In my last post, I asserted that HR pros will and should consistently work in the background, with no acknowledgement and little, if any, attention drawn to their performance in creating a culture of excellence. The problem is, that can lead to a lot of lonely and discouraged HR leaders, folks who, out of habit, scurry from the limelight when it does happen to shine near them.  Practicing HR pros rarely share their expertise,  except at their company. They don’t try to speak at local or national SHRM conferences much, they don’t give quotes to the newspaper, and they sure as hell never draw attention to themselves in public with questions or comments that might imply that their employer is anything other than Perfect In Every Way.

Except. It’s hard to grow without making mistakes and asking questions. It’s impossible to contribute honestly without telling the truth, authentically, about mistakes you’ve made, or plans that went awry, or just flat admitting that you don’t know it all. You can’t do that staring down at your Blackberry, working while “attending training,”  and counting out HRCI credits. To learn and grow, you will need to screw up.  And sweat. And talk about those mistakes, or at least process the learning you get from them. And try again.

HREvolution, and the community of badass,  honest, ambitious, authentic HR leaders who attend HREvolution, is a platform to celebrate HR pros who are trying to get it right and aren’t afraid to try new things, and a learning laboratory where we can all process and learn from mistakes and new ways of thinking about our role and how to be amazing at it.

Stunt-double school!

HREvolution is sold out. Which is good, because we like to keep it intimate. And authentic. And put people in the limelight who don’t normally love to be the center of attention.  And mostly, we think deeply about how to be the most amazing stunt double leaders in the world, ninja CEO, CFO, and CIO stand-ins with a heart and a deep appreciation for the human element.

We laugh. We argue. We toast each other. We develop intimate and appreciative relationships with vendors who get what we stand for. We deepen ties to each other so that when we go back into the real world of HR leadership, we don’t feel so under-appreciated, isolated, alone. We may not be the center of attention in our workplaces, but we’re renewed in our resolve and our ability to make our employer the center of attention.  We’ve got each other, which, in my book, is better than an award. I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to be with these people, and have these conversations, for the world.