I've been musing recently on how much synergy there is between the skills required to operate effectively in HR, and those required to parent a toddler so, eventually, I had to write about it. I'm not suggesting that working in HR makes you a better parent, or that being a parent makes you a more effective HR professional, as such, but there is a definite crossover. For example:
Knowing the answer to everything: my toddler has an endearing faith that I know the answer to everything. Generally, I can come up with something. At work, it sometimes feel like this too. Sometimes, I have to fight the urge to explain how Google works instead of answering a question...(note: this does not work with toddlers).
Negotiation: once you've mastered negotiating a toddler out of bed, into clothes, through breakfast, into a coat, into the car, and into nursery, any negotiations that come your way during the working day (whether related to agencies, salaries, complex exit scenarios) are a piece of cake. Nothing is harder than that first hour of negotiations each day.
Coping with ambiguity: toddlers are not consistent. Learning to live with toddler-ambiguity (happily eating pasta, happily eating pasta, halfway through the plate, I HATE PASTA) is a fine preparation for flexing your approach to fit the strategy of the organisation, supporting business needs, and changing your approach halfway through a disciplinary investigation meeting when something entirely unexpected comes up.
Recognition: you can't expect a lot of thanks from a toddler. Similarly, HR is one of those functions that tends only to get noticed when things go wrong (or when you deliver spectacularly on a project, obviously). Good preparation for getting your motivation from other sources than external recognition!
And finally - the struggle for definition. Theories and opinions abound on the nature of parenting, how to do it, co-sleeping, babywearing, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, working, not working, leading to a potentially constant sense of having to defend your own approach and (at times!) very existence. HR seems to have a similar struggle for identity and worth. My approach on parenting has been to ignore the debates and go with my gut instinct. My approach in HR has been much the same...rather than worrying about whether I have a "seat at the table", I'd recommend getting on with doing a good job, taking the best-fit approach, demonstrating confidence and letting results lead to influence.
Add to these key skills the eagerness to do a full week's work in fewer hours to demonstrate that nothing has changed (and overlook a slight tendency to be way more forgetful due to lack of sleep), and why would you not want to employ a toddler's parent in HR?!
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