Conversation with an HR Interim - Steve Graham

It’s about building trust and letting them do the right thing.  If you’re curious what a HR Interim Director is, then this latest episode of The HR Uprising Podcast is for you. Lucinda interviews Steve Graham, the Interim Deputy Director for Hertfordshire Partnership University Foundation Trust, about his career and experience working in HR within NHS. They talk about building authentic relationships within a team, changing organisational cultures, dealing with diversity and many more. Discover also what you should do and improve in your skill set if you want to move up in a role in HR when you tune in.  KEY TAKEAWAYS  Steve’s tip if you want to move up in a role within your organisation is to focus in building your credibility and your relationships as quickly as possible. It becomes easier to get promoted when the executives see the determination and potential.  Be authentic. Have the confidence to speak your mind up, especially if you know the company will benefit from it, but also have the guts to admit when you’re wrong.  Steve is grateful that his experience in different organisations helped him develop his leadership and resourcefulness skills.  Meeting and having authentic conversations is the key in getting the best solutions for challenges inside HR. It’s the team who have the best ideas. Engage with them and understand them. Supporting your team can also help build authentic relationships quickly.  As an introvert, Steve didn’t see himself fitting in the role of an interim. So, if you’re like him who thinks like this, don’t be put off by the responsibilities. You can always make an impact in the organisation.  What skills do you need to display to be taken seriously and to progress your aspiration? Have an understanding of the politics and interdependencies in the organisation. You have to be the ‘glue’, the person that connects the team together. It’s easier to share your expertise if you know where it is needed.  BEST MOMENTS  “You can’t get things wrong and just get away with it.”  “Be direct and supportive.”  “Anyone can bring anything in any organisation.”  VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.hpft.nhs.uk/   www.secamb.nhs.uk/   https://www.clch.nhs.uk/  ABOUT THE GUEST    Steve Graham is the Interim Deputy Director of Workforce and OD at Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, a mental health and learning disability trust for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, and North Essex.  He also worked for South-East Coast Ambulance Service and Central London Community Healthcare.  Steve Graham’s LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/steve-graham-76163712   ABOUT THE HOST  Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.  “If you look up, you rise up”  CONTACT METHOD  Join the LinkedIn community - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13714397/   Email: [email protected]   Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucindacarney/   Twitter: @lucindacarney  Instagram: @hruprising  Facebook: @hruprising  HR podcast, The HR Uprising, Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, Learning and Development, Culture & Change: https://hruprising.com/hr-podcasts/