I caught a tweet the other day from a student who suggested that even though she had a big HR exam the next day, she wasn’t stressed because HR was “common sense.” I fumed on this a bit. Then I realized I myself have made a career out of HR and never once took a HR course in school. I started as a CPA…a profession not well-known as an HR breeding ground. I just managed to pick up the know-how along the way (thanks to some really good mentors and a lot of on-the-job training). But I think a lot of what has helped me along in my HR career has come from simply applying “common sense.” In fact, sometimes I think I’ve purposely avoided “the book” on this subject for fear of dehumanizing my approach. Now “what comes natural” doesn’t always mean it’s right (or legal.)

But I’m a human and my job is about humans, so it kind of makes sense that I can just consult my own gut from time to time.

Maybe that’s what truly distinguishes a good HR person from a mediocre HR person – the ability and willingness to apply gut and instinct to workplace dynamics. Sometimes this means taking a risk or going against the grain or even breaking “a rule.” When we get way too caught up in theory, policy, law, procedure, technology, psychology - so on and so forth - we rapidly approach over-engineering the solution at hand. Good HR is easier than that – not “trivial” mind you, just easier.

I bet if we listened a little harder to what our people were telling us and what our own gut was grumbling about, we’d find that most of the solutions to today’s workplace issues are right in front of us.