And these decisions have consequences. It may appear to be a lot easier to sit on the sidelines and watch the parade go by. It may also appear easier to believe that you have no choice in the matter. But we all have choice.

I say this because every day presents you with new situations or old situations... requiring a different approach. You may be faced with a HR team that’s new and inexperienced. Or you may be finding it difficult to identify your second liners. Or you’re bleeding talent. People are leaving and your exit interviews are not providing you with any clues as to why. Your compensation packages appear to be matching market expectations and yet it remains unattractive.

How do you react to these situations?

I’ve heard some of these challenges in detail and quite often, I hear the voice of resignation and despair. It need not be so. The situation presents itself but the facts are interpreted by you. Your lens determines your reaction. The questions you ask yourself determine where your focus is and how you will approach the situation.

Often, I can understand how the challenge may be so large that indecision seems best. Keep your head low and the problem will go away. But your inability or unwillingness to make a choice, to make a decision, is a choice in itself. This sets in motion a series of actions or consequences which may or may not link directly to you but these are a result of your choices.

Why do I say this? Because it’s true. We are assaulted by all kinds of media, a daily barrage of emails, technological improvements which seek to make our life simpler. Yes, we now move faster. We process more emails, we get more work done, we’re that much more productive and we work longer hours. But are we achieving that much more and at what cost?

Decide, then act.

How does this work? Let’s say that your issue is the fact that you’ve got a disengaged team. Decide firstly whether you’d like to solve this problem. It’s a little like trying to lose those last five pounds. You can tell your friends you’re on a diet and avoid the dessert tray but are you trying to convince them or yourself? If you are not really committed to it, if you’ve not decided in your mind, that you’d like to lose that weight, then you just go through the motion. You skip a few sporadic meals but eat that chocolate bar. You allow yourself to be put in situations that challenge your weak will and reluctantly give in only to recommit that tomorrow will be different. Spend a week like this and you know that nothing is ever going to change. Your mood shifts down, your spirit is low and you feel out of control.

If you’ve got a disengaged team, you could have meetings with your managers and senior executives where you seek their opinion but then not really hear what they’re saying. You could spend considerable funds on rah-rah events to boost team spirit only to have everyone go back to the way they were, when they’re back in the office. You could do lots of things, and yet not achieve the results you want. Because you haven’t as yet figured out what exactly you want or how badly you want it.

One thing you could do though is have the faith in what you see, in your own voice and sight. This is your team. Are they not motivated by the money? Well, money rarely is the issue. Are you the problem? What can you do? Do you expect them to do the hard yards while you sit by? When you decide that this is something that you really want to get to the bottom of, and that you will not stop till you get closure, the answers will come to you. One by one or all at a go.

This calls a commitment to think through the issues. Sit, pause and take it in. Consider for a while, what the real issues are, put yourself in another person’s shoes. Think and feel your way. You need to connect with both the rational and emotive sides within you. Take the time you need with it, mull it over. Come back to it. So that in the end, you are not merely reacting to the situation.

Undoubtedly, you need to be authentic. In your words, in your action or you will be seen through and through.

Look at the environment, the physical space, the decision-making process, how meetings are held, how people respond to you and your peers. Evaluate everything. Consider everything. Put your views aside for a minute. You need to, to truly hear what the other is saying. Do you believe you can? Will it take too much from you? And if you say that you are doing that, why are you not getting the results you want?

More than anything else, take charge, accept responsibility. Embrace a level of pro-activity such as you’ve never before. Avoid laying blame and making excuses. There’s always someone to blame, if you’re looking for one. There’s always an excuse to drum up, if you’re looking for one. But taking responsibility puts you in the driver’s seat. Saying that HR never gets to the boardroom and not wanting to do anything about such an intractable situation is giving up the sense of control you have and letting go. It means that you are a victim of your circumstance.

Do. Fail. Do it again. Push yourself and don’t be afraid. What’s the worst that could happen – you could be fired? Is that really the worst of it? Pushing yourself like this enables you to break new ground, for others, and for yourself. Ask yourself whether you’ve been tackling symptoms thus far, and not the real issue. Why is that? Could there be something you’re missing? Could there be something you’re trying to avoid?

When it comes down to it, I believe the biggest challenge is not the job. It’s not other people. It’s ourselves. So, get to know yourself better, push yourself and make your mark out there. It makes for an interesting run.

HR Matters Conversations is based on on-going candid conversations with local HR professionals about current opportunities, communication woes, challenges faced and strengthening positions.