In this last post in this series, we have reached the pinnacle of HR Development: The Level 5 HR Leader.

If you are just now joining us, welcome, I am not sure how good you are at math My experience has been folks who have an interest in HR rank very high in intelligence, but math is not always their best subject. Even if you are remedial at the numbers game, I am guessing you have figured out that there are four posts leading up to this one, and I would encourage you to go back and give them a read – I am not saying it will change your life, but I am not saying it won’t either…

At Level 5, the HR Leader has a commanding grasp of their organization’s policies and procedures; and an equally strong understanding of the organization overall. Level 5 HR Leader’s core competency is confidence; when one reaches Level 5 HR Leadership, they have achieved mastery, and what does mastery mean? You are teaching others – you have apprentices who are learning from you, so you must be willing and able to train; you cannot truly call yourself a Level 5 Leader, HR, or anything else if you are afraid of teaching your team everything you know. Level 5 Leaders get the most value from developing those they are leading.

Of course, if you are developing these folks, you will rise along with them, so your goal should be to have a team that can do your job and does it well, and if that is the case, you are free to do bigger and better things. If you are not willing to give up your control, you are acting as an anchor to your team, which is not holding them in place. They will go somewhere else. It is holding you back.