What if we got rid of HR departments and made them HF?
Humans First. Not paperwork first. Not compliance first. Not humans as “resources.”
Just… humans. First.
I’ve been sitting with this for a while now. The way people talk about “the future of work” often sounds like it’s something far away, a distant storm we’ll deal with when it finally rolls in. But the truth is, the storm isn’t coming. It’s already here. And the real problem isn’t the future. It’s that too many people are still trying to lead tomorrow the same way they’ve always led.
We’ve built whole systems on old thinking. We use the same words, the same structures, the same assumptions – and then act surprised when nothing changes. We call it “culture” when it’s really control. We call it “performance” when it’s actually burnout. We call it “HR” when what it should be – what it has to be – is humans first.
Radical HR isn’t about polishing the edges of a broken system. It’s not about slapping on another shiny new policy that looks good on paper but changes nothing in practice. (And don’t even get me started on how we need to shift our thinking on policies.) It’s not about pretending we can rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic and somehow keep the ship afloat.
It’s about ripping up the “this is how we’ve always done it” script. It’s about standing in the uncomfortable space between what is and what could be, and having the courage to build something that actually works for humans. It’s about designing the future, not sitting around waiting for someone else to fix it.
Extraordinary teams don’t happen by accident. They’re built with intention – through brave conversations, through leadership that’s deeply human, and through the willingness to unlearn old patterns and redesign how we work together. They’re built when we stop treating people as cogs to manage and start seeing them as humans to lead.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth
We can’t become the leaders of the future if we’re not the leaders we need to be today. We can’t wait for better conditions, fewer fires, a “perfect” moment. Leadership doesn’t arrive neatly wrapped with a job title or when everything’s calm and under control. Leadership happens in the messy middle.
We have to shift our mindset now – not later, not when the timing feels convenient (‘cos I promise you there will never be the “perfect” time). We need to lean right out to the edges of what we know. To stretch into the discomfort. To trade certainty for curiosity. To hold the tension between what’s familiar and what’s possible. Because until we do that, we can’t even begin to imagine how we’ll show up in the future.
Leading like this isn’t about heroics. It’s about small, deliberate acts of courage. It’s showing up with humanity in rooms that have forgotten it. It’s naming the truth when silence would be easier. It’s refusing to keep playing by rules that no longer serve the people who give their time, energy, and hearts to the work.
The future won’t wait for us to “be ready.” It’s already unfolding – in boardrooms, in classrooms, in volunteer teams, in communities. Every conversation, every decision, every moment we choose to lead with humanity shapes what comes next.
And if this makes you uncomfortable… good. That means something inside you is shifting. That’s where the real work begins. Discomfort is the crack where the light gets in … the place where “the way things are” starts to unravel, and something braver can take root.
So here’s my challenge to you:
What’s one thing, in your corner of the world, that you’d redesign if Humans First truly led the way?
Don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t wait for permission. Just start there. One thing. One shift. One brave act.
Because the future of work isn’t some distant horizon. It’s starting here. Right now.
And it’s built by the people brave enough to challenge the status quo and create something better.
I’d love to hear your ideas. Email lisashaw@radicalhr.nz