“Inflection Point for HR” Highlighted in New Book Edited by ILRie Rebecca Kehoe

A new open-access e-book, edited by Rebecca Kehoe, CALS ’05, M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’10, ILR professor of human resources studies, examines the evolving role of HR and what to expect from the future of work with humans at its center. 

“The Age of HR Delivering Stakeholder Value Through Strategic Organizational Capability: Talent, Leadership, and Culture” is a collection of 62 chapters organized across seven themes –business context, business agenda, talent, leadership and organization, culture, function and personal growth. Kehoe’s co-editors include Anthony J. Nyberg and Patrick M. Wright from the University of South Carolina, as well as Dave Ulrich of the University of Michigan.  

In addition to editing the book, Kehoe wrote the introductory chapters for two sections, one involving leadership and organization and the other about culture. 

Three other ILR faculty members and 10 alumni had a hand in writing the book, with chapters provided by:  

• Brad Bell, the William J. Conaty Professor in Strategic Human Resources 
• Professor Chris Collin
• Associate Professor JR Keller
• Melissa Anderson, MILR ’90 
• Christy Pambianchi ’90
• Ken Carrig ’81 
• Mike D’Ambrose ’79 
• Anita Graham ’93 
• Kelli Jordan ’02 
• Pam Kimmet ’80 
• Nickle LaMoreaux ’01 
• Shad Morris, MILR ’16
• Eva Sage-Gavin ’80 

ILRie spoke with Kehoe about the book. 

The book opens by saying that HR is at an inflection point. Can you explain why that is?

It won’t surprise anyone to say that organizations are facing extraordinary disruption and uncertainty. This spans ongoing forces such as rapid technological advances, economic uncertainty and geopolitical turmoil, as well as the disruptive and lasting effects of the recent global pandemic. While the sources and impacts of these forces are quite broad, they share a commonality in their immense impact on the world of work – in terms of how and where and by whom (or what) work gets done, what qualities and skills define effective employees and leaders, and how people and work are structured within and across organizational and national boundaries. 

This is where the inflection point for HR arises – at the convergence of these forces of uncertainty and change. There’s a growing recognition that disruption and change are not temporary; they will continue to shape the new reality in which organizations must learn to operate. This will require revisiting long-held assumptions and overhauling established approaches in managing talent, fostering culture and developing leaders. So, the imperative is for HR to step forward and lead this transformation, and what’s at stake is organizations’ abilities to adapt and thrive in the years to come. 

How do you envision the book helping members of the HR community?

I see this book as the next best thing to having conversations with 80+ global HR thought leaders about the future of the function. The authors share advice on the challenges that organizations – and HR leaders in particular – are likely to face in the years ahead, drawing on observations from the current environment and lessons from their own careers. From that standpoint, the book’s intent isn’t to offer a single blueprint for the function. It’s more to help the next generation of HR leaders learn from the collective wisdom of today’s HR leaders as they encounter a future that promises continued disruption and change.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

I hope that readers read the book as a call to action. Each chapter makes a compelling case that what worked for HR yesterday will not continue to work tomorrow. And again, it’s not a call to a single course of action – but a call for HR leaders to take stock of what needs to change within their organizations and to commit the time, energy and resources that are required to lead that transformation.

Would individuals outside the HR community benefit from reading this book? If so, how?

Definitely. While the book’s primary target audience is HR leaders, the challenges it addresses are not confined to the HR function. The disruptive forces we’re talking about – from technological change to economic and geopolitical uncertainty – have implications for how work gets done, how talent is managed and how organizations adapt and compete. These are issues that affect every part of an organization’s operations.

From that perspective, I think leaders across functions would benefit from the book’s insights. People are among the most important resources in any organization, and what affects an organization’s people ultimately affects its performance. With this in mind, leaders who manage teams, those who work closely with HR, and those who play a role in shaping strategy are especially likely to benefit from reading the book. 

What are the challenges of editing a book with so many contributing authors?

I think a typical challenge with this model is ensuring a degree of consistency in the “big idea” that the chapters collectively support. And we deliberately avoided trying to do that with this book. Our aim instead was to let the experts speak for themselves – to agree, to disagree, to share their wisdom from their varied experiences – and to do so in their own voices. With this vision in mind, we laid out a single ask for each author, and this is verbatim: “to help the next generation of HR leaders understand what the very best in our profession are thinking and doing.” 

This led to a wide range in the topical focus, tone and format across the chapters. And more importantly, it invited each thought leader to write about the issues they found most pressing for the field today.

You wrote the introduction to two sections: leadership and organization, and culture. How do these two things work together to help (or hurt) a company?

This is a great question, because there really is a critical interplay here. In an ideal scenario, I see culture as the translation of all an organization’s intentions and aspirations – its mission, values and purpose – into the everyday experiences of employees. Culture guides the priorities employees apply to decisions. It informs how employees spend their time and where they put their effort, and it shapes how they respond to unexpected challenges.  

Strong leaders establish the priorities that shape culture at the outset and then model and reinforce that culture in their day-to-day decisions, behaviors and interactions. So, they’re helping to both develop culture and bring it to life. When leaders and culture are aligned in this way, they provide a sense of clarity and consistency in defining the organization’s purpose and its approach to realizing it. 

In contrast, when leadership and culture are not aligned, employees receive mixed messages about what the organization values, often leading to confusion and frustration. This undermines the emergence of a shared understanding of priorities and purpose and inhibits the organization’s ability to enact a coherent strategy.

The chapters in those two sections of the book are about pausing to reflect on the values and priorities that organizations will need to effectively navigate the change and uncertainty that lie ahead, as well as the qualities and skills among leaders – and the infrastructure that will support them – in bringing these values and priorities to life. There’s an emphasis on developing comfort with ambiguity, commitment to risk-taking and acceptance of productive failure, as well as a consistent recognition that both culture and leadership are essential in reshaping how organizations respond to these imperatives.