Escape Hatch | IMPROVING HR

“Where is the ripcord, the trapdoor, the key? Where is the cartoon escape-hatch for me? No time to question the choices I make I’ve got to follow another direction…” ~R.E.M., Accelerate

Why do so many HR professionals dream of going independent and starting their own consultancy?

Before we even get going, let’s consider whether this is a wide-spread feeling.

Anecdotally, I have to say it’s something I hear a LOT from HR and OD professionals

(and have done for a very long time)

However, while I do love to coach people to make a change, I have to say that this sentiment is more often something I hear as a wish, but less so as an activated reality.

Which is why I use the term “dream” in my original question rather than “plan”.

THE BIG IDEA

So, with that context in place, let’s agree that we’re dealing with a nebulous thought process; a little wish-fufillment, a little day-dreaming, a little trauma-avoidance.

And I think it’s this latter that I hear more often than anything. It goes something like this:

“It hurts where I am, and I’d be better-off/safer in my own business…”

There are really three components to this feeling:

1. It hurts where I am…
2. I’d be better-off/safer…
3. In my own business…

Let’s take a look at each of these to see what insights we can gain.

It hurts where I am…

I’ve yet to meet a HR or OD professional who doesn’t experience some level of toxic behavior or traumatic situations on a regular basis. True, there may sometimes be the odd oasis of calm, but they are often few-and-far-between.

In previous articles, I’ve talked about the toxicity in the function

(as a former colleague put it when we were discussing HR transformation: “the problem with HR is that we eat our own young”)

and the nature of the work – much of which deals with employment/working relationship conflict – is always heavy with potential for emotional impact.

And let’s not even mention the widespread hostile view of the function, the people within it, and/or how the business is more than ok with having HR play bad cop.

With all that said, it’s pretty easy to understand the first part of the feeling – it often does hurt where HR people are

(and, depending on the toxicity within the function, there may be support or hostility to even expressing that hurt)

And so we come to the second clause…

I’d be better-off/safer…

Now, at one level, this thinking is truly a survival instinct kicking in – there is often serious psychological risk that comes with working in the function

(I wish that as much attention were placed upon healing this as is placed on keeping CEOs happy)

and, sometimes, going it alone is the only realistic solution – especially when aided and abetted by a lay-off.

But I’m more interested in what being better-off/safer means for the day-dreamer/wish-fulfiller.

You see, what I hear most of the time from those who are “considering” going independent is usually something like this:

“I can do the work, and it just seems like it’d be easier without all the noise; it’s like wading through molasses to get anything done here…”

Or, even worse:

“[hefty sigh] If I have to do this work, then I might as well do it the least painful way possible…”

Said differently, there is a prevailing sense that doing the work of HR is, necessarily, heavy; like trying to swim while wearing a heavy, knitted leisure suit.

Once again, we’re back at the learned helplessness of HR; the surviving hero(ine) just keeping their head above water when it would be so easy to sink.

And, just as a drowning person might visualize dry land, the HR pro treading water like their life depends on it dreams of going it alone.

Make no mistake, this is a dream/wish that provides a glimmer of hope for survival.

What’s really interesting is that I rarely hear people who are in this mindset talking about building/growing a flourishing, high-income, high-impact business. Few and far between are the discussions of AMAZING. Instead, it’s a matter of “how do I make enough to get by?”

Or, in other words, “I don’t care if the island can sustain crops or food sources, so long as I’m not drowning!”

“Better-off” here is a matter of emotional safety, and far from financial wealth.

In my own business…

And this is how we arrive at the final clause, which is essentially saying:

“If I don’t want to drown, I must start my own business.”

Let me tell you, that’s a heck of a ladder of inference, right there!

To stick with our drowning analogy, let’s say it’s pretty much like a drowning person deciding that the only chance of survival will come from building a boat

(while they’re drowning)

When I talk with people about this feeling, it all comes down to one thing: Control.

“In my own business…” is actually a smoke-screen for “Fully in control…”

Randomization, influence and intersectionality are the highways and byways of working in HR. “Must be comfortable with ambiguity…” is the primary entry criterion.

For much of every working day, HR professionals are strictly “out-of-control”.

Is it any wonder we dream of not having to deal with that?

Yet, as I say, it is a mighty leap from “I want to have more control…” to “I must start my own business…”!

(and much of that leap is informed by public perceptions that self-employment brings freedom – while that’s largely true, it’s not true in the way you might think it’s true! ??)

TRY THIS

So, we understand a little more about the core feeling:

“It hurts where I am, and I’d be better-off/safer in my own business…”

What can we do about it?

Before we get to specifics, let me address the sneaky elephant in HR world.

A good chunk of HR professionals never planned to be in HR

(though this has been changing over the years, as educational institutions and career paths have been catching up with the implicit need for the value created by better People, Teams, Organization and Culture)

so there is a much higher likelihood that an HR professional is a Corporate Misfit.

Not everyone, for sure, but some.

For a Corporate Misfit, the dream is not just about getting out of HR, but instead stepping out of corporate life altogether

(and that, my friend, is a MUCH bigger discussion than we have time for here)

But let’s stick with people who are wired for corporate life

(or, at minimum, wired to compromise with it)

and ask a few questions based on our insights above:

1. It hurts where I am…

To what extent is your HR function truly toxic?

Is that a common feeling for the majority of the function, or is it more a case of “just you”?

If you were to choose to stay, who would you need to influence to change their behaviors? Is that possible?

To what extent is your feeling situational (i.e. because of something happening right now) as opposed to ongoing/consistent?

2. I’d be better-off/safer…

What is your definition of “Better-off”?

Is it really “Safer” in disguise?

If it truly is “Better-off”, and you want to build a thriving business – either as a side-hustle, or a step-off-the-cliff – what will you be selling, who will you be selling it to and, most importantly, why will they choose to buy it from you?

(If those three questions don’t hit you deep in your intrigue muscle, please, please, PLEASE don’t start your own business – they are critical!)

3. In my own business…

If you’ve answered the previous questions fully, then you’ll know whether a business is the right solution or not.

The question becomes: how will you market your services/solutions?

(And that, right there, is a MASSIVE question, with MUCH to discuss)

If you aren’t completely committed to starting your own gig, then the question becomes very clear:

How do I (re)gain control over my work?

The answer to this question is both situational and longer-term – the current job/work and the career.

USE THIS

I stepped-off-the-cliff in 2010, forming View Beyond LLC as a holding place for all the things I wanted to do professionally

(I am blessed to say that I am a Corporate Misfit, and always knew it –? and much of the above is insight I wish I’d heard when I was getting ready to step out)

and I made a promise to never knowingly leave someone in the same boat.

With that in mind, here are a handful of resources that can help inform your thinking:

So, you want to start your own TOD Consultancy? (free online training)

How HR Careers Work (free online training)

Mid-Career Mastery Resource Guide (free)

I’m proof that stepping out can be a very healthy decision

(doesn’t make it easy, as there are other pressures waiting in the wings – but I have ZERO regrets)

and also that it’s possible to do this in the absence of anyone else’s input.

As I mention above, I wish I’d had someone to talk to so that the landmines and pitfalls didn’t hit as hard as they did.

If that sounds like where you’re at, let’s talk:

Mid-Career Coffee Break (free, 30 minutes via Zoom)