Quick-to-read HR news & insights
From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.
Everyone has room for improvement…from the CEO down to the entry-level employees.
People pros are no exception to this rule, writes Deborah E. McGee, founder and CEO of consulting firm PZI Group, in her recently published book, The Leadership Attitude: Inspiring Success through Authenticity and Passion.
Leading HR at a multinational company taught McGee that leading a business is synonymous with leading people, and HR pros can lead people with more authenticity and compassion. She discussed her book and experience as an HR executive with HR Brew.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What led you to write this book?
I had always thought I’d probably write a book mostly about my international HR experience in Asia…I was one of four female executives in an Asian corporation. There [were] 45,000 employees, and there were only four female executives…and it was tough…I learned a lot from it, obviously, and so I thought probably one day I might write a book about that.
What are some takeaways from the book?
I’m hoping people will learn that there’s many ways to be a leader…So many times in HR, we get fixated on titles, and it’s not about the title, it’s about the leadership attitude…that attitude of can do, thinking outside the box, finding the solution, finding whatever problem it is…and just taking the time to help somebody…There’s a lot of times people come to us with opportunities, and we go, “Oh, I couldn’t do that, or I can’t do that, or that’s not for me.” But just say, “Yes.” Who knows? That might be the catalyst of starting something totally new for you.
Your book discusses your leadership evolution from leading with logic to leading with heart. Can you walk me through that transition?
I started my career in the ’80s [and] ’90s, and as a female, we were brought up to be extremely aggressive. Never take, “No,” for an answer, and get it done. Don’t let anyone get in your way, and don’t let anyone ever tell you, you can’t…So, I grew up that way, thinking that’s how it was…and I look at that, and I think that wasn’t actually me…
At the end of the day, businesses don’t run themselves. People run businesses, and [you’ve] really got to have those people on your side…You want to lead with heart with them…So, everything that I was taught in my [career in the] ’80s and ’90s, I'm hoping, in my book, people who read, go, “Huh, there is a different way. It doesn’t have to be like that.”