In AHRI’s new series, In the Thick of It, experienced HR leader Jess Anderson FCPHR unpacks an early career misstep which taught her invaluable lessons about pacing yourself and asking for the support you need as a people leader.
When Jess Anderson FCPHR stepped into her first people leader role more than 15 years ago, she didn’t expect that she would have to let go of a direct report who had become a friend.
On top of that, she was working to bridge conflicting workplace cultures while juggling seemingly ‘urgent’ tasks late into the evening. She was at her breaking point.
Today, she is the General Manager of People Partnering at the Magistrates Court of Victoria and Strategic People Partner at Court Services Victoria. In this video she reflects on the lessons she learned through this early career experience and shares how it continues to shape her HR practice today.
For more insights from Anderson, read an edited portion of the transcript from the conversation below.
Q: How did that stressful period change your understanding of your role or your view of HR best practice?
Jess: At that point in my career, I didn’t have a strong understanding of what HR should or could provide. In that organisation, there was no formal HR function at all. The prevailing view was that HR wasn’t necessary, despite the business having a national footprint and more than 200 employees.
There was a payroll manager and, occasionally, they would provide some general HR advice, but there was no dedicated people support, no framework for developing leaders and no safe or structured place to raise challenges. Looking back now, I can clearly see how significant that gap was.
With the benefit of hindsight, I can imagine how different things might have been if there had been an HR business partner or people advisor in the organisation – someone who could have supported me as a first‑time leader, helped me navigate boundaries, workload and difficult conversations and advocated upward when support was needed.
That kind of support may not only have improved my experience as a leader, but potentially my longevity with the organisation as well.
Q: If you could go back to that exact moment, what would you do differently?
Jess: I would do many things differently now. I would:
- Communicate openly and proactively with my manager about my needs: my development goals, the support I required, how I preferred to be communicated with, where I wanted autonomy and where I needed leadership and guidance.
- Be much clearer about setting, managing and maintaining boundaries: both professionally with others and personally for myself.
- Actively advocate for the support I needed: whether that be formal training, coaching, or other development opportunities, rather than assuming I had to work everything out on my own.
- Ask for a mentor: I should have looked for someone independent who could provide perspective, challenge my thinking and speak into my work life. Having a trusted, external voice to guide and question my decisions would have been invaluable at that stage.
- Set firmer boundaries for myself around effort, time, and expectations: I naturally want to do everything to 100 per cent, but I now understand that this isn’t always realistic or sustainable. I would focus more on the long game, being clear about what truly matters and where my energy is best invested – and make conscious decisions to hold myself to those boundaries.
Q: What’s your advice for HR when they’re in the thick of a complex challenge or dilemma?
Jess: Firstly, you don’t have to provide an answer on the spot.
This is something I’ve repeated many times over the years to HR teams and individuals.
It can often feel like you need to give an immediate answer when a manager walks up to your desk or calls you unexpectedly, but most HR questions aren’t black and white; they require research, careful thought, and consideration of context and risk.
It’s far better to set a clear expectation, such as saying you’ll come back with advice by the end of the day, than to respond immediately and accidentally give the wrong guidance. Taking the pressure off yourself allows you to do the work properly – research, think it through, speak with colleagues if needed – and then confidently provide well‑considered advice.
Secondly, celebrate your successes.
In HR, we don’t always stop to acknowledge wins because the next issue is usually already bubbling under the surface. We can easily jump from the frying pan into the fire without pausing to reflect. But it’s important to recognise what you’ve achieved.
Consider keeping a journal or a dedicated page at the back of your notebook to jot down successes, big or small.
Share these in your one‑on‑ones with your manager, manage up by highlighting your achievements, and make sure they’re reflected in your performance reviews. These moments matter, and so does acknowledging your impact.
Finally, look after yourself.
If you’re not looking after yourself, you simply can’t effectively support others.
HR can be incredibly demanding work. It can be stressful, emotionally heavy, and at times expose you to burnout, trauma and psychological strain. That’s why it’s so important to think deliberately about your own wellbeing and to genuinely practise what we so often preach to others.
What self‑care looks like will differ for everyone. It might mean starting later on Wednesdays so you can attend an exercise class, building in a daily walk before work, prioritising regular exercise, or scheduling a monthly proactive debrief with a psychologist. There’s no single right approach, but there is a responsibility to yourself to do something.
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Turn the learnings from this article into action:
- Learning: Trauma Aware Workplaces: Creating safe and supportive conversations
- Support: Become an AHRI member for access to Ask AHRI where you can receive confidential HR guidance.
- Learning: Learn how to manage difficult conversations with this course from AHRI.
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