I’m currently on parental leave with my first child, and there’s one thing that’s really surprised me.
After he goes to bed or when he’s napping, I feel like I have the space to think and be more present in my own mind.
I’m two months into my leave, so the routine is strong and we generally get good, predictable stretches of sleep at night. Because of this, I’ve found more time to think and to step outside my work and career and see them from a distance.
I think everyone needs a break like this. One that isn’t vacation, that isn’t hosting a visitor, that isn’t structured. One that gives you the space to open your mind to new things and reconnect with yourself.
During this time, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be an HR Business Partner. While I was working, I felt like I was living up to what it meant to be an HRBP, but looking back now, I don’t think I was.
Most of what I was doing was putting out fires or directing traffic. I wasn’t putting the right mindset forward to be a partner to the business.
So I’ve been thinking more about that. I’m not here to pitch that we should be doing more initiatives or programs. Instead, I think we need to be thinking about HR as a business driver.
Culture programs are important when done well, but I don’t think we need them to drive business impact. I think we need to be better about telling our story and measuring what matters.
As an HRBP, we talk to so many people during a week. We should be using those moments to demonstrate business impact—not by pushing programs, but by measuring and communicating the outcomes of our work.
That’s what I’ve been thinking about during these times when my mental space has been more open. It’s been nice to have that free space to think, and it’s something I want to find more time for.
Tell me, do you have a way you find that mental space?