While HR professionals are experts in bringing a people-first lens to organizational challenges, often leaders do not involve them in problem solving and decision making. McLean & Company’s 2022 HR Trends Report shows that when organizations have HR as a partner in planning and executing strategy, they are 1.3 times more likely to be highly effective at generating and implementing new ideas. However, only 42% of the organizations surveyed included HR as a partner in planning and executing strategy. But why is this? Well there are a combination of factors at play. First being the natural instinct of HR professionals to provide an answer rather than engaging in collaborative problem solving by asking thought-provoking questions. This is further complicated by the perception of HR in the organization and the fact that it takes time to build trust and gain influence with leaders.
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Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Become a thought partner by shifting the mindset from providing an answer to asking questions to deepen the conversation, evolving the role of HR in the organization.
- Shift the focus of coaching away from being the end goal to using coaching techniques to build HR influence in your interactions and ensure a people lens is applied to organizational challenges.
Impact and Result
- Use a coach approach to build HR influence and your presence as a thought partner in your organization. And then repeat.
- As you build your presence as a thought partner, more opportunities will arise to leverage your coach approach and strengthen your influence. It is a circular process resulting in opportunities to apply your people lens to help your leaders better achieve their organizational objectives.