Do You Want to Know How to Be an HR Rule Breaker?

A Rule Breaker's Life

This is not your usual guide. The very nature and act of ‘rule breaking’ means that there is no such thing as a definitive guide.This is not an all-knowing advice post - telling you what to do. I would not be so presumptuous.This is not the quick, easy and pain-free way to break HR rules. Sorry! Let’s be honest, our childhood and adult life experiences have proven that breaking rules (HR or other) could be quick, occasionally easy but unlikely to be pain-free.I recall my 8 year old self rollerskating with friends.  The excitement of jumping over rubbish bins - who could do the 'flyest' jumps?  Joy often quickly turned into pain - a badly sprained wrist with gory scrapes to match - were my badges of honour after one escapade. Pain transformed into joy again as I retold my epic tale to my friends, and got ready to do it all again.This week’s post is a peek into my story.  It is an unapologetic, unscientific, personal account of what happened when I made a deliberate move to take an unconventional HR path to be a committed rule breaker.Here are some highlights from my journey (so far) from regular HR professional to HR Rule Breaker.Scratching my own itch: I must confess, my journey didn’t begin as response to a noble calling or higher purpose – that came later.At the outset, my rule breaking was a bid to save myself from throwing in the towel.In the summer of 2015 my breaking point hit.  I was fed up with HR. More accurately, I was fed up with the kind of HR I was doing and experiencing.Stuffy and uncreative. Misunderstood and maligned.My passion for HR was at an all-time low. I was miserable and worse, I was wallowing in my discontent.But I like my HR made with large helpings of different ideas, a dash of irreverence, liberally seasoned with practical creativity and usefulness.I especially love it when it is delivered fresh and served by humans for humans. This is the kind of HR I wanted to experience and deliver!So here I was standing at the edge of what James Altucher calls, “the comfort zone and the other zone”.  I was being called out.  "Are you a whinger or a doer, Nicole?"For me that meant the choice between the dull conventional HR or the wild, free, unexplored other world filled with possibilities... and danger!

Could I / my career survive it? Could I thrive? Could I earn enough money?

Could this idea even work? Could I end up feeling more stuck?

Maybe this isn't the right time? Perhaps I should wait!

Crikey! It was almost all too much to bear.The fear of failure haunted me. Fear took up summer residence in my mind like an unwelcome tenant refusing to leave – blatantly claiming Squatters' Rights.But more than my fear of failure was this.Scariest moment realisation.I couldn’t bear the thought doing the same old HR, of never knowing if my crazy idea of doing HR differently could work. I realized that I didn’t want to follow the crowd and not be excited about my life's work.I loved causing a little mischief, stirring things up and wreaking a little havoc to get things moving.I had to do it. And that ‘it’ is called Creative HR.October 2015 - action time in spite of fear. The truth is there is NEVER a right time - the cosmic sign when the stars are in perfect alignment.  The only time that counts is YOUR NOW.Taking the first deliberate step to go all out took me through a full array of emotions and sleepless nights. But I was hooked on the thrill of immense possibilities and independence from the get-go.I have experienced fist-pumping triumphs, frustrated and happy tears, Aha! moments, unexpected acts of generosity, goosebumps, push-back and F-E-A-R.Reading solopreneur Henneke Duistermaat of Enchanting Marketing's posts helped change my perspective about fear of failure.  I found my way to dance with my fear.This 'run your solo biz' coaching post was a 14 tip sanity-saver too.I am not fearless. There is no cure for the fear. I am focused and determined to continue on this unconventional Creative HR path despite fear insisting on coming along for the ride.Stepping out of your preordained lane is typically frowned upon. When you decide to do something different, you WILL ruffle feathers.Who are you to try to do XX?Who do you think you are?How dare you?Don’t listen!  Change lanes to suit your speed.In Salim Ismail’s interview with Srini Rao on the Unmistakable Podcast, he pointed to this very real situation.“If you try to do something disruptive, the immune system of the organisation will attack you. Because all our [current] organization structures are built to withstand change and risk.” Accept that support and understanding of your new venture and mind-set may not come from your current circle.You are not seeking their permission.  HR Rule Breaking is not to everyone's taste.  That’s OK.But striking out on your own and taking the unconventional path can be a lonely.Find a different tribe.For me that means searching within my own discipline of HR for individuals for whom the idea of doing HR differently resonates. I am always looking to connect with individuals with HR swagger. Here are 12 ways I use to identify potential Creative HR tribe members.  You can use them too.Sometimes an HR Rebel Mind-set is obvious to spot in some individuals; whilst others operate in stealth-mode. If you are observant and respectful of their purpose and path, you can earn a welcome into their community; and in turn, grow your own community too.  But to gain entry to this new community you will need a password.The password is..."Me too".  It is a community-spirited mind-set.I discovered that the password alone will not work.  If you turn up with empty hands, expecting to receive, the door will remain firmly shut.  Show up with your ideas and your emotions.  Share them generously. I know this is scary.Always think of how you can contribute value, not noise. Empathise and contribute to improving another individual's idea. Build on their idea. Share their work and be sure to credit and attribute honestly and accurately.Today, with the exponential reach of internet and social media, never has it been so easy to go cross discipline adventuring; and connect with individuals who are doing cool and boundary-busting work. I began to search in the corners of established disciplines, looking for the hidden creative niches.My personal journey to HR’s edge in search of creative inspiration leads me to dive into the work of thinkers and doers in fields such as Marketing, Behavioural Economics, Food, PR, Art, Psychology, Travel, Copywriting, Design, Entrepreneurship etc.I gobbled up the stories of individuals and groups who broke with tradition, re-wired old thinking or customised the familiar and survived to tell the tale. Despite their very real fears, failures before the success - they chose to do 'it' anyway!Each story provided me food for thought, fuel for action and a platform from which to take the next audacious leap or tiny step.Elle Luna interview in The Great Discontent - “I love the idea that everyone has a gift to give. And I believe that the whole world is waiting for us to give that gift to them. What if we could empower everyone to operate out of that place, instead of out of job titles or money or security, even? Imagine a world where everyone gives their truest, most authentic gifts.”Just imagine...Something bigger.Along the way something changed for me.  The journey ceased to be solely about me striking out for freedom and creativity.  A new purpose has me in it's grip and I love it!Plucking square pegs out of round holes: I help individuals get unstuck and get on their own path to doing the kind of work that makes their heart sing.Human-centric HR. Helping leaders to put the 'human' before the 'resources' to grow and transform their organisations from blah to cooking with gas!Transform HR's relevance and impact with Creative HR.