Why This Is the Starting Point
Over the years, I’ve worked in organizations where HR was doing a great deal of good work. Programs were running, initiatives were moving forward, and people were genuinely trying to make things better.
And yet, there were times when something still felt off.
What I came to realize was that the issue usually wasn’t effort or intent. It was direction. More specifically, it was a lack of clarity about how HR could truly impact the organization.
That realization didn’t come all at once. It developed as I worked in different roles, different organizations, and different settings. It showed up as a recurring pattern of misalignment. Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it: when the role of HR isn’t clearly understood by leaders and within HR itself, the work tends to remain transactional rather than becoming strategic and impactful.
That’s why owning the HR vision isn’t just one of the principles. It’s the one that shapes all the others.
What Owning the HR Vision Actually Means
For a long time, I thought of vision as something you articulated. A statement. A document. A slide.
Experience corrected that assumption.
Owning the HR vision is less about how clearly it is written and more about how consistently it is understood. It shows up in everyday decisions, in the questions leaders bring to HR, and in the way tradeoffs are framed when priorities collide.
I’ve learned to listen for it in conversation. When leaders talk about people issues, what do they expect HR to help them think through? Where do they see HR leading, and where do they see it supporting? How consistent are those expectations across the organization?
When the answers vary widely, the vision may exist on paper, but it isn’t owned.
Why This Is a Leadership Issue, Not an HR Exercise
When the HR vision is unclear, HR work tends to become reactive. Priorities shift based on the loudest request or the most immediate problem. Over time, leaders may describe HR as busy but not always effective, even when the team is capable and committed.
I’ve seen this happen often enough to know it’s not a talent problem. It’s a leadership problem.
Clarity about the HR vision gives leaders a shared frame of reference. It helps them understand what HR is accountable for, what success looks like, and how HR decisions should support broader organizational goals.
Without that clarity, even well-designed systems struggle to produce lasting impact.
How Lack of Ownership Typically Shows Up
When the HR vision isn’t fully owned, the signs are usually subtle.
HR initiatives start and stop without building on one another. Leaders describe HR differently depending on the situation. Strategic conversations drift toward transactions. Over time, frustration grows, often without a clear source.
These are not failures of motivation or competence. They are symptoms of an organization that hasn’t been explicit enough about what it expects HR to contribute.
What Changes When the Vision Is Owned
When the HR vision is genuinely owned, something important shifts.
Priorities align more naturally with business direction. Decisions become easier to explain. It becomes possible to say no to work that doesn’t fit, not because it lacks merit, but because it dilutes focus.
What stands out most is consistency. Leaders may emphasize different aspects of the work, but the underlying understanding of HR’s role remains stable. Over time, that consistency compounds.
The practices will vary by organization. The clarity does not.
How This Principle Fits Within the System
This principle provides the frame that gives meaning to all the others. Without clarity about how HR is expected to influence the organization, objectives drift, measures lose relevance, and systems reinforce activity rather than impact. When the HR vision is clear, the rest of the system has a shared point of reference for judgment.
A Question Worth Asking
Rather than asking whether HR has a vision, I’ve found it more useful to ask:
Is there a clear, shared understanding of how HR is expected to influence this organization, and does that understanding actually guide decisions?
When the answer is unclear, that’s not a failure. It’s simply where the work begins.