Providing Leadership and Strategy

Henry Mintzberg said, “Leaders don’t do most of the things that their organizations get
done; they do not even make them get done. Rather, they help to establish the structures,
conditions, and attitudes through which things get done. And that requires a
collaborative mindset.”

Leaders’ critical focus should be on providing guidance and vision, controlling
risks, and providing working environments where employees can contribute
their best performance rather than just following directions. Leaders who manage
employees should have the key skills of planning, staffing, organizing, and controlling 
yet motivating people, and managing resources and budgets.

The HR professional as a leader will have a dual focus: being a leader for the HR
function and being able to assist in identifying and developing the organization’s leaders.