HR Executive

¶ … HR personality," HR executives show some distinct interpersonal traits, in comparison to executives in other fields of specialty. "HR executives score much higher in traits such as empathy and consideration for others, according to the data. They tend to be more intuitive, and have a deeper understanding of how others see the world" (Flander 2008: 1). This makes intuitive sense given they are effectively in the 'business' of people, whether it is in recruitment, resolving differences, or any of the other modern functions of HR.

Also, most indicators suggest that individuals working in HR tend to be less competitive and more intent upon building harmony within the work environment. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument found that while most effective vice-presidents of companies prefer to settle conflict with a 'win-win' outcome, HR executives are less likely to press the issue to such as extent that the ideas of others are overridden (Flander 2008: 2-3). But this can have its disadvantages: HR executives may have greater difficulty selling their points-of-view given their dislike of conflict.

Most major measurements of character, such as the Myers-Brigg indicator, note critical personality differences amongst HR personnel: while most top executives overall are extroverts, HR specialists are more likely to have a feeling vs. A thinking orientation compared with their fellow vice presidents (Flander 2008: 2). HR executives tend to make decisions based upon qualitative factors such as values, versus logic or data-driven analysis.

While all executive vice presidents rank high on indicators of "responsibility, self-control, insightfulness and independence," HR vice presidents "tend to score much higher with the personality trait of sensitivity" (Flander 2008: 3). Once again, this is not entirely surprising: while an HR executive must still use data-driven analysis as part of his or her profession, he or she must also be sensitive to the human needs behind the data. Also, there are certain aspects of the interpersonal nature of HR that cannot be fully captured by facts and figures.

Being 'results-driven' is a key buzzword in business today. But this can mean forgetting to see the big picture and being overly focused on hitting certain benchmarks. Another measurement of personality, the Global Personality Inventory test found that HR executives ranked higher on "self-awareness, optimism and sociability, and even higher in the areas of empathy and consideration for others" and lower on scores of "manipulation, passive-aggressiveness and intimidation" (Flander 2008: 3).

On a more sour note, however, HR vice presidents also ranked lower in traits such as entrepreneurship and being 'enterprising' to pursue commercial activities (Flander 2008: 3). It is difficult to know how to fully evaluate such conclusions, however. On one hand, this could indicate that HR personnel are genuinely more empathetic and less business-oriented than other executives and that they rank higher in feminine qualities because of the fact they are drawn to this profession.

It could also be that HR has less prestige and cache than, say, being a CIO or CFO, and individuals who hone their skills in the area of HR are more likely to be slightly less ambitious. The culture of HR might be more welcoming to individuals from certain demographic categories such as women and this could color the personality score results. The culture of HR itself might be less apt to reward a competitive personality. Self-selection and the nature of the profession itself could thus both affect results.

The results are also controversial because they seem to reflect the idea that somehow HR executives are 'weaker' in nature than their counterparts in other departments, reflecting a very masculine, 'macho' view of what it takes to succeed in the business world. But others disagree, noting that a 'zero sum game' attitude might not necessarily be the most effective way to get things done. One HR executive stated: "I don't see anybody who's not tough-minded or business-minded…HR leaders don't have to be confrontational or divisive to be effective" (Flander 2008: 4).

In fact, this could ultimately be counterproductive to the very nature of HR. Once again, the needs of HR might reflect these personality trait results, versus the essential characteristics of all HR executives. Being able to create a win-win scenario, in other words, is the very definition of an effective HR CEO. Additionally, some of this data on HR personalities is contradicted by an analysis of the approach of top-ranked HR vice-presidents which indicates that they are just as individualistically driven and equally focused upon metrics as their colleagues in.