HR is viewed as a strategic partner?
- What role does HR play in company planning?
- What are key metrics you need to track or be aware of? For the biz & HR department
- What workforce trends could impact your organization?
😎Your pop culture leadership inspo: Miranda Bailey. IDK how Miranda did it all but she did! She ran all aspects of the hospital as the Chief and focused on things like staffing, training, patient satisfaction and financial success. She always seemed to have a pulse point on what was happening and where the hospital was going. Not to mention, she was a stellar mentor to several of the doctors.
The Employee Champion

This type of leader focused on employee engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.
Consider them experts on:
- Creating a workplace where employees feel valued
- Fostering inclusion
- Empowering employees
2 defining characteristics of The Employee Champion
❤️Empathy: fully understanding the employee experience requires YOU GUESSED IT empathy!! These leaders constantly display empathy and are quick to help others around them understand emotions and challenges so they can also respond with care.
📣Advocacy: to build programs that champion the employee will require advocacy, this type of leader isn’t afraid to speak up about how this will impact the employees.
Here are some things this leader may be focused on:
✅Building programs to foster belonging: Ensuring every employee feels seen, heard and included is no easy feat. It’s a combo of focusing on psychological safety, building inclusive policies and ensuring everyone feels recognized for their work that could help achieve the sense of belonging for employees. But we all know, easier said than done!
✅Prioritzing employee wellbeing: Benefits come to mind here – do you benefits support the mental health and wellbeing of your employees? Advocating for broader and more inclusive benefits could help employees professionally and personally.
✅Feedback loops: how do you know what your employees want if you don’t ask them? YOU DON’T! Feedback loops are incredibly crucial to getting the information you and having employees share their ideas, concerns and feedback. When employees feel like you’re listening to them they are more likely to show up engaged and ready to crush work.
4 questions to consider:
- How can you ensure employees are sharing their feedback?
- What strategies can you leverage to foster inclusion and belonging?
- How can you measure engagement over time?
- How can you balance employee wellbeing with business needs?
😎Your pop culture leadership inspo: Leslie Knope. Have you ever met someone who champions her coworkers more than Leslie? She was deeply (almost too much maybe?) invested in the success and wellbeing of her team. From doing things like celebrating her team, mentoring members, and even nominating a few for awards she always made sure her team felt seen, heard and appreciated.
What’s next:

What if you are or want to be a certain type of leader but your organization and the moment don’t really call for it?
What then?
More on that next week…
I’m really killing these cliffhangers lately!