I used to believe in best practices. 

Early in my career, I truly thought that if I followed my job description to a “T” and worked hard to implement the gold-standard frameworks, success, for both me and the organization, would naturally follow.  

I cited Harvard Business Review articles like scripture, pushed performance models, and conducted culture audits as if they were sacred rituals. 

Experience, however, has a way of burning off idealism. Call it cynicism, or maybe just clarity. 

Today, I don’t lead with “how it’s supposed to be,” I lead with what actually works in the mess, the politics, and the chaos of real organizations. 

Best Practices ≠ One-Size-Fits-All 

Best practices are often built for companies most of us don’t work for. The Google playbook doesn’t translate well to a 30-person startup. SHRM templates won’t solve the friction between founders and their first hires. We need to design HR for the business we are in today, not the aspirational version we hope to become, or the one described in a business school case study. 

Fixing Symptoms Isn’t the Same as Solving Problems 

I used to say “people leave managers, not companies.” While that’s often true, it’s not the whole truth. People leave structures that don’t suit them, they leave incentive programs misaligned with their values, and they leave leadership who doesn’t lead with integrity.  

Too often, HR ends up treating symptoms rather than addressing root causes. 

Take burnout or high turnover. A common HR response? Launch a wellness program. Organize a team-building retreat. While I love planning a great offsite, they’re not always the answer.  

Until you’ve done the real work, exit interviews, anonymous employee surveys, meaningful conversations, you’re guessing at what’s wrong. Often the real culprits are harder to swallow: poor management practices, unrealistic workloads, and inequitable promotion systems. 

Offering a mindfulness app to chronically overworked employees is just dressing a wound – it’s not healing it. We need to stop applying “best practice” band-aids to problems we haven’t properly diagnosed. 

What Culture Really Is 

Let’s talk about culture. It’s not perks, offsites, or inspirational posters. I enjoy all of those, but that’s not where culture lives. 

Culture is shaped in the micro-decisions made every day: 

• Who gets promoted 

• Who gets recognized 

• What gets quietly tolerated 

• How communication sounds under pressure 

When a leader says, “We need to work on our culture,” it can sound like they think HR has a magic wand, but culture isn’t a quick fix. It’s a long game – a slow, deliberate process of examining behaviors, power structures, and the current “vibe” to create meaningful change. 

The frameworks for good culture are consistent, like transparency, open communication, psychological safety, but how they get implemented will always differ by organization. 

Power Dynamics Are Real – Let’s Stop Pretending They’re Not 

Let’s take performance reviews. Radical candor sounds great on paper, but candor without acknowledging power dynamics is a lie. 

You can’t give fearless feedback when your paycheck depends on the person you’re talking to. Pretending power doesn’t exist is naïve. Good HR recognizes it and builds a system around it. 

A successful performance review process isn’t about the form you use. It’s about creating an environment where people feel safe enough to tell the truth, without risking their status, their relationships, or their jobs. Otherwise, performance reviews don’t reflect real performance, they reflect survival instincts. 

The Invisible Work of HR 

HR gets a bad rap. We’re often the face of programs, policies, and communications that weren’t actually our decision to begin with. 

So where does our real impact live? 

If you’ve worked with me, you’ve probably heard me say: “My greatest value comes from the moments you’ll never see.” 

It’s the private conversation with a leader who just made a tough call and is reeling from it. 
It’s the quiet check-in with an employee going through something personal. 
It’s the meeting that was supposed to be 10 minutes but turns into an hour of real talk between teammates who finally get honest. 

This is where the real work of HR lives: in relationships, in context, in trust. 

From Best Practices to Real Practice 

I didn’t get here by reading every book or following every framework to the letter. I got here by paying attention and watching what actually happens when humans collide with ambition, fear, growth, and change. 

I don’t preach best practices anymore; I practice what works and I help others do the same.