Scaling Starts With HR: How to Develop Leaders Who Grow With You
Growing companies need HR leaders who grow just as fast.
And this doesn’t just happen by accident.
I’ve seen this across big companies like IBM and Honeywell, and now with almost every small business or startup I support through ScaleSmart HR:
When you invest early in developing your internal HR talent, the entire company scales more smoothly. This can translate into fewer fires, fewer compliance risks, better culture, and stronger managers.
But the key is this:
HR generalists don’t automatically become HR leaders. You have to intentionally build them.
Here’s how to do that.
1️⃣ Develop the right skills, not just the tactical ones
If you’re grooming an HR pro to scale with you, prioritize skills that equip them to think like a strategic partner:
Core skills to grow:
Decision-making & prioritization (HR is all about tradeoffs)
Change management (especially in high-growth environments)
Coaching managers at all levels
Analyzing trends & people data to influence decisions
Conflict resolution
Understanding compliance fundamentals
Communication that’s clear, confident, and consistent
These are the muscles that turn a supportive HR person into a true business partner.
2️⃣ Give them exposure, not just tasks
If you want HR talent to scale, stop shielding them from the bigger conversations.
Let them:
Sit in on leadership meetings
Partner directly with managers
Handle sensitive conversations (with guidance)
Shadow you on complex employee issues
Own a full project from design → implementation → follow-through
Build processes, not just execute them
Growth comes from being in the room, not just doing the paperwork.
3️⃣ Mentor through real scenarios, not hypothetical examples
This is where the magic happens.
Talk through:
Why you made a decision
How you weighed risk
What you considered legally and culturally
Alternative approaches
What you’d do differently
HR isn’t learned through a textbook—it’s learned through pattern recognition.
4️⃣ Shift their mindset from “support” to “strategy”
The best HR leaders learn to ask:
“What’s the business impact?”
“What’s the root cause?”
“How can we prevent this from happening again?”
“What data do I need to make a better recommendation?”
They stop reacting and start leading.
5️⃣ Push them into the activities that actually build leadership
If your HR person is stuck in admin work all day, you’re preventing them from growing.
Rebalance their workload so they can focus on:
Performance management frameworks
Manager training
Compensation structure understanding
Employee engagement insights
Workforce planning
Culture initiatives
Policy harmonization
Bringing structure to chaos
Building repeatable processes and documentation
These are the experiences that create scalable HR leaders—not updating addresses and resetting passwords.
6️⃣ Give them air cover
Growing HR talent requires letting them make decisions, speak up, and sometimes make mistakes—with leadership support behind them.
When your HR person feels protected, they become bolder and more strategic.
7️⃣ Invest in their development like you would any other leader
Provide access to:
Coaching or mentorship (internal or external)
HR certifications or courses
Industry communities
Leadership books, workshops, and conferences
Cross-functional learning
HR often develops everyone else but forgets to invest in themselves.
Developing HR leaders isn’t just “nice to have”—it’s the difference between a company that scales with confidence and one that’s constantly putting out fires.
The companies that scale the best aren’t the ones with the flashiest perks or the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that grow their people with intention.
Because when your HR leader grows, your entire organization grows with them.
If you’re thinking about growing your HR function or elevating someone internally, I help companies create customized development plans, build HR roadmaps, and mentor emerging HR leaders to become true strategic partners. Your future HR leader might already be within your business and they just need the chance (and the support) to grow into the role.
